Three-point defense: Against the Zags, this also means transition defense. Gonzaga is the most efficient offensive team in the country with 1.28 points per possession on 69 possessions per game. The Zags score 36 percent of their 92 points per game from 3-point range. Kevin Pangos shoots 48 percent from 3-point range and is one of four players who shoot at least 47 percent from 3 with at least 20 attempts and a lot of them come in transition. When the Zags are in the half court, they spread the court similar to UNM, but they don't have a pick and pop center like the Lobos do so perhaps Sim Bhullar and Chili Nephawe can still protect the basket.
Get the big guys going: Sim Bhullar and Chili Nephawe got early touches against UNM but they were ineffective offensively against two big players. Gonzaga 7 footer Przemek Karnowski is a quality center who shoots 73 percent from the field. If NMSU struggles again to guard the four position (6-9 Sam Dower 14 ppg) hopefully the Aggies go to Renaldo Dixon more.
Give Mullings some support: I love DK Eldridge but so far he's been what you would expect from a JC guy, up and down. He seems to have been good on the road so perhaps he can match the 6 3s he made at Colorado State. Likewise, KC Ross Miller hasnt been consistent enough offensively either and teams seem to be ready when Kevin Aronis comes on. If the big guys arent productive and the perimeter guys arent, Mullings has shown he can get to rim when he needs to. He might have to do that earlier.
I think the UNM game was the best I've seen the Lobos play and probably the worst the Aggies have played. But I don't know if the Aggies can score at the same kind of clip. Gonzaga wins 87-75
10 comments:
Menzies learn how to coach!!! Ross-Miller on Pangos? Mullings is a much better defender. Like I've always said Menzies is a great recruiter, but not head coach material. Need to recruit another canadian point guard like Laroche. I hope Menzies wins 24 games so we can get rid of him, doesn't alabama need a great basketball coach. Bring a motivator like Theus back that knows something about basketball. Well I guess another WAC conference bid does that conference deserve one and at best a 14 seed. Go Aggies minus Menzies.
Carauthers you want to run NMSU atheletics as a business model. Then if you are the CEO fire Menzies and Boston they belong in D2 at best. Last time I checked Boston was run out of Minnesota.
Never going to get there. Always crushing to see that we cant hang with the nations big dogs.
JH
Now that they are playing the good teams on the schedule, the losses are piling up. There is always the watered down WAC schedule coming up that will pad the record and get everyone excited. Then we'll draw another good team in the tournament and get hammered. I guess this is as good as it gets.
Aggies goodluck with Arizona and Drake. Menzies doesn't have a chance against either one of those coaches. We have the talent but not the coaching.
JH and others,
We have been talking about this for over a year now...longer.
Watch what happens. We lose another 2-3 non-conference games and then blow through the conference of JV teams.
People will start to think we are good again and then we will make it to the big dance and everyone will say; 'MM is such a great coach for us. Look how many times we are getting into the big dance with him', and so on and so on all the way until we get blown out again in the first round.
Rinse, Wash, Repeat from last year and the year before.
Is this really a surprise by now!
The rap is the same as always. Great recruiter, nice guy, can't coach his way out of a paper bag!
Alan
Any time we hang tough during the first half against top teams, we fall apart during the second half. Good coaches make adjustments. Menzies doesn't function in real time. Only realizes what's going on after watching film.
I thought the Aggies showed up well against the Zags. At no point did they looked out classed they simple could not make enough plays after the initial second half run that Gonzaga built their lead on.
Alan, you're right. These blog comments take up right where we left off last year. We have AMAZING talent that our mediocre coach can't handle. Then, at the end of the year we get into the tournament and everyone is praising Menzies for another great season. We're used to settling for "good enough." Menzies is short on strength and leadership, but scores an A+ for closing on Paul Weir's recruits. Heaven forbid if Weir decides to go elsewhere. Menzies will look like a deer caught in headlights.
Jason,
You should change this blogs name from Basketball Diaries to Menzies Bashing board. Wash, Rinse, Repeat is as evident on the court as it is from the posters. Talent or Coaching? Talent every time for me. Get a great coach that cannot recuit and see where this program is at. Anybody remember the Lou Henson Era II? Arguably one of the best coaches in college history check the recordbook.
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