Jan. 15, 2010
Saturday: Lobos at Wyoming, 1:30 p.m., Laramie
On The Air: The Mtn (Comcast 276, DirecTV 616); 770-AM KKOB
Online: GameTracker, stats, game story on GoLobos.com
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
A sentence that Lobos coach Steve Alford would like to hear time and time again as his Lobos surge deeper into the Mountain West Conference wars came from an enemy Wednesday night in The Pit.
“I thought their bench was damn good tonight,” said Utah coach Jim Boylen after New Mexico spanked his Utes 74-57.
No doubt, if Alford’s Lobos could pull that comment out of a Wyoming Cowboy on Saturday, it probably would bode well for the Lobos on the scoreboard. The `Pokes like to run and throw waves of talent at visitors to Wyoming. The `Pokes like to wear you down.
A productive bench is a nice thing to have at Wyoming and, really, at all Mountain West destinations.
The Lobos bench, even younger than the UNM starters, has been a pleasant surprise in 2009-10. It is a bench of two sophomores in Will Brown and Nate Garth, a lone redshirt freshman in Curtis Dennis, and two true freshmen in Jamal Fenton and Chad Adams.
You have to give Alford credit for developing this bench, giving it confidence, and incorporating it into his Lobos’ success on the scoreboard. Most of these Lobos have been given quality minutes and have been thrust into clutch situations. They share the swagger and the success of the starters.
Like Wednesday vs. Utah. The Lobo bench scored 23 points. Actually, two of Alford’s subs – Brown and Garth – were stars of the game.
Garth hit what was probably the biggest field goal as UNM staged a run that pulled the Lobos away from the Utes. The sophomore point guard had two assists and no turnovers. Brown had seven points, six boards and led UNM with three steals. Fenton also had a productive 11 minutes with six points, three boards and one steal.
Obviously, the minutes played and the stats reveal these three subs to be the Lobos’ top threats off the pine. Brown averages 17.7 minutes, 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds. Garth is next with 16.2 minutes, 5.0 points and 1.8 assists. Fenton averages 14.9 minutes, 4.9 points and 1.7 assists.
The productivity, and court time, squeezed out of Garth and Fenton has been impressive considering they play behind junior starter Dairese Gary, who averages 26.4 minutes per game. Of course, Alford often has two point guards on the court at the same time.
It might be tougher for Alford to continue to give large minutes to the UNM bench. Traditionally, benches become smaller as teams drift into league play with home-and-away games and more intense scouting. It’s also more of a gamble to go to a young bench in league play because winning and losing has more consequences during league wars.
Fr. Jamal Fenton |
“When you get into league play, it just becomes tougher to play 10 guys and get them quality minutes,” said Alford. “What we are trying to do is get (young subs) better each day. The key is to see improvement in those players.
“The bench can be a fragile situation because your play can be sporadic at times. You don’t always play as much as you want and sometimes that can affect your confidence. Our bench has been great this season.”
The roles for Garth and Fenton coming off the bench are similar. They are there to give Gary a breather, but they also are there to provide a different dynamic to the offense. If Gary is going through a bad stretch, Garth and Fenton are on the court to produce.
“Nate has more experience than Jamal,” said Alford. “He has league-play experience and knows what it’s like to play in places like Laramie. We expect to lean on Nate’s experience. Jamal is still learning, but he has done a great job while he’s learning. He doesn’t play like a freshman.”
Brown’s role is kind of the same. The 6-foot-9 sophomore goes in to give the 6-8 A.J. Hardeman a breather. In UNM’s 18 games, Hardeman has averaged 22.2 minutes to 17.7 for Brown. That’s not a huge gap and might not change much during league wars, if Brown continues to be productive.
Early in the season, Brown probably tried to impress his coaches too much by scoring. He forced up some ugly shots. His shot selection has improved and he is going more toward the basket with power. The Lobos can always use some scoring inside, but Brown needs to be productive in rebounding and defense.
“Will is improving,” said Alford. “In league, you might see both of them out there more as we look to get more size out there. We’re happy if Will stays out of foul trouble, hits the boards and plays defense. He also needs to bring us energy off the bench.”
The wild cards on the bench as UNM drifts deeper into league play are Dennis and Adams. Dennis is a shooter, who burned the nets in practice last season as a redshirt. He has had a bit of trouble finding his range and rhythm in live action. He averages 9.2 minutes in UNM’s 18 games.
Adams has shown flashes of athleticism in his 5.8 minutes per game. Alford says the Highland High product has been placed in a tough spot as a first-year Lobo.
“He is a freshman with a lot to learn about our system and we’ve asked him to learn two positions,” said Alford. “He has been playing the three, which is a guard position, and the four, which is a forward position. He has a lot to learn on both ends. As he starts to pick things up better at those two positions, his minutes will go up.”