ThomasRomeroS
sportsdailylobo.com
Craig “Noodles” Neal found out last week the difference between being the head coach of the New Mexico men’s basketball team and the lead assistant.
While traversing a local mall, Neal was mobbed by UNM fans who wanted to meet the new face of Lobo basketball.
“I thought I wouldn’t make it out of there alive,” he joked at Thursday’s press conference before the team departed to Australia for a three-game exhibition tour.
Neal said the newfound fame will take some getting used to but he’s happy with how his tenure has started.
“It’s been interesting. It’s not easy to walk through the malls; it’s not easy attending all-star games,” he said. “I’ve said it over and over that it’s the best job around because of our fans. It’s a huge responsibility when you get into that seat.
“I’ve took it on myself. I only know one way to do things, but I’ve had to learn how to delegate. This summer and this spring I’ve recruited like I was an assistant and that’s what I think I have to do, taking over the program.”
The three-game exhibition trip will be a chance for Neal to get the feel of coaching a live game. He said the opportunity to coach three contests before the season starts will greatly benefit the team and help speed up his process of being a first-time head coach.
“It’ll definitely give us a jump on it. It’s going to give me a jump as a coach. I’m going to coach for three games and I’ve had seven practices,” he said. “It’s kind of given me a feel of what I have to do and what I have to do with my team and it’s going to help us.”
Redshirt junior center Alex Kirk said the excursion will give the Lobos an idea of how Neal will react during the heat of battle.
“This is a great timing for this trip to put coach at the head of it. This will give us a preview of how this will be,” Kirk said. “It will give us a better feel of how everything is going to work.”
With Neal at the helm there will be a couple of changes in the offensive and defensive schemes. First off, the playbook will be more open. The Lobos won’t always set up for their traditional motion offense, and senior guard Kendall Williams, who is coming off Mountain West Player of the Year honors, is excited for the new wrinkles in the play calling.
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“He’s still sticking to some of the principles in terms of what we’ve been doing. He’s keeping the smooth transition in terms of defense. He’s evolving the playbook more offensively,” Williams said.
The more important change in philosophy might be on defensive side of the ball.
Under former head coach Steve Alford, the Lobos hardly implemented a full-court press or a zone defense. During last week’s practice, UNM showed signs of using each defensive technique and the team plans to try both defenses in Australia.
“It’s good; it’s different. I think it’s only going to help us — we’re fast,” Kirk said. “It’s definitely going to be different when Hugh (Greenwood) and Cam (Bairstow) get in there and they experience it. I think this trip will also help out and figure whether this is the way to go with Cam and Hugh in the show.”
Cullen Neal sidelined for remainder of Australia trip
On Sunday, the team announced that freshman guard Cullen Neal would not play in any of the three games in Australia after undergoing an emergency appendectomy at a Sydney hospital.
Details were not available at the time of publication.
