Let me hate a bit more...To all the MM haters. Chew on his success. Who cares what the opponents RPI is, who about the rivalry....Ok I hate losing to UNM....GAWT!!!!I hate them so much. Regardless, he has done such a good job while caring. Think about that.
I was amazed that I actually saw a lot of Aggie bloggers on "other" sites thinking we were going to beat UTA by 20. Did they not see or read about the previous two meetings this year. UTA is a very good defensive team and they have some good distance shooters. That was a good test for us before the tourney I think. Sim is developing into one heck of a player. I really liked seeing him play with emotion last night too. Congrats on getting tourney player Sim! The team overall looked good. Obviously our next opponent, depending on who we draw, will see that we have issues breaking the press. They will also notice that our FT percentage is bad as well. That could've lost us the game last night, but luckily UTA couldn't get the shots to fall. All the predictions I've seen have us as a 13th or 14th seed which will be rough. What we ALL need to remember is that just because we made it to the "Big Dance" we shouldn't be content with it. Our goal needs to be to win a game in the tourney. I've said it before that MM seems to think that we'll be happy with just making it. Well honestly, win those rivaly games, schedule/beat tougher opponents in our pre-conference games and win a game or two in the NCAA's. That's success. With as bad as the WAC looks next year, our pre-conference schedule is ALL that's going to matter. Hopefully the Athletic Dept. and MM are keeping that in mind or we'll be stuck with another 13th/14th seed and a quick one and done. Best of luck Aggies!!!
ok, 4:12...I wanted to leave this alone until after the season is over and the drama and enthusiasm gives way to big picture thinking, but you won't leave it alone, and I am all wired up on green tea so here goes :-)
(Sorry for bringing this up at this joyous moment...4:12 asked for a conversation and I am up for it)
10 minutes no field goal. Something like 3 Ross-Miller turnovers in that time.
3 minutes into the drought, I am wishing for a dose of terrell. 5 minutes in, I am screaming for it. Its obvious that we need a change in point guards. The offense is stalling while the pg dribbles and dribbles and dribbles... 8 minutes in I have given up. Finally Ross-Miller fouls out 9:40 into the drought. Terrell comes in and ends the drought within 20 seconds with a jumper.
Am I a genius? I don't think so. I think that he has been doing that all year. MM said the same...read the sunnews caption about the game. So why oh why did it take so long for him to be put in the game? Why did it take MM being FORCED to put in him the game, because the other pg fouled out...much like earlier in the season when it took Ross-Miller being injured for MM to use Terrell.
Maddening! And this is but one example.
And I have to mention it again. While I am glad we won the tournament, beating Idaho, Texas State, and Arlington is not exactly world beating. Other teams did our heavy lifting for us in an already mediocre conference. Yes, I share your happiness that they won, but temper it with perspective. Maybe I am wrong. We will find out definitively this week when the Aggies play whomever. Maybe it just doesn't matter, and I am some old fart longing for days gone by. :-)
Having said all this, I am happy for the Aggie's success. I will be watching today to see who they play. I will take off from work to watch the game and I will root for my home team. I will also probably pull some of the last remaining hairs out of my head, screaming at the TV at 'curious' substitution patterns....maybe that is just me.
In general I think MM is a nice guy, who cares and has improved as a coach, and maybe that is good enough. I would love to have a full conversation about it with all of you.
Jason, when the year is over, can we have an open discussion about this on this blog. Would be great!
You were screaming for Terrel? Kudos to him for the shot of the game, but prior to that he was having issues just getting the ball across half court. Neither TDR nor KCRM is a complete point guard. Menzies knows- he covered this in his post-game presser.
Lets be honest here. Congrats on the WAC title, BUT does anyone really think NMSU can go beyond one game in the Big Dance????? Not trying to be Debbie Downer just an honest question.
Jones, To be honest I had higher expectations for last years team. It was like they didn't even show up. Regarding this year.........I honestly don't know. If the team that beat La Tech shows up we could beat St. Louis, but turnovers and poor FT percentage are going to kill us. The other issue is lack of consistency. Sy and Mullings have been up and down all year. I honestly think we can win against St. Louis, but it MUST be a team effort. Sim can't carry the team by himself. St. Louis has also been on a run themselves and they have a lot to play for. I'm just hoping for a good game that we can be proud of.
Anon 8:29, I know that people are saying that NMSU is just an average ballclub and needs to win a game in the NCAA's to become better. The same people will say after they win one game that they need to win 2 games to not be mediocre. Maybe those people are correct but I don't think so. Can they win Thursday? I hope so but I think the most important point is they have the Opportunity to win in the NCAA's. Ask the La Tech, Denver, Tennessee, Alabama, Southern Miss, etc. people if they would change places with The Aggies. The UTA coach was saying the best part of the season was making the NCAA tourney like they did in their previous league. Let the March Madness continue and enjoy the trip.
Jones: I think the Aggies will have a tough time with St. Louis. That said, at least this year none of the prognosticators is saying the NMSU is a dark horse and a team that will give other teams a hard time. That is in our favor. Also, I'd rather the Aggies go one-and-done in the NCAAs instead of sitting at home like UTEP.
KCRM vs Terrell...I am fine with KCRM but I think we should be seeing Terrell sooner than later. Get him in the first 8 minutes to change things up a bit.
Happy the Aggies made it to the dance. One concern i have, and will doom this team is their FT shooting. If it's a close game this will cost them. But, anything can happen.
Groves, can you post details on what time game starts and what channels we can see the game on Thursday? Lots of conflicting times going around. So stoked and excited to see NMSU on the national stage!!!!
Only in the LC do fans moan about the coach AFTER he gives us back to back WAC Championships and trips to the NCAA Tourney. People like Alan who cant seem to accept the fact that the Aggies can have success. I just dont get what on Earth you can complain about. Im gonna ask a question bc really I dont know what else you have against him, is it bc Menzies is black? Would you be less vocal if a white coach was in charge? You say others did the heavy lifting for us, in a tournament you beat whoever you draw. Its a mediocre conference but Menzies cant exactly get us into a better one by himself. All he can do is beat the teams he faces and win the conference he is in. WIN! He has done that and that is all that we should be discussing now.
Jesus, Seriously??? You're pulling the race card because a lot of us don't like MM? What a crock. I loved Reggie's passion and drive. Oh, wait a minute, isn't he also African American? MM doesn't inspire any excitement from the fans. He's a nice guy who's disconnected from his fan base. Maybe he still hasn't adjusted from the Pitino environment where fat cats were an integral part of the athletic program. Las Cruces fans are just common folks who enjoy watching our basketball team. Many of us don't have spare $$ to donate. So maybe that's why we never connected to MM. By the way, I don't like AD Boston either, not because of his race, but because of his arrogance and dismissive attitude. But I guess it's easier for someone like you to pull the untouchable race card rather than look at different opinions objectively.
Like I said, I only bring up him being black bc I dont see what else you can argue over. You say that you just dont connect with him and that is why poeple dont get excited over it. Okay then, why is Coach Walker no longer here? He connected with people and hell he even slept in Garcia Hall the first night he was here. I dont think people connecting with him created more excitement and it certainly didnt lead to the team winning. You can say whatever you want about Menzies but at the end of the day he wins. How can you argue with him accomplishing something that hadnt been done in over 10 years in the WAC and never in NMSU history?
That being said, no one else is giving us much of a chance against St. Louis. I think that the fact that they are not a very recognizable name makes us believe that we can win. It will be a tough game basing off of who they have played and beat. I mean they beat UNM and we lost to them twice. Hopefully we can pull something out but Bandja and Mullings need to be ready.
Thanks for handling that. Jesus what are you thinking? I'm not even going to entertain your ridiculous comments. Obviously you haven't paid any attention to MM's management of games or lack there of over that past few years. Just getting to the NCAA tourney is NOT what we should hope for. Winning a game or two is what we should be aiming for. As for the comments Anon 9:24 made, La Tech, Tenn, Ala, Kentucky, etc lost. They ALL blew it! Who cares what they think! If you're not on your game when the conferences tournaments come along you're gonna lose. Just ask Liberty. They are getting joked about because they've lost 20 games. Well guess what, they rose to the occasion Charleston Southern choked as did La Tech and Denver. It's unknowns like that which put the Madness in March. At least the NCAA got that right. They killed football for us.
As for St. Louis, several of you mentioned that we're not the topic of conversation like last year. Hearing how we were going to beat IU last year was probably a factor in our loss. This year NO ONE is talking about us. All I've heard is how SLU is going to the Elite 8 or better. I'm looking forward to the game and I hope the Aggies, especially MM prepare for it. Good luck Aggies!!!!
Let us watch what happens against a team with the kind of RPI we should be playing against at least 10 times a year. Lets see how it goes.
Saint Louis will be a good test for MM.
We have talent and height over them. This should be a pretty even matchup based on those two factors alone. Lets see how it goes.
Jason, PLEASE let us explicitly discuss this subject once the season is over! There are a few topics here and they are getting mashed up together.
One is the conference we play in, and the other is the quality of MM coaching.
I contend that the level of play in the conference has slid to such a degree that it masks coaching deficiencies. We are all lucky enough to get the chance to see if this is correct thursday!
I hope I'm wrong. Go MM, Go Aggies!
by the way, if MM is indeed a good coach, we still need to talk about the quality of competition and what to do about the weak tea conference we will be faced with NEXT YEAR!
anon 135. I'm sorry the topics are getting mashed up together. It seems that regardless of the post, there is always one or two negative or positive comments about Menzies. I have a couple entries today and tomorrow that will hopefully steer the conversation toward Thursday.
What I am hoping for after the season is over is a full conversation about: a) the coach b) the conference situation.
It is clear from all these posts that many are not satisfied merely with a berth to the big dance. I think that is positive. We know we can win the WAC year after year the way it is currently constituted.
Where we go from here is a great question!
anon: 1:35 aka Alan (sorry, forgot to sign my name on that last post :-))
21 comments:
Let me hate a bit more...To all the MM haters. Chew on his success. Who cares what the opponents RPI is, who about the rivalry....Ok I hate losing to UNM....GAWT!!!!I hate them so much. Regardless, he has done such a good job while caring. Think about that.
I was amazed that I actually saw a lot of Aggie bloggers on "other" sites thinking we were going to beat UTA by 20. Did they not see or read about the previous two meetings this year. UTA is a very good defensive team and they have some good distance shooters. That was a good test for us before the tourney I think.
Sim is developing into one heck of a player. I really liked seeing him play with emotion last night too. Congrats on getting tourney player Sim! The team overall looked good. Obviously our next opponent, depending on who we draw, will see that we have issues breaking the press. They will also notice that our FT percentage is bad as well. That could've lost us the game last night, but luckily UTA couldn't get the shots to fall.
All the predictions I've seen have us as a 13th or 14th seed which will be rough.
What we ALL need to remember is that just because we made it to the "Big Dance" we shouldn't be content with it. Our goal needs to be to win a game in the tourney. I've said it before that MM seems to think that we'll be happy with just making it. Well honestly, win those rivaly games, schedule/beat tougher opponents in our pre-conference games and win a game or two in the NCAA's. That's success. With as bad as the WAC looks next year, our pre-conference schedule is ALL that's going to matter. Hopefully the Athletic Dept. and MM are keeping that in mind or we'll be stuck with another 13th/14th seed and a quick one and done.
Best of luck Aggies!!!
JH
ok, 4:12...I wanted to leave this alone until after the season is over and the drama and enthusiasm gives way to big picture thinking, but you won't leave it alone, and I am all wired up on green tea so here goes :-)
(Sorry for bringing this up at this joyous moment...4:12 asked for a conversation and I am up for it)
10 minutes no field goal. Something like 3 Ross-Miller turnovers in that time.
3 minutes into the drought, I am wishing for a dose of terrell. 5 minutes in, I am screaming for it. Its obvious that we need a change in point guards. The offense is stalling while the pg dribbles and dribbles and dribbles... 8 minutes in I have given up. Finally Ross-Miller fouls out 9:40 into the drought. Terrell comes in and ends the drought within 20 seconds with a jumper.
Am I a genius? I don't think so. I think that he has been doing that all year. MM said the same...read the sunnews caption about the game. So why oh why did it take so long for him to be put in the game? Why did it take MM being FORCED to put in him the game, because the other pg fouled out...much like earlier in the season when it took Ross-Miller being injured for MM to use Terrell.
Maddening! And this is but one example.
And I have to mention it again. While I am glad we won the tournament, beating Idaho, Texas State, and Arlington is not exactly world beating. Other teams did our heavy lifting for us in an already mediocre conference. Yes, I share your happiness that they won, but temper it with perspective. Maybe I am wrong. We will find out definitively this week when the Aggies play whomever. Maybe it just doesn't matter, and I am some old fart longing for days gone by. :-)
Having said all this, I am happy for the Aggie's success. I will be watching today to see who they play. I will take off from work to watch the game and I will root for my home team. I will also probably pull some of the last remaining hairs out of my head, screaming at the TV at 'curious' substitution patterns....maybe that is just me.
In general I think MM is a nice guy, who cares and has improved as a coach, and maybe that is good enough. I would love to have a full conversation about it with all of you.
Jason, when the year is over, can we have an open discussion about this on this blog. Would be great!
Alan
You were screaming for Terrel? Kudos to him for the shot of the game, but prior to that he was having issues just getting the ball across half court. Neither TDR nor KCRM is a complete point guard. Menzies knows- he covered this in his post-game presser.
Jb
thanks Jb..
I know both have their issues. Also KCRM has his gifts (free throw shooting, for example...)
Alan
Lets be honest here. Congrats on the WAC title, BUT does anyone really think NMSU can go beyond one game in the Big Dance????? Not trying to be Debbie Downer just an honest question.
Can it be done and is this the year?
Panamaniac Jones
Jones,
To be honest I had higher expectations for last years team. It was like they didn't even show up.
Regarding this year.........I honestly don't know. If the team that beat La Tech shows up we could beat St. Louis, but turnovers and poor FT percentage are going to kill us. The other issue is lack of consistency. Sy and Mullings have been up and down all year. I honestly think we can win against St. Louis, but it MUST be a team effort. Sim can't carry the team by himself. St. Louis has also been on a run themselves and they have a lot to play for. I'm just hoping for a good game that we can be proud of.
JH
Anon 8:29, I know that people are saying that NMSU is just an average ballclub and needs to win a game in the NCAA's to become better. The same people will say after they win one game that they need to win 2 games to not be mediocre. Maybe those people are correct but I don't think so. Can they win Thursday? I hope so but I think the most important point is they have the Opportunity to win in the NCAA's. Ask the La Tech, Denver, Tennessee, Alabama, Southern Miss, etc. people if they would change places with The Aggies. The UTA coach was saying the best part of the season was making the NCAA tourney like they did in their previous league. Let the March Madness continue and enjoy the trip.
Jones: I think the Aggies will have a tough time with St. Louis. That said, at least this year none of the prognosticators is saying the NMSU is a dark horse and a team that will give other teams a hard time. That is in our favor. Also, I'd rather the Aggies go one-and-done in the NCAAs instead of sitting at home like UTEP.
KCRM vs Terrell...I am fine with KCRM but I think we should be seeing Terrell sooner than later. Get him in the first 8 minutes to change things up a bit.
Any news on Watson?
Happy the Aggies made it to the dance. One concern i have, and will doom this team is their FT shooting. If it's a close game this will cost them. But, anything can happen.
Groves, can you post details on what time game starts and what channels we can see the game on Thursday? Lots of conflicting times going around.
So stoked and excited to see NMSU on the national stage!!!!
Lets go Aggies!!!
Only in the LC do fans moan about the coach AFTER he gives us back to back WAC Championships and trips to the NCAA Tourney. People like Alan who cant seem to accept the fact that the Aggies can have success. I just dont get what on Earth you can complain about. Im gonna ask a question bc really I dont know what else you have against him, is it bc Menzies is black? Would you be less vocal if a white coach was in charge? You say others did the heavy lifting for us, in a tournament you beat whoever you draw. Its a mediocre conference but Menzies cant exactly get us into a better one by himself. All he can do is beat the teams he faces and win the conference he is in. WIN! He has done that and that is all that we should be discussing now.
Jesus
Amen, Jesus.
Jesus,
Seriously??? You're pulling the race card because a lot of us don't like MM? What a crock. I loved Reggie's passion and drive. Oh, wait a minute, isn't he also African American? MM doesn't inspire any excitement from the fans. He's a nice guy who's disconnected from his fan base. Maybe he still hasn't adjusted from the Pitino environment where fat cats were an integral part of the athletic program. Las Cruces fans are just common folks who enjoy watching our basketball team. Many of us don't have spare $$ to donate. So maybe that's why we never connected to MM. By the way, I don't like AD Boston either, not because of his race, but because of his arrogance and dismissive attitude. But I guess it's easier for someone like you to pull the untouchable race card rather than look at different opinions objectively.
Jesus, that is pretty funny stuff considering that I myself am a person of color.
But whatever.
I agree. Let's just talk about the team we are about to face...Saint Louis.
When the season is over, let us revisit the conversation.
Alan
Like I said, I only bring up him being black bc I dont see what else you can argue over. You say that you just dont connect with him and that is why poeple dont get excited over it. Okay then, why is Coach Walker no longer here? He connected with people and hell he even slept in Garcia Hall the first night he was here. I dont think people connecting with him created more excitement and it certainly didnt lead to the team winning. You can say whatever you want about Menzies but at the end of the day he wins. How can you argue with him accomplishing something that hadnt been done in over 10 years in the WAC and never in NMSU history?
That being said, no one else is giving us much of a chance against St. Louis. I think that the fact that they are not a very recognizable name makes us believe that we can win. It will be a tough game basing off of who they have played and beat. I mean they beat UNM and we lost to them twice. Hopefully we can pull something out but Bandja and Mullings need to be ready.
Jesus
Alan and Anon 9:25,
Thanks for handling that. Jesus what are you thinking? I'm not even going to entertain your ridiculous comments. Obviously you haven't paid any attention to MM's management of games or lack there of over that past few years. Just getting to the NCAA tourney is NOT what we should hope for. Winning a game or two is what we should be aiming for. As for the comments Anon 9:24 made, La Tech, Tenn, Ala, Kentucky, etc lost. They ALL blew it! Who cares what they think! If you're not on your game when the conferences tournaments come along you're gonna lose. Just ask Liberty. They are getting joked about because they've lost 20 games. Well guess what, they rose to the occasion Charleston Southern choked as did La Tech and Denver. It's unknowns like that which put the Madness in March. At least the NCAA got that right. They killed football for us.
As for St. Louis, several of you mentioned that we're not the topic of conversation like last year. Hearing how we were going to beat IU last year was probably a factor in our loss. This year NO ONE is talking about us. All I've heard is how SLU is going to the Elite 8 or better. I'm looking forward to the game and I hope the Aggies, especially MM prepare for it.
Good luck Aggies!!!!
JH
Jesus,
Its not the time for this discussion.
Let us watch what happens against a team with the kind of RPI we should be playing against at least 10 times a year. Lets see how it goes.
Saint Louis will be a good test for MM.
We have talent and height over them. This should be a pretty even matchup based on those two factors alone. Lets see how it goes.
Jason, PLEASE let us explicitly discuss this subject once the season is over! There are a few topics here and they are getting mashed up together.
One is the conference we play in, and the other is the quality of MM coaching.
I contend that the level of play in the conference has slid to such a degree that it masks coaching deficiencies. We are all lucky enough to get the chance to see if this is correct thursday!
I hope I'm wrong. Go MM, Go Aggies!
by the way, if MM is indeed a good coach, we still need to talk about the quality of competition and what to do about the weak tea conference we will be faced with NEXT YEAR!
anon 135. I'm sorry the topics are getting mashed up together. It seems that regardless of the post, there is always one or two negative or positive comments about Menzies. I have a couple entries today and tomorrow that will hopefully steer the conversation toward Thursday.
Jason, thanks,
What I am hoping for after the season is over is a full conversation about: a) the coach b) the conference situation.
It is clear from all these posts that many are not satisfied merely with a berth to the big dance. I think that is positive. We know we can win the WAC year after year the way it is currently constituted.
Where we go from here is a great question!
anon: 1:35 aka Alan
(sorry, forgot to sign my name on that last post :-))
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