With last night's win over another Bahamian club team, the Lobos will return from the Bahamas with a 3-1 record. They split two games with the Bahamian Select team, then blew out two club teams. This was a good opportunity for last year's team to show the new staff just what they could do, and some players did just that. Let's take a look at who helped themselves and who hurt themselves. Keep in mind that these games weren't broadcast anywhere, so this is based solely off of stats and game recaps.
On the Rise:
Roman Martinez - Always known as a hustle player, Roman as usual did a little bit of everything and probably helped his stock more than any other player. He led the team in rebounding with 9 a game and also was third in scoring with 10.5 a game. Roman also shot over 70% from the field.
Tony Danridge - Of course, he's going to play a lot and probably be the leading scorer of next year's team but he helped his cause in a bunch of different ways. First, he averaged 20 points a game. We know Tony can score. In addition to that, Tony also rebounded (5.5/game) and distributed (3.75 apg). He was also second on the team with 8 steals. The only real negative was that Tony had 19 turnovers in 4 games. Ouch.
Daniel Faris - First of all, he still needs to work on staying out of foul trouble, but Daniel averaged 13 points and 9 rebounds while also leading the team in blocks with two a game. He also shot over 60% from the field. Good numbers.
On the Decline:
Darren Prentice - Shot poorly for much of the trip but he made up for it by leading the team in assists.
Chad Toppert - Toppert battled injuries for part of the trip, but he just wasn't shooting the ball like we're used to seeing. He was only 7-28 from three for 25%, practically half of his shooting average last season.
Jamaal Smith - Smith shot a lot and shot poorly, going 2-19 from three and 23% altogether from the field. The only bright spot is at least the guy can hit his free throws, going 11-12. He also had more assists than turnovers.
David Kanyinda - He did little to assert himself in the guard rotation, going 3-11 from three and 18% from the field. He did lead the team in steals and had the best A/TO ratio on the team.
Blake Harden - He didn't do much on the stat sheet, but he missed all four of his three point attempts. He likely won't play much next year.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Bits and Pieces
Some ups, some downs for UNM in the past few weeks.
First, Hooray for JR Giddens! He passed all of his classes this spring, meaning he's in the good graces of Coach Alford and Co. The bad news? JR doesn't get to make the Bahamas trip, as he's taking an intercession course between the Spring and the Summer semester. This may be a blessing in disguise because it shows that Alford really wants his players to graduate. I'm all for this.
Second, we lost the recruiting battle for seven footer Beas Hamga to those darn Runnin' Rebs. Props to them for luring him away from Gillespie and Kentucky, but it still would've been mighty nice to see that monster in the Cherry and Silver.
Rich Alday resigned as the head baseball coach a few days ago. Rich did a lot for the program, but after 18 years he had a .500 record and the program has really plateaued since about 2000, so it was time to look in a new direction. With a Triple-A ballpark and very favorable Spring/Summer weather compared to some of our MWC brethren outside of TCU, UNLV and SDSU, the Lobo Baseball program should be able to lure a pretty good coach to get this program to be more than just a middle-of-the-pack team year in and year out.
First, Hooray for JR Giddens! He passed all of his classes this spring, meaning he's in the good graces of Coach Alford and Co. The bad news? JR doesn't get to make the Bahamas trip, as he's taking an intercession course between the Spring and the Summer semester. This may be a blessing in disguise because it shows that Alford really wants his players to graduate. I'm all for this.
Second, we lost the recruiting battle for seven footer Beas Hamga to those darn Runnin' Rebs. Props to them for luring him away from Gillespie and Kentucky, but it still would've been mighty nice to see that monster in the Cherry and Silver.
Rich Alday resigned as the head baseball coach a few days ago. Rich did a lot for the program, but after 18 years he had a .500 record and the program has really plateaued since about 2000, so it was time to look in a new direction. With a Triple-A ballpark and very favorable Spring/Summer weather compared to some of our MWC brethren outside of TCU, UNLV and SDSU, the Lobo Baseball program should be able to lure a pretty good coach to get this program to be more than just a middle-of-the-pack team year in and year out.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
More Recruiting...
Man, life has been quite a blur on the Lobo recruiting front. This can only be described as a very successful Lobo offseason with the way recruiting has gone. The Coach Alford era was looking a bit shaky at first when all three of McKay's recruits decommitted before Alford really had a chance to talk to them. Reggie Huffman, a 6-7 forward left for UAB, Ty Abbott decided to stay home and play for ASU, and Mickey McConnell went to St. Mary's.
In addition to that, PG Ryan Kersten, G/F Jeff Henfield, and C Derek Oestreicher all transfered. Talk about ouch.
Enter the recruiting efforts of Alford, Neal, and Co. First, a three-star recruit from Indiana named Dairese Gary who committed to Alford at Iowa and followed him here. Gary is likely not to see much time as a freshman but he'll probably be asked to step in and play a lot in years to come. He's billed as a strong guard in the mold of other Big-10 guards.
Next came Johnnie Harris, a 6-8 power forward who started for a very talented Junior College. He wasn't exactly a stat stuffer; he averaged something like 7 points and 4 rebounds, but Harris is going to be counted on mostly as a rugged defender and rebounder. Any scoring would be gravy.
The star (so far) of the class is Darrington Hobson, a 6-7 G/F who wants to be a point guard but will likely be a point forward at the three. Hobson is a four-star recruit and a great talent. He might not start, but I'd expect him to play major minutes right away.
Finally, Monquel Pegues, a 6-10 center. This guy is a scoring machine who averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds. He's still a bit of a defensive project and gets into foul trouble, but he can score. This much we know.
Finally, two recruits are on the horizon. 7-0 Beas Hamga, one of the top HS centers in his class. We're fighting UNLV, Kentucky, and Indiana for this guy. He's a longshot, but if we land him, this could be the best recruiting class ever for UNM. Another guy who is visiting is 6-5 swingman Johnathan Wills. Wills is coming because there is word that someone may not be eligible in the fall, and this is an insurance pickup. I don't know much about him other than that he is considered a high major prospect if he can get a more consistent jump shot. Wills wants to be a Lobo; his other offer is from Portland State.
Needless to say, there's a lot to be excited about.
In addition to that, PG Ryan Kersten, G/F Jeff Henfield, and C Derek Oestreicher all transfered. Talk about ouch.
Enter the recruiting efforts of Alford, Neal, and Co. First, a three-star recruit from Indiana named Dairese Gary who committed to Alford at Iowa and followed him here. Gary is likely not to see much time as a freshman but he'll probably be asked to step in and play a lot in years to come. He's billed as a strong guard in the mold of other Big-10 guards.
Next came Johnnie Harris, a 6-8 power forward who started for a very talented Junior College. He wasn't exactly a stat stuffer; he averaged something like 7 points and 4 rebounds, but Harris is going to be counted on mostly as a rugged defender and rebounder. Any scoring would be gravy.
The star (so far) of the class is Darrington Hobson, a 6-7 G/F who wants to be a point guard but will likely be a point forward at the three. Hobson is a four-star recruit and a great talent. He might not start, but I'd expect him to play major minutes right away.
Finally, Monquel Pegues, a 6-10 center. This guy is a scoring machine who averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds. He's still a bit of a defensive project and gets into foul trouble, but he can score. This much we know.
Finally, two recruits are on the horizon. 7-0 Beas Hamga, one of the top HS centers in his class. We're fighting UNLV, Kentucky, and Indiana for this guy. He's a longshot, but if we land him, this could be the best recruiting class ever for UNM. Another guy who is visiting is 6-5 swingman Johnathan Wills. Wills is coming because there is word that someone may not be eligible in the fall, and this is an insurance pickup. I don't know much about him other than that he is considered a high major prospect if he can get a more consistent jump shot. Wills wants to be a Lobo; his other offer is from Portland State.
Needless to say, there's a lot to be excited about.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Pegues is a Lobo!
Monquel Pegues has signed his LOI, and he will be a Lobo in the Fall! Monquel is a 6-10 Center who put up 18 points and 17 rebounds last year at Juco. His coach says Pegues should lose about ten pounds and he'll be a big impact guy at the D-I level. Another note of concern is that he's still 15 hours short of qualifying. Uh oh... While I'm excited for this guy's potential, he'd better get his classes in order or he'll end up to be the next Justin Holt. And we definitely don't want that.
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