New Mexico Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

New Mexico has a lot of holes to patch up but also has two key cogs returning in coach Steve Alford’s third campaign as coach.

Like many Mountain West Conference teams, the Lobos were hit hard by departures. Three players who scored in double figures last season—Tony Danridge, Daniel Faris and Chad Toppert—have moved on.

But two important returning players are back, and that has created optimism that the Lobos can be an upper-tier team in the Mountain West.

Senior forward Roman Martinez (10.6 points per game) is a gritty player who always seems to know where to be on the court. He’ll have more responsibility and will likely average just five or six points a game this season.

Junior point guard Dairese Gary will run the offense again, and he played terrific over the second half of the last season. Gary (8.1 points per game) had 50 assists against just 18 turnovers over the final 12 games of the season.

The two players will need help for New Mexico to put together a third consecutive 20-win season. Sophomore guard Phillip McDonald (7.3 ppg) is one player capable of stepping up, and junior-college transfer Darington Hobson also should provide a boost.

The Lobos have no true replacement at center for the departed Faris, and sophomores A.J. Hardeman and Will Brown will compete for the starting job.

Overall, the Lobos are a young team with just one senior and two juniors in the program.

NOTES, QUOTES

• New Mexico, an NCAA tournament regular in the 1990s with seven NCAA appearances, has played in just one NCAA tournament this decade, that coming in 2005 when the team was led by current NBA star Danny Granger.

• F Roman Martinez needs 326 points and 75 rebounds to become only the 14th player in Lobos history with 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

• PG Dairese Gary had five or more assists on 13 occasions last season and New Mexico went 12-1 in those games. Gary ranked second in the Mountain West in assists (4.1) last season.

Last Year:   22-12 overall, 12-4 in the Mountain West; lost in second round of the NIT.

Head Coach:   Steve Alford (career 355-204); Third year at New Mexico (46-21).

Quote To Note:   “I thought we were young last year. I guess now we are extremely young. It’s the youngest team I’ve ever coached.”—Coach Steve Alford on there being just one senior and two juniors in the program.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Junior-college transfer Darington Hobson can provide the scoring punch the Lobos need after losing Tony Danridge and Chad Toppert. Hobson will be an immediate starter for the Lobos. Freshmen backcourt players Chad Adams and Jamal Fenton should contribute right away.

Key Early-season Games:   New Mexico has toughened up its nonconference slate and three NCAA tournament teams from last season are on the slate—California (Dec. 2 at home), Texas A&M (Dec. 12 at Houston) and Dayton (Jan. 1 at home). Creighton, a 27-win team last season, visits the Lobos on Dec. 19 and Texas Tech plays at The Pit on Dec. 29. Winning three or four of those five games would give New Mexico a nice non-conference resume.

Program Direction:   The Lobos hope they are going up as Steve Alford continues to dig the program out of the decaying state he inherited. The ardent New Mexico fan base would like to see an NCAA tournament as proof, something that doesn’t appear likely this season.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Dairese Gary, SG Phillip McDonald, SF Darington Hobson, PF Roman Martinez, C A.J. Hardeman.

Roster Report:  

• C Alex Kirk from nearby Los Alamos verbally committed to New Mexico. The 6-foot-11 Kirk joins G/F Tony Snell as high school players who have orally committed to the Lobos for the 2010-11 campaign.

• C Isaiah Rusher’s saga to play at New Mexico finally ended when he was dismissed from the program. Rusher originally signed with New Mexico in 2007 but never played in a game because of academic reasons.

• G Kevin Nelson has joined the Lobos as a walk-on. He’s the son of Ron Nelson, an All-American player for the Lobos in 1968.

• Wyking Jones, a former Pepperdine assistant earlier this decade, joined the staff as an assistant coach. Jones replaces Chris Walker, who left for Villanova.