by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's basketball program is beginning a new era after one of the most difficult years in its history.
After the Lobos' second losing season in 24 years, Steve Alford was hired to replace Ritchie Mckay in order to bring the howl back to The Pit.
Alford spent the last eight years at the University of Iowa, and he brings a 63 percent
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winning percentage in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach. His teams have qualified for the postseason 11 times and had 13 winning seasons.
And although he is transitioning to a team that fell on hard times last season, Alford is optimistic in a team full of veterans.
"When you're as talented as those guys are, your expectations grow," he said. "When you get in your senior year, those expectations grow. From your freshman year all the way up, there is more put on you. From a leadership standpoint to performing well academically, socially, what we're doing on the floor."
Four starters from last year's Lobo squad - including three Mountain West Conference honorees and five seniors - are returning this year.
Six-foot-5-inch guard Tony Danridge was among the Lobos' most consistent players last year and the only player to start all 32 games. Last year, he was second on the team with 12.5 points per game and scored a career-high 24 points three times.
Two players that should be penciled in for the starting line-up are seniors J.R. Giddens and Darren Prentice.
Giddens, a 6-foot-5-inch guard, was the leading scorer at 15.8 points per game and second in rebounding with 6.5 per game last year after transferring from Kansas.
Prentice, a 6-foot-1-inch guard, averaged 8.9 points per game and was the first Lobo to dish out 100 assists since the 2001 season.
Jamaal Smith and Blake Harden round out the Lobos who will play their final season. Smith averaged 8 points per game last season, while Harden returns to the program after not participating for a year.
Two Albuquerque natives will be the only returning juniors: 6-foot-9-inch forward Daniel Faris, the team's second leading returning rebounder, and 6-foot-6-inch Chad Toppert, who was third on the team in points per game with 9.5.
The only returning sophomore is 6-foot-6-inch guard/forward Roman Martinez, who was the first Lobo in 12 years to start his first 10 games as a true freshman.
Alford had a short period of time to recruit, but he said he is pleased with the players he signed so late in the process. He signed a trio of highly touted high school prospects in 6-foot-7-inch wing Darrington Hobson, 6-foot-1-inch point guard Dairese Gary and 6-foot-5-inch swingman Jonathan Wills. He also signed a 6-foot-10-inch junior college All-American in Monquel Pegues, as well as 6-foot-8-inch power forward Johnnie Harris.
"I have big expectations for all of the recruits," he said. "When we have so many holes to fill, I think all five of them are going to play a big-time role for us. . Harris and Wills are two guys who give us size up front. And if there is a weakness to our team right now, it's up front."
Alford has a game scheduled against his former college coach, Bobby Knight, in The Pit.
Though it may be highly anticipated among Lobo fans, Alford said coaching against his mentor is not a fun task.
"I have coached against him three or four times in my career," he said. "It's never a fun game. I just have incredible respect for him and his program. You always want to win regardless, though."
