Anthony Bennett

[bonesw505]

It is without question a good development for the Lobos. More respect for the league, better competition, more exposure, etc. Plus, no matter how good they are we will probably steal one from them.

[SharkTankd]

Jimmy Kimmel. UNLV looks like they are getting him.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcspor...-unlv-booster/

stewartfacepalm.jpg

Hope that one doesn't come back to bite us...

At any rate, it is great to see the support from a conference rival. I wish other fans were as gracious towards others. Thanks for the class Lobos.

One of the great unintended consequences of this is that Kentucky fans are making such fools of themselves that Bennett's AAU coach (and coach of 2014 #1 recruit Wiggins) gave them all a good scolding noting that Wiggins follows Bennett and sees everything "Big Blue Nation" is posting at him. Gotta love that!

The conference race will remain a great one with some great competition. Should be very entertaining next year!

[bonesw505]

Shark, when you win, we win. Look how far SDSU rode your UNC victory last year!

[Mark]

Shark, when you win, we win. Look how far SDSU rode your UNC victory last year!

LOL Dayum, that was funny!

[SharkTankd]

Shark, when you win, we win. Look how far SDSU rode your UNC victory last year!

Agreed. Lots of fanbases, including my own to a large degree, hasn't figured that out though... or chooses not to acknowledge it at least. You guys take the high road mostly. It's good to see.

[Sil240sxrwd]

hahaha thats funny bones

[judas_priest]

“Yep, everyone know$ about Phil Knight and the money he $pend$ officially and otherwi$e...

Oregon i$ a de$ired location becau$e of that.”

Nike - and Knight - can't afford to get caught doing stuff under the table, - the negative publicity would weaken their image and marketing (which is why Nike put a lot of effort into ensuring that their contractors overseas now treat workers well - by the standards of the individual countries) - and Knight has so much money that he can do pretty much whatever he wants. His total donations are well over $250,000,000 (mostly to Oregon but a considerable amount to Stanford, where he got his MBA.)

You're right, there is no way Knight would do ANYTHING under the table like paying athletes to come to Oregon. All of the other thousands of wealthy boosters don't care about their public image so they cheat but not Knight...nope, never.

First you accuse Knight of cheating. Then, after being challenged on that, you shift ground and accuse some anonymous Oregon boosters as well. Do you have any proof whatsoever? Of course not, or you’d have mentioned it. It’s chicken$hi+ to say things like that with nothing to back them up.

May I remind you that it’s UNM which has the more recent set of sanctions. (Oregon will get nicked over the Lyles matter, but that’s an issue of what the coaching staff did, in an area that was somewhat grey, and I feel very strongly the sanctions will be mild – restrictions on recruiting and loss of a few scholarships.)

FWIW, until Knight (and Warshaw) the Ducks were way behind in the money race for wealthy alumni.

[NMStorm]

“Yep, everyone know$ about Phil Knight and the money he $pend$ officially and otherwi$e...

Oregon i$ a de$ired location becau$e of that.”

Nike - and Knight - can't afford to get caught doing stuff under the table, - the negative publicity would weaken their image and marketing (which is why Nike put a lot of effort into ensuring that their contractors overseas now treat workers well - by the standards of the individual countries) - and Knight has so much money that he can do pretty much whatever he wants. His total donations are well over $250,000,000 (mostly to Oregon but a considerable amount to Stanford, where he got his MBA.)

You're right, there is no way Knight would do ANYTHING under the table like paying athletes to come to Oregon. All of the other thousands of wealthy boosters don't care about their public image so they cheat but not Knight...nope, never.

First you accuse Knight of cheating. Then, after being challenged on that, you shift ground and accuse some anonymous Oregon boosters as well. Do you have any proof whatsoever? Of course not, or you’d have mentioned it. It’s chicken$hi+ to say things like that with nothing to back them up.

May I remind you that it’s UNM which has the more recent set of sanctions. (Oregon will get nicked over the Lyles matter, but that’s an issue of what the coaching staff did, in an area that was somewhat grey, and I feel very strongly the sanctions will be mild – restrictions on recruiting and loss of a few scholarships.)

FWIW, until Knight (and Warshaw) the Ducks were way behind in the money race for wealthy alumni.

Of course I don't have proof!!!! Does that really surprise you??? I don't have proof that the entire sec cheats but almost every sports fan including sec fans would agree that they do....or deny it with a wink and a nod.

Colleges cheat!!!! This is nothing new and I'm not sure why my generic, pretty harmless comment has upset you so much. The higher you go up the ladder the more prevalent the cheating gets and the less likely the NCAA is going to actively look for the cheating. The NCAA only acts against the bigger schools when they are forced to act. I'm actually surprised that that you either don't believe this or think that Oregon is exempt from it (which would make them the only team/school exempt from it).

You can take offense all you want and then "remind" me that my (and supposedly your) team was recently caught cheating and penalized. My response to that reminder would be the same...COLLEGES CHEAT!!!

By the way, I wasn't accusing anonymous boosters, I was still talking about knight, I guess I was being too obtuse for you.

[Dloch002]

New to board, great input. Really like the analysis you all dive into. I think that as long as any school in the MWC grabs the national spotlight, whether wins or recruiting, it make the league much more relavent. Last year was amazing in basketball, and I think this year will top it. Can't wait.

[Digital Lobo]

One year doesn't make a series, the overall record since Alford has been there show a different story record wise. That's not to say the present trend can't continue forward but the reality of it that UNM struggles against long atheletic teams especially the first time they play them. The 2nd and 3rd time they have a highier chance of winning because of the ability to get used to the length. That is not to say UNM doesn't win games against those schools it's more to say they struggle more against that type of team then they do of another systematic team (see CSU, AFA, etc).

Any team can win on any day, and good teams win more times then they lose. I am not saying that UNM isn't a good/great team. I am merely saying the system Alford employs has a weekness against atheletic/long teams.

Alford's current record against UNLV is 5 wins and 6 losses which is about as close as you can get to .500 when the teams have played an odd number of games. His record against SDTSU is 5 wins and 7 losses. Included in that record was a sweep last year by the Crypt Keeper's most successful team at STDSU against Alford's least successful team at UNM. Considering that these three teams along with BYFU have been the top teams in the conference since Alford has been here, you would expect that these teams would have split their series or come close to it.

Not so sure how the athletic/long teams criteria factors in. However, as you noted, Alford had his best success against BYFU finishing that series with 5 wins and 4 losses. Again, from top to bottom that is pretty close to a split. However, what else should factor in is that in 5 years, Alford has won or split 3 regular season titles and won 1 MWCT. I think that UNLV won a single MWCT on their homecourt during that stretch.

What were talking about again? Oh yeah.. current recruiting. I think that Rice may have us there, but that remains to be seen based on the results on the court in the coming seasons.

[Mark]

New to board, great input. Really like the analysis you all dive into. I think that as long as any school in the MWC grabs the national spotlight, whether wins or recruiting, it make the league much more relavent. Last year was amazing in basketball, and I think this year will top it. Can't wait.

Welcome to the site Dloch002!

[Roob]

Welcome to the site, Dloch002!!

[vegasErNN]

If Alex Kirk steps up big UNM should be solid again. SDSU is WEAK at the 5. Their expectations are too high. They got man handled by NC St. in the tourney because their lack of size and strength in the paint. UNLV is stacked in that department next season. 2 All-Americans in the paint will be something we haven't seen in conference in forever. Them alongside the defense of Moser, Marshall and Hawkins. The shooting and toughness of Bryce Jones and Katin Reinhardt.
This conference has been close with the top 3 no matter what players, but I really expect us to make a statement next year...We have probably the best team on paper this conference has ever seen. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.

UNM will be there though, Kirk stepping up and UNM will be right there clipping at the heels. SDSWHO? I expect a let down from that squad.

[NMStorm]

If Alex Kirk steps up big UNM should be solid again. SDSU is WEAK at the 5. Their expectations are too high. They got man handled by NC St. in the tourney because their lack of size and strength in the paint. UNLV is stacked in that department next season. 2 All-Americans in the paint will be something we haven't seen in conference in forever. Them alongside the defense of Moser, Marshall and Hawkins. The shooting and toughness of Bryce Jones and Katin Reinhardt.
This conference has been close with the top 3 no matter what players, but I really expect us to make a statement next year...We have probably the best team on paper this conference has ever seen. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.

UNM will be there though, Kirk stepping up and UNM will be right there clipping at the heels. SDSWHO? I expect a let down from that squad.

I like the team you have coming back but will Birch or Moser even want to play the five? If Bennett signs he has the body for the five spot but all the video I've seen of him shows him shooting threes or dunks...not much five work. A true five is a dying breed.

[blacklab101]

This is the expectation of positions.

3. Mike Moser
4. Anthony Bennett
5. Khem Birch

[vegasErNN]

I like the team you have coming back but will Birch or Moser even want to play the five? If Bennett signs he has the body for the five spot but all the video I've seen of him shows him shooting threes or dunks...not much five work. A true five is a dying breed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qefB5tKnO2Q




^^ Yeah Birch is perfect to play 5 at UNLV (6'9 220 very athletic a shot blocking machine). He said it in an interview just the other day. He also changed his number from 24 to 2 in the past few days.. (he's been recruiting Bennett HARD...Bennett wears #24) Moser Might possibly play the 3. Him and Bennett are both Hybrid forwards. Bennett 6'7 240 and LONG...7'2 wingspan. I can see them switching off...might just depend on who's the best shooter of the 2. I think its pretty even right now.

[judas_priest]

Of course I don't have proof!!!! Does that really surprise you??? I don't have proof that the entire sec cheats but almost every sports fan including sec fans would agree that they do....or deny it with a wink and a nod.

Colleges cheat!!!! This is nothing new and I'm not sure why my generic, pretty harmless comment has upset you so much. The higher you go up the ladder the more prevalent the cheating gets and the less likely the NCAA is going to actively look for the cheating. The NCAA only acts against the bigger schools when they are forced to act. I'm actually surprised that that you either don't believe this or think that Oregon is exempt from it (which would make them the only team/school exempt from it).

You can take offense all you want and then "remind" me that my (and supposedly your) team was recently caught cheating and penalized. My response to that reminder would be the same...COLLEGES CHEAT!!!

By the way, I wasn't accusing anonymous boosters, I was still talking about knight, I guess I was being too obtuse for you.

I would bet what little money I have that Knight does not cheat - he has no need to. And every would-be investigative reporter in the Northwest is out looking for proof that he does. And it's one thing to make general comments, like, "colleges cheat," (with which I agree) and quite another to declare that a particular individual does. Lawyers have a technical term for such particularized statements: Defamation.

[Rebelworks]

This is the expectation of positions.

3. Mike Moser
4. Anthony Bennett
5. Khem Birch

When you have horses at the quality of these 3 guys--They are all interchangeable at their positions. The big difference with these guys down-low is adding guys like Katin Reinhardt, Cook, and Bryce Jones that can consistently stroke the 3 to go along with our current guys and open-up space downlow for Moser/Birch/Bennett down low.

People forget that Bennett has great range from 3 as well---With his beefy NBA frame, he's going to be a nightmare to guard whereever he is.

Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Jones
Frosh of the Year: Bennett

Ridiculous amounts of talent on next years UNLV squad--Only question is if Rice will be able to "put it all together" and disicipline these kids...No more blown-leads, no more -35-40 3pt attempts. Rice cannot use player's athleticism and out-right talent as a crutch again this year to offset a complete lack of a half-court offense and mental toughness.

[BoRealist]

I would bet what little money I have that Knight does not cheat - he has no need to. And every would-be investigative reporter in the Northwest is out looking for proof that he does. And it's one thing to make general comments, like, "colleges cheat," (with which I agree) and quite another to declare that a particular individual does. Lawyers have a technical term for such particularized statements: Defamation.

Dude, chill out.

[MacLobo]

Dude, chill out.

Come on, Bo, we all know that Judas is always right...if there's 2 things we know for sure in this world, it's 1.)RPI is a joke and 2.)Knight would never cheat

[MRLobo]

Question for UNLV is will they be able to score in the half court with their style of offense. Yes UNLV looks unstoppable when they are able to run but last year in the half court feeding the ball to massamba was their offense and that speaks for itself.

[LynAskin]

Question for UNLV is will they be able to score in the half court with their style of offense. Yes UNLV looks unstoppable when they are able to run but last year in the half court feeding the ball to massamba was their offense and that speaks for itself.

Nail meet head. I'm thinking we are all hoping that will be a little different this year. . . Even with Bennett, Moser and Birch, I believe our best player this year will be Bryce Jones. Basically, we lose Stanback, Bellfield and Massamba, (no disrespect to Kendall Wallace). and replace them with Jones, Bennett, Birch and Reinhardt. If we aren't better in the half court this year, i'll be very surprised.

And please, i'm not over here to tell you how great i think we're going to be. That's not why i'm here. I love discussing basketball and I love this conference. I hope we put 3 teams in the top 10 this year.

[MRLobo]

Nail meet head. I'm thinking we are all hoping that will be a little different this year. . . Even with Bennett, Moser and Birch, I believe our best player this year will be Bryce Jones. Basically, we lose Stanback, Bellfield and Massamba, (no disrespect to Kendall Wallace). and replace them with Jones, Bennett, Birch and Reinhardt. If we aren't better in the half court this year, i'll be very surprised.

And please, i'm not over here to tell you how great i think we're going to be. That's not why i'm here. I love discussing basketball and I love this conference. I hope we put 3 teams in the top 10 this year.

I think we all expect UNLV to be very talented on paper but you will be incorportating a lot of new pieces which isn't always easy. Players will have to buy into their roles and shake off rust. We saw how these issues can hurt a team in Drew Gordon's junior season. He was added to the team for the 2nd semester and it took time for him to adjust and his teammates to adjust to playing together and what everyone's role would be. We struggled that year to close out games and lost a lot of close ones. However this past season you could see that the players were more comfortable with each other and we were much more successful.

I really think SDSU might be facing even more problems with adding in so many new guys that are all expected to contribute. Franklin was the man for them last year and he pretty much was able to dominate the ball when he wanted to. He is likely to move to the 3 spot I assume with Obrien playing the 4 and the transfer from Virginia playing the 5. Polee was a starter for St Johns as a frosh right? Is he okay coming off the bench? Tapley is sure to keep his starting spot as is Thames I assume. Rahon will get his minutes as a back up 2 guard. Where does sheppard find his minutes? PG as promised? Granted these are good problems to have for SDSU but Fisher has never really played a deep bench so it will be interesting to see how he manages mins on what shoud be his most talented squad.

[LSUextreme]

This is the expectation of positions.

3. Mike Moser
4. Anthony Bennett
5. Khem Birch

No doubt the UNLV frontcourt will be extremely talented if Bennett lands there. The backcourt for UNM is unmatched in the MWC. If UNLV wants to run with UNM this year I would welcome it. The reality is the strength of the 2012-2013 Lobos will be halfcourt offense with shooters everywhere and all of the guards can drive the ball too.

UNM needs Banyard to be able to guard up, because Kirk will probably be relagated to a smaller role against running teams. Similar to what you saw with Kansas's Withey when they played Mizzou. Kirk is no Withey but he wont be able to keep up. Kirk will be awesome to have against teams trying to play a halfcourt game though.

[toddl18]

No doubt the UNLV frontcourt will be extremely talented if Bennett lands there. The backcourt for UNM is unmatched in the MWC. If UNLV wants to run with UNM this year I would welcome it. The reality is the strength of the 2012-2013 Lobos will be halfcourt offense with shooters everywhere and all of the guards can drive the ball too.

UNM needs Banyard to be able to guard up, because Kirk will probably be relagated to a smaller role against running teams. Similar to what you saw with Kansas's Withey when they played Mizzou. Kirk is no Withey but he wont be able to keep up. Kirk will be awesome to have against teams trying to play a halfcourt game though.

New mexico NEVER EVER wants to run with UNLV, it's a recipe for distater and I douht they change that trend this year. UNM has a distinct advatange in the half court against UNLV and if they get into a track meet not only do they lose that advantage but they give the advantage to UNLV. Look at the first meeting and the first 5 minutes in the MWCT to understand that. With that said I think Katin is a good enough shooter/play maker to help spread the floor in the half court add in Bryce Jones, Daquann Cook and Marshall and you have enough firepower from the guard position. Justin Hawkins was a nice suprise this year and I believe he will still flourish in that 6th man role that he played last year.

[vegasErNN]

Bellfield didn't like to drive the lane. Stanback couldn't drive the lane and Massamba was something he wasn't...a legit post up threat.

Marshall was forced to do it himself sometimes in the half court offense. That will not be the case with the new lineup. Bennett is nothing but a monster in the paint. Hes too strong. B Jones and Marshall will take the ball into the lane at will. There will be much more options than standing on the 3 point line. This will all help Moser be able to spread the floor too. Very deadly starting lineup once Birch is eligible.
Not sure if UNM would want to run with UNLV next year, but if our half court steps up better than it was last year that might be there only option against our front court. I still expect Rebels to run as much as possible though.

[MacLobo]

Bellfield didn't like to drive the lane. Stanback couldn't drive the lane and Massamba was something he wasn't...a legit post up threat.

Marshall was forced to do it himself sometimes in the half court offense. That will not be the case with the new lineup. Bennett is nothing but a monster in the paint. Hes too strong. B Jones and Marshall will take the ball into the lane at will. There will be much more options than standing on the 3 point line. This will all help Moser be able to spread the floor too. Very deadly starting lineup once Birch is eligible.
Not sure if UNM would want to run with UNLV next year, but if our half court steps up better than it was last year that might be there only option against our front court. I still expect Rebels to run as much as possible though.

Yes, UNLV front court will be strong....however, I doubt that getting into a track meet will be our "only option" as you put it. Playing solid team defense (as UNM is known to do) can do as much to stop an interior threat as having a great post defender. And on the offensive end, our guards penetration as well as good outside shooting will be enough to keep your bigs busy as well as on an island in the middle guarding Kirk (who many people are forgetting is a unique offensive weapon.) I'm assuming we'll also play a 4 guard line-up at times which will either force the Rebs to go small or have a mis-match on defense. Add to that Kirk's ability to hit long range jumpers, which draws out his defender and opens up the lane....so, as you can see I highly doubt a run & gun game is our "only option."

[Sil240sxrwd]

Bellfield didn't like to drive the lane. Stanback couldn't drive the lane and Massamba was something he wasn't...a legit post up threat.

Marshall was forced to do it himself sometimes in the half court offense. That will not be the case with the new lineup. Bennett is nothing but a monster in the paint. Hes too strong. B Jones and Marshall will take the ball into the lane at will. There will be much more options than standing on the 3 point line. This will all help Moser be able to spread the floor too. Very deadly starting lineup once Birch is eligible.
Not sure if UNM would want to run with UNLV next year, but if our half court steps up better than it was last year that might be there only option against our front court. I still expect Rebels to run as much as possible though.

Problem with last years Rebels was they had nobody who could create their own shot in the halfcourt setting. Their only option was to feed a mediocre Massamba in the post or throw up hail Mary contested 3's... Driving and kicking to the open man worked very well most of the season, until they hit conference play... then Teams realized all they had to do was have 2 post players collapse on the only player who could/would drive (A. Marshall) and (A.) They would block his shot or force a bad shot, or (B.) Force him to kick the ball out to a well covered guard or wing and force them to shoot a contested 3... With the addition of Bryce Jones, Katin Reinhardt, Khem Birch and possibly Anthony Bennett, I do not see the Rebels having as much of an issue in the halfcourt as they did this last season... Having a real legitimate threat in the paint with players like Birch and Bennett and having player like Jones and Reinhardt who can create their own shot does wonders for a teams game in the halfcourt.

[bgupton]

This is a tough argument because I do agree that we have never been able to really bring in the big recruits or transfers.... Ok maybe not NEVER but personally I hoped that we would have proven ourselves since the Alford Era that a transfer and top recruit would want to come to NM... It is frustrating that we keep missing out on top recruits to our two biggest rivals.... So that of course makes me a little disappointed BUT at the same time i do have faith in Alford and Co and somehow some way he sees talent that a lot of others don't and turns them in to a great team... On paper it sure looks like we are going to really struggle against a UNLV and SDSU next year if we don't start bringing in some top recruits BUT I guess we will just have to wait and see...

[vegasErNN]

Problem with last years Rebels was they had nobody who could create their own shot in the halfcourt setting. Their only option was to feed a mediocre Massamba in the post or throw up hail Mary contested 3's... Driving and kicking to the open man worked very well most of the season, until they hit conference play... then Teams realized all they had to do was have 2 post players collapse on the only player who could/would drive (A. Marshall) and (A.) They would block his shot or force a bad shot, or (B.) Force him to kick the ball out to a well covered guard or wing and force them to shoot a contested 3... With the addition of Bryce Jones, Katin Reinhardt, Khem Birch and possibly Anthony Bennett, I do not see the Rebels having as much of an issue in the halfcourt as they did this last season... Having a real legitimate threat in the paint with players like Birch and Bennett and having player like Jones and Reinhardt who can create their own shot does wonders for a teams game in the halfcourt.

Thats...exactly what I'm saying in my post. Marshall was a one man show most of the time in the half court with the rest standing around. That shouldn't be the case with the new roster next season.