by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
After a disappointing season for the UNM men's basketball team, fans are hoping the Lobos can make a fast turnaround in 2007.
UNM finished last season 15-17 overall, one of only two losing Lobo seasons in the past 24 years.
A powerhouse in the '90s, the Lobos have posted a winning Mountain West Conference record in just two of the last eight seasons.
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UNM has also made but one trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2000.
Despite the lackluster performance, the Lobos have consistently been in the top 10 in the nation for attendance, averaging 12,853 fans per contest last season.
Fans received hope in March when Athletics Director Paul Krebs announced Iowa head coach Steve Alford would take the reins at UNM.
Alford has welcomed the challenge of inheriting a program with a dwindling and upset fan base.
First, Alford has to focus on developing his players.
"Practice has been a lot more structured and disciplined," senior guard J.R. Giddens said. "You know that they're going to come in and push you hard. Practice gets real hard, but when it's done, we know we got better that day and became a better team. You have to respect that."
To help smooth the transition for the new coaching staff, the Lobos will return four seniors, including four starters from last year's team. Giddens, a transfer from Kansas, is the most statistically impressive returning player for the Lobos.
He was a preseason All-MWC selection and led UNM in scoring last year, averaging 15.8 points per game.
The Lobos, placed fourth in MWC preseason polls, have suffered a few setbacks.
First, senior guard Tony Dandridge - the Lobos' second leading scorer and third-team All-MWC member last season - fractured his left fibula. He'll be out until mid-January.
The Lobos will also be without Blake Harden, who quit Oct. 6 for personal reasons. Harden had returned to the team in spring 2007 after leaving in 2005.
But UNM will have a wealth of experience this season, as Darren Prentice, an honorable mention All-MWC performer, and Jamaal Smith will return for their final seasons.
Two Albuquerque natives are also returning for their junior years: guard Chad Toppert and post Daniel Faris.
Faris will be needed inside the paint. At 6-feet-9-inches, he is the Lobos' most experienced post player.
Roman Martinez is the only returning sophomore. In an exhibition tour of the Bahamas over the summer, Martinez averaged 10.5 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Alford was also able to make some key preseason additions, despite having limited time to recruit.
Size was a concern for Alford heading in to the season, and he was able to nab a couple big bodies: 6-foot-10-inch, 255-pound Monquel Pegues and 6-foot-8-inch, 250-pound Johnnie Harris.
Alford also signed a trio of highly touted high school prospects: 6-foot-1-inch point guard Dairese Gary, 6-foot-10-inch center Kem Nweke and 6-foot-5-inch swingman Jonathan Wills.
Nweke, who took summer classes at South Alabama, will have to sit out the season as a transfer.
The other recruits will be expected to contribute immediately, and Alford has worked them hard since they entered camp.
"The individual drills kind of caught me off guard," Wills said. "They're real intense, and I wasn't in the best of shape. But after doing them for a while, I got used to it, and it wasn't so bad."
Because there's a new coaching staff and playbook, Alford said the returning players don't have a big advantage over the newcomers.
The upperclassmen will have to lead the younger players while also adapting to a new system.
This is a difficult task for players, but Alford said he and his staff are impressed with the results they have seen so far.
"We're further ahead offensively at this time than last year's Iowa team," he said. "We even had some seniors on that team that have been there for four years. So, they've done a nice job."
And with UNM's 54-47 win over Colorado in its season opener Friday, things are headed in the right direction.
