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If the UNM men’s basketball team sticks with its plans to run four-guard lineups, backcourt play will be on display early and often throughout the season.
But head coach Steve Alford said that doesn’t mean post play will be put on the backburner. Even with four guards on the floor, UNM will run its offense from the inside out.
That makes big men Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow key components in the UNM system in 2012-13. Both will have the responsibility to control the paint offensively and defensively.
“We say we could be doing some four-guards, we could be playing some two-bigs,” Alford said. “Those two bigs, they’re a handful inside. They’re going to be guys who we can throw the ball into the post.”
Kirk and Bairstow have the task of replacing the strong rebounding efforts of Drew Gordon and the post presence of A.J. Hardeman, both of whom graduated after last year’s MWC title run. While the guards are expected to contribute on the boards, Kirk and Bairstow will be major factors in the rebounding category.
Kirk, a redshirt sophomore center with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, will see his first on-court action since a herniated disc surgery sidelined him last year. As a result, the Los Alamos native was redshirted last season.
During his freshman year in 2010-11, Kirk was the Mountain West’s No. 2 rebounding freshman with 3.7 per game. His 126 boards in 2010-11 were the seventh-most by a Lobo freshman.
Kirk said he is looking forward to the upcoming season. Post-surgery rehabilitation was a long process, he said, but he feels he’s gotten stronger. Missing action wasn’t fun, either.
“I mean, it’s college basketball — you don’t want to wait out a second,” he said. “It’s hard just to sit there and watch. There were good days; sometimes your body can only take so much. It felt good, but it’s not up to you. It’s what your body can take.”
Working with Bairstow helped as well, Kirk said. Kirk called Bairstow “probably the strongest kid in the league.”
Bairstow, a junior power forward, is the fourt Australian men’s hoops player at UNM, hailing from Brisbane. Other Australians to play at UNM are Luc Longley in 1987-91, Ryan Kersten in 2005-07 and Hugh Greenwood, who is on the current roster.
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Bairstow averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season. He netted a career-high in last year’s season opener against New Orleans, recording 13 points.
“I think our expectations are high,” Bairstow said. “We have a lot of confidence in what we can do. The experience we had last year, that obviously helps a lot toward that confidence.”
Kirk said going to a four-guard set won’t be anything new. It’s something he said he experienced in his first year as a Lobo, and added that the team has been working with those sets in the offseason.
“We have to rebound; we have to defend the post,” Kirk said, adding he and Bairstow have a lot to prove this season. “That’s important, but we have to work hard and do what coach says. I think we’ll be all right.”
The two big men have the chance to prove themselves beginning Nov. 12, when UNM hosts Davidson during ESPN’s 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon. The midnight game is a good opportunity for the Lobos to display on a national stage the kind of team they bring to the court.
“It’s a lot of fun playing good teams,” Bairstow said. “While the record is important, you play the game to play against good competition.”
