New Mexico State Aggies
WAC (26-9, 10-4)
New Mexico State has changed what they do because of their current personnel. This used to be a team that would hoist up a ton of three-pointers. Now they rarely take any at all. Coach Marvin Menzies got a huge win at New Mexico very early in the season, but since then the Aggies have failed to get any more big wins. However, this is not the WAC of old and there are very few opportunities, if any, to get a quality conference win.
Big Wins: 11/16 at New Mexico (62-53), 2/11 at Utah State (80-69), 2/18 Drake (71-55)
Bad Losses: 12/11 at UTEP (69-73), 1/21 at Hawaii (87-91), 2/9 at Idaho (58-59)
Coach: Marvin Menzies (5 seasons at New Mexico State)
Why They Can Surprise:
New Mexico State has a trio of good, experienced players. Those three have had to lead the way for the Aggies and will have to carry this group through the postseason. The strength is up front where seniors Wendell McKines and Hamidu Rahman dominate the glass. McKines is a dynamic scorer who can hit the long ball. He will stretch out the defense with his outside shooting ability, but more importantly McKines is a huge scoring threat and a great rebounder. Rahman is the more traditional big man and, at 6-11 and 245 pounds, he is a very big man. Rahman will score in the paint pretty consistently and that forces the defense to collapse and frees up McKines and point guard Hernst Laroche. Laroche is the best outside shooter on this team and is a pretty solid defender as well. He is an experienced ball handler and his leadership will be key for any success New Mexico State hopes to have in the tournament.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Unfortunately, the Aggies turn the ball over way too much. It is hard to blame Laroche for the turnovers since he is one of the few players with a decent assist-to-turnover ratio, but it is his job to keep his teammates under control. Coach Menzies has also had to make due with some inexperienced players filling in around the big three. The mid-season transfer of starter Christian Kabongo certainly did not help. Daniel Mullings is a pretty good slasher and fellow starter Tyrone Watson will help out on the glass. The bench consists of forward Bandja Sy and center Tshilidzi Nephawe. It is nice that NMSU has depth in the frontcourt, but getting consistent offensive output from anybody but Laroche, McKines and Rahman has not proven to be feasible. The roleplayers can have some good games and they will have to in March if New Mexico State is going to make any noise.
Probable Starters:
Hernst Laroche, Senior, Guard, 12.0 ppg, 3.8 apg
Daniel Mullings, Freshman, Guard, 9.3 ppg, 1.9 apg, 4.1 rpg
Tyrone Watson, Junior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.2 apg
Wendell McKines, Senior, Forward, 18.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg
Hamidu Rahman, Senior, Center, 10.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Tshilidzi Nephawe, Sophomore, Center, 5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Bandja Sy, Junior, Forward, 8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 78.3 (14th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.5 (220, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.0 (40, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.7 (157, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.7 (304, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: N/A
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.5 (251, 5)
Rebound Margin: 8.0 (5, 1)
Assists Per Game: 13.9 (83, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.9 (269, 7)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
New Mexico State 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Michigan State
New Mexico State 2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Texas
New Mexico State 2000 NIT First round loss to Arizona State
New Mexico State 1999 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Kentucky
New Mexico State 1995 NIT First round win over Colorado
New Mexico State 1995 NIT Second round win over UTEP
New Mexico State 1995 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Virginia Tech
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
