With a talented trio of seniors, this is New Mexico State's time to make a postseason run.
Power forward Wendell McKines, point guard Hernst Laroche and center Hamidu Rahman form the nucleus of this NMSU team, which entered the week with a 22-8 record overall and a 9-3 mark in the WAC.
New Mexico State trails first-place Nevada by two games but has the chance to make up one of those with a Thursday matchup in Reno. While getting a share of the league title would be nice, the real prize will be up for grabs a week later in the WAC tournament, where the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is at stake.
This trio of seniors helped NMSU win the 2010 WAC tournament. Perhaps again in 2012?
Could be.
McKines is a double-double machine, and the Aggies have said that they are "lucky" to have him this season. He had to redshirt last season because of a foot injury.
"(The injury) was another opportunity for me to better myself as a basketball player," McKines told the Las Cruces Sun-News. "It was a life lesson that basketball isn't necessarily promised. It made me value my education way more."
Rahman (6-11, 245) has been a solid big man as a rebounder and defensive presence. Laroche is the most experienced point guard in the league, a four-year starter who is getting better offensively all the time, entering this week averaging 12.2 points and shooting 43.2 percent from behind the arc.
They played their final home game Saturday, when New Mexico State dispatched San Jose State 79-68.
"You have a system and you recruit to your system," coach Marvin Menzies told the Las Cruces Sun-News. "These guys fit exactly what we wanted to do in terms of offensively and defensively."
NOTES, QUOTES
-- Freshman G Daniel Mullins became the third player in school history to record a triple-double when he had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Hawaii on Thursday. All those marks were career highs. Mullins has been a huge help this season, becoming a starter when SG Christian Kabongo was suspended before transferring in early January. Mullins is shooting 55.2 percent from the field through 12 conference games.
-- New Mexico State has won five of its past six games against San Jose State, including a 79-68 victory on Saturday. Using their superior size, the Aggies outrebounded the Spartans by 23 in the two games this year.
-- When seniors Wendell McKines, Hamidu Rahman and Hernst Laroche are all in the starting lineup, the Aggies have a record of 48-25, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.
BY THE NUMBERS: 43 -- Career double-doubles for senior PF Wendell McKines. Of those, 16 have come this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I didn't know I was going to start every game. I just knew I was going to come here and grind and work for my position. I was lucky." -- Senior PG Hernst Laroche, in the Las Cruces Sun-News. Laroche has started all 129 career games in which he has played.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
-- NMSU enters Thursday's game with Nevada two back in the WAC race with two games to play, so a win is needed to retain any hopes of sharing the conference regular-season title. In any case, this game will be critical for confidence in case the teams meet again in the conference tournament with a ticket to the Big Dance on the line. It's an intriguing matchup of good guard play, long wings and big post players. For NMSU to pull off the win on the road, PF Wendell McKines is going to have to do better than his 2-for-12 shooting performance in the first meeting, won by the Pack 68-60.
PLAYER NOTES
-- PF Wendell McKines had 15 rebounds against San Jose State on Feb. 25, giving him 1,065 for his career. That ranks second in school history, although there aren't enough games left for him to reach career leader Sam Lacey (1,265).
-- F Tryone Watson is sometimes overlooked in the NMSU lineup, but he's been a valuable player. He entered the week ranked seventh in the WAC in shooting percentage in conference games (55.9 percent) and fifth in assists at 4.3 per game. NMSU doesn't need him to score a lot, but he has been a nice complement.
-- New Mexico State has two redshirting players who should help replace seniors next
season and be a large part of the 2012-13 team. Point guard K.C.
Ross-Miller, who was once committed to Kentucky (under coach Billy
Gillispie) and who played at New Orleans last season, should be ready to
step in for Hernst Laroche as a sophomore. The Aggies also have an
intriguing big man sitting out this season: Sim Bhullar, who is listed
at 7-5 and 360 pounds. Coach Marvin Menzies, in a commentary in the Las
Cruces Sun-News, wrote: "These two players will make a lot of noise in
this town as well as nationally."
