After looking at the game tape, New Mexico head coach Craig Neal pulled back a bit on his statements following last Wednesday’s win over Nicholls State.
After the Lobos won 75-63 – a game much closer than many thought it should have been – Neal said that his team lacked energy and that many guys haven’t really bought into the expectations he sets for the program.
On Tuesday, Neal said the game tape showed the team didn’t play that poorly. Part of what got Neal so upset that night stems from the high expectations he has for his players, he said.
“Maybe it's not fair to them. I just want them to do so well,” Neal said Monday. “I want this program to do so well that sometimes I get bent out of shape on stuff that I shouldn't really talk about until I watch the tape.”
The players’ expectations need to match Neal’s, he said, as high as they may be. He wants all of the players who come to UNM to have great careers and to win a lot of games. Yet sometimes those expectations can supersede what he or others actually see on the floor, Neal said.
That can make him frustrated at times, but Neal said that’s coaching.
“Somebody told me that I'll impact more young people in one year than most people will in their normal life,” he said. “I think my impact and how I feel about how serious I take it, sometimes I jump to conclusions and get upset because I want them to do so well.”
One negative component that did reveal itself on the game tape, as well as on the scoring sheet, was shooting percentage. The Lobos (4-1) struggled from the field on a 41.3 shooting night against Nicholls State. In the first half, they shot under 40 percent.
UNM also shot 51 percent against USC, the Lobos’ only loss on the season, and 45 percent against New Mexico State. The only two opponents where they finished with percentages higher than 55 percent were Texas Southern and Loyola-Chicago.
Against Nicholls State, the problem wasn’t necessarily poor shot selection. Rather, shots just weren’t dropping.
Defensively, however, the Lobos are containing their opponents to 38 percent shooting. They also have a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ration through their five games: a solid mark, Neal said.
Tuesday’s opponent, Oral Roberts (6-1), shoots 46.3 percent from the field with a 42.6 percent mark on its 3-pointers, benefiting from strong guard play. Guard Obi Emegano leads the way with 24 points per game, followed by center Albert Owens with 12.1 and guard Jalen Bradley at 11.3. As a team, the Golden Eagles net 83 points per game.
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To combat Oral Roberts, Neal said the team must guard. A reporter Tuesday asked Neal what the biggest vulnerability at this point in the season, and even before the question was finished Neal said “guarding.”
“We've got to do it as a team,” Neal continued. “I think the biggest thing is that, as a coach and for our team and our players, we don't have a lot of experience together as far as my team.”
Injury report
The Lobos are pretty healthy heading into the game, Neal said, but a bug has caught the team. Center Obij Aget and guards Elijah Brown and Sam Logwood – all starters – appear to be the hardest hit, but Neal expects everybody to be fine by Tuesday.
Neal said he wasn’t sure if it was flu-like symptoms, per se. He described it as seasonal-type ailments that bother many people this time of year.
“The only doctor I am, I'm really good on WebMD,” Neal said. “But I'll know more.”
J.R. Oppenheim is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. Contact him at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
