Nov. 13, 2008
Lobos Announce the Signing of Four-Member Recruiting Class
Purchase Southeast Missouri State Tickets Here
What: Lobos vs. Southeast Missouri State
When/Where: 7:05 p.m. Friday, The Pit
Radio: 770 KKOB-AM
Quick fact: A video board will be located in southwest corner of mezzanine level
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Welcome to big-time college basketball all you Steve Alford freshmen.
Be prepared to run up and down the court with an up-tempo Southeast Missouri State team on Friday, jump on an airplane and fly to Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, and then run with an NCAA-caliber Creighton team on Sunday.
Don’t forget to bring your homework on the plane and don’t forget to bring fundamental basketball to both games. Coach Alford likes all those little things that win games like defense, rebounding, ball control, team work, spacing, shot selection, honest effort.
Heck, this will not be an easy season-opening weekend for the University of New Mexico veterans: Dairese Gary, Jonathan Wills, Roman Martinez, Tony Danridge, Chad Toppert and Daniel Faris.
“Practice is really important right now because we are getting ready for two teams, so it’s important we stay focused,” said Gary, UNM’s starting point guard. “(The freshmen) aren’t used to playing back-to-back games like this.”
The Lobos will barely have time to catch their breath after opening with SE Missouri State before they walk onto a tough Creighton gym that actually averaged more fans last season than did UNM: 15,333 to 14,361.
“That’s a very difficult road test,” said Alford. “We have our hands full (Friday night) and then we have a one-day turnaround for a team like Creighton, who is picked to win the Missouri Valley and who on paper looks very, very good.”
The Lobos open their 106th season Friday and their second season under Alford, who revived The Pit last season with a 24-9 mark, tying UNM’s record for wins during the regular season. It also was the most wins ever by a first-year UNM coach.
Alford’s 2008-09 team is a nice blend of veterans and talented freshmen, but Alford is still looking for good chemistry and player combinations while emphasizing fundamental basketball.
One of Alford’s key phrases this week is “board play.”
“Board play is a concern,” said Alford. “We don’t have that guy in J.R. Giddens, who can get you 10-plus rebounds a game. Now, guys who were getting one, two, three (rebounds) need to get three, four and five. We have to make sure that happens.”
The Lobos out rebounded an undersized Western New Mexico team 46-35 and play some undersized Redhawks on Friday. Still, Alford wants to see some individual improvement in board play.
“You got to produce or your minutes drop,” said Alford in a not-so-subtle warning.
Junior Roman Martinez and freshmen A.J. Hardeman gave Alford some solid board work in the exhibition with eight apiece. Senior jumping jack Tony Danridge and 6-9 senior Daniel Faris pulled down only three rebounds each.
The Missouri Redhawks will be looking up at the Lobos all night with a starting lineup that goes 5-10, 6-0, 6-4, 6-6 and 6-6. Their tallest sub off the bench is 6-7.
“They might be an undersized team, but they are a team that plays bigger than what they are,” said Alford. “They play with a lot of energy. The things we struggled with (vs. Western NM), board play and dribble-drive defense, those are two things that Southeast Missouri State is very good at.”
Gary is the shortest Lobo at 6-1 and UNM shoots up to 6-8, 6-9, 6-7, 6-9 and 6-10.
The Redhawks are the first of seven games UNM plays in a 17-day span.
“It’s going to be an up-and-down game,” said Gary of the Redhawks, 12-19 last season. “They are athletic. They have a lot of shooters. They are undersized compared to us, but they are still athletic. There are going to be bodies banging.”
“It’s going to be very hard playing Friday, then traveling (Saturday), and then playing on Sunday. And it’s not at home.”
Alford joked that when you go on the road with so many freshmen, there is one more thing you worry about: “Our biggest concern with six freshmen is we warm up at the right end (of the court).”
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