by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
LAS VEGAS - The Lobos' last game went a lot like their season - initially promising, but ultimately disappointing.
While there were some highlights this year - an 11-2 start, a 13-6 record at The Pit - the season ended with a free fall for the UNM men's basketball team.
UNM finished 15-17 overall and 4-13 in the MWC - dead last in the conference - after Tuesday's 62-54 loss to Texas Christian in the play-in game of the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas.
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McKay, who was allowed to finish the season even though his contract was terminated with five games left, said a lack of chemistry played a big part in the poor conference play.
"When you're a team, it's not just about individuals," he said. "It's got to be the same guys rowing in the same direction at the same time. For whatever reason, when adversity struck, we struggled to row in the same direction collectively."
Unfortunately for UNM, one of the players who stirred up the waters was leading scorer J.R. Giddens.
Early in the season, McKay dubbed Giddens a lottery pick in the NBA draft. While Giddens lived up to expectations in the first five games, things quickly turned sour.
After McKay kicked Giddens out of practices and benched him in games, the star player was suspended for two games late in the conference season.
Although Giddens returned to the team Feb. 24 and posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday against TCU, he did not score a point in the second half.
UNM led 34-26 at halftime Tuesday and was up by as many as 14 points, but it collapsed after the intermission.
Giddens said the Lobos were missing something.
"Heart. That's all," he said. "We didn't have that fight."
If heart is what matters, then it must not have been beating in the chest of UNM down the stretch this season, either. The Lobos went 1-7 in their last eight games.
And, as if being the No. 9 seed in the tournament wasn't bad enough, UNM's 2-12 record in games away from The Pit made a postseason run that less likely.
Sophomore center Daniel Faris said he didn't have an answer for the Lobos' late-season struggles.
"I couldn't put my finger on one thing to say what turned the season wrong," he said. "I think we still have the same talent we had when we were 5-0. We just had to get over that hump, and we never could."
In his five years at UNM, McKay posted an overall record of 81-70. The Lobos' best season under McKay was 2004-05 when former Lobo and current Indiana Pacer Danny Granger helped UNM go 26-7 overall and win the MWC Tournament.
Since then, however, the Lobos have gone 32-30 and lost in the first round of the conference tournament the past two seasons.
Despite his firing and the outcome of the last couple years, McKay said he doesn't regret his time at UNM and wishes the Lobos luck in the future.
"I'm thankful for the opportunity the University gave me," he said. "I'm very hopeful they continue to prosper. I'm sure their leadership will hire someone that can restore UNM's great tradition."
