NMSU hasn't been swept by both of its rivals since 2004-05, which I believe was the season Lou Henson was sick and the Aggies finished 6-24.
On Tuesday, the Aggies were halfway there after a 74-72 loss at home to UTEP.
I talked with Jack Nixon prior to the game. He said that unfortunately, the rivalry games are the games most fans base their opinion on for the rest of the year. NMSU is 3-11 against UNM and UTEP under Marvin Menzies. They've lost their last five against the Lobos, who come to town on Saturday and without Wendell McKines, the Aggies aren't likely to win at the Pit where they haven't won since 2002.
I was wondering what Aggies fans who read this blog felt. Would you rather beat the rivals or improve come WAC time with a mediocre record? The Aggies have certainly improved late in the year under Menzies, but this is the second time the Aggies start 2-5 in his four years here.
Other notes from the loss ...
— A huge play in the game was a Troy Gillenwater technical foul in the first half. He had just put the Aggies ahead with back to back 3s and then Christian Kabongo came back to tie the game at 30-30 but Gillenwater was whistled for a technical as the teams headed back up the floor. Randy Culpepper hit the free throws to put the Miners up for good.
— Hernst Laroche was great down the stretch, but he was 0-for-8 at one point and made his first field goal with 4:54 to play. Players will have off shooting nights from time to time, but he hhad just four assists with two turnovers. As one of two Aggies players who can get his own shot, Laroche can't afford too many 4-of-12 efforts.
— Again, I don't think the Miners are as talented as they've been in previous years. Tim Floyd outcoached the Aggies tonight I think. Culpepper went nuts from behind the arc in the first half, so what does Floyd do in the second half. Claude Britten, who would be a mid-level WAC post player, went right at Chili Nephawe to start the second half and helped push a five point halftime lead to 12 so Culpepper and Christian Polk could close it. Gordo Castillo had to be on the court for his experience and 3-point shooting, but the Miners were patient on offense and found the mismatch with Julyan Stone driving on Gordo whenever they were matched up.
37 comments:
NMSU has been mediocre since the Marvin Menzo Circus came to town!!
Every year it's the same thing: start slow, get swept by rivals, no defense, and then go on a three game winning streak in March just to tease the fan base!!
Marvin Menzo complains about attendance.
How do you expect the fans to support you when the team gets constantly blown out by 20 and gets swept by both rivals??!
Yet, he still has the audicity to say. "I think were a top 25 team."
Maybe at the Juco level but not D1!!
Marvin Menzo is a pathetic clown and gets out coached on a nightly basis!
Tim Floyd is a real coach! Maybe you should carry his gym shorts and possibly, learn a thing or two on coaching 101.
I went to the UTEP game and saw a team that is work in progress. I hope that Wendell takes a redshirt this season and Gillenwater sticks around for next season. My big disappointment for the game was the announcer for the game. Your kidding me NMSU the best you can do is JOY!!! He is the "Pride of New Mexico" announcer not a basketball game announcer. If I have to listen to this clown the rest of the season kiss my five season tickets goodbye and I wont renew.
Menzies feels that as long as we get to the tourney, the lackluster season will get erased. He's called the fans out to come to the games but its hard to fill Pan Am when we continue to lose. With a little passion from the coach instead of his aw shucks these kids are so disappointed attitude we could beat rivals and get to the tournament.
If Boston had hired a coach with playing experience we might have a chance to rise above mediocrity. I'm glad Menzies is helping to make these kids good members of society, but he was hired as a basketball coach. His talents would be more suited to the counseling department since he doesn't have what it takes to call a play and get it executed
If the Aggies played with heart in the final minutes of the game it was in spite of Menzies not because of him. The guy is clueless.
It is tough to drop games to our rivals but there is NOTHING greater than winning a conference tournament and going to the NCAA tournament. That's a national level accomplishment. It spans WAY beyond I-10 and I-25. Bottom line.
I hope the fans in Cruces still show up to support these student athletes who, this year, have got it done in the classroom and have stayed out of trouble with the law.
Keep your heads high Aggies. We'll be fine come Feb/March. We always are.
I would much rather get beat this time of year by our rivals and then get better come WAC time.
Sure beating our rivals is good for fan attendence but people need to see beyond that and realize we are still a NCAA tourney team.
its a big country and its not just about beating the teams nearest to yourself
Wow the Aggie shooting in these last few games has just been God Awful! From Layups to jump-shots, they are missing everything. Gordo threw up two of the worst looking corner 3 pointers I have ever seen. One of them was 3 feet from even hitting rim. I am extremely concerned that these guys won't win many games because they just don't have a pure shooter. Unfortunately Wendell won't fix this problem either. You can be the most Athletic team i the World, but if you can't throw the ball in the hole, you are not going to win games! - Frustrated Aggie
Tim Floyd is not the only one to out coach Marvin Menzo...a volunteer YMCA coach can out coach him too!!
Watching Marvin coach is like watching a skit fom Comedy Central! It's a flat out joke.
3-11 rivalry record.
Coming up, 3-13 a week from today!
Is it Football season yet?
At least Coach Walker has a 2-2 rivalry record!
The 3-11 record versus our rivals is a reason why attendance is down. Most of the time, the games versus unm and utep are intense. Local fans want the Aggies to be competitive, play defense, and win at home. Since Menzies became the head coach this has not happened. He has said that he cares about conference play. I think with that type of outlook he has lost many fans. Yeah the WAC wins are great but our community wants NMSU to beat unm and utep. It seems every year starts the same way with the same excuses. It's getting old.
I am trying to be positive but the product (Aggie Basketball) is not very good right now.
Freshman.
Bad free throw shooting.
Terrible zone on hot shooter.
Too much yakking, not enough playing.
Terrible outside shooting.
No offensive game plan.
Loose ball handling.
Miss anything?
I'm kind of sick of hearing about the Aggies youth. Injuries are a legit excuse at this point and they were against UTEP. I'll even give them the road trip as an excuse last week.
But youth? I'm not buying it.
Let's see. Gillenwater and Rahman are redshirt juniors, meaning they've been on campus for four years. Castillo is a senior. Laroche has started every game at point guard for the past two years. Tyrone Watson had a redshirt year.
Was UTEP the more experienced team? Certainly. But it's not like the Aggies are sending players out who have no idea about college basketball. Chili, CK and Bandja Sy are the only "young" contributors and I would venture to say that CK doesn't play like a freshman and will continue to get better. Nephawe is what he is at this point and will continue to improve his skill level and I'm worried Sy might be a miss but he's only a sophomore.
Another year with a slow start. I was encouraged by the play of Kabongo in particular. I think this team will start coming together when conference play arrives. This games was a dissapointment because it was winnable. Somebody besides TG has too hit the big shot. When the Aggies finally put it together and make a run Gordo airballs a wide open trey from the corner that would have cut the lead to three. After this miss they are in scramble mode down the stretch instead of surging on the momentum of the run.
Aggie Fans,
Please stay home and do not attend anymore Aggie BB games until Marvin Menzo is fired!!
The lack of attendance will hurt the Athletic Depts. pockets in a big way.
This will force the Boston Cartel to fire Marvin Menzo and bring in a real coach that can compete against our rivals!!
The rival games are what get Aggie fans going. You have to win games to get fans. In our eyes these are two teams we want to beat most. If we can beat them then WAC play will be easy.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Can you say I TOLD YOU SOOOOOO!!!!!!! WOOF WOOF WOOF!! Cant wait to see how mad you fans get when you get swept by your northern rival!! Its gonna get nasty down in Las Cruces after we stomp you twice! Well at least you can average 2,000 fans which should compete with your girls team lol! REMEMBER EVERYONE'S A LOBO WOOF WOOF WOOF!!
Yeah, Kabongo's 13 pts was solid. Don't see how Larouche can go from missing no shots to having the shooting night he had. Sy is spacing himself on breaks extremely well. Yes, there were bad misses but you keep shooting because a couple of trey's from Bandja and Gordo did not miss by much at all. Aggies had 7 more shots attempted for the game compared to UTEP and just one or two of those go in and we're looking forward to Saturday - not boycotting the Pan Am. I'll pass judgement when I see who dominates the boards on Saturday because Aggies owned a fairly long UTEP squad while UTEP was ahead. During the Aggies comeback the Miners were willing to scrap a little harder. Why would I boycott the games when I can see a great tilt like that live? What's anon 1:54's point - - if the games aren't twenty-point blowouts for the Aggies then Menzies is no good as a coach? I don't want to pay to see blowouts either. I was proud to see those guys claw back to within two despite all the calls the refs missed.
Troy's T was just something he said to McCulley right in front of Kelly Self. Oops! I guarantee that one or the intentional foul preventing RC from tomahawking a dunk didn't lose the game. Those are the kind fouls that inspired the team to show their heart instead of lying down. At least there wasn't 1 of 5 and 2 of 4 stat line with 5 rebs in 21 mins from Rahman in a 17 pt loss like Gm 1. I'd pay money to see him and Chili at practice from here on out.
Anonymous said...
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Can you say I TOLD YOU SOOOOOO!!!!!!! WOOF WOOF WOOF!! Cant wait to see how mad you fans get when you get swept by your northern rival!! Its gonna get nasty down in Las Cruces after we stomp you twice! Well at least you can average 2,000 fans which should compete with your girls team lol! REMEMBER EVERYONE'S A LOBO WOOF WOOF WOOF!!
December 1, 2010 3:51 PM
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Where were you during football season. Yeah, hiding behind your dog house like you little woof woofs do. 2-22 record over two seasons and you think you got something to say? Ha.
Yeah, the Lobos looked really good getting blown out by that "powerhouse" Cal by 25 points...lol I live down the road from the Texas Longhorns, come to Texas and see how tough the Lobos are...the Lobos could never compete with someone like Texas. As bad as the Aggies are, they will probably beat UNM in Las Cruces.
I don't like people calling Aggie fans "finicky" and others making it appear that fans have to choose between conference success or non-conference wins. A solid team is steady the entire season. I have never, ever in my 40 years of life heard of this crazy talk in Las Cruces. Menzies is actually trying to brainwash people to believe that good teams only care about conference play. In a conference like the WAC, non-conference games are equal to, maybe even more important than conference games. The Aggies can't count on winning the WAC tourney every year to make it to the NCAA...quality wins over schools like UTEP, UNM and USC can get the Aggies an at large bid. Menzies is an awful coach and it's finally starting to show. I agree with the person that suggested everyone should stay home and don't attend games..it's the only way to get Menzies out of Las Cruces.
There is nothing wrong with expecting a competitive team that dominates or equals the two regional rivals and is typcially in the hunt for a conference title. Rival and conference games are both important. Winning our rival games will result in excitment and good attendance at conference games, which translates to revenue. Winning our conference and making the NCAA tourney will result in exposure and reputation, which should help with recruiting. This also translates to more revenue.
This truly is now MM's team - all his recruits. I was very impressed with what he accomplished at the end of last season, but otherwise have been very dissapointed. I'm rooting for him to succeed, but not expecting it. I predict a Loobs (sp intentional) sweep, and quite possibly two blow-outs w/o WM. I hope I'm wrong. Go Ags!
-Aggie Glare
I Love all the id!ots who proclaim that Marvin should be fired. Boycott this and Boycott that! Where were all of you when NMSU was 3 points away from upsetting a final-four team Michigan State in the Big Dance!! This team literally lost 3 of it's best 4 players in JY, Gibson, and Wendell. It's going to take some time for this team to adjust! For those of you that can't understand that; GET A CLUE!! Go Aggies!
Low-blow boy returns?
Bring cheerleaders, bro'
Tim Floyd outcoached Marvelous Marv:
Yes, in fact he should outcoach most everybody in C-USA and the nation for that matter given his pedigree, the salary he commands, and the hype surrounding the T Floyd "aura." It doesn't take a genius though to decide to take the ball right at Chili in the second half. They pulled the same stunt on Michigan and Britten/Portapottylatin racked up repeated fouls as did Polk and McCulley at Pan Am. I really like how Chili didn't back down and neither did N'doye. Okay, Watson got 4 fouls but he was playing like a man possessed from the opening whistle and even the misses from the line showed how he was putting the team on his back and carrying NMSU. T Floyd was cool, though. Calls that went against UTEP down in that corner you saw him agree witht the ref. Later when the ref didn't see, he didn't ask for help he just gave the ball to UTEP. Little things like that win a two-point game.
ok BRO!!! lol! maybe we should play your cheerleaders and you guys will have a better chance!! O i cant wait til we smash you guys!!! Wait it will be ok because you guys are young and McKines is hurt right???? WOOF WOOF WOOF
Anonymous said...
ok BRO!!! lol! maybe we should play your cheerleaders and you guys will have a better chance!! O i cant wait til we smash you guys!!! Wait it will be ok because you guys are young and McKines is hurt right???? WOOF WOOF WOOF
December 2, 2010 2:19 PM
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Where were you after your the slobos go clocked during football season?
Yeah, woof woof. whine. whine.
The only person that is an idiot is the one using the word idiot in the first place...you get a clue..Menzies is a horrible coach and "old" people like me that have spent a whole lifetime spending money to support NM State athletics have every right to voice their opinion. That's the whole purpose of this blog..to give opinons..duh
Anon 4:26
I will give you that all day long about our football team! You can talk all the smack you want about them and I will agree they suck and yes you guys did beat us which makes us worse than you guys and guess what.. were gonna suck again next year because we will have the same coach!! Now what???? So back to basketball season......... WOOF WOOF WOOF
Yeah the whole point is to give your opinion w/o anybody identifying who you are, don't forget. If you just want to bash the coach, people aren't interested in reading that repeatedly. If you've been watching the Aggies since their Final Four heyday then you must have some statements to make on the X's and O's and not just writing the players and coaches off as worthless.
btw, JG - I would never post this on Teddy's blog but as far as Walker needing more recruiting dollars, NM should cut NMSU football before they cut teachers and teacher retirement - bottom line. Henson used to drive around in Mississippi in a Volkswagen if you believe his account in "Winning at Illinois," which I think we can!
A Lobo at their Championship golf course was licking his ball. My Aggie buddy says, If I could do that I'd never stop. I told him, if you even got near him that Lobo would bite you! woof, woof, cough, choke, puke ...
The DAMN COLLEGE Basketball season STARTS in EARLY NOVEMBER,,,,,,NOT Early JANUARY!!!!! Wake the HELL up MENZIES!!!! If you want to Coach teams that start their BB season in Jan,,,,go to the Middle School Level. Middle School Basketball season is from Jan.15 thru Mar.15
Anon 11:46 am - Why, I haven't heard language like that since the south end Pan Am student section Tues night! Marvin doesn't read drivel from you clowns on this blog, he's busy molding young men into bigger, stronger more respectful gentlemen than you appear to be, sir (or ma'am, excuse me)! How about yelling your insults from behind the home team bench tomorrow night and he might be able to hear you. That is if your mom lets you stay out that late on Saturdays after your middle school game.
I know he's only one player but the reality is that if Wendell Mckines is on the court in these early games this year, the Aggies are 5-2 instead of 2-5. He's that influential. He's the vocal leader, the emotional leader, the energy leader, and the team leader. His absence has hurt the team, bad. He just one of those players that makes a team confidence level go way up.
To answer your question Mr. Groves, I don't really mind if we only win one or two of our four yearly rivalry games. I would rather see our team develop throughout the year. I believe we can lose to our rivals and still have a 20+ win season. To me, it's great to beat utep and unm but we have goals that are more important (winning our conference, either regular season or tournament, and going dancing). It's not the end of the world if we lose to the miners or lobos. Sure, you have to deal with the bragging by your family members or friends who support the other team, but that's more bearable than not going anywhere in March.
I think the people criticizing the team and coach need to understand the game a little more. To use some Psychological terms here, they are using their id, their pleasure principle. They want wins and they want it now. I know expectations were really high (top 25, TG-Postseason All American status, etc.) but it is not a reason to write off the team after 7 games. Are we the Miami Heat or something??? Please, think maturely and rationally. Some of these people's comments make me laugh and make me sad at the same time. Some of these comments are ignorant, others are just flat out jaw dropping. I have no idea why people want Coach Menzies out. 60 wins in 3 seasons (2nd all time for Aggie coaches in their first 3 years, Henson had 62), Two 20+ winning seasons (Ties Coach Henson as the only Aggie coach in the first 3 years to do that), two conference finals appearances, one semi-finals appearance. Sounds like a pretty good three years. Plus I do not know where anybody gets the thought that you had to have played basketball to coach basketball. Yes he's calmer than Mr. Theus, but he is not lazy. He has a great basketball mind. Relax people, we have a great coach. Please, think before you speak! Use your cabeza and look at what this program has done since we had a changing of the guard. Thank You! haha, that's funny how a 17 year old is telling adults to their head XD
JG -
Thanks for the article focusing on #33. Even the best all-around player in the WAC - I agree it's a toss up with Adrian Oliver - is human. The stakes and pressure on this guy are enormous. I'd bet he remembers the lane violation in the Michigan State game as much as the fact that he just about single-handedly earned the right to play Maryland Terps in the next round. Anyway, I hope your article signals that Troy's bring his lunch pail to go to work and Marvin's going to him early and often tonite! Obviously Alford intends to double him down low but Watson, Sy, CK, Laroche should do well cutting to the rim from the weak side when they double. BEAT Lobos!
Keith- really? ...you're 17 years old? Look, right before tip off with the Lobos is no time to be mature or rational, first of all.
Yes, it is the end of the world, which is what sets quote unquote rivalry games apart. Curious however that the sun came up on Wednesday morning?
Other than that, what you wrote is the most intelligent posting I've seen outside of Teddy's blog in quite some time. Way to substantiate your position with hard, cold facts!
IMO, you've more than earned the right to address the blog host as JGro in the parlance of the day and can dispense with the too formal, Mr. Groves! Keep feeding us numbers, kid! Theus has a good tailor but George Karl will never give him a reference to coach/mentor young men...
Rival games are huge! It would be one thing if we lost but were the only team to make the tourney, but when UTEP and UNM both make the tourney too then why can't the locals get mad that we can't compete with the rivals? It would be forgiven if we made a run in the tourney but if all 3 exit at the same point, then I ask the same question, why shouldnt we get upset when we can't get at least a split? Plus our non coference home attendence is usually pretty weak, and that becomes a bigger problem when you don't win the first home rivalry game. It's even worse when you ride a 5 game losing streak!
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