Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Utah State has dominated the WAC for the past several seasons. With the USU expected to have somewhat of a down season, that could open the door for a team like the New Mexico State Aggies to take over the top spot.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
Last Season: T-3rd, 9-7 in WAC, 15-16 overall
Predicted WAC Finish: 2nd
Projected Depth Chart
C: Hamidu Rahman (Sr)/Tshilidzi Nephawe (So)/Sim Bhullar (Fr)
PF: Wendell McKines (Sr)/Renaldo Dixon (Sr)/B.J. West (Jr)
SF: Tyrone Watson (Jr)/Bandja Sy (Jr)/Remi Berry (Fr)/Temjae Singleton (Fr)
SG: Christian Kabongo (So)/Emery Coleman (Fr)
PG: Hernst Larouche (Sr)/K.C. Ross Miller (So)/Terrel de Rouen (Fr)
Gone: PF-Troy Gillenwater, SG-Jordo Castillo
2011-2012 Outlook:
Even though leading scorer and rebounder Troy Gillenwater made the massive mistake of leaving early for the NBA Draft, NMSU has a ton of size inside with five guys standing 6-10 or taller.
With all that height inside, the Aggies’ best post player is 6-6 Wendell McKines who missed all of last season due to a foot injury. He will be joined in the frontcourt by either Hamidu Rahman or Tshilidzi Nephawe who both bring a physical presence to the paint and saw time in the startling line-up last year. Renaldo Dixon and B.J. West were both role players off the bench last season and should return to those roles, providing even more size and depth down low. French freshman Remi Berry will be another candidate to earn minutes at forward.
Also keep an eye on freshman Sim Bhullar. The 7-5 Canadian spurned his commitment to Xavier and initial decision to attend a prep school this season to instead come to New Mexico State as a part of the 2011 class. It is unlikely he will make much of an impact right away as he needs to work on his conditioning, but his size could allow him to factor into the rotation for a couple minutes a half.
The wing does lose Gordo Castillo but still returns a good amount of talent from last year. Tryone Watson started every game in 2010-2011 and will return to that role as the small forward. He brings a physicality to the wing and can guard multiple positions. Bandja Sy saw time as a starter as a sophomore and is another versatile forward who should be one of the top options off the bench.
Christian Kabongo figures to start at shooting guard. He has solid handles at the two but is not much of an outside shooter. Freshman Emery Coleman will try to earn minutes behind Kabongo.
At the point, Hernst LaRouche has started all 99 games he has played in at New Mexico State. He already ranks second all-time in school history in assists and fourth in steals. Without question, he provides the Aggies with the most experienced floor general in the WAC.
LaRouche will be backed up by the much traveled K.C. Ross Miller who originally committed to Kentucky, then almost ended up at Florida International, played a year at New Orleans, was then going to transfer to LSU, but instead ended up in Las Cruces. Freshman Terrel de Rouen is likely the odd man out at the point.
With six Canadians, two Frenchmen, and a South African on the roster, head coach Marvin Menzies and his staff (which includes former Kentucky Wildcat Tony Delk) have literally spanned the globe looking for talent to bring to NMSU. They might not have assembled the best shooting team ever, but with a combination of size inside, athletes on the wing, and an experienced point guard; the Aggies should contend for the WAC Championship.
Player to Watch: Wendell McKines
Coming off a solid junior season in which he has averaged 10.7 points and 9.8 rebounds a night, McKines missed all of last year after suffering a foot injury in the pre-season. Not only does he bring physicality to the post, but he can also step out and knock down jump shots. He is not the ideal height for a power forward at 6-6, but McKines certainly has not let his shortcomings affect his relentlessness on the glass.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/16 at New Mexico
11/19 vs. UTEP
11/24 vs. Central Michigan (Great Alaska Shootout)
11/25 vs. Southern Miss/UC-Irvine (Great Alaska Shootout)
11/24 vs. Murray State/Alaska Anchorage/San Francisco/Dartmouth (Great Alaska Shootout)
11/29 vs. Arizona
12/11 at UTEP
12/28 vs. New Mexico
2/18 vs. TBA (Bracket Buster)
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#64 Tennessee Volunteers
#65 Iona Gaels
#66 Murray State Racers
#67 N.C. State Wolfpack
#68 Fairfield Stags
#69 George Washingon Colonials
#70 Indiana State Sycamores
#71 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#72 Indiana Hoosiers
#73 UAB Blazers
#74 Iowa State Cyclones
#75 Creighton Bluejays
#76 USC Trojans
#77 Weber State Wildcats
#78 Maryland Terrapins
#79 Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#80 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#81 Western Michigan Broncos
#82 Dayton Flyers
#83 Stanford Cardinal
#84 Yale Bulldogs
#85 Georgia Bulldogs
#86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#87 Richmond Spiders
#88 Ball State Cardinals
#89 Utah State Aggies
#90 Arizona State Sun Devils
#91 Marshall Thundering Herd
#92 Oregon State Beavers
#93 Washington State Cougars
#94 Iowa Hawkeyes
#95 Ole Miss Rebels
#96 Nebraska Cornhuskers
#97 Oklahoma Sooners
#98 South Florida Bulls
#99 LSU Tigers
#100 Colorado Buffaloes
#101 DePaul Blue Demons
#102 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#103 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#104 Seton Hall Pirates
#105 Providence Friars
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 South Carolina Gamecocks
#108 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#109 Penn State Nittany Lions
#110 Boston College Eagles
#111 Utah Utes
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.