Aggie Hoops Adds Arizona to 2006-07 Schedule

The game will be played Sunday Nov. 19, 2006 at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. and is schedule to tip at 2:00 p.m. (MST). Next season's meeting between the Aggies and Wildcats will be the first between the two schools since the 1999-00 season and the 95th meeting in the all-time series. Arizona currently leads the regional rivalry 56-38, but NMSU has come out on top in six of the last seven meetings.

"For our program this is going to be a great challenge and opportunity," associate head coach Glynn Cyprien said. "To have the chance to play Arizona, which is coached by a Hall of Fame Coach who we all have the utmost respect for and who has run a top-notch program year in and year out, it's just a great opportunity."

"It is going to be a great challenge for next year's team to go there on the road and try and come out with a victory," Cyprien said. "We had opportunities to play other big schools, but from a regional standpoint and where we want to recruit, playing Arizona gives us a great opportunity to be seen on a national stage."

In their last meeting with the Arizona, the Aggies fell at the McKale Center, 80-64, in the second round of the 1999 Preseason NIT. The ninth-ranked Wildcats went on to win the Preseason NIT that season. Billy Keys' 15 points and four assists led the Aggies, who went on to the Postseason NIT Tournament later that season.

Before the showdown in the 1999 Preseason NIT, the Aggies and Wildcats went 28 years between meetings on the hardwood. From 1967 to 1971, NMSU defeated Arizona six straight times, including three meetings at the McKale Center. On Feb. 11, 1967, the Aggies edged the Wildcats, 66-61 to begin the win streak over Arizona. The next season, the Aggies welcomed the Wildcats to the Pan American Center and sent the Pac-10 power home with a 93-75 loss. In the 1968-69 season, NMSU returned to Tucson and won another close game as the Aggies downed the Wildcats, 78-72 on Dec. 11.

On their way to the 1970 Final Four, the Aggies won their fourth straight over Arizona as NMSU defeated the Wildcats, 95-75 at the Pan American Center on Jan. 2. In 1970-71, the Aggies won their third straight close encounter at the McKale Center as NMSU came away with a 76-74 decision. In their last regular season meeting with the Wildcats, the Aggies again got the best of their regional foes as NMSU won the home contest, 89-73 on Dec. 13, 1971. Three of the last four games played in Tucson have been decided by six points or less. The average margin of victory in those three games was just 4.3 points.

Arizona, which went 20-13 last season, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 25 times and made four Final Four appearances while winning the 1997 National Championship.

New Mexico State finished the 2005-06 season with an overall record of 16-14, the club's first winning season since the 2002-03 campaign. The Aggies' 10-win improvement over last season was tied for the fourth best turnaround in all of Division I basketball. The turn around is also the best single-season improvement for NMSU since the 1985-86 season when the Aggies rebounded from a 7-20 year to post an 18-12 record.

The remainder of the NMSU schedule is still being finalized and should be ready for release in June. The Aggies will open the 2006-07 season with an exhibition game in Hobbs, N.M. Nov. 6 against Eastern New Mexico. The game will be played at Lea County Events Center.

7:41 AM - June 1, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

NCAA sends out warning

The NCAA is trimming the gray area from eligibility rules for underclassmen entering the NBA draft.

However, player-agent Bill Neff said that's a futile exercise, with many in his profession cutting under-the-table deals with players.

The NCAA recently distributed a four-page memo, reminding schools what underclassmen can and cannot do to test their NBA marketability. The memo warns underclassmen not to accept travel expenses from NBA basketball teams, though that's been common practice in the past.

One of the authors of that memo said its purpose is heading off trouble and, potentially, holding rule-breakers accountable.

"It's fair to say we've had multiple student-athletes facing possible violations of NCAA rules," said Rachel Newman Baker, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities. "We're trying to avoid (those problems), so we're not dealing with it next semester."

The NCAA now requires underclassmen in the draft to sign forms, stating they know the rules and understand the risk to their eligibility.

"We want it very clear up front," Newman Baker said, "if we do get into investigating a case, the `I-didn't-know' answer will not work."

The NCAA dealt with messy situations the past few years, involving former Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva and current Kentucky center Randolph Morris. Each turned pro and had contact with an agent, only to pull out of the draft and seek to play college basketball.

In both cases, the NCAA ultimately granted eligibility.

The situation is complex. For instance, the NCAA allows the NBA to cover expenses for an underclassman to attend the pre-draft camp. But an individual NBA team cannot pay to fly in an underclassman for a workout without jeopardizing that player's eligibility.

Charlotte Bobcats coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff didn't know the NCAA draws that distinction. Jon Fagg, assistant athletics director for compliance services at N.C. State, said that rule is frequently disregarded, similar to how people absent-mindedly exceed the speed limit.

"If you drive to work, I guarantee there's a place where you speed a little every day," Fagg said of athletes accepting expenses they shouldn't. "Do you drive to the police station and turn yourself in? No."

That's why Fagg is glad the NCAA distributed this memo, eliminating any gray areas for underclassmen looking to preserve eligibility. N.C. State has already used it to guide sophomore center Cedric Simmons through the process.

1:36 PM - May 11, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Temple falls to Akron in NIT.

Chaney skipped Temple's 80-73 overtime loss to Akron in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night because of his wife's health issues, and missed star guard Mardy Collins leaving his final game on a stretcher.

Chaney retired Monday after 24 seasons at Temple, ending a 34-year coaching career that reached 741 wins but never the Final Four. Chaney was not on the bench because his wife underwent a procedure for an undisclosed health problem. Assistant Dan Leibovitz took his place.

"Mardy and I have a special relationship, it's a tough moment," Leibovitz said. "It was very tough. The emotion of this week has been overwhelming. It's like losing someone in your family."

There was quite a serious scare when Collins, a projected NBA first-round pick and one of Chaney's favorite players, crashed hard on a driving layup attempt with about 30 seconds left in the game and lay face down for several minutes.

With his pregnant fiancee looking on from behind the basket, Collins was turned over and tended to by Temple's medical staff for about 20 minutes before he was fitted for a neck brace and left on a stretcher.

Collins, the leading scorer for Temple (17-15) with 16.6 points per game, finished with 22 points and eight rebounds.

10:38 AM - March 15, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Islander men wait for NIT invite.

So much for strength of schedule.  All we heard was the Islanders had one of the weakest schedules in Division I ball.  Being an independent, and being a good ballclub, there wasn't much Ronnie Arrow could do about it.

"We did everything humanly possible this year to put together as good a schedule as we could.  The Univeristy of Houston is the only high major school in the state that said that they would play us," said Ronnie Arrow.

Weak schedule or not, the Islanders went 20-8 this season, while beating TCU and South Florida, and they nearly beat Houston twice.  They're stats are ranked in the top ten in a number of catagories.  The NIT folks know they can play.

"They know we're playing good ball.  They also know it wasn't fluke that we won twenty games last year, and we didn't get in and were right there.  So, in the end you get all pumped up, but they say we'll have to look at it, after the tournaments," Arrow said.

12:41 PM - March 7, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Too bad 20 wins not enough this year for NIT .

It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Samford men's or women's basketball teams could have at least one more game this postseason.

Next week, Samford Athletics Director Bob Roller could get a call from the new and possibly improved National Invitation Tournament asking one or both of his teams to take part in the oldest college hoops tournament in the country.

It's not likely, though, and it's a shame we won't get to watch J. Robert Merritt or Cora Beth Smith play just one more game for the Bulldogs.

Having been caught up in the American obsession with winners, I only recently became a convert to the NIT. It is not, as I once said in these pages, a battle to determine the 66th best team in the country.

It is more like all those football bowl games that don't determine the mythical national champion. The NIT is a reward, even if your team doesn't make it to the finals in New York.

Asked if he'd hang an NIT banner in Seibert Hall if one of the Samford teams got that call on Monday, Roller answered: "Absolutely. We'd have an apple up there by Tuesday."

12:35 PM - March 7, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment