I'm sure you all have a lot to say now that Wendell is back so here is your forum.
I have a story coming out on him for Wednesday's paper, but I sat with him for 10 minutes or so after the game, and there was humility there. I'm not even disappointed about the technical that he picked up. He said he needed it and I would argue that is what the Aggies needed — toughness and a motor that nobody else in the WAC has.
I saw that GS thought that he shouldn't have started on Monday and I agreed, but then I thought that now that he's back, how much time should he sit? Wouldn't you want him out there? Not only does he make the Aggies starting 5 pretty formidable, but the guys on the bench are where they belong as role players. BJ West, Tyrone Watson, Bandja Sy and Gordo can come in and fill their roles now instead of having to produce night in and night out.
22 comments:
Wendell should be starting. He is to good to be coming off the bench.
Groves do you know what was wrong with West tonight?
Jason,
Yes Wendell is a starter and Watson will be coming off the bench from now on as well as the others. But you cant start someone who did not take care of business and let his team shorthanded this season. At least not in the first game that he is back. Let him sit in the bench for a couple of minutes and put him in but dont start him. To me that just showed lack of character on Menzies. Everyone preaches that they are student athletes but yet where does the student part belong? The athlete part is what really matters and it showed tonight. Wen is going to provide us with a player that will give us talent and heart when we need it but that doesnt mean that he should get the nod to start immediately. If failing the first time wasnt bad enough, it took an appeal for him to get cleared. Why did it even get to this point? He had all semester to focus on passing that one class and it takes an appeal to pass him? I like Wen and I have been one of the supporters of Menzies in the past but he didnt deserve to start.
Any thoughts on the UTEP win?
GS
GS, I can't say anything about UTEP other than I'm not surprised. You are probably right about Wendell paying some sort of dues before returning to the court, but with the amount of pressure and the way the team had been playing, if you want to compete in the WAC, I think you need Wendell playing as much as he can the next three games.
Anon 1047 Menzies said that Gomez had some sort of eye injury so he wasn't suited up. He also wasn't dressed for the Pepperdine game, but Menzies said it wasn't disciplinary in nature tonight. West tweaked an ankle early in the first half. Menzies said it could be a sprain, but it didn't seem too bad.
We have some cupcakes on the schedule these next few games. He should have at least come off the bench tonight.
But Menzies knows what's being said about him, and he realized he needed a win tonight like utep had against AS on Saturday. Can you imagine if AS had managed to keep it close.
I'm not so much interested in starting or number of minutes. My concern is whether Wen should technically be playing or not.
What if the grades appeals process doesn't work out for Wen? Does he go back to the bench on Jan. 12 and lose the possibility of a red shirt?
Nice to see one of our two ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS is back for the spring semester!
Let's see if the other Rhodes scholar can pass with flying colors.
Speaking of spring semester. Is there any way we can rule Menzies in-eligible for the spring and beyond?
Ganja Boy
I agree with Jason about playing time. Wen has already missed most of the pre-season so with the few remaining games left before conference you need to have your starting 5 gelling and playing together as much as possible. He has already got what he 'deserved' and the team 'deserved' to have him back.
Whether he should be academically eligible or not is opening the proverbial can of worms. The whole charade of the college 'student-athelete' is always exposed at the margins. Once ruled eligible though, I doubt that will be overturned. As Aggie basketball fans, we should be happy we can turn the page and hope the Big Wen will make a huge difference. I think he will.
hahahaha!!! You gotta love Aggie fans or whatever you call yourselves down there!!! I love getting on this blog and reading all the complaints you have about your team. Everyone says how the coach sucks or how the players don't play hard or they don't deserve to play. Well to be honest, maybe they don't wanna play hard for fans like you guys!! Hey J.Y. and Mckines, come up to alb, we would love to have you here and I'm sure you would love playing for a top 25 team. Everyone's a lobo, woof woof woof!
Approve my comment this time Groves!!!!!!!
Chilero,
I doubt Menzies and his staff would've allowed WM to suit out if there was any chance of him being pulled on the 12th. His grades are in and final and he's now going to be a nightmare for teams in the WAC. His energy alone makes us that much better.
Jason,
Would you be surprised to see Troy in the lineup within the next couple games? Sounds like professors are giving these guys a chance to earn a better grade before spring semester starts.
JG - only correction, "best motor in the COUNTRY!" Great to see Wen back on the floor. No discredit to the other guys but more importantly, NMSU has a leader again.
Anon 11:38 - the process is over with. He is eligible and his transcripts have been posted to reflect his eligibiliy. Done and done!
I seriously doubt that Wen would've been allowed to play at all if his eligibility was still in question. NMSU would have to forfeit all games he participates in if that's the case. I don't think Boston nor Menzies would take that risk, especially since these last three OOC games were winnable without him. The press release from NMSU said he would be with the team for the remainder of the season. Also, keep in mind that NMSU has a higher standard than the NCAA, with a 2.5 GPA requirement. NCAA-wise, it's possible Wen could've been fine, but NMSU standards might have been what were restricting him.
The biggest PR problem NMSU faces with McKines' return (and Troy's, if it happens) is that Braun Cartwright's comments last week led everyone to believe that there was no chance Troy or Wen would play this year based on grades. Though these grade appeals may be perfectly legit, perhaps the brass at NMSU should have said that there was an appeal going on from the start, or at least kept tight-lipped about the situation for a few more days. Doing it the way they did now leaves the door open for criticism and suspicion of academic hijinks. That's not a shot at Braun, since he was attempting to communicate what he knew with an anxious fanbase. However, there is definitely a reason now for others to be suspicious because of how it went down.
I don't think starting WM has anything to do with the lack of character of the coach or demanding WM pay his dues. He is eligible and you play the game with the best players available and establish a substitution rotation for conference play. For the poster who said we have some cupcakes coming up, don't believe it. Texas Southern is a good ballclub. They beat Idaho at home and whether you agree or believe it, Idaho is the team to beat this year in the WAC. As I also recall, they played UTEP tough at home. Tomorrow night will be a good test.
Returning starters or not...it won't make a lick of difference if the Aggies play the same lackluster defense that I saw last night in the Pan Am Center.
Pi-ti-ful!
well now that we fixed Wendell's grades we can focus on fixing Troy's grades as well.
"Fixing grades" my a**. You guys are all just specuating about something that you know next to nothing about in order for your post to seem somewhat interesting. I was a Professor at NMSU for 31 years (and several years teaching experience before that)and know more about student performance and grading than the whole bunch of you could ever dream of. There are many grading situations in which the grades of these students could improve such that they become eligible---all legit. Since you all think you are so damn smart, I will leave it to you guess what they are.
As far a Boston or anyone else pressuring or threating a professor to "give a grade" or "change a grade"---not even the President of NMSU or the Board of Regents have that power.
Your posts might be worthwhile if you based them on something that you actually know instead of something you dream up!
Let Gillenwater FLOAT AWAY!!!!!!!!
He brings Nothing!!!!
What happened to the post your name rule? Anon 1:59, How do you know they fixed grades? If you can't reference comments don't post!
EVL, I can reference comments but won't do so publicly because of student's privacy rights. But there is a whole lot more to this story and it relates to NMSU student code of conduct.
Okay, Anon 9:07, I know what you are talking about, I heard the same news down the gossip line, but NMSU granted him the green light to play. I am sure they reviewed and interviewed all parties involved and made their decision. It was a "misunderstanding" according to the last article I read. It is what it is.
Hey Jason! Happy Holidays and thanks for your hard work.
Anon 9:07PM: Still nothing in your comment relates to or supports the action or fact of fixing grades.
I've heard some rumblings that McKines did something that could get a student kicked out of school...My OPINION AND GUESS is that Wen either cheated or plagiarized a paper. I lean towards the latter, as this is why he was first declared ineligible. He was able to rewrite the paper and got himself eligible. That is just my hunch on the matter.
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