49ers hope to show Aggies how to dance
It's rude to cut in on a dance.
This is exactly what members of the 49ers
men's basketball team is trying to do - qualify for the NCAA tournament
by cutting in on defending Big West champion New Mexico State.
Eric Boyum
This will be difficult.
The Aggies return eight players from last
year's 23-10 team which won the Big West Conference Tournament at the Lawlor
Events Center in Reno, Nev. last season.
It will be the final year the tournament
is held at this site, which should please LBSU Head Coach Wayne Morgan.
He doesn't like the influence of gambling
on student athletes which currently lurks in this environment.
On the other hand, Aggies Head Coach Lou
Henson likes the tournament's site.
Henson is hoping his team will celebrate
again on the Lawlor Event Center's floor and make its second straight return
to the NCAA tournament.
NMSU defeated Boise State 79-69 in the
championship game of the Big West Conference title game last season and
fared better against the upper echelon of competition in the conference
than the 49ers.
LBSU lost twice to the Broncos last season
and the strategy instructed by BSU Head Coach Rod Jensen to shut down Ramel
"Rock" Lloyd ended the 49ers' season at the Big West Conference Tournament.
Although the score of 71-58 reflected another
loss, the 49ers blew a 10-point lead in the second half of this game
Lloyd scored zero points in the first half
and only seven in the second and lost his cool in the process when he was
charged with a technical foul after being provoked by a Bronco player.
Last year's 49ers could not afford this
kind of scoring drop off against good teams.
In three losses to non-conference teams
like Utah, USC and Southwest Missouri State, the 49ers didn't tally more
than 55 points in any of these contests.
Last year's 49ers lost close games because
they had only one true scoring option in Lloyd.
If he was on, they could hold their own
against most teams. If he was off, it usually resulted in a loss.
That was last year.
Things could be different this year due
to the addition of two new 49ers.
Power forward James Williams and 3-point
specialist Brad Smith bring new weapons to the 49ers' arsenal.
Williams, who at 6-foot-9, 225 pounds,
is a good low-post player who is used to winning.
He was on a team which won the Missouri
State championship his freshman year at Vashon High School in St. Louis
and helped return his team back to the championship game during his sophomore
and junior years.
During his senior year, his team finished
third and he was named "Best Big Man" in the state.
Williams then took his winning ways to
Dixie Junior College in Utah, where he was twice named to the all-region
team.
During his two years at Dixie, his team
won 57 games and lost only 13.
His team finished sixth in the nation his
freshman year and was beaten on a last second 3-point shot in the regional
finals his sophomore year.
William's winning presence is a welcome
addition to the 49ers, who have been more accustomed to losing than wining
by going 36-48 during the first three years of Morgan's tenure.
Smith gives the 49ers a zone breaker with
his deadly accuracy from behind the 3-point line.
While at Cypress Junior College he made
eight 3-point shots in one game and finished fourth in the school's history
with 145 of them during two seasons.
With Smith's shooting, teams will have
to extend their defense further away from the basket, which should give
players like Lloyd more open lanes in the opposition's defense to attack
the basket.
Last year Morgan predicted Lloyd would
score 35-40 points on some nights and on these nights his team could play
with any team in the country.
Lloyd's high was 36 against Kansas State,
in which the 49ers scored 77 points, but lost 90-77.
This year Lloyd will not need to be the
49ers' only go-to-guy.
When Lloyd has nights when he is not playing
well - like in last week's victory over Southern Illinois - the 49ers now
have someone else who can step-it up.
Mate Milisa did last week with his 24 points
against the Salukis in their 78-77 victory.
The nucleus is set for the 49ers to have
a winning season.
They will need to play bigger under the
boards.
They will need to shot a higher free-throw
percentage as a team and they will need to spread around the scoring if
they want to cut in on teams like the Aggies.
A tap on the shoulder and cutting in on
someone's dance is rude.
But this is exactly what the 49ers will
need to do if they want to be dancing with 63 other teams in the NCAA tournament
come March. |
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