Location: Las Cruces, N.M. | Founded: 1888 | Enrollment: 16,428 | Colors: Crimson and White
Coach: Marvin Menzies | Home Court: Pan American Center | Capacity: 13,071 Record:
(21-14, 12-4
Western Athletic)
THE GOOD NEWS Four underclassmen -- sophomore starting guard Jonathan Gibson, freshman starting forward Herb Pope, freshman reserve forward Wendell McKines and freshman guard Jahmar Young -- played big minutes and gained plenty of experience this season, mean. With them, the Aggies are in good position to weather the storm of losing four key seniors.
THE BAD NEWS The Aggies probably lose as much talent to graduation this year as anyone in the WAC. Senior point guard Fred Peete, forwards Justin Hawkins and Hatila Passos and center Martin Iti -- all four transfers who came in under previous coach Reggie Theus -- were the foundation of this year's team and accounted for around 45 points, 24 rebounds per game. Hawkins led the team in scoring, Passos led in rebounding, Peete led in assists and steals and Iti led in blocked shots.
KEY RETURNEES Freshman Herb Pope, who played just half the season, showed glimpses of greatness, reminding Aggie fans why he was arguably the best high school recruit the program ever landed. Pope started just 12 games but in that time became the team's third leading scorer with 11.1 points per game and grabbed 6.8 boards per game. Along with sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson and fellow freshmen Wendell McKines (forward) and Jahmar Young (guard), Pope will make the Aggies one of the WAC favorites for several years to come.
ROSTER REPORT
--Senior forward Justin Hawkins made the most of his time playing for New Mexico State, scoring more than 1,100 points in just two seasons. Hawkins, who had transferred from Utah, was a two-time first team All-Western Athletic Conference selection.
--Freshman forward Herb Pope finished the season off with his two best games in the Western Athletic Conference semifinals and championship game, scoring 18 and 20 points respectively, including averaging 10.5 rebounds in those two games.
Pope wasn't cleared by the NCAA to play until mid January when the WAC season had already begun. He spent last offseason recovering from gun shot wounds and fighting eligibility issues about a class he took in high school. He was also charged in December with drunken driving in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Once he got on the court, he seemed at home and if the upcoming offseason is trouble-free, Pope could develop into one of the WAC's top 2-3 players.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
I was not surprised when Freshmen PG JayDee Luster and fellow Frosh Deangelo Jones decided to transfer out of the NMSU B-ball program due to the fact that neither player was going to get many minutes next year. But, I was shocked today when I heard fellow Freshmen Forward Wendell Mckines decided he wanted to leave the program so he can play closer to home in the bay area. Is this a sign of t
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sure, we won by 20...but i was disappointed in a couple things...
#1 WAY too many turnovers - they're trying to do WAY to much...just let the play develop...stop trying to force things
#2 Attendance - this is our HOME COURT!! WHERE IS EVERYONE??!!! the ones that were there were great, but 7100 for a home tournament game? that's not gonna cut it...and about 1500 of those
