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Sunday, November 09, 2008

Lobos Appear To Have Options

By Rick Wright
Of the Journal
          The J.R. Giddens Replacement (by) Committee meeting will come to order.
        Eventually.
        Gradually.
        Inevitably.
        But to what extent, and who's the chairman?
        The New Mexico Lobos swamped the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Saturday in a men's college basketball exhibition game, 88-59, a result as predictable as this morning's sunrise (6:36 a.m., in case you missed it).
        Western, fielding not a single player taller than 6-foot-6, was no test for the Lobos. But the Lobos were a test for themselves, and, with no glaring exceptions, they passed. There's basketball talent here of almost every description.
        There is, however, no one player nearly as good as the departed Giddens. Last year, all he did was lead the Lobos in scoring and rebounding (from his guard position) while shutting down the other guy's best perimeter scorer.
        For Steve Alford as a first-year UNM head coach, inheriting Giddens — once he got the kid straightened out — was an uncommon luxury.
        For Alford as a second-year coach, having no Giddens could be the luxury/inheritance tax that prevents his 2008-09 Lobos from equaling last season's total of 24 victories.
        Unless, of course, that committee comes to order.
        Based on Saturday's game, admittedly a small and unreliable sample, there's evidence that it will.
        Scoring? Last year, in crucial situations, Alford could count on Giddens to score in UNM's motion offense or off a set play.
        This year? Senior Tony Danridge, who missed last season with a broken leg, showed on Saturday that his pull-up jumper is as unblockable as ever. Yet, Giddens had an attitude, once it was properly focused, that the quiet, undemonstrative Danridge has never displayed. Scoring in the clutch may have to be a committee thing, and there's no shortage of options.
        Rebounding? Danridge and center Daniel Faris have never been strong rebounders for their size and/or leaping ability. Based on Saturday's results against the munchkin-like Mustangs — three rebounds for each — that hasn't changed.
        Yet, the committee looks promising. Three Lobos — junior forward Roman Martinez, freshman forward A.J. Hardeman and freshman guard Phillip McDonald — had eight rebounds apiece.
        McDonald, a 6-foot-5 recruiting coup who's billed primarily as a shooter/scorer, ripped down rebounds like an upperclassman.
        "I take pride in my rebounding," McDonald said. "... I've worked pretty hard in the offseason to improve."
        McDonald, Martinez said, has shown some truly Giddens-like qualities.
        "I told Phil before the season that his game reminds me of J.R.'s game, just a younger version," he said.
        "I told him he should have a goal of eight rebounds a game. ... I think he can do it."
        Defense? Last season, Giddens stifled opposing scorers of all skills and dimensions. Alford said he's hoping Danridge can assume that role, but also mentioned Martinez and sophomore guard Jonathan Wills.
        "That's a concern," Alford said, "having that D-stopper out there that has a lot of experience."
        Basketball is, arguably, the quintessential team game. Many's the team that actually got better, not worse, after losing a dominant individual player. This UNM squad has that potential.
        Yet, every committee, however large or small, needs a chairman in order to function. He needn't be a dominant player, just one that his teammates can rely upon from opening tip-off to final buzzer.
        In the heady and versatile Martinez, the Lobos appear to have their guy.