NM State Aggie Basketball Recap

First, let me start by congratulating the Aggie Men’s and Women’s basketball teams on their seasons.  I should have done this earlier.  Since I didn’t actually see the tournament games, only hearing them on the radio, I didn’t want to comment on them at the time.  Maybe I was being a bit lazy, but I don’t like recapping events I didn’t actually see, especially a sport as visual as basketball. 

The girls finished their WAC season undefeated.  The championship game was decided in the second quarter.  With the Aggies up by five, Seattle’s coach drew a technical, which the Aggies converted into two free throws, the ball back, a three-pointer, and a 10-point lead.  It was over from there.  The men had a much harder time later that day against Bakersfield.  They made four field goals in the first half and were down by nine going into half.  Only their foul shooting and defense saved them.  Down by as many as 13, the Aggies then started finding the basket and turning up the wick on defense.  They won by 10.  The next day at work, I found out my co-workers had all tuned out at halftime.  I was dubbed a true fan for staying until the end.

Both teams drew tough seeding in the NCAA tournament.  The Men hung with Baylor for a half and even had the lead going into the locker rooms.  Baylor then completely dominated the Aggies in the second half.  The guys look like they’ll still have a good team next season and really seem to have a good new coach in Paul Weir.  Hopefully he sticks around.  Perhaps my favorite moment of the tournament was a story that occurred before it happened.  Girls’ coach, Mark Trakh, with his two NCAA appearances in a row, went in and talked to Weir before the games to give him some advice and encouragement.       

The girls’ game against Stanford was a bit more heartbreaking.  The Aggies led by as many as nine and led through three quarters, though the girls gave up size and height at every position to the Cardinal.  I don’t think I’ve heard Adam Young so excited calling a game.  It was going to take an almost perfect performance to win, as they were overpowered in the fourth.   As coach Trakh said later, “We both got tired in the end, but they were still taller.”  What a great season though.  The girls didn’t beat themselves and certainly proved they deserved to be there.  

Brooke Salas, who was a bit quiet in the WAC championship, came out in a big way with 26 points.  She even took an elbow to the throat early in the game (as I saw later on the news).  With all the senior departures, it’s going to be though next season.  Brooke does just about every well on the court.  She just needs to learn one more thing: leadership.  I’d love to suggest that she spend some time with Jordan Abalos, captain of the volleyball team.  She’s got it.  Moriah Mack had a quiet leadership quality, but it was still there.  Brooke isn’t Jordan or Mo, but there are some leadership qualities that transcend personality.  I hope she can pick it up somewhere, because I’m looking forward to seeing her develop into a star next season.  I also hope I can find a “3-Pete” shirt (for the team’s three conference championships in a row) for games next season.