I'll Be a Son of a Shark

[Wayne23]

The suspense is killin' me!

[CoachC]

For the first time all season our guys seem nervous, as do I. This is unchartered territory for us. Nerves aren't necessarily a bad thing, if the extra energy can be harnessed, they can lead a team to new heights.

The Wildcats are led by defending NCAA player of the year, point guard Delano Dupree who is odds on favorite to win the award again this year,something rare for a point guard. Dupree is no ordinary point guard, however. Averaging 22.6 ppg, he also averages almost 4 rebs, 6 asts, 2 blocks and 2 stls per game. There is no way to completely stop Dupree, but we have to try to keep him from getting too far away from us while keeping everyone else in check. Their shooting guard Andy Benton is also a concern. We do seem to have an advantage inside, and will need to play to our strengths..strong post play defensively, and grabbing rebounds. We also have to take care of the basketball as turnover differential could be a key factor in this game.

Our only mutual opponent was Oregon St. whom we both defeated.

We can do this..I know we can. I hope our players believe it too.

In the first half, we poured our nervous energy into the amoeba zone early on and got them to cough up the ball repeatedly for transition baskets. Dupree picked up 2 quick fouls and had to sit most of the first half. On the other hand, we really struggled to stop Benton, and as a team they shot 62.5 against us. We shot well enough ourselves to take a 38-36 lead at halftime, but our defense has to be much better in the 2nd half. Hopefully we can draw another quick one on Dupree as well.

What a 2nd half! We suddenly found ourselves struggling, struggling, struggling to score, but our defense and rebounding were much better. Trailing by 1 in our last possession, I elected to let them play instead of calling a time out. Ray missed a 7 footer along the base-line, but Johnson snuck in the lane for the loose ball and kicked it back out. Houston found Conley on the baseline who somehow drove around two defenders for a reverse layup with 6 seconds to go. Showing full court pressure after the time out to take time off the clock, Benson fired a long range 3 with 2 seconds to go that missed to the right and.....THE LOBOS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

Frontcourt: A

Martin Ray was our offense early in the game, and with the Wildcats struggling to contain him, they went zone which led to our offensive problems in the 2nd half. For the game Ray had 13 pts, 9 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, block

Vernon Johnson in his final game as a Lobo had 6 pts,1 asts, 5 rebs, but none bigger than his offensive rebound of Rays missed shot as time was running out. His post defense was excellent as usual

Jon Angelli was a difference maker for us in this one at both ends of the court 10 pts, 10 rebs, 3 asts, 4 stls, and refused to let us cave in the 2nd half when things weren't going our way.

Jackson and Tatum provided good play off the bench.

Backcourt: C+

Our starting guards struggled tonight. Conley had 4 pts, 3 asts, but 3 turnovers in 14 minutes, but made the biggest basket of his career at the end to finish off his career with a national title.

Houston's nerves really showed tonight, and for one of the few times this year he looked like a freshman. Just 3 pts, 2 rebs, and absoutely could not guard Benson at the other end of the court.

Stetson and Thompson got the job done for us off the bench, however. Thompson and Conley did a number on Dupree who had just 8 pts, 4 asts and turned the ball over 5 times.

Bench: A-
Stetson picked the right time to show up at the party. After struggling all post-season, Nathan finished his career by coming off the bench for 13 points tying Ray for team high. He also had 3 rebs, 2 stls and told Benson,
"that's enough young man" and kept him in check for most of the 2nd half.

Thompson had 2 points, 6 asts

Inyo had 6 big points off the bench when we were struggling to score and had 4 rebs, 1 block.

Tatum had 3 huge steals at a point in the game when momentum appeared to be shifting.

Larry Guy played just 7 minutes, but brought in for defense at the end of the first half, he responded again by intercepting a pass and protecting our lead going into the break.

Overall: A+
We had every opportunity to choke but didn;t in the 2nd half. All four Seniors showed some leadership tonight, and ended the careers in the biggest way possible...a national championship. Although Houston struggled tonight, Ray and Angelli showed why this team should still be feared next season. Not able to get the ball in the basket in the 2nd half, we managed to win through sheer willpower and defensive effort. I am so proud of these young men. I still keep waiting to wake up from this dream.


FINAL: National Champion UNM 59 Arizona 58

[CoachC]

Apr 4: I wake up this morning, and discover it's still true. We did it!

[CoachC]

Apr 4: Martin Ray is named Tournament MVP

He is also named Conference Player of the year.
Houston to no one's surprise is MWC Freshman of the year.
I'm awarded MWC Coach of the year.
Houston and Ray are both 1st team all conference. Vernon Johnson is on the 2nd team.

[CoachC]

Apr 4: Last night after the trophy presentation, and the press conference, and the Gatorade drenching, and all the post-game interviews. I see Jerry and Ma make their way through the crowd. Ma is crying, Jerry is beaming and Jerry says, "Feels great, doesn't it, son?"
Ma says, "Jerry and I have been talking, Gary. There is something you need to know. There's something we need to tell you, and have been trying to figure out the right time to say it. I don't think there will ever be a better time than now......."

THE END

(seems like a good time to end this dynasty. With cb3 on the horizon, it isn't worth taking an offer at another school and spending 2 or 3 years building the program, and I'm not sure Gary would want to. The adminstration and fans at UNM have been so good to him, and he still has a loaded cabinet to compete with next season. I'll probably continue to play this association for another year or two (curious to see what Ray, Angelli, and Houston can do to top this!) but won't likely write anything more in the dynasty thread, unless it's OOC

[CoachC]

After the season, Gary is offered head coaching jobs at Georgetown, North Carolina, Marquette, and UCLA. UNC and Georgetown are both on probation, but the jobs at Marquette and particularly UCLA are difficult ones to turn down. Both were 2 seeds and top ten teams this year. After much soul-searching and a long heart to heart with his parents, Gary decides to stay at New Mexico and hope he doesn't regret it. Job opportunities like that don't open up every day, but now, more than ever wishes to stay close to home, and that made the final decision for him.

[Wayne23]

YES!!! I absolutely agree with the last possession strategy. Do NOT call a time out in that situation. All the coaches do and it's wrong. Call a TO and two things happen, first, the other coach gets to set his D just the way he wants it, and second, there's a chance to have the in bounds pass stolen. I NEVER call a TO in that situation, and I didn't in real life either. We used practice time to prep for those situations. Congrats, Coach, how cool is that, a national title!

[CoachC]

I agree you there Wayne. One exception might be to get a big offensive gun into the game either to take the shot or act as a decoy (maybe you were playing offense to defense with him in foul trouble, e.g.). But yes, allowing the defense to set up, and challenge the inbounds pass is something to avoid. Yeah, winning the title was great! Not sure how we managed it shooting the way we did in the 2nd half, but it was the perfect way to end the dynasty!

[Wayne23]

Yep, TO on last possession ONLY if there's a good reason to do so. Congrats once more!

[CoachC]

thx again! Almost sorry i ended the dynasty...we just beat #4 Memphis by 29! lol