New Mexico St

2008 CollegeHoops.net High-Major All-Freshman

CHN — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:12:45 -0700

CollegeHoops.net High-Major Freshman of the Year: P’Allen Stinnett (Creighton)

CollegeHoops.net High-Major All-Freshman Team

G: Armon Johnson (Nevada)

G: P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton)

G: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra)

F: Austin Daye (Gonzaga)

F: Herb Pope (New Mexico St)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team High-Major All-Freshman

G: R.L. Horton (Southern Miss)

F: Chris Wright (Dayton)

F: Tirrell Baines (Marshall)

F: Billy White (San Diego State)

F: Lavoy Allen (Temple)

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention High-Major All-Freshman: Kevin Anderson (Richmond), Alphonso Dawson (Delaware), Papa Dia (SMU), Dairese Gary (New Mexico), Steven Gray (Gonzaga), Sam Maniscalco (Bradley), Chad Tomko (UNCW)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Up next are our Mid-Major All-Freshman teams.

CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

Freshman 10: Mid-Major Rookie Preview

Jason Tomassini — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:58:30 -0700

High Major Freshman of the Year (includes C-USA minus Memphis, WAC, Mountain West, CAA, A-10 and Gonzaga)

Herb Pope, New Mexico State – I’m going out on a limb here because Pope’s amazing story leaves a lot of question marks for the upcoming season. Besides his wavering eligibility issues (which first-year coach Marvin Menzies says will be granted), he considered de-committing this summer after Reggie Theus left for the Sacramento Kings and is still feeling the lasting effects of nearly fatal gunshot wounds suffered in April, which caused him to lose 37 pounds (check out this outstanding NY Times feature if you want even more info). He’s a bit of a loose cannon, but seemingly just a good kid with an unbelievably troubled past. And if you’ve ever seen footage of Pope play or read about his game, he may have more raw talent than any player in the WAC. He’s 6-9 but can score from anywhere on the court. He has great handle for a big man and says he has regained his explosiveness after the shooting. The Aggies are amongst the WAC favorites so hopefully Pope will play to his potential and his journey will get some national pub (a November 12 game at Duke on ESPN2 should help as well).

All High Major Team

G R.L. Horton, Southern Mississippi

G Dante Jackson, Xavier

F Herb Pope, New Mexico State

F Chris Wright, Dayton

C Austin Daye, Gonzaga

This list may have been tougher to narrow down than the BCS freshmen teams (note: there is no way in hell I could’ve left those forwards off the team, even if it involved snubbing some great players). I know the gap is dwindling between the major programs and the mid-majors, but these schools are still beating out some of the best recruiters in the game to get some of these guys. Everyone makes a fuss about the high and mid-majors and their senior leadership, but the ability to bring in top 50 guys (and keep them for more than one year) is just as big a factor.

I cheated a bit putting Daye at center. Apparently he played some guard in high school but the Zags will want his athleticism on the boards and around the basket (especially if Josh “Shroomer” Heytvelt struggles because he thinks the ball is a dragon). But him, Pope and Wright are three of the better high-major recruits in the past five years so whatever, he’s a center. Just for today.

The people of Dayton have their panties in a bunch over Wright, who was in the top 100 on both Rivals and Scout and part of a great Flyers recruiting class. He had a double-double in the Jordan Classic and chose the Flyers over Michigan State and Texas.

Horton was Mr. Basketball in a loaded Mississippi class this year and a late steal for Larry Eustachy. Despite his point guard body, he is a big-time scorer and reached legendary status for his clutch play. He should see significant time at both guard positions.

Jackson won’t start in the Musketeers outstanding backcourt but could be their sixth man. He’s a great shooter that should see a lot of open looks with Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell handling the ball.

Mid-Major Freshman of the Year (All other conferences)

Matt Howard, Butler – Rivals has him as a four-star prospect and the 85th best player in his class but it has nothing to do with athleticism, highlight reels or physical dominance. Instead, he has all the makings of a prototypical mid-major star. For a guy that’s listed at 6-7, 220 he is relentless on the boards and always seems to be around the ball. He finds a variety of ways to finish around the basket and is a good passer for his size. He spurned Xavier and Indiana for the Bulldogs and Rivals considers him “one of the most highly touted recruits ever to sign with Butler.” This is a very good team and Howard should help alleviate the loss of Brandon Crone.

All Mid Major Team

G Jenirro Bush, Jackson State

G Tyrone Shelley, Pepperdine

F Derek Selvig, Montana

F Matt Howard, Butler

C DJ Magley, Western Kentucky

Shelley is very highly touted and chose Pepperdine over Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas, Washington and UCONN. He once scored 76 points in a high school game… as a junior… in three quarters. The four-star recruit also broke Chase Budinger’s San Diego scoring record and, after Kingsley Costain’s dismissal, could be the Waves leading scorer this year.

Bush is another interesting story (props to CHN editor Shawn Siegel for the tip). After committing to Arkansas and being courted by the likes of UCONN, Oregon and Illinois, he had intentions of reclassifying for the 2008 class when Stan Heath left. Then in May he suddenly decided to stay close to home and play for the Tigers this season. He should be their starting point guard and at 6-6 he could put up gaudy numbers in the SWAC.

Selvig is a huge pick-up for a team that is already the favorite in the Big Sky. He’s a 6-10, Steve Novak type shooter who should complement the Grizzlies’ all-league forwards, Andrew Strait and Jordan Hasquet.

Magley lost a lot of weight before his senior year and the Hilltoppers were able to fend off a number of big-time latecomers in the recruiting process. He’s not that athletic but could be dominant if he can stay on the floor for WKU, who should be one of the better mid-majors this season. Plus, he did this, which is nice.

Return to Part I, focusing on the top BCS freshmen. Check back tomorrow for Part III of Jason’s Freshman 10 Preview, a look at rookie sleepers and more.. and next week Jason Tomassini begins his biweekly Freshman 10 column!

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview & Awards | More Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the WAC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:03:50 -0700

2007-08 New Mexico State Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:58:25 -0700

New Mexico State Aggies

Overall Rank: #43

Conference Rank: #1 WAC

2006-07: 25-9, 11-5, 1^st

2006-07 postseason: NCAA

Coach Reggie Theus is not around anymore, but he leaves behind plenty of talent for new coach Marvin Menzies at New Mexico State. Coach Menzies spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Louisville and will continue the up-tempo, NBA style transition basketball that Aggie fans have become accustomed to seeing.

Who’s Out:

When Tyrone Nelson, the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder last year was kicked off the team NMSU suffered a blow to their NCAA hopes. That leaves a handful of frontcourt players that will have to step up and fill his shoes, but at least the Aggies have plenty of options. The graduation of Elijah Ingram may be just as important. Ingram was by far the team’s most prolific shooter and he averaged 10.6 points per game during his senior season. Shaun Davis and Ted Knauber were decent shooters and earned some starts, but both have wrapped up their collegiate careers. The lack of a proven long range shooter on the team could be a major problem for NMSU. Forward David Fisher started half of the team’s games and averaged 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Who’s In:

This is a great recruiting class and while most of the credit goes to Coach Theus, Coach Menzies at least got Herb Pope to stick around. Pope, a 6-8 power forward, is a great interior scorer and rebounder. He has the size and strength to absolutely dominate the WAC sooner rather than later. Pope is recovering from gunshot wounds suffered in March, but he is expected to be ready for the start of the season. The rest of the newcomers will fill out the depleted backcourt. Point guard JayDee Luster is a smart floor leader. At 5-9 his size is a concern, but he can use his quickness to sneak down the court. The team needs a true point guard and they hope Luster will be the answer for years to come. Chris Cole, a transfer from Hartford, can play some point or the off-guard position. Four true shooting guards join the team in Paris Carter, Jahmar Young, Aaron ‘Gordo’ Castillo and DeAngelo Jones. Carter played at the junior college level as a sophomore and suited up for Hartford as a freshman where he was named to the America East All-Rookie team. He is a superb shooter and that, along with his experience, should make him an impact player right away.

Who to Watch:

If NMSU wants to play their five best players, the lineup is going to be big. Fred Peete, at 6-4, will start at the point after averaging 9.5 points and 2.6 assists per game last season. And until one of the newcomers comes around, Justin Hawkins may be the shooting guard. Hawkins led the team in points and rebounding last year and the 6-7 Anaheim, California native is best suited for the small forward position. Hawkins just does not have the outside shot the team will need from the shooting guard. Jonathan Gibson can provide some depth at the guard spots, but is not a consistent enough shooter to crack the starting lineup.

Final Projection:

With centers Hatila Passos and Martin Iti too talented to keep on the bench, that will move incoming freshman Pope to the small forward position. Iti did spend most of last season coming in off the bench, but it will be tough to keep him there this year. Ideally a shooting guard, most likely Carter, can live up to the potential and earn a starting job, leaving Passos, Iti and Pope to split minutes at the four and five spots. Passos is the teams scoring threat inside and averaged 8.7 points and 6.1 rebounds last year. He showed flashes of greatness on occasion and he will be a big time player if he can develop some consistency game in and game out. Iti is the defensive presence under the basket. The seven-footer blocked 1.2 shots per game and altered countless others. He is a decent rebounder and that will lead to some easy buckets under the basket for Iti. As long as some of the newcomers on the perimeter come to fruition, Coach Menzies will have plenty of options to fit the situation. And not many, or any, team in the WAC can compete with the frontline that New Mexico State will be sporting.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Fred Peete, Senior, Guard, 9.5 points per game

Justin Hawkins, Senior, Guard, 15.6 points per game

Herb Pope, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season

Hatila Passos, Senior, Center, 8.7 points per game

Martin Iti, Senior, Center, 6.4 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | College Basketball Schedule | Discuss the Preview

Reggie Theus Named Sacramento Kings Head Coach

Press Release — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:24:59 -0700

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento Kings have an agreement in principle with Reggie Theus to become the team's 21st head coach, it was announced today by Kings' President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Details for a Wednesday (June 20th) afternoon press conference will be released tomorrow morning.

“We’re really excited about hiring Reggie," explained Petrie. "During the course of working through all the interviews and different possibilities, we really felt in the end that we wanted to go with a young coach, someone we could grow with. I think Reggie brings a lot of enthusiasm and charisma, along with his background with Rick Pitino at Louisville, his history as an NBA player in the community of Sacramento, and what he did as a head coach at New Mexico State. He has a unique combination of abilities, and we think he’ll grow and be an exciting coach for us going forward.”

Theus, who played 13 years in the NBA and was a member of the 1985 inaugural Sacramento Kings, is fresh off the heels of leading New Mexico State to a berth in the NCAA Tournament (a first for the school since 1999). Theus coached the Aggies for two seasons, compiling a 41-23 record. In his first year at the helm of the NMSU program, Theus guided the Aggies to a tie for the fifth-best turnaround in all of Division I basketball and the best single-season improvement of any NMSU squad since the 1985-86 season. He turned around a program that went 6-24 the year before he arrived (2004-05), leading the team to a 16-14 record, including wins over rival New Mexico and NCAA Tournament participants Pacific and Utah State. Theus' Aggies improved to 25-9 last season, winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

“Reggie is a coach who has a tremendous passion and love for the game of basketball," said Kings' co-owner Joe Maloof. "He’s got a terrific work ethic, and I think that, combined with his passion for the game, will help lead us into the future.”

Under Theus, NMSU also saw dramatic improvement in conference play as the Aggies went 10-6 in their first season as a member of the WAC. The nine-win improvement in conference play over the 2004-05 season was the Aggies’ biggest single-season turnaround in school history. The Aggies swept three conference season series (Idaho, San Jose State, Utah State) while taking two of three meetings from Hawai’i and advancing to the conference championship semifinals.

“Obviously we’re very excited about the hiring of Reggie," said Kings' co-owner Gavin Maloof. "He’s the King of Kings. He had a great career as a player with this franchise and now he has a chance to be the head coach of the team. He did a wonderful job with the New Mexico State program. He's very well thought of and revered in Las Cruces and we’re just really excited to have him on board.”

Prior to his NMSU assignment, Theus spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville under head coach Rick Pitino. While at Louisville, he was an integral part of the Cardinals’ run to the Final Four, the 2005 Conference USA regular season and tournament titles while helping lead the program to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2004-05, Theus helped guide Louisville back to the Final Four for the first time since their national title run in 1986.

“I’ve never been speechless in my life, and I’m struggling to find words right now," expounded Theus. "When you’ve worked this hard to get into coaching, even as a former NBA player, it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s very difficult to put into words how happy I am. And as much as anything else, it’s such a great thing when people recognize how hard you’ve worked for something.

“I’m just very happy. To be able to go back and be the head coach of the Kings—I could not write a better script myself. It fits the term ‘dream job’. There are only a couple of those opportunities out there. I was a part of the history of the first team that played here, so it’s not just a job for me, it’s a passion. I’ve always loved the organization and I’ve always been involved. From being a player to doing games to being an analyst on the Kings' TV package, I’ve always kept in touch with the people that are involved with the Kings. To be able to go back and be the head coach of the Kings is absolutely a dream come true. I have absolutely come full circle now.”

Along with being an excellent teacher on the practice floor, Theus was also Louisville’s top recruiter, helping the Cardinals sign a handful of the nation’s top high school players over the past two seasons. He coached current Kings' swingman Francisco Garcia at Louisville.

A native of Los Angeles, and an Inglewood High School graduate, Theus was able to utilize a vast network of connections throughout the region to help Louisville land national letters of intent from four highly recruited prep players on the West Coast, an area in which Pitino and Louisville had never recruited before Theus’ arrival.

Theus’ coaching resume includes a variety of diverse experiences. Before joining Pitino’s staff at Louisville, Theus spent a year as a volunteer assistant at Cal State Los Angeles. He also gained coaching experience as the head coach of the Southern California All-Stars (17-and-under AAU Team) and as a summer league coach for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets.

In the spring of 2002, Theus led the Las Vegas Slam of the American Basketball Association to the Western Conference finals where they lost to eventual champion Kansas City.

Before turning his attention to the coaching profession, Theus' 13 years as a player in the NBA were spent with the Chicago Bulls, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets. After being drafted by the Bulls as the ninth overall pick in 1978, Theus finished runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting to Kansas City’s Phil Ford and was named to the 1979 All-Rookie team.

Theus played for the Kings for five seasons (1983-84 to 1987-88), averaging 18.8 points, 8.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game through 346 contests. He's ranks fourth on the Kings' all-time assists list (2,809).

Theus is one of only seven players in NBA history to score at least 19,000 points and dish out 6,000 assists, joining John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler and Jerry West with that distinction. When Theus retired, he ranked 22nd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 19,105 career points and 11th on the all-time assists list with 6,453 career assists. Over his 13-year career, Theus averaged 18.5 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds a game while being named to the 1981 and 1983 NBA All-Star teams.

In 1992-93, Theus spent one season playing professionally in Italy with Ranger Varese. In 30 games with Ranger, he averaged 29.3 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game. Theus was the league’s second-leading scorer and leader in assists that season.

After retiring from professional basketball in 1993, Theus spent nearly a decade as an actor and television sports broadcaster. He served as an NBA analyst for Turner Sports, ESPN and was a co-host on the Fox Sports Net program “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

Theus’ extensive acting credits include playing Coach Bill Fuller for three years on NBC’s hit Saturday morning television show “Hang Time.”

Theus played his college basketball at UNLV for head coach Jerry Tarkanian from 1976 to 1978. In three seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels, he averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Theus, who became one of the best players to ever don a UNLV uniform, shot 81 percent from the free-throw line for his career while amassing 1,177 career points (21st on all-time scoring list), 401 career assists and 389 career rebounds in just 91 collegiate games.

In 1989, Theus was inducted into the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame and in 1997 he became one of only six players in school history to have his jersey retired by the Rebels.

Along with a successful career as both a player and coach, Theus has also been an influential member of the communities where he and his family have lived. Among the charitable programs which have benefited from Theus’ involvement are the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, spokesperson for the NBA’s Stay in School Program, and Reggie Theus’ Trikes for Kids.

Theus and his wife Elaine have three children; Raquel, Reggie and Rhyan.

Utah State Falls at New Mexico State

Press Release — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:00:04 -0800

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Despite 30 points from Jaycee Carroll, Utah State was unable to rally from a double-digit deficit for the second straight game on the road and lost at New Mexico State 76-73 at the Pan American Center Thursday night.

Utah State, who had its five-game winning streak snapped, falls to 20-8 overall and 8-5 in the Western Athletic Conference with the loss, while New Mexico State improves to 21-6 overall and 9-3 in league play with the win.

Stephen DuCharme added 18 points for Utah State, while Chaz Spicer scored 13.

Justin Hawkins led New Mexico State with 23 points, while Elijah Ingram had 15 points. Tyrone Nelson also scored in double-figures with 13 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.

New Mexico State scored the first three points of the second half to record its biggest lead of the game at 46-26 with 18:40 remaining before Utah State scored the next nine points to get back within 11. USU continued its charge and closed to within six points at 50-44 on a jumper by Chaz Spicer with 14:29 remaining only to see NMSU respond with an 8-0 run to increase its lead back to 14 with 12:37 to play.

Utah State then went on a 7-0 run midway through the second-half to get within four at 64-60 with 8:17 remaining. The New Mags slowly increased its lead back to nine at 74-65 before the USU scored eight straight to get within one at 74-73. USU actually had a chance to tie the game with :47 seconds remaining but DuCharme missed the second of two free throws.

New Mexico State had a chance to ice the game at the line but missed four straight free throws to keep Utah State within one. Utah State then had the ball with :23 seconds remaining with a chance to win but turned the ball over in front of the USU bench. Hawkins then made two free throws for NMSU with :05 seconds remaining to give the hosts a three-point lead. Durrall Peterson then missed a desperation shot from 30-feet at the buzzer for Utah State that would have tied the game.

Utah State scored the first four points of the game on lay-ups by Chaz Spicer and Stephen DuCharme before New Mexico State scored six straight points to take the lead. NMSU then used a 10-2 run to increase its lead to 12 and led 28-16 before Carroll scored 11 straight points followed by a pair of free throws from DuCharme to get USU within five at 29-24 with 6:42 remaining. New Mexico State then finished the half on a 14-2 run to take a 17-point lead at 43-26 into the break.

In the first-half, New Mexico State shot 66.7 percent from the field and was nine-of-16 from the free throw line (.563), while Utah State shot just 30.8 percent from the field and was seven-of-nine from the free throw line (.778). Ingram led NMSU with 11 first-half points, while Hawkins and Martin Iti each had 10. Carroll led USU with 14 first-half points.

Overall, Utah State shot 46.4 percent from the field as compared to 56.3 percent shooting for New Mexico State. USU did make seven-of-16 three-pointers (.438) and was 14-of-17 from the free throw line (.824), while NMSU was just two-of-nine from behind the arc (.222) and 20-of-33 from the charity stripe (.606). New Mexico State also out-rebounded USU 36-25.

Utah State will play its final road game of the regular season on Sat., Feb. 24 at Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. (MT).

-USU-

Top 5 Performances of the Week: Aaron Brooks #1

Jason Tomassini — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:04:35 -0800

Because sports journalism needs more lists (they are much easier to write than regular columns by the way, I don’t know how that Rick Reilly does it) I give you the best performances of the week. We’ll take a look every couple of weeks at some big games put in by players across the nation, hopefully through March where we’ll get a look at the best performances on the stage where stars are made, March Madness (now I sound like Greg Gumbel, damn).

The focus won’t necessarily be on statistics, although that will be a factor. I’m looking for guys who came up big in important games and in winning efforts. Dropping 40 in a drubbing of South Florida won’t get you anywhere, dropping 20 in an upset of Florida might. So much has been said about the ridiculous game between Texas and Oklahoma State last Tuesday so for this edition, I’m only considering games from Wednesday night and on. I’m sure Kevin Durant and Mario Boggan’s hearts are broken.

As you might know, there are tons of games. And I have a busy schedule of class and drinking that could prohibit me from seeing/ being able to remember every meaningful game that goes on. So there could be some performances that fall through the cracks, and if you feel someone got slighted, let me know.

1) Aaron Brooks, Oregon - 22 points, six assists, four rebounds in 92-84 win over California Saturday

Out west, he’s kind of a big deal, but we here on the East Coast might have to wait until March to know how great Brooks is. I think you could really make a case for Brooks to be Pac-10 Player of the Year at this point and yet he is largely unheralded (you know with Bristol being like really far from Oregon and all). A week after carrying the Ducks to a win over Arizona that included the game-winner, Brooks put his team on his shoulders again versus the Bears. After Oregon was down eight at half, Brooks came out and hit two threes and a two-pointer to tie the game within three minutes. He ended up with 15 in the second half and 22 overall after not scoring in the first 10 minutes. He was 8-12 from the field, 4-5 from three and had zero turnovers in a remarkably efficient game that kept Oregon on top of the country’s best conference. Apparently Brooks is suspended this Thursday against Washington for a flagrant foul in last year’s conference tourney which seems wildly bogus to me. Somewhere Tony Skinn is laughing deviously.

2) Al Thornton, Florida State - 27 points, 13 rebounds in 82-73 win over Virginia Tech Jan. 17

I knew Thornton was good last year, but I really knew how good he was when I saw this dunk earlier in the year. Anyone who can embarrass another grown man like that simply by jumping in the air gets my utmost respect. But Thornton showed last week that he can do more than just ruin people’s manhoods, and he only needs half the time to do it. All of his 27 came in the second half (including a 30-footer dagger to beat the shot clock buzzer) and if it weren’t for him, the Noles probably would’ve blown a 16-point half-time lead and lost. Instead they stay in the at-large picture and there is still a chance of Gus Johnson announcing one of Thornton’s dunks in March (possibly causing planets to collide) which would change the lives of everyone fortunate enough to hear it.

3) Justin Hawkins, New Mexico State - 29 points, 11 rebounds in 80-73 win over Nevada Saturday

Shawn Siegel picked this up the other day as Hawkins turned in one of the best mid-major performances of the year given the circumstances. For the Aggies, to respond to a bad loss against Louisiana Tech earlier in the week and beat the No. 13 team in the country should show the selection committee a lot. After starting 1-3 New Mexico State is 14-1 and actually on top of the WAC because they are tied with Nevada at 5-1. At just 6-5, Hawkins managed nine offensive rebounds and his 19 first half points kept the Aggies in the game early. In addition to the big win, Hawkins play also seemed to piss off Nevada coach Mark Fox (at least that’s how it sounded in the AP story) and had Nick Fazekas making excuses. Should make for a fun rematch or two.

4) Dominic James, Marquette - 23 points in 77-74 overtime win at Pitt Sunday

Thankfully my roommates and I have two televisions in our living room so while watching the Bears dismantle the Saints Sunday, we were also able to keep tabs on Pitt-Marquette. Every time the Chevy “This Is Our Country” commercial came on, I looked over at the basketball game (while repeatedly punching myself in the ear) and seemed to see James making a spectacular play every time. The play where he stole the ball and froze both of Pitt’s Ivory Towers (Aaron Grey and Levon “Vanilla Ice” Kendall) on way to a reverse lay-up helped reduce the pain of watching Rex Grossman. In addition to dominating Pitt’s guards (who I think are very suspect and could be the Panthers downfall in March) he hit the game-winning free throws with under a second left in overtime and gave Pitt only their second home loss in the last two years. This game should put James in the lead for Big East POY and should cement the Eagles as the Big East’s best team right now.

5) Roderick Wilmont, Indiana - 23 points, five rebounds, in 77-73 win at UCONN Saturday

Clearly Connecticut isn’t as good as everyone thought but it’s still never easy to win at Storrs, especially for an up-and-down Indiana team. Huskies fans will argue he shouldn’t have still been in the game, but Wilmont hit two huge shots down the stretch (including one of his five threes) to give the Hoosiers a win that could secure a spot in the NCAA tourney. I’ve never thought Kelvin Sampson was that great of a coach but in a conference devoid of any good teams besides Wisconsin and Ohio State, Indiana might be the third-best team in the Big Ten despite their warm-up pants.

Honorable Mention

Greg Oden, Ohio State - 29 points, 10 rebounds on 12-13 shooting in 82-63 win vs. Iowa Saturday

Arron Afflalo, UCLA - 22 points, 3-6 three pointers in 73-69 win vs. Arizona Saturday

Nick Young, USC - 30 points, eight rebounds in 80-73 win vs. Arizona Jan. 18

Jared Jordan, Marist - 26 points, eight assists, seven rebounds in 91-86 win vs. Niagara Jan. 18

Nate Funk, Creighton - 25 points in 65-54 win vs. Bradley Jan. 18

Mark Zoller, Penn - 28 points, 10 rebounds in 93-92 Big Five win at LaSalle Jan. 18

Aaron Nixon, Long Beach State - 27 points, nine rebounds in 95-85 win vs. Cal State Fullerton Jan. 18

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt - 27 points, five assists and five threes in 94-73 win vs. Alabama Jan. 17

Daily Dribble: Saturday Review

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:24:39 -0800

Biggest win on Saturday? New Mexico State upsetting #13 Nevada in a key WAC battle. This should probably be a two-bid league this year and the Aggies are the team fighting for the 2nd bid. After losing a close OT game against Louisiana Tech, NMSU bounced back for the big (huge really) win behind 29 points from Justin Hawkins. Making things better for the Aggies, they now have games against conference bottom-feeders Idaho and San Jose State coming up which should leave them at 17-4. The MWC should also be a two-bid league, but no one besides Air Force is really locked in. The Falcons picked up a big win over San Diego State yesterday, rebounding from their 2nd loss. SDSU is now 13-6 and their hopes of an at-large bid are basically done. UNLV is the likely 2nd bid, but the Rebels are just 3-2 in league play. Home wins this week against SDSU and New Mexico are musts. Four days after beating Gonzaga, Saint Mary's went to conference leading San Francisco and reeled off another big win. The Dons loss leaves four teams tied for the WCC lead at 3-1. Omar Samhan, turning out to be one of the best freshmen in the league, had 19 and 10 for SMC. The center also had 20 in the win over Gonzaga. Like the WCC, there's also a logjam atop the MVC after SIU beat Creighton yesterday. This game went down to the wire, as SIU's Bryan Mullins hit a runner with 4 seconds to go to give the Salukis the big road win. This game was billed as the largest basketball crowd in Nebraska state history and had the feel of an NCAA Tournament game, or at least a conference finals. Creighton, SIU, and Northern Iowa all have 6 league wins. SIU now returns for a 3-game homestand that includes a game with UNI. My guess is that when February 1st rolls around, SIU will be alone atop the MVC. With BC losing to Clemson, UNC is now a half-game back in the standings after beating Georgia Tech. Tech drops to 13-5 overall, and 2-3 in league play. More importantly, they've lost their last 5 games away from home since beating Memphis in the Maui Invitational. This doesn't bode well for their trip to Marlyand this week. Tough day for Texas and Oklahoma State, following up their epic 3-OT game. The Longhorns were always playing catch up against Villanova, while OSU never really had a chance at Texas A&M. Kevin Durant had arguably the worst game of his career, with 12 points on 4-15 shooting. He just never found the rhythm. DJ Augustin kept UT in the game with his 25 points.. but opposing point guard Scottie Reynolds was the real story in the game. Reynolds scored 26 and dished out 6 assists at the Wildcats won despite Curtis Sumpter sitting on the bench. Nova's leading scorer was sidelined with a bruised knee. Greg Oden quietly had a career high 29 points in an easy win over Iowa. He shot 12-13 from the floor and also added 10 boards. The Buckeyes are tied for 2nd in the conference though, because Wisconsin won again. The Badgers were definitely tested by Illinois, but pulled away at the end. Wisconsin was hurt on the inside by Shaun Pruitt, with 19 points and 14 boards, but were more balanced on the perimeter. Alando Tucker finished with 17 points, but he hasn't really been lighting it up as of late. In the last 5 games, he's just 29 of 80 from the floor (36%). Then again, Wisconsin keeps winning so imagine how good they'll be when he gets hot again.. Worth noting that Washington is so done, its not even funny. The Huskies got rocked at Washington State by 28 and are now 11-7 overall. Granted, Spencer Hawes missed the game with an ankle injury.. but a 28 point loss is still a 28 point loss.. Another Pac-10 team heading in the wrong direction is Arizona. The Cats have dropped 4 of 5 after losing at UCLA yesterday. The'll return home to get an easy win over Arizona State this week, and then have games against UNC, Washington, and Washington State in Tuscon. They'll need to win 2 of those 3 as well to get back on track. In the SEC, Kentucky lost their first game, upset at home by Vanderbilt. The Dores are suddenly hot, having won 3 of 4 with wins over UK, Alabama, and Tennessee. This team has losses to Furman, Appalachian State, and to a bad Wake Forest team.. but they way the SEC gets respect from the committee, I guess they have to be considered alive for an at-large bid. In the SEC West, things are all tied up with 3 teams at 2-2, and 2 more at 2-3. Alabama is one of those 2-2 teams, but they just barely survived Georgia at home. The Tide are ranked 9th in the country, but are playing more like the 20th ranked team. LSU, meanwhile is ranked 19th, but may very well drop out of the polls after losing at Arkansas. The Tigers simply got rocked, it seemed like all 5 LSU starters were outplayed by their Arkansas counterpart. - Born to Dribble -

Daily Dribble: 12/12

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 22:52:38 -0800

Not much going on in college basketball until next Saturday thanks to finals. There were some games of note on Monday.. but mostly I can take today's Dribble to discuss whatever nonsense I please. The Games. New Top 25 member Oregon improved to 8-0 by blowing out Bethune- Cookman by 28. The big margin gave little used freshman Joevan (a potential All-first name pick) Catron a chance to shine. Catron, who had scored 9 points all season, poured in 15 on 6 of 6 shooting. New Mexico State's won 5 in a row after a bad 1-3 start. The Aggies were supposed to be an NCAA Tournament contender, but they've still yet to win a game on the road. Senior Elijah Ingram has been hampered with achilles issues all year and has been coming off the bench. The point guard only played 11 minutes in Monday's easy win over UAPB. Transfer Fred Peete, who was supposed to be a major scoring force, has only been mediocre. Peete averaged 13 per game two years ago with Kansas State, but is only averaging 10 so far on a weak 38% from the floor. To make things worse, the shooting guard is just 15 of 27 from the line. Freshman Barry Stewart continued his solid play by scoring 22 in Misssippi State's road win at Miami. MSU picked up their first road win of the season while the Hurricanes dropped to 6-4 overall. Jamont Gordon added 17 points, 7 boards, and 8 assists in the win. Gordon is one of the country's only player that excels in all three of those categories. He's now averaging about 15 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists on the season. There's only 12 games today, and nothing particularly exciting. The best games are out west as Saint Louis heads to Pacific, while Saint Mary's faces Nevada. 3-2 Campbell also faces San Diego State. Campbell features one of the country's most productive freshmen, Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez is averaging 18 points and 8 boards so far, including a monster 25 and 15 effort against Radford. Rodriguez played on a stacked Miami Tropics AAU team and was on of Florida's better prep teams as well, but apparently the 6-5 forward was overlooked by the big boys. You have to understand that Campbell is a program that won just 2 game in the 2004-05 season.. so to have a player making such a big impact is a big deal. Even though there's no big marquee matchups this week.. I suggest you join CHN's weekly pick'em game. Each week, 12 games are assigned for you to pick, and the stats are tallied throughout the season. To sign up, simply register for the message board and see the thread on there about this week's games. We'll be releasing our next CHN Top 100 players ranking soon. It will be interesting to see who is #1. Noah was #1 in the preseason, with Hansbrough, Davis, and Oden coming in at 2,3,4. Kevin Durant was 7th in preseason, but he has to be in consideration with those other 4 for the top spot. Given another few weeks, Oden might emerge as the clear #1, but as of now, its still hard to say he deserves it over those other top stars. The lack of clear consensus #1 player as well as consenus #1 team is one reason why this season should feature lots of twists and turns all the way through the final four. Top 25 Poll's always lead to interesting debate. Fans always complain (like they do about CHN's own Top 50 power ranking) about the worth of these rankings, but yet they're just so extremely popular as discussion points. One of the big reasons for the intrigue is the lack of consensus about what the polls are really saying. One way to look at the Ap Top 25 is to think, okay, if the season ended today, these 25 teams have DONE the best. Another way though, is to say, these 25 teams ARE the best regardless of how they've done. Take UCONN.. ranked 8th in the coaches poll. UCONN hasn't beaten a team that the average fan out there even knows exists. Based on results, there's no basis for saying UCONN deserves to be in the Top 40.. or at least better than other unbeaten teams like Oklahoma St, Oregon, Clemson, etc. But since the season is not over today, I understand the desire of voters to express their opinion that UCONN is still better than those teams. Granted, I think the voters are wrong, but that's not the point. The poll's are better understood at this point as a balancing between the voter's views of who has done the best, and who they think is best. In a perfect world.. UCONN would play Oklahoma State on a neutral floor so that we'd always find out whether the voters opinion is right or wrong. But of course we don't, and it is precisely because we don't that the polls are always the ideal fodder for fan discussion. - Dribble is as Dribble does -

NMSU's Fisher is WAC Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:15:55 -0800

DENVER – New Mexico State forward David Fisher has been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for December 4-10.

Fisher, a senior from Dallas, Texas (Arkansas-Fort Smith), averaged 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in a pair of wins against rivals New Mexico and UTEP. He had a season-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field with a game-high nine rebounds in a 103-72 win over New Mexico. He then added a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds in a two-point victory against the Miners. It was the first time since the 2002-03 season that New Mexico State swept its two rivals at home. It is Fisher’s first career WAC Player of the Week award and first for an Aggie player this year.

The other nominations were junior forward Matt Nelson, Boise State; senior guard/forward Quinton Hosley, Fresno State; and junior guard Jaycee Carroll, Utah State.

-WAC-