by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Steve Alford has had more than his share of attention since being hired as the head coach of the men's basketball team.
Due in part to his $975,000 annual salary, Alford's hiring has been one of the most analyzed topics in Albuquerque. Fans have criticized and praised UNM for its decision to hire the former
Iowa coach.
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However, dealing with the spotlight is nothing new to Alford, who won a national championship in college and played in the NBA.
"The attention and the fishbowl and the pressure and the expectations, I've had to deal with that since I was 16," Alford said. "If I didn't like that, I'd probably get out by now. I like the challenge."
Besides, Alford has a team to prepare for next season. During a media luncheon Tuesday at the Rudy Davalos Center, he discussed some of the challenges the
Lobos face.
In Alford's limited time with his players, he has liked what he's seen, he said. A concern might be the relationship between him and leading scorer J.R. Giddens, who was suspended two games last season and kicked out of numerous practices.
Alford said he is giving every player a fresh start.
"He's no different than any of the other guys on the team," he said. "We've spent equal time with him like we have anybody else on the team. He's done a very good job like the rest of them."
Alford added that he will not tolerate bad behavior on or off the court, whether it is from Giddens or any other Lobo.
"You go to class; you succeed in class; you come to our class; you listen; you work; and you're going to have incredible opportunities," he said. "When one of those things gets out of whack, then you get consequences. Nobody ever likes consequences."
As far as the team's physical makeup, Alford said his biggest concern is finding post players. After losing senior forward Aaron Johnson, UNM is left with Daniel Faris as one of the few players who has significant post experience.
Alford said recruiting a bigger player coming out of high school this late in the offseason will be difficult.
He said the Lobos' ability to recruit bigger players through junior colleges or high schools will be crucial to next year's success.
"When you're in April, there's probably more junior college kids available than there are high school kids available," he said. "If you're good, and you got size, and you're a high school kid, usually you're gone by the time April happens."
Alford also talked about scheduling, saying he wants to get a good mix of opponents and play some big-name schools. In the near future, Alford does not plan on scheduling Iowa, he said.
However, the rivalry between UNM and New Mexico State is
important, and Alford said he would like to continue the tradition of the two schools playing each other twice a year.
"I love it," he said. "I think it's something that's good. I think it's just a great series."
Alford played under Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight at Indiana and won a national championship under him in 1987. Alford said any chance of UNM playing Texas Tech is up to Knight.
"I let Coach Knight make the call on everything," he said. "I have the utmost respect for him. If he wants to continue the
series, I'll continue the series. If he doesn't, I won't."
With the process of recruiting, making a schedule and setting up his system with the players, Alford said there is a lot of work to do before the Lobos can turn the program around.
He said he and the people involved in the program have the patience to get that accomplished.
"It's not going to be any kind of quick fix or anything like that," he said. "The foundation is here. It's going to work, but we've got to take some small steps before we think about jogging."
