The low post seemed to be a big problem for the UNM men’s basketball team.
Hold your horses.
Will Brown and A.J. Hardeman, both sophomores, are two towers who will alternate time for the Lobos in the paint as the team attempts to replace the void left by center Daniel Faris’s departure.
And in the Lobos’ 67-51 season-opening victory, Brown and Hardeman split time on the hardwood.
Neither Brown nor Hardeman seemed upset with the shared time. In fact, Hardeman said he likes the idea of being one part of a double threat.
“I feel it’s an even play right now between Will and I,” Hardeman said. “But both of us just have to stay out of foul trouble first of all, because we’re going to be fighting in the post a lot. That is one thing we have got to work on between splitting up the minutes between us.”
Head coach Steve Alford said both players are valuable, but Brown and Hardeman need to get used to playing more minutes.
“Both (A.J.) and Will have really worked hard,” Alford said. “Playing against Daniel every day in practice was not easy. They took their lumps last year as freshmen. They are both athletes and are very skilled.”
Hardeman, who made his third career start, played a career-high 28 minutes on Saturday. The most playing time he had seen before Saturday’s game against the Highlanders was 20 minutes against Virginia Commonwealth last November.
Brown substituted for Hardeman for 18 minutes.
Hardeman played the four and five spot last year in reserve for Faris and forward Roman Martinez. However, Hardeman might have moved out of the reserve spot and stamped his position as starting big man for UNM.
On top of his career-high playing time, Hardeman added more career-bests against the Highlanders. He hit 7-of-12 shots for 14 points, blocked three shots and tied a career-best six rebounds.
Because the Lobos are a young team, Alford said, he wants to keep his players fresh for the second half, so that’s why he alternates Brown and Hardeman.
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“You saw in the second half, even their bigs kind of wore us down,” Alford said. “I probably need to get Matt (Staff) in there quicker just to give A.J. and Will a little bit of (break).”
Even with the UNM team’s youth, Alford said he was happy with the Lobos’ effort, especially Brown’s and Hardeman’s play in the post.
“I thought Will and A.J. did a lot of good things,” Alford said. “They are still learning to play with those kind of minutes. It is all new for them. Overall, looking at the minutes and rotation, I thought it was pretty good.”
