Oct. 21, 2008
First Game: Nov. 8, Western New Mexico (exhibition)
Tickets: www.GoLobos.com; (505) 925-LOBO; 800-955-HOWL
By Richard Stevens Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Coach Alford Media Day Video – Click Here
Mistakes are something freshmen make. UNM sophomore Jonathan Wills says mistakes are something that Lobos coach Steve Alford will forgive.
But Wills does have a piece of advice for the pack of talented freshmen looking to grab some playing time on a UNM team that returns six solid veterans in Wills, Dairese Gary, Daniel Faris, Chad Toppert, Roman Martinez and Tony Danridge.
Wills says play hard, play extremely hard.
“If you are going to do it wrong, do it with 100 percent effort,” said Wills, who served his freshman year at UNM under Alford’s tutelage. “You can correct a mistake, but effort is up to the player. Coach likes to see effort.”
Wills is one of two Lobo sophomores who went through their freshmen campaign last year in Alford’s first year at the University of New Mexico. Gary is the other one. The talented UNM point guard echoes Wills’ suggestion about honest effort.
“If you are hustling and coach sees you trying, well, he might get on you to correct what you are doing wrong,” said Gary. “But if he sees that you are working hard, he’s pretty much OK with you.”
The Lobos held their annual Media Day Monday in the Rudy Davalos Center prior to an open practice session. Once again, Alford’s talented group of first-year Lobos — 6-10 Kem Nweke, 6-9 Will Brown, 6-8 A.J. Hardeman, 6-5 Curtis Dennis, 6-5 Phillip McDonald and 6-3 Nate Garth — were a hot topic.
How much will they help? How much will they play? How soon will they be ready to help and play?
Gary said when he was a freshman, one of the big adjustments was the talent level and the speed of the major-college game.
“In high school, you are usually the main person on your team,” said Gary. “You might be more athletic than everyone you play with or against, but in college, it’s pretty even across the board.
“My advice to the freshmen is if coach tells you something, you don’t talk back, you just listen and work hard to improve. We all come in with certain strengths and you want to improve on those, but you also need to figure out your weaknesses and work on them as much as you can, too. A lot of players don’t work on their weaknesses.”
If there is one thing the Lobos won’t be weak on in 2008-09, it’s athleticism and depth. Alford said the talent on this team lends itself to up-tempo basketball and pressure on defense. He said a key right now is to get his younger players used to the UNM system so they play Lobo basketball instinctively.
“Right now, they are trying to figure out what to do, at both ends,” he said. “They aren’t instinctive yet.”
Faris, a senior post, said there are three fundamental aspects of basketball that are high on Alford’s watch list for all UNM players.
“To get along with coach Alford, you have to play defense and rebound,” Faris said. “If you can do those two things, he’ll give you time on the court. Well, and also team play. He looks for team play, defense and rebounding. I don’t think these guys (freshmen) should worry about scoring because they are all talented and they can all score.”
Both Gary and Wills emphasized that the quicker the freshmen buy into defense, the better off they will be in the Alford system.
“I don’t think freshmen understand the importance of defense at this level,” said Gary. “You have to guard your man hard and then there is a lot of help defense when you are pressuring. They have to learn that.”
Said Wills: “The talent level is greater now and there is so much to learn. You have to focus and pay attention to take it all in. You have to guard your man, but you also have to get past your man. At times, I’m pretty sure (coach Alford) will put the fear in a lot of us, but he’s a great coach and this is a great staff. My advice is to listen and pay attention because these coaches will teach you a lot of things.”
Alford returns four starters = Faris, Gary, Martinez, Wills = and super sub Toppert off a UNM team that went 24-9 and tied the UNM mark for most wins during the regular season. The Lobos lost their leading scorer in J.R. Giddens, but much of that scoring punch should be picked up by Danridge, a senior who averaged 12.5 points in 2006-07 as a UNM starter.
Danridge sat out last season after breaking a leg before the season began. You package Danridge, who is 248 points shy of joining the Lobos’ 1,000-point club, with four returning starters, toss in a Top Ten recruiting class and the Lobos have a great chance of finishing higher than the fifth-place spot in which they were placed in a preseason Mountain West Conference poll.
Tony Danridge Media Day Video – Click Here
Curtis Dennis Media Day Video – Click Here
Daniel Faris Media Day Video – Click Here
Chad Toppert Media Day Video – Click Here
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner.