Story Links
- NM State Game Notes
- UTEP Game Notes
What: Game Two
Who: NM State (1-0, 0-0 WAC) vs. UTEP (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
When: Saturday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. MT
Where: El Paso, Texas – Don Haskins Center (11,619)
Watch: C-USA TV
Listen: 600 ESPN El Paso
Attend: Don Haskins Center Box Office (915-747-5234), Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
Follow: Twitter – @NMStateMBB, Instagram – @NMStateMBB, Facebook – NM State Men’s Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
• NM State entered the season with much anticipation after hiring a new head coach in Greg Heiar and bringing in 17 newcomers during the offseason. After a 49-point blowout win over New Mexico Highlands, the Aggies’ new group will be quickly put to the test as they head into hostile territory to take on UTEP on Saturday night.
MAGIC WASHINGTON
• The 6-7 point man for the Aggies looked Magic Johnson-esque in Monday’s win over New Mexico Highlands as he finished the night with the Aggies’ first triple-double (17 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) since Dec. 12, 2017, when Jemerrio Jones tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
• Deshawndre Washington’s stat line was also good for just one of two triple-doubles on the first day of competition and still remains one of only two this season.
• The impressive night for the Chicago native was also reflected in the plus-minus category as the Aggies finished with a +42 while No. 42 was on the floor.
FAMILIAR STARTING GROUNDS
• Saturday’s tilt will mark the 29th time in program history that NM State’s first true road game of the season will come in El Paso, Texas, against the Miners.
PAN AM SOUTH
• NM State will head to a place where it has grown to become very comfortable with winning games at in recent years. The Aggies are winners of six of the last eight series matchups that have taken place at the Don Haskins Center located on Glory Road in El Paso, Texas.
• In total, the Aggies have defeated the Miners 11 times among the previous 13 meetings. The Aggies also hold a 116-102 series lead over the team from Texas across the 108-year rivalry.
REMEMBER RIO?
• Aggie fans taking in the game against the Miners will likely see a recognizable face on the other side of the court on Saturday as Mario McKinney Jr. enters his first season with the Miners after spending the 2021-22 campaign with the Aggies.
• In fact, one of McKinney Jr.’s five starts for the Aggies last season came in the Don Haskins Center when the Aggies defeated the Miners on Dec. 3.
• As an Aggie, McKinney Jr. appeared in 31 games and averaged 3.8 points and 1.1 assists per contest.
HEIAR GROUND
• With the departure of former three-time WAC Coach of the Year, Chris Jans, who took on a new role as the lead man at Mississippi State, the Aggies were tasked with replacing a coach who finished his tenure with a 122-32 record as the Aggies’ head coach.
• Filling that role will be Dubuque, Iowa, native Greg Heiar who served on staff with Jans at two institutions (Chipola College in 2003-04 and Wichita State from 2011-14 and 2015-17).
• Heiar takes over the reins at NM State with 22 years of coaching experience, including stops along the way as an assistant at Wichita State (2011-17) and LSU (2021-22)
• The man touted as one of the best recruiters in the country has also twice been a head coach – serving as the bench boss at Chipola College from 2004-05 and most recently at Northwest Florida State College last season.
• During his one-year stint at Northwest Florida State, Heiar took the Raiders to the pinnacle of junior college basketball – leading his team to a 31-5 overall record and a NJCAA National Championship.
• The Raiders’ national title run was the culmination of a remarkable turnaround from the previous campaign. NWFS went just 6-15 in 2020-21, but with Heiar leading the way, the Raiders increased their win total by 25 games en route to the title of the nation’s best NJCAA club.
• Heiar’s résumé also includes a three-year stint in the Southeastern Conference with LSU. With the Tigers, Heiar was a part of 67 wins, including an SEC Championship and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2019. The Aggies’ new leader contributed greatly to bolstering a Tiger recruiting class that ranked No. 4 in the country entering the 2019 season. In addition, Heiar’s on-court coaching helped Tremont Waters – the No. 51 selection in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics – earn First Team All-SEC honors.
• His time spent in Baton Rouge, La., came on the heels of a stellar six-year run with the Shockers of Wichita State. During Heiar’s time the Shockers won 179 games, five Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles and made six-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including the program’s second-ever Final Four appearance in 2013.
• While at Wichita State, Heiar worked extensively with the Shocker backcourt, which saw Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet earn All-American honors. Both would also eventually sign NBA contracts following the 2016 season.
• Additionally, the Shockers were one of the top winningest programs in the country during Heiar’s stay as their 179 wins was tied for third-most nationally behind only Gonzaga (187) and Kentucky (185).
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
• Even for fans that have followed the Aggies for many years, the team that NM State will take the floor with on Nov. 2 will look almost entirely unfamiliar as only two of the Aggies from last year’s team will wear Crimson & White this season.
• Aside from junior forward Mike Peake and sophomore forward Chi Chi Avery, all other Aggies that suit up for the 2022-23 season will be making their Aggie debuts. Redshirt freshman Shakiru Odunewu is the only other member of this year’s squad who has spent time within the program as he redshirted with the Aggies last season.
• 15 of the 16 new faces stepped foot in Las Cruces for the first time during the offseason. Las Cruces native and son of Aggie legend William Benjamin, Deuce Benjamin serves as the lone Aggie newcomer with roots already established in Las Cruces.
• The Aggies will lean on several newcomers this season as Issa Muhammad, Xavier Pinson, DaJuan Gordon, Kim Aiken Jr., Deshawndre Washington, Anthony Roy, Kyle Feit and Doctor Bradley are all expected to play major roles for Coach Heiar in their debut season with the Aggies.
• Despite being new to the program, Washington and Muhammad should be comfortable with the system in place as they were key cogs on Coach Heiar’s national championship team at Northwest Florida State one season ago. Washington, a 6-7 point guard, started 35 of 36 games for the Raiders while averaging 12.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The highly-touted Chicago guard came to the Aggies as the sixth-ranked junior college recruit according to jucorecruiting.com after he was named a NJCAA Division I First Team All-American and NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player.
• Fellow National Champion, Issa Muhammad steps into his role with the Aggies after averaging 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds with the Raiders last season. Muhammad makes stop number three of his collegiate career after also playing for Daytona State for a pair of seasons.
• Joining Washington in the backcourt will be transfer DaJuan “Quaye” Gordon who begins his career with the Aggies after stints with Missouri and Kansas State. In his lone season with the Tigers, the elite two-way guard made starts in all 32 games he appeared in on his way to averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game.
• Gordon serves as just one of three Aggies to join the team one season after playing at the Power Five level with the other two being LSU transfer Xavier Pinson and Arizona transfer Kim Aiken Jr. However, both Pinson and Aiken Jr. do find themselves in need of approved waivers from the NCAA before they can begin their Aggie careers.
• Upon approval, Pinson has an opportunity to step in and become one of the best guards in the Western Athletic Conference. That sentiment is backed back selections to both the Coaches’ All-WAC First Team and Media All-WAC Team. Just last season, Pinson held down the starting point guard position for the Tigers as he started 27 of 28 contests and averaged a team-high 4.8 assists per game while pouring in just under 10 points per game.
• Kim Aiken Jr. treks to Las Cruces after making a stop in Tucson, Ariz. Before playing for the Wildcats, Aiken Jr. was a First Team All-Big Sky selection and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year at Eastern Washington when he led the Eagles to a berth in the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament. Aiken could potentially provide big-man depth alongside Muhammad during the 2022-23 season.
• Former San Francisco Don Anthony Roy joins the Aggies after spending last season in Wenatchee, Wash., where he played for Wenatchee Valley College. With the Knights, Roy appeared in 26 games and finished the year averaging 23.2 points per game while shooting 53.6 percent from the field. He also added 7.5 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists per game on his way to being named NWAC Second Team All-East Region.
• Kyle Feit makes his second stop at the Division I level after spending three seasons with Arizona State (2018-21). Looking for a bigger role, Feit returned to his home state of Florida to play at Indian River State College. Feit’s play in 2021-22 helped skyrocket the stock of the sharpshooter as he led all NJCAA shooters with 112 made threes while shooting at a 46.5 percent clip.
• Big man Doctor Bradley should offer a spark off the bench for the Aggies with his athleticism and ability to defend multiple positions. Last season, Bradley checked into all 37 games at Salt Lake Community College where he averaged 13.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
THE POWER FIVE FIVE
• At some point in their college basketball careers, five members of the 2022-23 Aggie roster previously suited up for a Power Five institution.
• Xavier Pinson (LSU in 2021-22 and Missouri from 2018-21), DaJuan Gordon (Missouri in 2021-22 and Kansas State from 2019-21), Kyle Feit (Arizona State from 2018-21), Mike Peake (Georgia in 2019-20) and Kim Aiken (Arizona in 2021-22) all have previous experience at the Power Five level. Between that group, programs from the Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC are represented.
• Across all five athletes, the Aggies roster will include 10 years of experience at the Power Five level not to mention several other individuals who passed up Power Five opportunities to join the NM State program.
LOOKING TO FILL THE VOID
• The Aggies entered the season in search of almost entirely new weapons as the Aggies lost 12 members from last year’s squad due to graduation or the transfer portal, including the entire starting lineup from the 2022-23 either graduated or transferred to another program.
• With the departure, the Aggies also lost over 90% of their total points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goals and free throws from last season.
CHI-TOWN CONNECTION
• The NM State recruiting channels flowed through the Chicago River this season as NM State landed a quartet of athletes that call the third-largest city in the country home.
• Xavier Pinson, Mike Peake, DaJuan Gordon and Deshawndre Washington are all products of the city many believe to be one of the greatest basketball-talent-producing cities in the world.
HERE COMES COACH JOHNNY?
• Former Aggie forward Johnny McCants will make his debut on the NM State coaching staff this season as he will take on the title of Men’s Basketball Analyst after putting together one of the most illustrious playing careers in program history.
• McCants finished his career as the Aggies’ all-time leader in wins with 121 across six years with the Crimson & White.
• McCants also concluded his playing days as one of the Aggies’ all-time rebounders – finishing with 778 rebounds to rank seventh all-time in total rebounds in NM State history.
• The Las Cruces native made his mark as one of the premier shot blockers in program history as well as he rejected 134 shots to finish sixth on the all-time list in program history.
• Lastly, McCants joined the 1,000-point club last season to become one of just 37 scorers to do so during their Aggie career. McCants finished his career with 1,085 total points.
“KEYS” TO SUCCESS
• Like Johnny McCants, Men’s Basketball Video Coordinator Billy Keys joins his alma mater’s coaching staff after putting together an impressive playing career with the Aggies from 1998-2000.
• Despite only playing for the Aggies for two seasons, Keys scored 1,004 total points to become one of 37 Aggies in the 1,000-point club.
• In those two seasons, Keys was twice named to the Big West All-Tournament Team, including being named the Tournament MVP in 1999 when he led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament.
• NM State Athletics also recognized Keys’ contributions as he was one of 20 former players named to the All-Century Team on Feb. 2, 2007.
• Keys was also an elite passer during his time in Las Cruces. This was demonstrated in his first season with the Aggies when he dished out 160 total assists – a mark that still ranks behind only four other Aggies in program history.
• All in all, Keys ranks ninth all-time in career assists with 310. He is also the lone Aggie among the top 10 in career assists to have played at NM State for two seasons or less.
• Keys also began his coaching career in The City of Crosses when he became an assistant coach at Centennial High School prior to earning the head coaching job at Mayfield High School.
• The Chicago native comes to the Aggies after spending three seasons as the Associate Head Coach at Northern New Mexico College.
AGGIE LEGENDS ON THE RADIO
• Longtime Voice of the Aggies Jack Nixon will be joined by NM State legend Anita Skipper (formerly Anita Maxwell) for the 2022-23 season.
• During her playing days with the Aggies, Skipper became the first men’s or women’s player at the Division I level to have at least 2,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 300 steals in a college career.
• With 2,601 career points during her four-year career, Skipper still holds the title of all-time leading scorer in NM State history regardless of gender.
• The three-time All-American was selected 29th overall by the Cleveland Rockers in the first-ever WNBA draft in 1997.
• The Dallas native will make her debut on the radio alongside Nixon on Wednesday, Nov. 2, when the Aggies host Western New Mexico.
ACCORDING TO OTHERS
• In an announcement made by the conference on Monday, Oct. 17, the Aggies were picked to finish second in both the WAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll and WAC Preseason Media Poll.
• This marks the first time since the 2017-18 season, NM State will enter the season without the distinction of “preseason favorite” – at least on paper.
• 2017-18 also happened to be the last time the Aggies welcomed entered the season with a new head coach as Chris Jans was entering year one with the program.
• All the Aggies did that year was compile a 12-2 record in WAC play to earn the WAC Regular Season title before going on to win three games by an average margin of victory of 12 points en route to a WAC Tournament title.
• According to the league’s coaches and media that follow the WAC, Grand Canyon was selected as the preseason favorite to win the league. In the coaches’ poll, the Lopes garnered eight first-place votes to finish with 135 points. The Aggies earned the second-most number of first-place votes with three while racking up 127 points. Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian and California Baptist rounded out the top five in a poll of the league’s 13 head coaches. The top five on the side of the media mirrored that of the coaches’ poll.
DEUCE DEUCE
• Donning No. 22, incoming freshman Deuce Benjamin will continue the legacy of his father and former Aggie great William Benjamin.
• The Las Cruces High School graduate will make his way to the Division I ranks following a senior season in which he earned his second Gatorade MaxPreps Player of the Year honor after leading the Bulldawgs to a 31-1 record in 2021-22. During his senior campaign, Benjamin poured in 25.3 points per game while adding 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.8 steals per outing.
• In total, Benjamin finished his high school career with an overall record of 102-6, including an NMAA 5A state title in 2020.
• Deuce has big shoes to fill as his father is a member of the NM State All-Century team alongside Aggie standouts like Randy Brown, Billy Keys, Jimmy Collins and Albert “Slab” Jones.
• During his career with the Aggies, William Benjamin led the Aggies to four consecutive postseason appearances, including three-straight NCAA Tournaments from 1990-93.
• Benjamin turned in one of the greatest shooting seasons in program history as he ranks second all-time in three-point field goal percentage in a single season – shooting 49.4 percent from beyond the arc in 1990-91. In his career, Benjamin finished as a 40.9 percent shooter from long range – a mark that is currently sixth-best in NM State history.
• Not only could William Benjamin shoot the rock, he could also dish it as well. Benjamin racked up 333 total assists in his career to rank eighth all-time.
• Benjamin was also known for his ability on defense as he ranks third all-time in program history in total steals with 209.
MAJOR MID-MAJOR
• After finishing the 2021-22 season ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, the Aggies find themselves ranked 22nd in the preseason mid-major rankings.
• Additionally, nine of the Aggies’ opponents during the 2022-23 season are also featured among the initial rankings, with a trio of Aggie opponents among the top 25 while the other six received votes to be included in the preseason rankings.
• Of the nine NM State opponents that have been recognized among the top mid-major institutions, six reside in the WAC alongside the Aggies (Grand Canyon, Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Utah Valley, Southern Utah and Sam Houston).
TOURNAMENT TIME
• NM State’s 10 conference tournament titles since 2006 are the second-most in the nation. Only the WCC’s Gonzaga (13) has more.
25 TO FOR LIFE
• Since NM State’s basketball program began in 1905, the Aggies have reached the 25-win mark in just 13 seasons.
• Of those 13 seasons of 25 or more wins, eight have come in the 21st century. NM State has hit or exceeded the 25-win mark in five of the last six seasons. From the 2016-17 through the 2019-20 campaign, NM State won at least 25 games in each to mark the program’s longest run of 25+ win seasons in the process.
• In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the late Neil McCarthy led the Aggies to four 25+ win seasons to produce the most 25+ win seasons by an NM State head coach.
HIGH-CLASS HARDWOOD
• Original plans had NM State debuting a newly-designed version of the iconic parquet floor of the Pan American Center in 2021-22, but Mother Nature – and some ill-timed building maintenance issues – made it impossible to do so.
• Instead, the two-toned floor was installed on August 15, 2022, as the NM State volleyball program prepared for the start of its season.
• The floor is now primed and ready for the start of the Aggies’ men’s and women’s basketball seasons.
THAT’S PRETTY SUITE
• In addition to the new floor, the Pan American Center underwent a facelift in the department of the fan experience as six premium suites were installed over the summer.
• The project was made possible by a $2.9 million philanthropic gift that was given to the NMSU Foundation, benefiting Aggie Athletics.
• A premium club seating area will also be made available following the conclusion of the construction on the north end of the Pan American Center.
#PROAGGIES
• To open his seventh year in the NBA, Pascal Siakam has tallied six double-doubles to lead the Raptors to a 7-5 record early in the 2022-23 campaign.
• Siakam remains the only former Aggie on an NBA roster, but a pair of former NM State hoopers in Trevelin Queen and Jemerrio Jones have also managed to earn opportunities at the next level.
• After being named the NBA G League MVP following a breakout year with the Rio Grande Vipers in 2021-22, Queen signed a two-year with the Philadelphia 76ers through free agency. However, Queen’s stay with the 76ers would be short-lived as he was waived before the season began. Since parting ways with the Sixers, the Baltimore, Md., native signed a two-way deal with the Indiana Pacers where he’s expected to spend most with the Pacers’ G League affiliate the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
• Meanwhile, Jemerrio Jones secured his second deal in the G League as he opened the season as a member of the Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic affiliate). Last season, the former Aggie often referred to as “Super JJ” played 11 games for the Milwaukee Bucks G League affiliate the Wisconsin Herd. With the Herd, Jones averaged 6.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
FAR FROM HOME
• Hailing from Emunim, Israel, 21-year-old freshman guard Shahar Lazar is one of just two individuals to appear on a basketball roster across Division I from the country of Israel.
• Lazar is joined in the collegiate ranks by his countryman Yarin Hasson, a freshman at UConn from Gan Yavne, Israel.
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
• After being affiliated with the Western Athletic Conference for nearly 20 years, NM State will be bearing a new conference flag beginning on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
• In an announcement issued Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, by NM State and Conference USA, NM State has accepted an invitation to join the league in the summer of 2023.
• NM State is one of four institutions that are set to join the ranks of Conference USA beginning in 2023-24. Along with NM State, Jacksonville State, Liberty University and Sam Houston State University will trade in their current league affiliations for the C-USA flag.
• Conference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference based in Dallas, Texas. Now in its third decade, Conference USA has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics with an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and leadership in competition, academics and community.
COACHING CONSISTENCY
• Often times when a new head coach takes over, the entire coaching staff turns over as well. Going against the trend, a pair of Aggie staffers will continue their careers at NM State as both Associate Head Coach Dominique Taylor and Director of Player Development Darin Graham will return to the Aggie bench in 2022-23.
• Taylor will enter his second season with the Aggies after helping author one of the best seasons in the history of the NM State men’s basketball program.
• Similarly, the man colloquially known as “DG”, will also continue to provide his assistance in Las Cruces as he enters year two with the Aggies after cutting down the nets at the WAC Tournament in 2021-22.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
• With the win in the season opener against New Mexico Highlands on Monday, Nov. 7, the Aggies have put up a 72-42-1 (.630) all-time mark in season openers.
• Dating back to the 2015-16 season, NM State has emerged as the victor in each of its last eight season openers. Over the last decade, the Aggies have gone 8-2 (.800) in their first game to begin a season.
THIS DAY IN NM STATE HISTORY
• NM State’s Saturday venture will mark the sixth time in program history that it will compete on the 12th day of November – posting an all-time record of 3-2, including wins in three of its previous four outings.
• Coincidentally, the last time the Aggies played on Nov. 12 was also on the road against the Miners when UTEP knocked off the Aggies, 65-50, two years ago.
• NM State’s first ever appearance in a game on Nov. 12 came against national power Duke as they visited Cameron Indoor to take on the #13/10 Blue Devils in 2007. The Aggies fell to the Coach K-led squad, 86-61, as four Blue Devils reached double-figures, including current Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer who finished the day with a game-high 22 points.
• The collision with the Miners on Saturday will also be the third time in program history that NM State will play its road opener on Nov. 12.
• The Aggies have also twice played their home opener on Nov. 12 (2010 at Louisiana & 2011 at Northern Colorado).
SCOUTING UTEP
• The Aggies’ long-time rival is in a similar boat as the team from Las Cruces as it introduced 12 newcomers while losing four starters from last year’s squad.
• Despite serving as the Miner’s lone returning starter, redshirt sophomore Jamari Sibley, did not make it into Head Coach Joe Golding’s starting lineup when they opened the season on Monday. Although, Sibley did conclude the game with 30 minutes of playing time to rank third on the team in that category while leading the Miners in rebounding with seven boards.
• Saturday’s meeting with the Aggies will represent the home opener for the Miners after opening its season on the road at No. 12 Texas.
• Against the Longhorns, the Miners were led in the total point column by sophomore forward Ze’Rik Onyema who tallied 10 points to serve as the lone Miner with a double-digit scoring figure.
• One of the more surprising takeaways from the Miners’ opener was the fact that they outrebounded the Longhorns (32-27) in the loss while also holding the team from Austin to just 28.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
• Thanks to their presence on the glass, the Miners dominated the Longhorns in second-chance points (17-4)
• At times, UT’s speed appeared to bother the Miners as Texas outscored UTEP 16-1 in fast break points.
• For the Miners, Saturday’s meeting with mark the start of a five-game home stand.
• Last season, UTEP finished the year with a 20-14 overall record to post its first 20-plus win season since 2014-15
• The 2021-22 season also conclude with the Miners’ first postseason appearance since 2015 as they earned a spot in the Basketball Classic. UTEP opened the Basketball Classic with an 80-54 win over Western Illinois before falling 82-69 to Southern Utah in the second round of the tournament.
• At the helm of the Miners will be Head Coach Joe Golding who is in his 12th year of coaching at the Division I level and the second season with the Miners. In total, Golding has led his teams to 178 wins, including one win in the NCAA Tournament when he led 14th-seeded Abilene Christian to a 53-52 shocking upset win over third-seeded Texas in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
++NM State++
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