NMSU coaches schmooze with supporters in ABQ., Farmington

But trip gets off to a shaky start

It’s fair to say New Mexico State University’s basketball coaches are not yet familiar faces around the state.

The school’s athletic department began to address that with Aggie Caravan stops in Farmington and Albuquerque this week. The caravan got off to an inauspicious start.

NMSU men’s basketball coach Chris Jans and women’s coach Brooke Atkinson, both recent hires, accompanied athletic director Mario Moccia on the trip in a rental car with New York plates. The car was stopped at a border patrol checkpoint just north of Las Cruces on Tuesday morning.

“First they asked if we were all related,” Moccia said. “Then they asked us to pull the car over. Once we got out, a dog jumps in the back seat sniffing for contraband.”

Jans, a Midwesterner who had never been to New Mexico prior to this year, was admittedly a bit baffled by the experience.

“I thought we were stopping at a toll booth,” he said. “When the dog jumped in, I started taking pictures. The officer said, ‘Sir, you need to put your phone away.’ I still got a couple pictures, though.”

Fortunately, Moccia said, no contraband was discovered and the rest of NMSU’s caravan went off without a hitch. Roughly 100 alums, parents and Aggie supporters turned out for Wednesday night’s Albuquerque stop at St. Claire Winery and Bistro, allowing them an opportunity to meet and greet Jans, Atkinson, Moccia and Aggies football coach Doug Martin.

Moccia touted his program’s on-the-field successes from the past year but conceded that financial issues made 2016-17 difficult for the Las Cruces school, which cut its equestrian team as a money-saving measure. Moccia briefly pitched Aggie Athletic Club memberships, but most of the evening was spent with Jans, Atkinson and Martin providing updates on their respective programs. Here are some of the high points. MEN’S BASKETBALL: Jans said his first weeks on the job included meeting with returning players, recruits and beginning to shape a roster. As of Wednesday, NMSU had nine scholarship players, 12 players overall and four scholarships open for next season, Jans said.

Several members of last season’s team elected to leave the program when former coach Paul Weir moved to rival New Mexico, but Jans is confident he can fill the openings in time for next season.

“Having four scholarships open in late May isn’t ideal,” Jans said, “but it’s not as big a problem as it used to be.” WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Like Jans, Atkinson has some roster holes to fill. She convinced all eight of her returning players, including All-WAC guard Brooke Salas, to remain after previous coach Mark Trakh left for USC, but only two of the program’s five freshman signees for next season are still expected to attend NMSU. Those two are 6-foot guard Kalei Atkinson and 6-2 forward Makayla Mabry.

Brooke Atkinson said she also has hired former Eastern Arizona College head coach Ryan McAdams as an assistant coach.

FOOTBALL: Martin was particularly upbeat about his team’s prospects for next season and a pair of large additions stoked his enthusiasm. One is former La Cueva and University of Arizona defensive lineman Calvin Allen IV, who will join the Aggies as a graduate transfer. Allen, a 6-6, 281-pound defensive lineman, started classes Wednesday after NMSU edged out UNM in a recruiting battle, Martin said. Allen’s father, Calvin Allen III, is a former Lobo but he also is a friend of Moccia’s.

“He was in my wedding,” Moccia said. “I had an in.”

Martin also had high praise for gray-shirt tight end Bryce Roberts, a 6-4, 270-pounder who made his presence felt in spring practice.

“He brings some dimensions we haven’t had in a while,” Martin said.