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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Putting the 'Man' in Freshman

By Rick Wright
Of the Journal
          Remember when college freshmen were gawky, fuzzy-cheeked 18-year-old boys? A.J. Hardeman and Will Brown, the Lobos' talented freshman forwards, are 20- and 19-year-old men.
        Each came honestly by their relatively advanced ages. Hardeman, after originally committing to Texas Tech, sat out the 2007-08 season; Brown spent time in prep school, getting his academics in order.
        It's no surprise, then, that Brown and Hardeman are far stronger, far more physically ready for the Division I basketball wars, than your average freshman.
        What is a surprise, or at least a surprise in the making, is the maturity of their games — as reflected in Friday's 102-59 blistering of Southeast Missouri State at the Pit.
        Hardeman and Brown's combined statistical line against the Redhawks: 21 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes; 10-of-11 shooting from the field; no turnovers.
        The raw statistics, though, don't tell the tale.
        Midway through the first half, Hardeman blocked a Redhawks 3-point attempt — then raced downcourt, took a pass from fellow freshman Nate Garth and threw home a dunk.
        Later, Brown hit a turnaround jumper in the lane, then a breakaway dunk after Dairese Gary's steal.
        Midway through the second half, Hardeman beat the Redhawks down the floor after a made basket, hit a layup off another Garth assist, was fouled and converted the three-point play.
        Later, Brown hit another turnaround in the lane — a weapon that could prove invaluable to the Lobos as they face bigger and better competition. Seconds afterward, Brown handled a clever pass from Garth, his high school teammate, and hit a layup.
        Freshmen? Well, yes, they are. UNM coach Steve Alford said he sees countless rookie mistakes and the occasional lack of effort from the two young big men in practice.
        In games? So far, — and yes, it's early — not so much.
        "If they continue to work in practice and get better, these are two guys that are so athletic and so active (that) if they'll keep doing that, good things will happen," Alford said. "They've pleasantly surprised us in game situations, and hopefully they can keep doing that. They really gave us a big lift tonight."
        Hardeman, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field on Friday in scoring 13 points, admitted he hasn't exactly left his game in the practice gym.
        "In practice ... sometimes I'll take plays off," he said. "I've got to work on not taking plays off."
        Hardeman and Brown took few plays off, if any, on Friday.
        If there was a concern about this UNM team entering fall practice, it was the inside game.
        Senior Daniel Faris, no longer the gawky, fuzzy-cheeked 18-year-old he was when he enrolled at UNM in 2005, has become a skilled low-post player — though his performance on Friday wasn't a prime example. But massive redshirt freshman Kem Nweke has a bum knee, and Brown and Hardeman hadn't played a minute of college ball.
        Nor are Brown or Hardeman classic low-post players; both are natural face-the-basket power forwards. Without Nweke, what would happen when Faris, foul-prone in the past, went to the bench?
        Friday's romp past an undersized, shoot-it-quick-and-hope Southeast Missouri State team certainly didn't provide a definitive answer.
        Still, the early signs could scarcely be more more positive.
        "If these guys go hard in practice," Lobo Roman Martinez said, "the games will be easy for them."
        And, as a result, far easier for their teammates.