Monday, March 8, 2010

All WAC team announced

From NM State Sports:

New Mexico State men’s basketball junior guard Jahmar Young, senior guard Jonathan Gibson and junior forward Wendell McKines have earned All-WAC honors, which the nine conference coaches voted on, the league office announced, Sunday, March 7.

Young was named to the first team for the second consecutive year after leading the Aggies with 20.9 points per game. Gibson garnered second team accolades with 17.8 points per contest. McKines was an honorable mention selection with a WAC-high 9.8 rebounds per game in conference contests. This is the first year since the 2005-06 season that the Aggies have had multiple all-league honorees.

“I’m happy for the guys and their accomplishments,” head coach Marvin Menzies said. “To finish second in the conference and be recognized for these accolades is a step in the right direction for the program. Jahmar has been a steady force for us all season long. Being recognized to the first team is very fitting for him.

“Jonathan’s ability to score the ball with such consistency has boded well for us, and it’s nice for him to be selected in his senior year,” Menzies said. “Wendell’s work ethic, heart and hustle earned him a place on the honorable mention team. Hopefully, that will motivate him to continue that and help us to win more games next year.”

2009-10 WAC Men’s Basketball Postseason Award Winners

All-Conference

First Team
Luke Babbitt, Nevada, F, 6-9, 225, So., Reno, Nev. (Galena HS)
Jahmar Young, New Mexico State, G, 6-4, 180, Jr., Baltimore, Md. (Laurinberg Prep)
Adrian Oliver, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 210, Jr., Modesto, Calif. (Washington)
Jared Quayle, Utah State, G, 6-1, 180, Sr., Perry, Utah (Western Wyoming CC)
Tai Wesley, Utah State, F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Provo, Utah (Provo HS)

Second Team
Paul George, Fresno State, G/F, 6-8, 215, So., Palmdale, Calif. (Pete Knight HS)
Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-5, 205, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Dorsey HS)
Magnum Rolle, Louisiana Tech, F/C, 6-11, 220, Sr., Freeport, Bahamas (LSU)
Armon Johnson, Nevada, G, 6-3, 195, Jr., Reno, Nev. (Hug HS)
Jonathan Gibson, New Mexico State, G, 6-1, 171, Sr., West Covina, Calif. (Calvary Christian)

Honorable Mention
Daequon Montreal, Boise State, F, 6-8, 220, Jr., Syracuse, N.Y. (College of Southern Idaho)
Sylvester Seay, Fresno State, F, 6-10, 235, Sr., San Bernardino, Calif. (Arizona State)
Roderick Flemings, Hawai‘i, F, 6-7, 210, Sr., Dallas, Texas (Weatherford College)
Mac Hopson, Idaho, G, 6-2, 185, Sr., Portland, Ore. (Washington State)
Wendell McKines, New Mexico State, F, 6-6, 224, Jr., Oakland, Calif. (Richmond HS)

Player of the Year: Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Freshman of the Year: Greg Smith, Fresno State
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Stew Morrill, Utah State

All-Defensive Team
Marvin Jefferson, Idaho, C, 6-10, 245, Sr., Merced, Calif. (Modesto JC)
Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-5, 205, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Dorsey HS)
Magnum Rolle, Louisiana Tech, F/C, 6-11, 220, Sr., Freeport, Bahamas (LSU)
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, So., Colorado Springs, Colo. (Charis Prep)
Pooh Williams, Utah State, G/F, 6-3, 200, Jr., Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS)

All-Newcomer Team
Daequon Montreal, Boise State, F, 6-8, 220, Jr., Syracuse, N.Y. (College of Southern Idaho)
Greg Smith, Fresno State, C, 6-10, 250, Fr., Fresno, Calif. (Westwind Academy/Edison HS)
DeAndre Brown, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-11, 160, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas (Navarro JC)
Nate Bendall, Utah State, F, 6-9, 245, Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake CC)
Brian Green, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Kaysville, Utah (Salt Lake CC)

Friday, March 5, 2010

WAC seeding scenarios

This comes form Jason Erikson at the WAC

These the scenarios for all possible seeds for the men’s teams. Since Nevada can be the 2, 3 or 4 seed, the bracket cannot be set yet. As a reminder, Nevada will play the 6 p.m. game on Thursday. If Nevada is the 2 or 3 seed, then Utah State (the #1 seed) will play at noon. If Nevada is the 4 seed, Utah State will play at 8:30 p.m. and New Mexico State (in this case the #2 seed) will play at noon.

2010 Men’s WAC Tournament Scenarios

Below are the possible seeds for each of the men’s teams after this Saturday’s games. Ties were broken using the tie-breaking principles on the following page.

Possible Seeds
Boise State
7 If Boise State beats San Jose State and Hawai‘i beats Idaho
8 If Boise State beats San Jose State and Idaho beats Hawai‘i OR
If Boise State loses to San Jose State and Idaho beats Hawai‘i OR
If Boise State loses to San Jose State, Hawai‘i beats Idaho and Louisiana Tech beats Nevada
X If Boise State loses to San Jose State, Hawai‘i beats Idaho and Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

Fresno State
5 Locked in

Hawai‘i
8 If Hawai‘i beats Idaho, San Jose State beats Boise State and Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

X If Hawai‘i loses to Idaho OR
If Hawai‘i beats Idaho and Boise State beats San Jose State OR
If Hawai‘i beats Idaho, San Jose State beats Boise State and Louisiana Tech beats Nevada

Idaho
7 If Idaho beats Hawai‘i OR
If Idaho loses to Hawai‘i and San Jose State beats Boise State
8 If Idaho loses to Hawai‘i and Boise State beats San Jose State

Louisiana Tech
3 If Louisiana Tech beats Nevada
4 If Louisiana Tech loses to Nevada

Nevada
2 If Nevada beats Louisiana Tech and Utah State beats New Mexico State
3 If Nevada beats Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State beats Utah State
4 If Nevada loses to Louisiana Tech

New Mexico State
2 If New Mexico State beats Utah State OR
If New Mexico State loses to Utah State and Louisiana Tech beats Nevada
3 If New Mexico State loses to Utah State and Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

San Jose State
6 Locked in

Utah State
1 Locked in

WAC Tie-breaking Procedures.
a. General Procedures
The following procedures are to be used to determine seeding for a Conference tournament or to establish the automatic qualifier to an NCAA Championship subject to any sport regulation tie-breakers.
[1] Ties for all places in the standings (between two teams or three or more teams) which can be broken based upon head-to-head competition are broken before the implementation of further tie-breaking procedures.
[2] If more than two teams are tied, the three or more tie-breaking procedures shall be implemented. If only two teams are tied, the two-team tie-breaking procedures shall be implemented.
[3] In the case of ties for more than one place, the first tie broken is that of the highest place (i.e., first place, second place, etc.) and continue downward through the standings.
[4] If the tie is for first place and cannot be broken by a head-to-head results, compare the tied teams’ winning percentage against the next highest finishing team and continue through the standings. The team with the best winning percentage against the next highest-finishing team or group of tied teams advances. If the tie is for any position other than first place, the comparison shall begin at the top of the standings.
[5] Once a tied team has been placed in a position/seed, that team shall be included in all further comparisons of other tied teams from the position/seed in which it has been placed.

b. Tie-Breaking Procedures
[1] Two-Way Tie:
[i] The winner of the head-to-head competition is the higher seed.
[ii] If the tie is for first place, compare the tied teams’ records against the next highest finishing team and continue through the standings. The team with the best record/winning percentage against the next highest finishing team or group of tied teams advances. If the tie is for any position other than first place, the comparison shall begin at the top of the standings.
[iii] If a tie still remains, the Conference office shall conduct a draw. The drawn team shall receive the higher seed.
[iv] Men and Women’s Basketball Only. If a tie still remains, the institution with the highest RPI following the conclusion of the WAC’s regular season shall receive the higher seed (replaces iii above). The official NCAA RPI shall be used, if available. If not, CollegeRPI.com shall be used. [5/06]
[2] Three or More-Way Tie. Once a tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tie-breaker is implemented.
[i] Compare the records of the tied teams against each other. The team(s) with the best record(s) versus the other tied teams receives the higher seed or advances to the next tie-breaker; the team with the next best record versus the other tied teams receives the next highest seed or advances to the next tie breaker, etc.
[ii] If the tie is for first place, compare the tied teams’ records against the next highest finishing team and continue through the standings. The team with the best record against the next highest-finishing team or group of tied teams advances. If the tie is for any position other than first place the comparison shall begin at the top of the standings.
[iii] If a tie still remains, the Conference office shall conduct a draw. The first team drawn shall receive the higher seed, the second team drawn shall receive the next highest seed, etc.
[iv] Men and Women’s Basketball Only. If a tie still remains, the institution with the highest RPI following the conclusion of the WAC’s regular season shall receive the higher seed (replaces iii above). The official NCAA RPI shall be used, if available. If not, CollegeRPI.com shall be used. [5/06]

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Aggies can't break through at Nevada

Nevada took control of a tight game in the second half to defeat New Mexico State 100-92.
The loss by NMSU gives the regular season title to Utah State.

Tonight's WAC games – March 4, 2010

Hawai'i (10-18, 3-11) at Boise State (13-16, 3-11)
7 p.m. MST
Perhaps the most important game of the night because the loser will likely miss the WAC tournament. I would give the edge to BSU in this one.

San Jose State (14-14, 6-8) at Idaho (13-15, 4-10)
7 p.m. PST
ESPN Regional, ESPN 360
This one is a tough one to call. Idaho has improved a lot since the beginning of conference play.
San Jose has Adrian Oliver. The Spartans just edged Idaho in San Jose 78-75, so I say Idaho will come out on top of what should be a great game.

Louisiana Tech (22-7, 9-5) at Fresno State
7 p.m. PST
Will Fresno State show up to play tonight? If not, it's a big win for Louisiana Tech, still in the hunt for the No. 3 seed. La Tech may be without Kyle Gibson, but Fresno has been in the tank. I think La Tech wins.

New Mexico State ( 19-9, 11-3) at Nevada (17-11, 9-5)
7 p.m. PST
Huge game for both teams. Explain to me why it's not on TV? I think NMSUs depth will be the deciding factor, and the Aggies will come out on top in Reno for the second straight year.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Do be sure to check out Parsing the WAC for KM's always informative linkfinding.
Is that a brand-new verb?

Comments from Tuesday's press conference

Below is an excerpt of comments from Tuesday's press conference with coach Menzies and several Aggie players. The conference was mostly focused on the upcoming road trip, probably the toughest two-game stretch (Louisiana Tech who?) for the Aggies.

Coach Marvin Menzies
... on the game vs. Nevada

"I think the Nevada game is one that will keep the guys full attention. I’m not too worried about them looking ahead because it’s such a quality opponent on Thursday.
The thought of having this opportunity is looming. What you’ve got to do is win or lose on Thursday you have to play the type of basketball your capable of on Saturday regardless.
Nevada had a lot of curve balls thrown at them. Hawai’i was due to beat somebody there.
The added distractions of the game being cancelled and then back on. Are we staying here or are we flying back? All that had to have effected the game preparation and routine. Not making any excuses for them but I’ve been in those shoes before and it can take it’s toll on your guys. In that game you have to be ready to play when you go there.
Kramer is a pretty good defender and shoots the lights out. Whether he comes off the bench or he starts, he’ll play a significant amount of minute and be a factor in the game.
Right now the three ball is proving to be a deciding factor in a lot of games."

... on the tight game vs. Boise State

"We need to be positive right now and keep moving forward. There’s some good lessons there that we’re going to tap into today and that we’ve incorporated into our practice Jut as much physical as mental, drilling on that winning time situation. We’ve got some game film, not just our game but other games. We’ll talk a little mathematics and we’re just going to explain the logic and those guys got to walk out and make better decisions but they got to know why they’re doing and what they’re doing."

... on the upcoming game vs. Utah State

"The Utah State team is a complete team. That’s been their biggest advantage all year long is they have such balance. They’ve got great experience and depth right now. They were picked the favorite and they’re still the team to beat.
Even though we’ve already beaten them once that was a long time ago and they still have a better record than we do now so we’re still the ones going in as the underdogs – especially on the road."

The always colorful Wendell McKines

... on winning the regular season WAC title

"This is huge, huge, huge, huge. It's going to down in history.
It’s real important. It's definitely big considering where we came from at the beginning of the year and to go down as regular season champs that would be a big accomplishment.
It would give a lot of confidence going in to the tournament knowing we are No. 1."

... on the upcoming game vs. Utah State

"I know the fans are going to be kind of hard on me so I look forward to it. At the end of the day we’re playing basketball and the best team is going to win.
Utah State -- they always figure out a way to outsmart you and catch you when your slipping. That’s their system and they run it to perfection.
It’s like a computer the way they operate and we just got to be a virus.
We have to pressure them and not let them feel comfortable at any point of the game ... no open threes to let them get the crowd going. Just pressure, pressure, pressure."

... on Utah State's ample-bellied "superfan"

Question from the audience "Are you afraid of Bill Sproat?"
Wen's response:
"Who’s that?"
After clarification from reporter:
"I’ve seen a lot of things I can be scared of, and he’s definitely not one of them."

... on Nevada's Luke Babbit

"Babbit is interesting because he can shoot it and he’s pretty much a three playing a four sometimes, so you just want to stay physical with him. It should be fun, the second matchup."

... on the Aggie bigs vs. Nevada.

"Our chemistry is pretty cool, we’ve been playing with everybody for two and a half years now, even Troy and Ham. They’ve been here since I’ve been here.
Our chemistry is good and I think we’re peaking at the right time to do something special.
Troy stepped in the place it’s good for us but its got to suck for other teams.
They have to deal with Ham and me and Troy coming off the bench. It’s another great weapon we have so we’re stacked, we just got to put everything together and stay defensive minded first and we should be fine."

Las Cruces native and Aggie sharpshooter Gordo Castillo

... on the upcoming road trip

"(The road trip) is going to be tough, they’re both hostile environments.
We are ready, it’s going to be a big road trip for us. It’s probably the biggest road trip since I’ve been here. Every road trip is big but we want tournament time, to win would give us a lot of momentum and we’re looking forward to it.
Everyone’s real focused you can tell just by looking at guys.
Everybody wants to win so everybody has been stepping their game up a lot."

Thanks to Jim Hilley for transcribing the quotes.

Aggies vs. Boise State photos


(1) Aggie senior guard Jonathan Gibson elevates over Boise State forward Ike Okoye. Gib finished the night with 24 points.


(2) Legendary Aggie coach Lou Henson was a special guest at Aggies' last home game Saturday, Feb. 27.


(3) Senior guard Jonathan Gibson sets up a play.


(4) The Aggies' leading scorer Jahmar Young shoots a three.


(5) The Aggies' biggest threat from behind the arc, Las Cruces native Gordo Castillo shoots the long ball.


(6) Elijah Halland gets the message out with some help from his mom.


(7) Senior forward and Santa Fe native Kelly Merker says his goodbye.

Photos taken by Richard Davis for the Las Cruces Bulletin.