Men's Basketball News

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that freshman forward Wendell McKines has asked for and been granted his release from the NMSU men's basketball team. (Thanks to Parsing The WAC for the link)

"I'd prefer to transfer to a Bay Area school, but I will look around and see what is best for me," McKines said.

This is obviously a much bigger blow to the Aggie basketball team than losing JayDee Luster and DeAngelo Jones. McKines was a solid contributor last season and was a force on the glass, especially the offensive side. It's a shame to see him go but we wish Baby Matrix the best wherever he lands (as long as it isn't a WAC school, say San Jose State or Fresno State).

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - In an up-and-down season, it seemed that Justin Hawkins was the only constant in 2007-08.

The New Mexico State University senior forward finished the season with eight double-doubles, averaging just over 18 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. When the shorthanded Aggies struggled through a brutal non-conference schedule, Hawkins had back-to-back double-double efforts to start the year, in road losses at Ohio and Duke.

The long-awaited debut of freshman Herb Pope didn't occur until Jan. 19 against Louisiana Tech, which meant the Aggies only had a full compliment of players for the last 16 games of the season. NMSU was 12-4 in those games.

Hawkins hit his stride as the Aggies hit theirs, scoring in double figures in the last 15 games of the season.

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Marvin Menzies feels like the Aggies are still the team to beat in the Western Athletic Conference, even though the Aggies could still finish the regular season anywhere between first and fourth.

Coming off a disappointing split on a Western Athletic Conference road trip last weekend, the New Mexico State University men's basketball team sits in fourth place entering the last week of the regular season.

Menzies' confidence stems from the simple fact that his team doesn't have to leave Doña Ana County again for a game against a WAC opponent. The Aggies (17-13, 10-4 WAC) end the regular season this week against San Jose State and Hawaii, both at the Pan American Center, before playing host to the WAC Tournament next week.

"I feel like we are still going to be the team to beat here at home," Menzies said. "I feel that way, the players feel that way and we are working that way in practice right now.

Written by: Teddy Feinberg/Sun-News Sports Editor

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State men's basketball team fell behind 22-7 to Fresno State on Saturday night, bringing back memories of their first half against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Against Nevada on Thursday night, the Wolf Pack jumped out to a 10-1 lead and a 28-16 advantage with 9:20 remaining in the opening half, eventually winning 98-85 in a crucial Western Athletic Conference battle.

At the outset against Fresno, a slow start appeared to be a possible disaster for NMSU. In the end, it did not matter, as the Aggies battled back to win 69-64 over the Bulldogs to split their two-game road trip.

"We didn't come out very strong against Fresno State," NMSU coach Marvin Menzies said. "We didn't play very well early and they threw different stuff at us defensively that gave us problems, namely a zone. But we were able to find a rhythm against it and ended up doing well."

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Last year's New Mexico State men's basketball team found a way to win games late.

That's what makes what Aggies current coach, Marvin Menzies, has done more impressive, considering the Aggies are averaging a 22.8 point margin during their current five-game win streak and he hasn't had two years to develop a relationship with his players that former coach Reggie Theus did.

The Aggies are blowing out Western Athletic Conference opponents at such a rate that even rival coaches have started to take notice.

"They already have very good players that start, but what really makes them better and special and probably right now, makes them the team to beat in our league is that they have so much depth," Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland said.

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The hard work has paid dividends for Jonathan Gibson.

The New Mexico State University sophomore guard is 15th in the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (12.9 points per game), sixth in 3-point shooting percentage (44) and fifth in 3-pointers made, knocking down 2.33 per game.

"He is getting more minutes than he did last year and he has earned those by having one heck of an offseason in terms of developing his game," Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies said. "He still has a long way to go before he is able to conceptualize all of the things that he needs to do to be a complete player but he can put the ball in the basket right now."

Menzies is not the only coach who knows what Gibson is capable of.

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES - Spending time in high major programs has made an impact on New Mexico State University men's basketball coach.

Menzies was hired as a first-time Division I coach in large part to a successful career recruiting, which he has proven in his short time in Las Cruces.

Menzies, like those that he has worked under, likes to get the most of his talent.

"I like the idea of bringing in recruits and them not playing for a year so they can understand what college life is like," Menzies said. "Utilizing the Doña Ana Community College, we have been able to bring in some kids who weren't initial qualifiers out of high school."

With current redshirts Troy Gillenwater, Hamidu Rahman and Robert Lumpkins already at the branch campus, Menzies added two more guards in the last month. Terrance Joyner (Genesis One in Missisippi) and Faisal Aden (God's Academy in Dallas) are the latest two additions.

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State men"s basketball team was selected to host Long Beach State, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m., in the O"Reilly ESNPU BracketBuster. The two-day tournament features 100 teams from 16 conferences.

Head coach Marvin Menzies said he was happy with the selection, which is close to home for the Hamilton, Calif., native, but was discouraged the Aggies were not chosen for one of the 14 nationally televised games.

"I"m excited," he said. "I think it"s a great travel game for us next year. It allows us to get to Southern California, which is obviously one of my focal points in recruiting.

"I"m a little disappointed we didn"t get the chance to get on TV but I don"t know if we earned that with our wins this year."

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - With 10 games left in the regular season, the New Mexico State University men's basketball team seems to be heading in the right direction.

Now that Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies has a full compliment of players, the Aggies are finally able to play the type of style that Menzies hoped for since taking the head job last summer.

"It's something that we have been working on all year and it's part of who I am as a coach," Menzies said. "We were able to utilize that depth that we have gotten. We will try to give teams some havoc by pressing the rest of the year. It's a style of play that I like to play."

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The faces may have changed and the record has dropped, but it's always a big game when Nevada comes to Las Cruces.

The Wolf Pack enter tonight's game against New Mexico State 2-2 in Western Athletic Conference and boasting the league's top scorer in senior guard Marcelus Kemp. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at the Pan American Center. The game can be heard on KGRT 103.9-FM and in Spanish on 98.7 FM. AggieVision will replay the game in Las Cruces at 10 p.m. tonight.

"The competition between the two is definitely going to be peaked again," Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies said. "I think both of us needing a win right now would give it a little extra flavor."