Nov. 11, 2004
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The University of New Mexico begins its 102nd season of men’s basketball Friday evening when it hosts the National Association of Basketball Coaches Classic. Duquesne, North Carolina A&T and Santa Clara will be in town for the round-robin tournament that features three games in as many days for the four participants.
The Lobos meet North Carolina A&T Friday at 6:05 p.m., from the The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque. Santa Clara and Duquesne square off 30 minutes after game one. The complete schedule for the weekend:
Friday, Nov. 12
New Mexico vs. North Carolina A&T, 6:05 p.m.
Duquesne vs. Santa Clara, 30 minutes after game 1
Saturday, Nov. 13
New Mexico vs. Santa Clara, 6:05 p.m.
Duquesne vs. North Carolina A&T, 30 minutes after game 1
Sunday, Nov. 14
North Carolina A&T vs. Santa Clara, 2 p.m.
New Mexico vs. Duquesne, 30 minutes after game 1
EXPERIMENTAL RULES – The NCAA Basketball Rules Committee stated that all certified games that occur before January 1, 2005, will be required to use an experimental free-throw lane that is 18 inches wider on each side, a three-point line that is extended to 20 feet, 6 inches, and an arc drawn 2 feet from the center of the hoop to assist with charge/block calls.
UNM will use these rules for the NABC Classic and submit statistical data to the Rules Committee after this weekend’s games.
LOBOS NO STRANGER TO HOSTING CERTIFIED GAMES – The University of New Mexico has been a frequent host for exempt, or “certified,” games in the past. In fact, the 2004 NABC Classic marks the eighth time UNM has been host to such an event. UNM hosted the 1997 NABC Classic, although that was just a one-day, two-game event. The list:
1987-88 Preseason NIT
UNM 88, Weber State 72
UNM 77, UCLA 66
1994-95 Preseason NIT
San Francisco 80, UNM 74
1997-98 NABC Classic
UNM 98, Southern Cal 76
Temple 68, Auburn 42
1998-99 Black Coaches Association Classic
UNM 82, DePaul 81
Arizona 73, Tennessee 72
1999-00 CoSIDA Classic
Dayton 70, UNM 57
Samford 68, St. John’s 60
St. John’s 70, UNM 62 (3rd place game)
Dayton 65, Samford 63 (championship)
2000-01 Preseason NIT
UNM 79, George Mason 68
2001-02 Hispanic College Fund Classic
UNM 85, Pacific 66
West Virginia 66, Southern Miss 59
Pacific 65, Southern Miss 50 (3rd place game)
West Virginia 88, UNM 85 (championship)
UNM VS. NABC OPPONENTS – The Lobos are playing North Carolina A&T for the first time.
New Mexico and Duquesne will meet for the first time since a 91-85 UNM victory in The Pit on Nov. 23, 1991. The Dukes won 55-36 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 13, 1949. UNM head man Ritchie McKay holds a 1-0 record against Duquesne coach Danny Nee. McKay’s 1998-99 Colorado State team defeated Nee’s Nebraska squad 75-49, in Fort Collins on Dec. 12, 1998.
The Lobos have a 3-2 lead over Santa Clara. The two schools are uniting for the first time since the 1989 postseason NIT when the Lobos took a 91-76 first-round victory in Albuquerque. Sixth-ranked New Mexico also won 72-54 on Dec. 3, 1966, the second game played in The Pit, and 91-62 in the championship game of the 1970 Lobo Invitational.
Santa Clara defeated the Lobos 86-73 in a 1968 NCAA regional semifinal game in The Pit. The Broncos fell to eventual national champion UCLA 87-66 a day later. SC also took care of UNM in the opening round of the 1983 Great Alaska Shootout, winning 54-50.
THE NABC PARTICIPANTS – Thumbnails on the three schools coming to Albuquerque for the NABC Classic:
Duquesne: Located in Pittsburgh, Pa., the Dukes play out of the Atlantic 10 Conference…they were 12-17 overall last year, 6-10 in the A-10, good for a 5th-place finish in the Western Division…veteran head coach Danny Nee is 399-335 in his 25th season overall, 31-56 after three years with Duquesne…7 lettermen, including 3 starters, are back from last year’s team, including junior Bryant McAllister, a 6-3 guard who averaged 11.1 ppg…former Utah guard Martin Osimani averaged 4.6 ppg last year for the Dukes…while at Utah, he scored five points in the Pit in the Ute’s 81-51 triumph on Jan. 21, 2001.
North Carolina A&T: Located in Greensboro, N.C., the Aggies are coached by former Louisville standout Jerry Eaves…NCAT was 3-25 overall last year, 3-15 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference…sophomore G Sean Booker is the leading returning scorer at 14.5 ppg…G Steven Koger averaged 9.1 ppg.
Santa Clara: Located in Santa Clara, Calif., the Broncos return 11 lettermen, including 4 starters, from last year’s squad that was 16-16 overall and finished 5th in the West Coast Conference at 6-8…Santa Clara lost to Gonzaga 63-62 in the championship game of the WCC Tournament…head coach Dick Davey is 202-148 in his 13th year with the Broncos…SC is led by a pair of high-scoring senior guards in Doron Perkins (13.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Kyle Bailey (12.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg).
EXHIBITION RECAPS – Senior forward Danny Granger had 19 points and 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes as the Lobos cruised past Eastern New Mexico 99-67 in the exhibition opener in The Pit on Nov. 1. Granger, who also added four assists, two blocks and two steals, was one of three UNM players in double digits. Senior guard Troy DeVries and junior forward David Chiotti had 14 apiece.
Eleven players scored and played at least 11 minutes as UNM shot 50.9 percent from the floor and hit 11-22 (50%) of its 3-pointers. ENMU was held to 40 percent shooting (22-55) and knocked down just 3-10 from beyond the arc.
New Mexico used an 18-0 run four minutes into the first half to take control of the game. After a three-pointer by ENMU guard Jamal Washington cut the Lobo lead to 13-9 at the 16:32 mark, the UNM defense stiffened, holding the Greyhounds scoreless over the next seven minutes.
Chiotti ignited the scoring burst with a baseline dunk off a nice pass from Granger. UNM also got threes from DeVries, freshman Darren Prentice and junior Mark Walters as it extended its lead to 31-9 with 9:29 left to play in the period.
In a matchup of two Lobo teams, New Mexico came away victorious last Saturday with a 94-63 win over Sul Ross State. David Chiotti led UNM with 17 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting, while Danny Granger chipped in 16 points and six boards.
Senior Alfred Neale also reached double-figures with 11 points, including two thunderous dunks, to go along with eight rebounds and a team-high five assists. Freshman Tony Danridge, who made 6-of-7 free throws, scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots.
The home Lobos opened the game up with a 21-0 run midway through the first half. UNM was stuck on 13 points for over three minutes, but then rattled off 21 straight points over a seven-minute stretch to take a 34-9 lead with 7:20 remaining in the half. New Mexico remained in control the rest of the half, taking a 52-27 lead into the break. The Lobos canned 52 percent (34-of-66) of their shots from the field and 83 percent from the free-throw line (20-of-24). In its two exhibition games, UNM shot 51 percent from the field and 85 percent at the charity stripe.
HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay – Ritchie McKay begins his third season in charge of Lobo hoops and his ninth year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02). He has a career record of 107-121, 24-32 at New Mexico. McKay is 24-11 at home, 15-12 in non-conference games and 15-6 in non-league games at The Pit.
While at Mountain West Conference member Colorado State, McKay led the Rams to the NIT in 1999. McKay is the son of the late Joe McKay, who was a three-year letterman at guard for the Lobos from 1961-63.
SEASON/HOME OPENERS – New Mexico is 72-29 in season openers, but 36-6 since the 1962-63 season. UNM has lost two of its past three lid-lifters – both at home – 81-66 to No. 13 Stanford in 2001 and 76-68 to Cal in 2002. The Lobos, who walloped San Francisco State 95-42 to open the season last year, are 72-25 in home openers and have won 39 of their last 43.
LOBOS PREDICTED FOR 4TH-PLACE FINISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST – New Mexico was picked to finish fourth in the 2004-05 Mountain West Conference race during the league’s preseason media gathering Oct. 24, in Denver. Voters were a combination of head coaches and media. It’s the highest predicted finish for the Lobos since they were selected to place second behind Utah in the inaugural MWC season of 1999-2000. UNM was picked to finish seventh each of the past two seasons.
GRANGER NAMED MWC’S TOP RETURNING PLAYER – The MWC head coaches and the media that cover the loop picked UNM senior forward Danny Granger as the league’s top returning player. The 6-8 All-America candidate led the conference in scoring last year, averaging 19.5 ppg. He also led UNM in rebounding (9.0 rpg), steals (29) and blocked shots (31).
PERSONNEL PICTURE – The Lobos return eight lettermen, including four starters, from last year’s team that finished 14-14. Sean Phaler, a redshirt last season, gives the Lobos nine players total returning from 2003-04. The biggest loss from a year ago is senior Javin Tindall. Tindall was second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and 3-pt. FG% (41.9%). He led the team in assists (98) and FT% (83.1%) and tied a school record with nine 3-pt. FGs at UNLV. Returning starters include senior forwards Alfred Neale and Danny Granger, senior guard Troy DeVries and junior forward David Chiotti. Juniors Jeff Hart and Mark Walters, along with sophomores Ryan Wall and Kellen Walter are also back.
It will still be a young team as the only players with more than one year of experience at UNM are juniors Hart, Walters and Chiotti.
Lettermen not returning are 6-2 guard Ryan Ashcraft, 6-2 guard Lenny Miles, 6-2 guard Collins Ferris, 6-6 forward Mikal Monette and 6-8 forward Justin Benson. Ashcraft was a senior who graduated from UNM in May, while Miles, Ferris, Monette and Benson all transferred.
McKay and his staff welcome six new faces to the team in 2004-05, one junior college transfer (Kris Collins) and five freshmen (Tony Danridge, Blake Harden, Bambale Osby, Darren Prentice and Chad Toppert).