CSNbbs

Brandon McCoy, a 5 star center from San Diego, heads to Vegas to play for Menzies

Just saw that. Wow what a massive get. The 15th overall recruit on ESPN. Menzies is going to have UNLV in the tournament in a few years, good for him always liked him. I wonder if NMSU fans are really starting to feel bad about him leaving.

(04-25-2017 10:32 PM)Clarity Wrote: [ -> ]Just saw that. Wow what a massive get. The 15th overall recruit on ESPN. Menzies is going to have UNLV in the tournament in a few years, good for him always liked him. I wonder if NMSU fans are really starting to feel bad about him leaving.

Not really. Menzies need resources to recruit like that. Resources NMSU just don't have. And, probably never will. What NMSU needed was a coach who could win with less; more mind over money. The Traitor proved he could do it on NMSU's budget. I believe Chris Jans will prove the same. Jans is the tactician NMSU needs to get the most out of it players. I just hope Jans can continue to recruit players at same level (or better) than the player our prior head coach brought in

I am very happy for Menzies. But his coaching style is more suited for major programs where basketball budgets are big... and 4-Star and 5-Star are easily impressed.

Well he did uncover some gems at NMSU like Siakem who is absolutely crushing the D-League this year. Weir also won mainly with his players. Menzies wasn't a bad tactition he went to the NCAA tournament almost every year. You can't get results like that being a bad coach.

(04-26-2017 01:48 AM)Clarity Wrote: [ -> ]Well he did uncover some gems at NMSU like Siakem who is absolutely crushing the D-League this year. Weir also won mainly with his players. Menzies wasn't a bad tactition he went to the NCAA tournament almost every year. You can't get results like that being a bad coach.

He was a good coach but he squandered a lot of talent playing a simplistic style. He generally over powered the WAC. Nothing tactical. Just superior talent. I would argue that Menzies should have won the WAC tournament his final season at NMSU. He had a 1st round draft choice in Siakam. And, he had Ian Baker, Braxton Huggins, Eli Chuha, Johnathon Wilkins, and Matt Taylor also on that team. He just didn't run an offense that develop his other players. Our offense was to play a two man game. Feed Siakam or find Baker for an open three. The other players just acted as facilitators.

That's a fair point. I just really like the guy, I hope he builds UNLV into a powerhouse. Siakam is awesome, I think he will break into the NBA soon and be a very good player. I hope to see some Runners in the NBA someday.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy Menzies was our coach. He is a real nice guy. And, I'm proud Siakam wore an Aggie uniform. That's all because of Menzies.

It's just that Aggie fans learned early on that Menzies strength as a coach was in his ability to recruit. He was not going to outwit most P5 coaches with an innovative style of play and he wasn't going to overwhelm most P5 programs with NMSU's talent. So, Menzies had his limitations as a mid-major coach. As I've said, he is more suited to be a "major" program coach; where he has the money to land a 5-Star prospects and have a roster full of 4-star players.

If NMSU is every going to upset someone in the NCAA Tournament, our coach needs to be able to outwit the opposition; be a superior tactician. Because our coach can only recruit so much talent to a mid-major program like NMSU; and players like Siakam don't grow on trees. So, when we get one, we most certainly can't squander his talent by playing a generic offense.

Menzies lands two more big recruits. Both 4 stars, Shakur Juiston and Amauri Hardy. Sounds like Menzies might be back in the NCAA tournament next year. He's really building a program there. I think UNLV will be very very good in a couple years, hell they might even be really good this year. He inherited an absolute disaster as well.

(04-26-2017 06:08 PM)Clarity Wrote: [ -> ]Menzies lands two more big recruits. Both 4 stars, Shakur Juiston and Amauri Hardy. Sounds like Menzies might be back in the NCAA tournament next year. He's really building a program there. I think UNLV will be very very good in a couple years, hell they might even be really good this year. He inherited an absolute disaster as well.

McCoy is probably a one-n-done player. So, Menzies might need to make the NCAA tournament this coming season if he want to get the benefit of McCoy.

However, I have no doubt Menzies will stockpile a lot of talent at UNLV. He will have UNLV battling for MWC championships in no time. Heck, Menzies had NMSU battling Nevada, Utah State, and Boise State for championships when they were all in the WAC. And UNLV has definite recruiting advantages over NMSU.

I like Menzies and I want him to do well. After Menzies left, I was excited about Weir being our next coach; before he back stabbed the Aggie program. I still view Menzies as a Aggie coaching great, who helped put NMSU basketball on the map. Not Weir. He is just a blip in Aggie basketball history. Weir will be labeled a Lobo from this point on. I will not claim him as an Aggie.