Ball security is an issue for UNM men
It’s hard to get the ball through the hoop if you can’t hold on to the ball in the first place.
With the University of New Mexico Lobos out to a rather sloppy 3-2 start to the season, it’s apparent this isn’t a team that has thus far valued possession of the ball. Turnovers are up plenty as new players acclimate themselves to new roles.
After Sunday’s loss to Texas A&M, a game in which the Lobos turned the ball over 16 times spread over nine players, coach Craig Neal acknowledged ball security and rushing the team’s offense has been an issue.
“We were in pretty good shape in the first half, then we just started turning the ball over in the second half,” the coach said. “We didn’t make plays and (A&M) made plays. They made shots. They made the extra pass. We kind of rushed things and forced things.”
And while it would be easy for many to dismiss the high turnover rate as a Cullen Neal issue — the sophomore guard took over the primary point guard role this season before injuring his ankle Thursday against Boston College — the actual statistics tell another story.
Every Lobo is doing his part to turn the ball over at a high rate: the guards, the reserves and in particular the big men who seem to frequently have troubles handling even more basic entry passes that the sure-handed Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow had little trouble with in the past few years.
The 2013-14 Lobos turned the ball over at a rate of 0.052 turnovers per player minute (there are 200 player minutes in each regulation game). This season’s team is coughing it up at a rate of 0.071. That seemingly slight difference has resulted in nearly four more turnovers per game. The 2013-14 Lobos averaged 10.6 turnovers while this year’s team is averaging 14.2.
While last season’s Lobo roster had eight players with a turnover rate of 0.05 or less, this season’s roster has only one player — freshman Xavier Adams (0.048) below that mark.
Arthur Edwards, injured in Sunday’s loss, leads the team with nine turnovers in 65 minutes of play (0.138/ minute) while J.J. N’Ganga (0.09) and Devon Williams (0.08) are the next two biggest offenders.
Cullen Neal had seven turnovers in the 89 minutes he played before his ankle injury for a rate of 0.079, an improvement from his 0.095 rate as a freshman.
Even sure-handed Hugh Greenwood has seen his turnover rate increase (0.03 last season, 0.056 his season) as he’s been trying desperately to will the team to wins by taking on more of a scoring role, especially since the Cullen Neal injury.
“We’ve got to get some guys to start handling the ball a little bit better, making some plays,” Craig Neal said. “We’ve got to start doing little things like catching the ball and looking at the rim and shooting open shots.”
GOODBYE, SCOTT D: With Robert Portnoy still on Lobo football duty and new radio analyst Hunter Greene having a prior obligation, former UNM assistant coach and radio analyst Scott Didrickson was on the microphone one last time this past week in Puerto Rico.
Didrickson, who recently moved with his family to his hometown in Washington state, had a touching sendoff to listeners at the end of Sunday’s game broadcast on KKOB 770-AM.
“I wanted to just say thank you for allowing me to be a part of this program for over 12 years now as both a coach and a broadcaster.
“I fell in love with college basketball in 1982 watching Michael Jordan hit a jumper to win a national championship for North Carolina, and I’ve loved college basketball ever since.
It’s been a huge, huge part of my life since I was 18 years old, and to be a part of the Albuquerque and the New Mexico community and the University of New Mexico community, it’s really been a privilege for someone who loves college basketball to be amongst fans who love this game more than any fans in the country. I’ve been fortunate to see and be around a lot of different fan bases, and there is no one that loves college basketball the way fans in New Mexico do.
“So, a complete privilege and a complete blessing to be around this program and to have a front row seat to basi- cally every Lobo basketball game for the last 12 years. I want to say thank you to the university and to all of its fans for allowing me that incredible privilege.”
MOUNTAIN WEST POW:
Colorado State senior guard Daniel Bejarano on Monday was named the league’s Player of the Week, the second such award of his career.
POLL POSITION: San Diego State was ranked No. 15 in both the AP and USA Today coaches top 25 polls released Monday. Wyoming entered the “others receiving votes” category of each poll with four points in the AP poll and three points in the coaches’.