Here's the box score in case you haven't seen it yet.
From listening to the Aggies 92-76 win on the radio, sounds like it was a solid overall performance. I asked Troy Gillenwater (career high 30 with 8 boards and five 3s) if Louisiana was sagging and daring them to shoot the 3 (NMSU was 12 of 25 from long range). He said the triples were the result of good movement and the open man hitting the shot. Hernst Laroche didn't miss a shot from the floor, hitting 6 of 6 and 4 of 4 from the arc for a career high 21 to go with 8 assists. Sounds like his offseason paid off the first night out.
The postgame comments from Marvin Menzies challenged the community to come out on Monday. Do you think it will work? I would like to see some better crowds out this year and it figures to increase with the competition they have coming in (Pacific beat UTEP 66-61 at UTEP) and the roster they have back.
13 comments:
Groves why don't you watch the game online? Ya I know its $10 but cant you dip into that sun news money for something like that?
I watched it online and Lafayette was CLEARLY overmatched. Hamidu looked quicker (he ran the court well), Hernst took his shots with confidence, and the Aggie zone/trap was very effective. I also liked Kabongo's ability to handle the pressures of his first college game and Chili looks like he will end up being better than Ham when it's all said and done.
I follow the program VERY closely and I have to admit that I didn't think they'd be as good as they looked last night in their first (road) game. Especially without Wen. Gillenwater is a beast and Banja could be dangerous as he gets more minutes under belt.
Actually, you could've watched it for free at channelsurfing.net (like most games). No need to pay $10.
Liked what I saw...and would've gladly paid to see it.
I don't quite understand what following the program "VERY" closely is supposed to mean..lol. There are lots of die hard NM State fans across the country. I don't live in Las Cruces any more and I am sure I am right up there in all the freaking money I have spent traveling to support them and watch games online, TV, etc. I don't know why there always some wise guy(s) on this blog insinuating that they are the only hardcore supporter(s) of NM State.
I hope the coach remembers that we are a community of 100K. El Paso has 8 times the population of Las Cruces and doesn't regularly fill the Don Haskins Center which is a little smaller than the Pan Am Center. Albuquerque has a population of 500K, around five times that of Las Cruces, and doesn't come close to regularly putting 16K in the Pit.
If Coach Menzies wants a full house, he'll have to make sure the Aggies win games on the order of 25 or 26 wins a season. Starting seasons as they did last year by losing six of the first nine games isn't the way to do it. Winning enough games so the team is a shoe in for an at large bid to the NCAA tourney is another. Ensuring the players are good citizens and students...that might help too.
Anon 7:38.
Nobody was insinuating that at all. Relax man.
Anon at 1256, I realize those are larger cities, but people around town talk about filling the Pan Am under Henson and McCarthy. It's been done before in the area. I agree with you though. Winning games will certainly help matters. While the Lobos may not consistently put 16 thousand in the Pit, I'm sure Menzies would settle for the Lobos home attendance if he had a choice. NMSU drew 5600 last year and those are official numbers. My guess would be nearly half that number and some games were downright empty.
The Pan Am was filled under McCarthy when the Aggies were playing well enough to get at-large bids to the NCAA tourney. In that timeframe, the Aggies were ranked in the Top 20 and played against national champion UNLV. There was an energy from the student body then that permeated the Pan Am.
I have been a season ticket holder for more than 20 years and I don't remember Henson filling the Pan Am during his second stint at head coach. During the early '70s, yes, but the Aggies had a top 10 ranked team.
In recent times, it was Reggie Theus who filled the Pan Am. He recruited a winning team from the get go, which Menzies benefited from after Theus left, but he also brought a certain celebrity to the Pan Am Center. Winning, coupled with Theus' presence, is what filled the Pan Am. Menzies doesn't have the "stage" presence of Theus and will have to rely on his team's play on the court to attract fans.
It would also help if NMSU was just a little better at marketing its sports team. Given NMSU current budget woes and its lack of a decent marketing machine, it's doubtful that there will be any help from the university.
UTEP got 2,000 to attend its Sunday game against Mercer after packing the house Saturday night in their game against Pacific.
Losing your season opener will get you that. Losing in general equates to lower attendance. Win and all will be golden.
menzies also has sorry attitude kids, poor students and jail birds. who in the heck wants to pay to watch that. menzies is a bad used care sales man who wants to reach his hands, along with that idiot boston, in to your pockets and take your money....thats it.
If you've ever been in Logan, UT in winter then you'll know why NMSU will never outdraw the UTags. If it was a lot colder in Las Cruces you could maybe get a better crowd, eh?
First Menzies has to have the team buy-in and then the fans will. It looks like Marvin has done that. Take forced shots out of the equation with the departure of two or three players, suddenly there's an extra pass and 78% shooting against a quick Div I team...are you kidding me? Some fans that maybe felt they had their pockets picked attending an over-hyped NMSU football game may be reluctant to go to Pan Am. Football didn't even spring for fireworks this season. But Menzies is doing his part. Wear the rings proudly, fellas!
Hernst had ice water in his veins from the day he stepped on the court to feed the ball to JY and JGib for their 3-point tries. What was he, 3rd in the WAC last year in assist to TO ratio or something? Hopefully he can keep the assists up but scoring also helps the cause.
Don't forget that the entire center of the west side of the Pan Am from floor to ceiling was at one time reserved for students. The joint fairly rocked then.
Student engagement has been on the decline since that was taken from them.
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