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New Mexico men’s head basketball coach Craig Neal said he’s set on four players in his starting lineup. No real surprise, but it will be Cameron Bairstow, Alex Kirk, Hugh Greenwood and Kendall Williams — all returning starters from a year ago.
That fifth slot could remain up in the air — at least for the time being. Neal said after Wednesday’s exhibition game that he will be rotating players in and out of that final starting spot to determine who fits best.
“It’s going to be pretty typical because those four guys aren’t going to go out of it. So, the only one that will fluctuate is that fifth spot,” Neal said, whose team starts the regular season Saturday against Alabama A&M. “Once I start someone the first game, depending on how they play, it is all performance based.”
Whoever becomes the fifth starter faces the task to replace Tony Snell, last year’s Mountain West Basketball Championship MVP winner who now plays professionally for the Chicago Bulls.
Sophomore guard Cleveland “Pancake” Thomas started in last Saturday’s ENMU game and played 17 minutes off the bench Wednesday against Jamestown, the most of any nonstarter in the latter exhibition. He scored 17 points in 36 minutes over both exhibitions, and he hit six of his seven field goal attempts.
Freshman guard Cullen Neal, meanwhile, played 47 minutes in the two exhibitions and started against Jamestown. He had 10 points against ENMU and another 14 against Jamestown, draining three 3-pointers.
“With two exhibition games, you can only have the line-up change twice and I’m not going to take Kendall and Hugh out of it,” Craig Neal said. “It was a situation where it was Cullen’s turn and that’s what the staff decided on and he played pretty well.”
Transfers Arthur Edwards and Deshawn Delaney could figure into the mix as well. Both saw minutes at least 10 minutes of action against Jamestown, although they only scored one field goal apiece. Edwards had 10 points in the two exhibitions while Delaney scored four.
Craig Neal said he thought Thomas, Neal, Edwards and Delaney all played well in the exhibition slate.
“Those guys are going to play minutes this year,” the coach said. “They don’t know where they’re going to come or what they’re going to do, but that’s why they’re here, and I think all of them are going to have great careers here.”
Alabama A&M comes to The Pit for opener
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The Bulldogs, who finished with an 11-20 record a year ago, are tabbed to finish sixth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, according to the conference’s preseason poll.
Forward Demarquelle Tabb earned preseason first-team honors one year after he averaged 13.9 points and 9.9 rebounds. He led the conference in rebounding, pulling down 306.
Saturday’s contest will be the first meeting between UNM and Alabama A&M.
The Lobos will wear camouflage jerseys on Saturday and will auction them off after the game. The proceeds from the auction will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.
