Who is the leader for the Aggies this year?

I haven't been able to put my finger on New Mexico State's troubles at times this year, especially once the Aggies got into WAC play.

In recent weeks, a thought crossed my mind that the Aggies don't have a Tyrone Watson, Wendell McKines, Jahmar Young type of player who was a strong personality in the locker room.

Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies had some interesting comments on the topic on Tuesday.

"We don't have anyone who takes over and challenges his teammates and does the things that you can't coach," Menzies said. "We have had flashes, but we have a collection of great kids and good pieces. But right now, I'm the leader. If we lose, it's my fault."

This year's Aggies are a group of good guys. I wouldn't say that I have ever been around an NMSU player where there is a bad person, but the players who I mentioned earlier were all strong personality guys who also played with a chip on their shoulder when the lights came on as well.

The flip side is that all three of them created off court distractions at some point in their career. Is it worth it to take chances to bring in that type of player? I think every team needs one or two of them if they mature over the time or have someone on the coaching staff who can relate to them. But when Menzies said he was the leader, I'm not sure that's what a coach wants when he's upstairs in his office and not in the locker room or on the practice court.