Aggies coach Marvin Menzies said that freshman point guard Terrance Joyner has been cleared to practice on Saturday. I hope to talk with Terrance in the next couple of days. However, practice and playing are two different things. While it is possible he could be eligible to play on Sunday, I think the soonest you could see him in uniform will be next week vs. Prairie View. Grades become official on the 16th I believe, but anything is possible. If he is cleared to play I will let you know.
Also, Menzies said the Aggies are in the planning stages for a road game at UCLA next year.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Kansas
From reading various things lastnight and today I learned a couple things that were hard to determine listening to the game on the radio.
I think Aldrich being in foul trouble early on contributed to the fact that game didn't turn the way it ended up until the second half. Rebounding continues to be an issue for the Aggies. I think that their forwards are their best rebounders and hopefully one of their centers will assert themselves on the boards as the season goes on.Finally, the Aggies have proven that they can score and that should carry them in the WAC if their rebounding doesn't pick up. The 79 points they scored tied for the fourth most scored at Allen Fieldhouse in Bill Self's six years at KU. Score there and they can score anywhere
I think Aldrich being in foul trouble early on contributed to the fact that game didn't turn the way it ended up until the second half. Rebounding continues to be an issue for the Aggies. I think that their forwards are their best rebounders and hopefully one of their centers will assert themselves on the boards as the season goes on.Finally, the Aggies have proven that they can score and that should carry them in the WAC if their rebounding doesn't pick up. The 79 points they scored tied for the fourth most scored at Allen Fieldhouse in Bill Self's six years at KU. Score there and they can score anywhere
Monday, December 1, 2008
Discipline
This term could mean a lot of things for the men's basketball team this season, both in tough game situations and in the way Coach Menzies is handling his players this season.
First regarding Menzies, I think he did the right thing sitting Gabriel and Gibson for Sunday's game. Both are likely to return to the lineup on Wednesday at Kansas. Did it cost him the game? It's likely the Aggies wouldn't have been in the situation they found themselves in, losing on the road, with Gibson on the floor. But Menzies had already set a precedent earlier this season and to back off that now with a group of young guys could have cost him down the road. It sends a strong message that he is willing to sit a starter for not being where they are supposed to be.
On the court, it was good the Aggies got a close game in. The Aggie women for example, lost a couple close games before they learned how to win one the other night. Maybe against Kansas, but certainly against North Texas on Saturday, the Long Beach game will pay dividends as far as coming out on top in some of these close games.
First regarding Menzies, I think he did the right thing sitting Gabriel and Gibson for Sunday's game. Both are likely to return to the lineup on Wednesday at Kansas. Did it cost him the game? It's likely the Aggies wouldn't have been in the situation they found themselves in, losing on the road, with Gibson on the floor. But Menzies had already set a precedent earlier this season and to back off that now with a group of young guys could have cost him down the road. It sends a strong message that he is willing to sit a starter for not being where they are supposed to be.
On the court, it was good the Aggies got a close game in. The Aggie women for example, lost a couple close games before they learned how to win one the other night. Maybe against Kansas, but certainly against North Texas on Saturday, the Long Beach game will pay dividends as far as coming out on top in some of these close games.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Road trip
This next week we will learn a lot about the Aggies. Up to this point their schedule has been perfect for their team, playing a couple of teams at home who they were more talented than and blowing them out and a confidence builder at USC. But even though the Kansas game is the marquee game on the schedule, I think the games the Aggies will get the most from are Long Beach and North Texas, both teams that should match up with the Aggies better than Pepperdine or UC Riverside. The North Texas game is what I'm looking forward to. For obvious reasons the Aggies will be fired up for that game but it will also be their third game on the road in six straight days on the road as the team left on Wednesday and will not return to Las Cruces until Sunday so fatigue, maybe mental more than physical could be an issue and North Texas is good. The have some solid big men and are led by their guards which seem to be their most experienced group. If they come home 2-1 on the trip I will be very impressed and if they happen to be 3-0, I will have to re evaluate my preseason expectations for the team early on.
Also, one thing that Coach Menzies talked about was he compared the three games to what they could see in the WAC. Hear me out. He compared going to Kansas like going to Nevada or Utah State, hostile environments with good teams, and the other two as going to middle of the road WAC schools like Boise or Fresno, where the fans show up and make it tough on the visitors. The man is all about getting ready for WAC play.
Also, one thing that Coach Menzies talked about was he compared the three games to what they could see in the WAC. Hear me out. He compared going to Kansas like going to Nevada or Utah State, hostile environments with good teams, and the other two as going to middle of the road WAC schools like Boise or Fresno, where the fans show up and make it tough on the visitors. The man is all about getting ready for WAC play.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Attendance
Aggies players and head coach Marvin Menzies all talked about attendance figures in the first two games of the season. I'm writing a little story on it for Monday's paper, but I wanted to see what the general feeling from you is. Are you disappointed in the attendance? I wouldn't say Menzies or the players are, but they certainly notice when the crowd doesn't show up, more so because of the energy that it gives them than anything else. Even last year, I remember Justin Hawkins making a couple pleas for fans to show up on more of a regular basis. This is only my second year seeing Aggie home games but from my understanding, the atmosphere isn't what it was even prior to the Theus era.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Women's hoops at UTEP
With last season's success came a contract extension for the head coach and higher expectations surrounding the women's team. There is certainly frustration surrounding the team's loss last Sunday but a win at UTEP, even though the Miners are still trying to figure things out, is what the Aggies need. A loss could hurt this group that is still searching for leadership and identity.
Coming into the season, I thought the team's strengths was its guards, and from reading Teddy Feinberg's story today, it sounds like Darin Spence is going to head in that direction. I thought that Fresno State was kind of ahead of the curve last year with their up and down style of play, playing small and creating mismatches and the Aggies were one of the few teams that could adjust to that type of style so we will see how it pans out, but in order to do so, they need to develop a Sherell Neal type of player who rebounds and can defend the post. Freshman Tabytha Wampler could be that person and it would be interesting to see how Erica Sanchez responds.
Both teams are well coached so I'm sure both games will be competitive.
Coming into the season, I thought the team's strengths was its guards, and from reading Teddy Feinberg's story today, it sounds like Darin Spence is going to head in that direction. I thought that Fresno State was kind of ahead of the curve last year with their up and down style of play, playing small and creating mismatches and the Aggies were one of the few teams that could adjust to that type of style so we will see how it pans out, but in order to do so, they need to develop a Sherell Neal type of player who rebounds and can defend the post. Freshman Tabytha Wampler could be that person and it would be interesting to see how Erica Sanchez responds.
Both teams are well coached so I'm sure both games will be competitive.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Menzies conversation
I listened to the Aggies/USC game on the radio and the same things stood out to me that you probably noticed. I spoke to Coach Menzies after the game about what he thought.
I asked him about the bench, which had a good outing. Robert Lumpkins hit a couple 3s, Wendell McKines had seven boards in limited action due to foul trouble and Gordo Castillo had a couple steals and hit a three.
"Both of those guys (Castillo and Lumpkins) gave us good minutes in that atmosphere. Robert hadn't played any minutes in that kind of intense atmosphere maybe in his life and he responded."
What stood out for Menzies the most it seemed was that his young players played young at critical times. He said his players acted surprised when they were trapped and that they took ill advised shots and went to the wrong spots at ties in the half court. I was looking at the play by play sheet, and there was one stretch where they were down 57-51 with 8:09 left but they didnt score again until the 4:54 mark. They turned it over on their next two possessions, Gibson missed a 3, followed by another turnover and another missed 3 from Young.
"All of our mistakes were tiny mistakes where guys would get caught looking at the ball instead of moving and realizing that the first option is going to be there everytime. It's just a matter of maturing and being more patient."
Menzies also knows his team needs to do a better job rebounding (USC 50-35 on the boards), but said USC was more athletic than they looked on film. He added that he was encouraged that the halftiime deficit was only 10 considering USC was 10 of 16 from the foul line in the first half. USC was 26 of 36 from the line for the game while NMSU had 18 attempts at the foul line.
I asked him about the bench, which had a good outing. Robert Lumpkins hit a couple 3s, Wendell McKines had seven boards in limited action due to foul trouble and Gordo Castillo had a couple steals and hit a three.
"Both of those guys (Castillo and Lumpkins) gave us good minutes in that atmosphere. Robert hadn't played any minutes in that kind of intense atmosphere maybe in his life and he responded."
What stood out for Menzies the most it seemed was that his young players played young at critical times. He said his players acted surprised when they were trapped and that they took ill advised shots and went to the wrong spots at ties in the half court. I was looking at the play by play sheet, and there was one stretch where they were down 57-51 with 8:09 left but they didnt score again until the 4:54 mark. They turned it over on their next two possessions, Gibson missed a 3, followed by another turnover and another missed 3 from Young.
"All of our mistakes were tiny mistakes where guys would get caught looking at the ball instead of moving and realizing that the first option is going to be there everytime. It's just a matter of maturing and being more patient."
Menzies also knows his team needs to do a better job rebounding (USC 50-35 on the boards), but said USC was more athletic than they looked on film. He added that he was encouraged that the halftiime deficit was only 10 considering USC was 10 of 16 from the foul line in the first half. USC was 26 of 36 from the line for the game while NMSU had 18 attempts at the foul line.
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