Northern coach praises Weir’s plan
Cordova says there is method to UNM coach’s madness
ALBUQUERQUE — One of Paul Weir’s biggest advocates was about a 7½-hour bus ride away Thursday afternoon.
Right around the time the new Lobo men’s basketball coach was talking about his recruiting philosophy and why he hasn’t filled the three available spots for next year’s recruiting class, Ryan Cordova spoke by phone about the method to Weir’s madness.
“The guy’s a genius,” Cordova said. “He knows exactly what he’s doing and, I’m telling you, he’s one of those coaches who if he doesn’t fall in love with a guy he’s recruiting, he’s not going to sign him. He won’t fill a scholarship just for the sake of filling a scholarship. He’s doing it the right way. I’m telling you, it might not make sense to some people, but the guy knows what he’s doing and how he wants to do it.”
The head coach at Northern New Mexico College, Cordova was in Oklahoma on Thursday night for his team’s eighth game of the season. The Eagles’ ninth will be Saturday night in Dreamstyle Arena when they help usher in the Weir Era at UNM in the season opener for the Lobos.
It’s part of a men’s tripleheader that includes New Mexico Highlands opening its season against Western New Mexico at
3 p.m. The action starts at 12:30 p.m. when Eastern New Mexico faces Fort Lewis. The Lobos and NNMC tip off at 7 p.m.
Sunday offers two more games when Fort Lewis and Western New Mexico play at 3 p.m. followed by NMHU and Eastern New Mexico at 5 p.m.
For Weir, its the first step in what will be a sizable rebuilding project after more than half of last year’s team either transferred out or graduated. What’s left is a group of five returners and six newcomers playing at a frenetic pace that demands a full-court press on defense and a wide-open, green-lights-for-everyone approach on offense.
The early returns are positive. The Lobos hosted Brigham Young in a charity exhibition Oct. 27, losing 79-73. Although UNM was just 5-for-31 from 3-point range, Weir liked what he saw.
“That pace of play doesn’t always affect your defense,” he said. “Sometimes it affects your offense. That’s really what we’re spending more time on now, is trying to find the right sweet spot offensively.”
He said everyone on the team has the freedom to shoot from anywhere. That includes the three big men on the roster letting it fly from 3-point range.
“I don’t want to ever lose what I want to be about,” Weir said.
Cordova said what Weir is about is taking the patient approach to getting the Lobos back to being, well, the Lobos.
“First time I ever met him I could see he had it in him to be a head coach, to run a team the way he wanted and how he wanted,” Cordova said. “He pays attention to every detail. You’d go to their practices at [New Mexico State] and he’s in there directing the players as if they were his, and that’s when he was Marvin [Menzies’] assistant. It was Marvin’s system, but Paul was running the show.”
Exactly how the 2017-18 Lobos come out is anyone’s guess, but Cordova said that high-octane approach will bode well for a team that has to develop its own niche in Weir’s first season.
Weir said he’s anxious to get things going, but he’s also picking up on the bigger picture.
“I am also aware that we’ve spent so much time on our culture and these guys buying into me and me buying into them and them buying into each other that we’ve probably, you know we’re a little bit behind maybe on some of those other things,” he said.
LOBO NOTES
Starting lineup: Saturday’s probable starters are Sam Logwood, Dane Kuiper, Joe Furstinger, Troy Simons and Chris McNeal, although Weir said he hopes the starting five will be in a constant state of flux all season.
The competition to be on the floor to start the game will keep his team sharp, he said. Anything less means players are settling for roles — and that’s not something he wants.
Change in class: Weir said Conor MacDougall is actually in his senior year and not his junior season. Listed as a sophomore last year after transferring to UNM from Arizona State, he was ruled as having started his sophomore season by ASU and the Pac-12, this wiping out one entire year of eligibility.
UNM learned of the ruling this week, meaning MacDougall is now in his final season.
Recruiting class: The Lobos are expected to sign Drue Drinnon, a 6-foot high school guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The announcement could come as early as this weekend when UNM receives his signed national letter of intent.
Weir said the news of MacDougall’s senior year means the Lobos are in the market for a big man to replace the 6-foot-9 forward. What he’s looking for isn’t so much size or body type. What he wants is toughness, character and grit.
“It’s hard to teach that, to teach a motor, to teach toughness is difficult,” Weir said. “That’s probably the number one thing we’re looking for in recruiting.”