I learned the BJ West was cleared to play on Monday and is expected to practice when the Aggies return to the practice court on Tuesday. I will have a story later this afternoon.
16 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Well I hope he comes as advertised (Rebounds, Blocked shots and some double digit point contribution) if so we will finally have a front court player that is not soft in the paint around the rim. There should expect a learning curve and we should not expect huge contributions at first. In time for conference play would be nice, with the five games we have in December with three of them being against Alcorn State, Texas Southern and Praire View should get him some playing time to build some confidence, get familiar with the team and the system (at least on paper).
be patient. he is about 6'8, but i believe they list him taller than that. he is a longer, thinner looking kid who could get much stronger after a season here in the weight room. at first, he will be lost as he struggles to fit in. lets give him the time to blend in and not expect him to carry the team on his shoulders, that was supposed to be the job of Wen and Troy. give bj some time to get it going. the crazy ncaa just put him through a crazy time. why in the world could they not have done a couple months ago, what they did just recently. he should have been cleared long time ago. why is it we keep having these troubles with the clearinghouse year in and year out? is it our coaching staff that isn't on top of these things or what? part of being a good recruiting is also getting all your ducks in a row so a kid doesn't have to go through this kind of a thing. i hope for the best. oh and last i heard, the two academic casualties won't be playing second semester. i hope this isn't true. go aggies.
B.J West is a legit 6'9 forward. Remember Tyrone Nelson. Nelson was listed 6'9, but was really about 6'7. Justin Hawkins was listed 6'7, but more 6'5. Rahman might be the only player on the team who has his size right at 6'11.
Anon: 3:31, I hope your "rumor" is right .. that Menzies will be reassigned once we lay an egg vs. UTEP on Sunday. I hope hope hope you're right. As far as BJ West goes; start him start him start him; I'd start a box of donuts over Robert Lumpkins.
Anon 8:08, You are right about Lumpkins, he is just not very good at all! I don't like to bash players but he should be relegated to the practice squad only!
I have no insight as to whether Wen and Troy will pass their classes to be elgible. I am an NMSU Alum and I do care for the program. If Wen becomes elgible, we will play respectable and make a run for the WAC title. If both Wen and Troy are out, the NMSU followers are going to want Menzies out. Ugly losses have made the men's basketball team a joke. The fan base is already eroding and unless a miracle happens, the life support will be turned off.
Season Ticket Holder, You don't like to bash players but you jump on Lumpkins. Has it occurred to you that maybe it's not his fault and that maybe he is a good player who's following what a bad coach tells him to do?
Jackie, I don't see why NMSU followers would want Menzies out if both Wen and Troy are ineligible. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Menzies at all and would like to see him gone but for the right reason and not because his players are failing. You can't make players succeed in school. All the pieces for them to be successful are in place--they have mandatory 8 hours of study hall, they are supposed to get weekly reports and signatures from their instructors, they have to meet with their tutors and what not. The problem is the players are not doing it. Granted, Menzies can reinforce the rules more but the guy has no clue about academics.
Personally I think it's all on Wen and Troy and I am tired of people making excuses for them. Leadership starts at the top, that's Menzies job. But players need to pull in their share as well. Both Troy and Wen didn't do that. At let's be honest, a 2.00 GPA is not that hard to carry at NMSU. It's not like we are an Ivy League School.
As for West, I would rather see him play than Wen or Troy. If anyone needs to redshirt, it should be the players who got themselves ineligible. Winning should not be done at the expense of integrity.
If you watch Lumpkins off the ball, he's far from the worst player on this team. Is he in above his head versus UTEP/UNM/SMC and the upper tier of the WAC? Probably. That said, he hustles, fights hard underneath (though undersized) and does what he can. Yes, the jump shots need to stop, and he needs help to generate points (as does everyone else on the team not named JY or JGib), but he's doing the best he can playing out of position.
16 comments:
Well I hope he comes as advertised (Rebounds, Blocked shots and some double digit point contribution) if so we will finally have a front court player that is not soft in the paint around the rim. There should expect a learning curve and we should not expect huge contributions at first. In time for conference play would be nice, with the five games we have in December with three of them being against Alcorn State, Texas Southern and Praire View should get him some playing time to build some confidence, get familiar with the team and the system (at least on paper).
Finally some decent news...
How tall is he?
I've heard anywhere from six-eight to six-eleven. Whats accurate?
Doesn't do us any good if Menso is coaching the team.
Any truth to the rumor that Menso is getting re-assigned once we lose to Utep on Sunday?
West is 6'11"
be patient. he is about 6'8, but i believe they list him taller than that. he is a longer, thinner looking kid who could get much stronger after a season here in the weight room. at first, he will be lost as he struggles to fit in. lets give him the time to blend in and not expect him to carry the team on his shoulders, that was supposed to be the job of Wen and Troy. give bj some time to get it going. the crazy ncaa just put him through a crazy time. why in the world could they not have done a couple months ago, what they did just recently. he should have been cleared long time ago. why is it we keep having these troubles with the clearinghouse year in and year out? is it our coaching staff that isn't on top of these things or what? part of being a good recruiting is also getting all your ducks in a row so a kid doesn't have to go through this kind of a thing. i hope for the best.
oh and last i heard, the two academic casualties won't be playing second semester. i hope this isn't true.
go aggies.
I would agree with the last poster on West's height...he is certainly closer to 6-8 than 6-11
Good, we will need him since Big Wen won't be available.
B.J West is a legit 6'9 forward. Remember Tyrone Nelson. Nelson was listed 6'9, but was really about 6'7. Justin Hawkins was listed 6'7, but more 6'5. Rahman might be the only player on the team who has his size right at 6'11.
Anon: 3:31,
I hope your "rumor" is right .. that Menzies will be reassigned once we lay an egg vs. UTEP on Sunday. I hope hope hope you're right.
As far as BJ West goes; start him start him start him; I'd start a box of donuts over Robert Lumpkins.
Anon 8:08,
You are right about Lumpkins, he is just not very good at all! I don't like to bash players but he should be relegated to the practice squad only!
Season Ticket Holder
I have no insight as to whether Wen and Troy will pass their classes to be elgible. I am an NMSU Alum and I do care for the program. If Wen becomes elgible, we will play respectable and make a run for the WAC title. If both Wen and Troy are out, the NMSU followers are going to want Menzies out. Ugly losses have made the men's basketball team a joke. The fan base is already eroding and unless a miracle happens, the life support will be turned off.
Jackie
Season Ticket Holder, You don't like to bash players but you jump on Lumpkins. Has it occurred to you that maybe it's not his fault and that maybe he is a good player who's following what a bad coach tells him to do?
just a thought.
Let him play. Menzies has no offense, so its not like West has to learn anything. Heck maybe he knows how to play some "D",,,,,,,,,
DM
Jackie, I don't see why NMSU followers would want Menzies out if both Wen and Troy are ineligible. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Menzies at all and would like to see him gone but for the right reason and not because his players are failing. You can't make players succeed in school. All the pieces for them to be successful are in place--they have mandatory 8 hours of study hall, they are supposed to get weekly reports and signatures from their instructors, they have to meet with their tutors and what not. The problem is the players are not doing it. Granted, Menzies can reinforce the rules more but the guy has no clue about academics.
Personally I think it's all on Wen and Troy and I am tired of people making excuses for them. Leadership starts at the top, that's Menzies job. But players need to pull in their share as well. Both Troy and Wen didn't do that. At let's be honest, a 2.00 GPA is not that hard to carry at NMSU. It's not like we are an Ivy League School.
As for West, I would rather see him play than Wen or Troy. If anyone needs to redshirt, it should be the players who got themselves ineligible. Winning should not be done at the expense of integrity.
Rachel.
If you watch Lumpkins off the ball, he's far from the worst player on this team. Is he in above his head versus UTEP/UNM/SMC and the upper tier of the WAC? Probably. That said, he hustles, fights hard underneath (though undersized) and does what he can. Yes, the jump shots need to stop, and he needs help to generate points (as does everyone else on the team not named JY or JGib), but he's doing the best he can playing out of position.
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