Final Basketball Release in PDF 
April 27, 2009
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It was a regular season that ended with a championship ring, and when you flash back on coach Steve Alford’s second season as a Lobo and his team’s 22-12 record, maybe that’s where you should begin – with the ring.
This was a special moment and a special accomplishment. A University of New Mexico men’s basketball team had not earned a championship ring in 15 years by winning a league title.
It was a drought that needed to end and this special group of Lobos ended it in dramatic fashion — in a five-game run scripted like a Hollywood movie. It was an ending that had it all, from unexpected romps to finishes that were one part miracle, one part magic and two parts guts.
The ring, of course, is the Mountain West Conference championship ring. It wasn’t supposed to go to the too-young Lobos of 2009. It was supposed to go to Utah or maybe UNLV or maybe that talented bunch of San Diego State Aztecs.
It was not expected to go to the young Lobos’ team that Alford pushed into the MWC wars projected to finish no better than fifth place.
After all, this was the New Mexico program that two years back stumbled to a 4-12 league mark and lost for the first time ever in the MWC Tournament play-in/pigtail game. This also was a UNM program which hadn’t won a league title in 15 years.
There were a few other reasons the Lobos shouldn’t have been crowned MWC champions in 2009. Namely, the Lobos had to win their final five games of the regular season to slip into a tie for the title. That run simply wasn’t going to happen, because there were too many good teams and too many road trips ahead of these young Lobos.
“I think the most important thing for us in winning the title was that we believed it would happen. We didn’t have any doubts,” said senior center Daniel Faris. “We had learned how to win and we knew what we had to do on the court to be successful.
“And then even when we didn’t do all the right things, we still found ways to win. We were just a bunch of guys who believed in each other and were willing to work hard to make things happen.”
There probably is no question about which game goes down as the most dramatic — and improbable — of UNM’s final five conference wins that produced the title and the rings and the 12-4 MWC record. The Lobos trailed Colorado State by five points in Fort Collins, Colo., with 13 seconds left to play in regulation. Game Over?
Yeah, normally that would have been the case. But the Lobos found a way to tie the game in regulation and left Moby Arena with an 81-79 win in double overtime. The Rams were only an in-bounds play away from ending the Lobos’ dream of a title.
That really wasn’t the Lobos only miracle win down that five-game run to a title. The Lobos ended the regular season at Wyoming where the Lobos traded punched with the Cowboys for 40 minutes before a winner — or a survivor — finally was found.
UNM won 74-73 in Laramie to finish the MWC race at 12-4 and claim a share of the league crown. There were 14 lead changes in the second half as both teams were fierce and clutch down the stretch.
Surely, the biggest difference in this game and in the outcome was that the Lobos had Tony Danridge and the Cowboys didn’t. The UNM senior had scored 29 points in a Pit win over Utah earlier that week and put up another 29 against the Cowboys, going 14-of-20 from the floor. Ironically, the Lobos’ winning basket was a 15-footer by senior Chad Toppert, his only bucket of the game and the 3-point specialist’s only shot from inside the circle.
“Who would have thought that the biggest basket in Chad Toppert’s career would be a 15-footer?” said Alford.
The MWC title in his second year help propel Alford to the 2008-09 MWC Coach of Year honors. The last Lobo coach to win a league Coach of Year award was Dave Bliss, in 1995-96.
The MWC title probably was the crowning point of the season, but there were lots and lots of successes for a team that went into the year searching for an identity without the incomparable J.R. Giddens around to shoulder the load and often carry the team.
Alford and his Lobos went into the 2008-09 campaign looking for many things in order to be successful, including protecting the basketball, honoring defense and taking good shots. “I hope the effort on the defensive end and and valuing the basketball become mainstays in what we are trying to do with this program,” said Alford.
There also were demands to be placed on a senior class that went into the season shouldering more than a few question marks.
Would Danridge come back from a broken bone and prove to the the go-to scorer that UNM would need to occasionally carry them through clutch situations and clutch games?
Would Faris, a power forward forced to play center throughout his UNM career, have the strength, the focus, the moves to give UNM that all-important inside presence?
Would Toppert, a 3-point wizard, be good enough on defense to stay on the court long enough to launch enough of his killer 3-point bombs to make a difference in games?
The answers turned out to be yes, yes, and yes. Oh, Danridge had a few moments where he didn’t attack the basket with the confidence and boldness that his talent suggested was there. Faris sometimes forced things inside and often found himself sitting on the bench with too many fouls. Toppert never grew into the type of defender who would challenge for the All-MWC Defensive Team, but he played smart and he learned how to use angles and body position to his advantage.
“These seniors really stepped up for us this season,” said Alford. “We wouldn’t have had the season we did, if they hadn’t performed like they did on the court and provided the leadership we needed from them off the court.”
Danridge made the All-MWC First Team, Faris made the Second Team and Toppert received honorable mention.
Danridge, Faris and Toppert were super and then you had super junior Roman Martinez and super sophomore Dairese Gary.
Martinez’s all-around play and his unselfishness helped take the Lobos to another level. Martinez might not have had the brilliant moments of a Danridge, but he might have been the most consistent Lobo over the season. Gary also elevated this team with his toughness and clutch play in clutch moments. The UNM point guard rarely looked like a playmaker in only his second year of D-I ball.
The Lobos had two freshmen in Phillip McDonald and Nate Garth, who didn’t play much like freshmen. McDonald was smooth on offense and provided UNM with yet another scoring touch for defenders to worry about. Garth gave UNM a quick and confident sub for Gary.
Alford also got solid bench help from sophomore Jonathan Wills, and freshmen Will Brown and A.J. Hardeman. The two first-year Lobos reveal the type of strength and athleticism Alford plans to make a trademark of his UNM program.
“I like the team that’s coming back,” said Alford. “We have a chance to be more athletic and we’re still going to be able to shoot the ball. We have a few missing pieces, but we love what the team is building up to.
“Our three seniors (Danridge, Faris, Toppert) were a lot of our rebounding, a lot of our points, but a lot of things were being run through them. Next year, our offense is going to be run through different players.”
There surely will be some changes in 2009-10, but there were some cornerstones set in 2008-09 that reflect the core of Alford’s program at UNM.
Defense: UNM held opponents to just 41.0% shooting from the floor this past season, the fourth lowest defensive percentage surrendered by Lobo team in 43 years. The Lobos held the enemy to 40.7 percent shooting in 2007-08. This marks the first time in 44 years that UNM has held opponents to shooting percentage of 41% or less in consecutive seasons.
Defend The Pit: For the first time since 2005, the Lobos were undefeated (8-0) in home MWC games, winning by an average of 17.7 points. In four league games, UNM held opponents to a season scoring low: BYU (62), Colorado State (50), Wyoming (57) and San Diego State (49). UNM is 32-4 in The Pit over Alford’s two seasons.
Be Road Warriors: The Lobos’ 14 road wins is a UNM mark for road wins over a two-season stretch. To put this record into better perspective, UNM was 14-60 on the road in the seven seasons before Alford came to UNM.
The Lobos are 9-7 in MWC road games under Alford. UNM was 9-42 in MWC games in the seven seasons prior to Alford.
Postseason Play: Despite grabbing a MWC regular-season title, the Lobos were snubbed by the NCAA. Still, it was imporant for this young program to slip into postseason play and gain some experience against winning teams. The National Invitation Tournament provided that opportunity. The Lobos beat a solid Nebraska team in The Pit and lost in the final seconds at Notre Dame. It was UNM’s 29th postseason appearance.
Academics: Danridge, Faris and Toppert are scheduled to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree. The Lobos’ grades have made significant jumps since Alford took over the program.
With what I saw when I was hired, I couldn’t be more pleased with what this group has done in a short time,” said Alford.
“We turned a huge corner academically. We’re averaging 23 wins a year and already have won a league championship. We did a lot of things with some guys who were in place two years ago and who hadn’t had a lot of success. We have proven ourselves on the road. We are 32-4 at home.”
The Lobos also have something else. They have their rings.