(On the other hand, a new network showed up over the
weekend, Heroes and Icons. In the evening, they show episodes from the
five different Star Trek shows (that
I recognize as canonical) back-to-back. (I
also consider the animated show from the 70’s canonical, even though it’s
officially been de-canonized. I wouldn’t
mind seeing it again.) It’s kind of
interesting watching from the Original to Enterprise
in one sitting. It’s also stunning how
many plots they reused.)
I was the only one that wanted to go to the scrimmage. Dad said, “Yes,” remembered he’d have to wear
a mask, and then said, “No.” He then
asked if I wanted to see the new James
Bond movie. I told him he’d have to
wear a mask there, but he didn’t seem to believe me. Ron said, “Yes,” and then decided against going
because he didn’t think it was worth the effort. We’re planning on going to Volleyball in a
couple of days anyway. Fine. I’ll go alone.
There was a blast of high winds today in Las Cruces, but they died down at
sundown before I left. With the new
underpass, it was a nice easy drive to the Pan-Am Center. I was worried pulling in as there were
several firetrucks in the parking lot.
It turned out that the firemen were training there. It was a $5 general admission ticket. The proceeds were going to giving game
tickets to kids’ organizations, like the Boys
& Girls Club. This would be the
only time you could pick your seat for a Men’s game without having to pay
specifically for it.
There was a line outside to get in. That was a good sign for the crowd. I could see the new scoreboard from
outside. Inside, there was a program,
but no new schedule poster for the team.
Disappointing. The merch tent was
set up inside, but didn’t have that “Guns Up” t-shirt there. I would have taken a look at it. AD
Mario Moccia was greeting people at the door when I walked back by. I’m sorry I missed that. I skipped the Concessions, because the mask
mandate was in effect. I stopped by a
water fountain. Even with the wind died
down, there was enough dust in the air that I needed to wash out my mouth.
I took a seat near where I usually sit for Volleyball
behind the bench, which would have an expensive ticket otherwise. The sport court now had basketball markings
laid out on it. Last week on the Aggie Coaches Show, Mario said he had a
long story to tell about what happened to the new court, but didn’t have the
time to tell it. In short, the new court
is ruined and they’ll have to replace it in the offseason. Mario regretted that they’d cut corners
getting it.
The guys were out warming up on court. I tried to identify the players from the
roster. The Cheerleaders were there in shorts and t-shirts (and ridiculously
wearing masks). Some of the coaches were
similarly attired. So, it was Casual
Day. Coach Jans looked pleased with crowd. Mario came around through and greeted some
fans. I think Emerson was sitting by PA Ed.
I wasn’t sure because of the mask.
Stupid masks. (Why hasn’t she
graduated yet?) The crowd might have
been around 500, which wasn’t bad for a scrimmage.
A beautiful girl with long, dark hair frantically ran
around the sidelines before the introductions.
(Sorry, Emerson. Here I am again
looking at other women.) For the
introductions, she told the coaches where to stand on court. Coach Jans got a warm reception for a guy who
interviewed for rival UTEP’s head
coaching job in the offseason. Assistant Coach Dominique Taylor was
introduced. Hey, I met that guy at the Barbara Hubbard Room once. He was nice guy. Glad to see he got promoted.
The new video board was put to use showing the new player
intro video. “You can’t handle the
truth!” blared the rap music that played over the video. It looked good. As for the player intros, I thought new guy, Jorge Moreno, from Mexico looked
huge. Mike Peake looked like a baller.
Teddy Allen should have
caught my eye more in the introductions.
The roster lists his high school as Boys
Town. I’ve sent them donations
before. Glad to see my contribution paid
off. Then the returning players were
introduced. Clayton Henry was on crutches.
That might not be a good sign for him playing. Jabari
Rice looked a little underfed. He
also nearly jumped the line in front of Clayton. Local hero, Johnny McCants, was introduced last. He shook hands with team trainers first
before joining the team at center court.
Classy.
Okay, here I’m not sure what to do. I’d assumed, incorrectly, that someone would
be operating the scoreboard and keeping score during the scrimmage. If I’d been more aware I would maybe have
kept score myself somehow. This presents
a dilemma. I don’t have any scoring for
this, just individual plays. I guess I’ll
just list whatever plays stood out.
Will
McNair scored the first points for the Crimson squad and for the
game. Peake fired in a three for the
Crimson. Mario McKinney took in a turnover for a layup. Peake put down a slam. This is weird without a running score. Jabari found Jorge under the White team basket. Unfortunately, he missed a couple of times
there. Teddy scored his first points for
the Crimson with a three. Back down
court, Johnny went back to Jorge under the basket. He made a good head fake and scored. Next trip, Johnny missed a three. Jorge got the rebound on a Crimson miss. Marsei
Caston scored a couple of baskets before a timeout was called about 5
minutes in.
The assistant coaches were talking to the players. Jans was looking on over both squads. The Cheerleaders did a t-shirt toss. Back to play, Jabari got a layup in the lane
and drew a foul for the White. Chi Chi made a three. That’s the name announced and it’s not on the
roster. I didn’t get the number. Did I hear it wrong? I can hear the players on court and the
coaches reasonably well. It was
reasonably quiet in the arena. What were
you expecting for a scrimmage?
Jabari was under the basket and got two bites of the apple
with a rebound in the middle, but only managed to get fouled by Peake. Teddy picked up another basket by driving the
lane. Back down court, a couple of
players slipped on sweat at midcourt. I
hope that isn’t a feature of the new surface.
Teddy nailed a jumper and plucked a rebound off a missed three by
Johnny. Peake drained a three for the
Crimson. A foul was called on Marsei. The refs were getting more active. Jans also got more active. He went over to Marsei and gave him an earful
in the huddle. He was probably playing
too rough against teammates.
During the timeout, the beautiful girl with the long hair
and Pistol Pete wheeled out the
t-hirt Gatling cannon. I was
unimpressed with this artillery the last time I saw it in action. This time was different. It fired down court easily into the top of
the lower bowl and at a rapid fire. I
was actually stunned as a barrage of t-shirts and souvenir balls rained
down. A t-shirt fell down near me, going
over a group of young men a couple of rows below me, who were standing and
waving. A couple of young women nearby reached
over and grabbed it. One of the guys
started reaching for it too. I didn’t
move. The girls figured out it was too
big for either of them and offered it to the guys. That was nice.
Back to play, Jorge put in another from under the
basket. Marsei got another lecture from Associate Head Coach Miller. Teddy got a layup. He then got a steal, but was blocked on
another layup. Jabari stuck a three for
the White. I have no idea if the score was
close at this point. McKinney showed off
his skills with a fake out and a jumper and then a steal and a layup. This display got a rise out of the guys in
front of me. Jorge picked up a
foul. Coach Miller talked to him while
he was at the lane waiting for the free throws.
Jorge came back thumping in a jam.
Peake got another layup on a back door cutter.
During the next timeout, a couple of little kids posed for
Flex Cam and got on camera. I’d noticed
them earlier when their dad brought in a couple of large popcorns for
them. I could smell them though they
were a couple of rows below me. I really
wanted some popcorn after that. The
White went to a full court press out of the timeout. They picked up the offense with a three from
Marsei and a Jabari jam.
Peake hit a three for the Crimson, who also went to a full
court press out of a timeout. White
pressed back. One of the guys below me
was watching a playoff baseball game on his phone. I had to suppress myself from asking him
about the score. Jabari put in a three
for the Crimson. McKinney answered with
a three for the White. He came up
limping a little, but stayed in. I
finally noticed Adam Young was
sitting across the court watching. He
wasn’t calling the scrimmage, but I suspect he was doing so in his mind.
Teddy hit a three for the Crimson. Teddy went one-on-one against Johnny and hit
a fade away jumper over him. Then he hit
a three. Then Teddy stole a pass out of
Jabari’s hand and jammed it. Afterward,
he played up to the crowd. I was going
to be disappointed if somebody didn’t showboat for the crowd. Assistant
Coach Anwar and Dominique called him over to talk to them. Perhaps they were telling him that he’s made
them team? Johnny went for a last second
alley oop, but missed. It’s good that he
got that miss out of the way before the season started.
Alright, that was fun.
No, I’m not going to add up all of scoring to put down a final
score. I didn’t write down all of the
scoring anyway. I was reasonably
impressed with some of the new guys, Mike Peake, Marsei Caston, Jorge Moreno,
and especially Teddy Allen. Hopefully,
the players enjoyed having an audience.
This probably went off well enough that they’ll consider doing it again
next season. And, I’ll wait for the Volleyball match on Thursday to get in some more Aggie action.
[Newspaper Update: According to the Sun-News, the Red beat the Grey 51-41. All of the promotional material referred to this game as Crimson versus White. While the White jerseys were rather off-white, I suspect the newspaper editors simply didn’t want to capitalize the word, “White.” They also claimed that no one officially kept player stats for the game. I’m pretty sure that isn’t true. Teddy Allen was listed as leading the way with at least 20 points. In another article, the damaged Pan-Am Center floor saga continues with an insurance claim finally being filed to pay for a new floor. Short of that, they’re trying to figure out which university department is going to pay for it.]
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