# [Wet Thumb Forum]-It's almost March!



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

The madness is setting in.

My favorite team (UNM women's basketball team) graduated 5 seniors last year, including the best player in school history. This year they had to integerate 7 new players including 5 freshman. The result was a slow start.

Now they're making a dash to qualify for tournament time. They're 9-2 in conference play with 5 wins in a row. One more road game,then they finish up at home. If they can win out in their last three games they will finish the regular season at 20-7; they'll be a sure thing for second in conference with a chance for a first place tie.

They played at the University of Nevada Las Vegas last night and won a nail-biter. I was listening on the radio when one of my favorite players swished a 3-pointer then bagged a steal and buried two foul shots to crush a UNLV comeback. After it was over my adrenalin was so high that my hands shook for 20 minutes.

But trust me, I'm sane









Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

The madness is setting in.

My favorite team (UNM women's basketball team) graduated 5 seniors last year, including the best player in school history. This year they had to integerate 7 new players including 5 freshman. The result was a slow start.

Now they're making a dash to qualify for tournament time. They're 9-2 in conference play with 5 wins in a row. One more road game,then they finish up at home. If they can win out in their last three games they will finish the regular season at 20-7; they'll be a sure thing for second in conference with a chance for a first place tie.

They played at the University of Nevada Las Vegas last night and won a nail-biter. I was listening on the radio when one of my favorite players swished a 3-pointer then bagged a steal and buried two foul shots to crush a UNLV comeback. After it was over my adrenalin was so high that my hands shook for 20 minutes.

But trust me, I'm sane









Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## brbarkey (Nov 17, 2004)

Roger, what university is UNM? I personally like University of Tenn. for womens basketball. I taught school with shana zolmans dad ( one of U of T better players). For men's Im a hoosier all the way. If you dont know hoosier is Indiana baby. 

brb


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

University of New Mexico. We're the program that lot's of other schools wish they had. About 9 years ago we had one of the worst teams in NCAA D-1 and had maybe 250 people attending the games. We got a new coach out of a local highschool who was locally known and respested. He has done incredible things with the program.

We average more than 11,000 people at our home games. That is 4th in the country. We also had a team GPA of 3.44, which is also 4th in the country. Our girls graduate to real jobs. As a program we're coming on strong. We have been to the NCAA tournament in 3 of the last 5 years. Last year we got to the sweet 16. In one of those off years we played in the WNIT and lost the championship game to Ohio State.

This year is a rebuilding year and we still have a chance at the conference title and the NCAA tournament. If we make it to the tournament this year no one is going to be betting against us. The first two subregional rounds will be played here, and we play hard on our home court. This year we (statistically) have the best defensive team in the country, ranking first in both scoring defense and field goal percentage against us.

We aren't a national power like Tennessee or UConn.  Yet. While we're not there yet, I bet that Pat and Geno know who we are.

One of our freshmen is a Hoosier from Lynnville. She'll be a great player some day.

Among the national powers, I like Duke. That's mostly because I've seen them play a couple times. I like their coach and their team personality. If UConn or Tennessee ventured into the high desert then maybe I'd like them too.

I gave up following NCAA men's basketball. I'll pay attention during the tournament.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## brbarkey (Nov 17, 2004)

roger, I will try to catch a game of New Mexico they sound like a good team to watch for some drama. Its also cool that they got a high school coach to coach their team and they are doing well. Good luck in the tourny. My hoosier men's team will be lucky to make the NIT


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Drama is right. They won their game today by one point, scoring the last field goal with 1.2 seconds on the clock. This was a game they were supposed to win by a comfortable margin. I guess easy is boring.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

A great photo from the game Thursday night (3/4).







photo by Gary Stepic

The game was against Wyoming. We won, but I don't think the shot taken by Lindsey Arndt in this photo helped the cause. Officials called an offensive foul. The crowd didn't protest much.

For scale, the flying player is 6' 1".

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Ok so it actually is March now. The team is the number 1 seed in the conference tournament and riding a 9 game winning streak.








An AP photo by Gary(?) Wagner from the first round game against Airforce. The Lobo is the same player pictured in the previous photo.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

We won the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament berth to go with it. The player in the two previous pictures was named tournament MVP.

We won the championship game against Utah by handing them their worst loss of the year -- a 71-50 beating after 32-32 halftime tie. A lot of that lead was the result of a 31-5 run that started when our starting point guard was injured and taken to the locker room. Much of that scoring came with our very young bench on the floor. The future looks pretty good









The clincher is that the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are on our home court.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Utah plays defense.








The lone Lobo (in white) is UNM point guard Mandi Moore from Canyon, Texas. A few minutes later she took an elbow to the mouth and was taken to the locker room for stitches. She was back on the court to close out the game. Girls play rough.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## brbarkey (Nov 17, 2004)

Roger, glad your team is doing well. Tonight is selection night so I will look for them in the brackets. Unfortunatlly my hoosiers sucked it up in the big ten and lost in the second round. There overall record is 13-13 and I think they are done for the season. 

brb


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## kris (Jan 1, 2005)

yeah so duke lost to maryland.
eekk.
some good games though!


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Women's tournament selections came out this afternoon. We are seeded twelfth in the midwest. Eleventh or twelfth was about as good as we could expect given our slow start and our conference's weak year.

Our next game is Saturday against Florida. We host the first two rounds. Florida is coming up from a coastal climate to play in the high desert at 5,000 feet in a basketball arena with 16,000 screaming Lobo fans. It's the Lobo's native environment. In last year's tournament we upset Mississippi State under the same conditions.

We're heavy underdogs, but at the least we should be able to keep it interesting.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

You have tickets Roger? My folks have tickets to the Mens first regionals in Buffalo. College basketball, mens and womans is a blast. I went and saw the University of Minnesota womans team play. They where pretty darn good until they lose a key player with an injury.

Mike
http://fish.silver-fox.us


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

I bought my tickets last fall, figuring that I'd go and watch some great basketball even if the Lobos didn't make it to the dance.

I think the player you're talking about is Lindsay Whalen. I read somewhere that she would be available to play again next weekend. Minnesota is seeded 7th in the Mideast and will play 14th-seeded UCLA in Minneapolis. Do they usually play in Mankato?

Lindsay Whalen is the best player in Minnesota history. The best player in New Mexico history -- Jordan Adams -- is currently a forward for the Minnesota Lynx.

Last year we had the first four rounds of the women's tournament here. After that the NCAA changed their rules to avoid the possibility that a team could ride a big home court advantage all the way to the final four. So this year we have the first two rounds. I think next year we have the third and fourth rounds (regionals) here again, but we won't have the first two rounds. If the team wants to play tournament games here next year they will need to win two games somewhere else first.

Women's basketball is very popular here. Last year we set attendance records for first and second rounds in the NCAA tournament at 16,000+. Tournament sites are awarded on a lowest-bidder basis. With that kind of attendance we can outbid most places.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

Yup Lindsay Whalen is amazing. Never thought I would like woman's b-ball till I got to watch her when I went to a game. God she could whoop the men's team with a few nuns and a blind guy and my dog. I hope she can play and they do well. Wonder how healed her hand his.

Never been to a Lynx game. Summer time I end up at Twins games or out camping and fishing. Never really like pro basketball. They only seem to play when it matters.

They play in Minneapolis on campus at Williams Arena a great old arena. They play regular season games there too. Mankato is about an hour south of Minneapolis. Mankato State is there but I think they are now Minnesota State University. Little school. Really nice area. The Gophers are University of Minnesota Twin Cities. There is also a U of M Duluth, Crookston and a few others. The Twin City campus is about 40-50 thousand students. That's where I went. Very close to downtown Minneapolis. Maybe 5 minutes.

I had season tickets for 2 years when I went to school and that is a great place to watch a game. The floor is elevated - very different. Press row is eye level with the feet of the players on court. When the men where hot back then the student section was unreal. Place was LOUD!

I think its a good idea they don't let a team play 4 games in a how town. I always hated how certain teams (cough Duke cough)always seemed to have that advantage.

Enjoy yourself. Hey where an AB t-shirt or something and wave to the camera. Or bring some rocks and put a sign on it and we can all see you on TV.









Mike
http://fish.silver-fox.us

[This message was edited by mm12463 on Sun March 14 2004 at 09:39 PM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Elevated floor? That's unusual. The arena here is the opposite. The floor is 30 feet under ground. Only the second level of seating is even above ground. It seems to be a pretty successful design since Sports Illustrated thought it was one of the 20 most memorable sports venues of the 20th century.

We don't get very many students at the games. The university prefers selling tickets at a higher price to the general public. Just the same, the place is legendary for the sound levels. We just don't get painted up or stripped down like some students in some places (cough Duke cough).

The television cameras are usually positioned behind my seats, so I'll probably never be on camera. The roving cameras are usually point at the floor, at the commentators or at the cheerleaders. Even if I were on camera, as long as the Lobos are playing I'll be wearing red like everyone else.

For some reason I was thinking the campus in Mankato was the U. of Mn. I should have known better. A highschool friend of mine went to school at the U of Mn and she lived in Minneapolis, not Mankato.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

The New Mexico/Florida game at The Pit will be part of the ESPN2 coverage at 7:00 Mountain time on Saturday. Cheer for the underdog! Everyone else will be









Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_

[This message was edited by Roger Miller on Fri March 19 2004 at 06:00 PM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

It's over. We came within a hair of pulling off the upset of the year. We came back from 14 down in the second half and were down 2 points with the ball and 2:20 left on the clock, but a turnover turned the game and we never scored again.

We are a very young team and the future looks bright.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

mm14263

The UM women started with an 8 seed and made the final four! The team was good even with Whalen off the floor. When she came back she came back with a bang!

UConn is their next game.

I heard that our team has a signed contract to play in Minneapolis next year. I think Whalen and McCarvel are both graduating this year, so our Lobos will be playing against a different team.


Roger Miller


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

They are the talk of the town right now. I watched the game last night and I must say I'm hooked. Not being fan prior or watching a girls game for very longer prior to this season they really are amazing.

Whalen is an animal out there. At times I think she gets a bit out of control and tries too hard but seems like she just puts its all on the line. McCarville. All I can say is she seems so agile for a bigger person. Soft hands and nice touch. Her nick name is Shaq! In the paper today she had said while she was sitting on the bench Whalen was shouting 'Get it Shaq' when a rebound was loose. I guess later she told Whalen she would have but she was on the bench!







Kind of funny.

It was exciting to watch. Sucks they will gone next year. Wonder if either will be in the WNBA.

I hope they can keep things going in the right direction. It was really bad 4 years ago. 800 people a game, terrible record. Lots of criticism. Sunday will be fun to watch.

That's cool they are playing up here. Maybe then you can see the raised court on TV. And if they keep up the success and the fan base it will be loud. That place can get hopping since the seats are right on top of the court.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

I expect that both Whalen and McCarvel will get a shot at the WNBA. The talk on a fan board here is that Whalen in particular would be a great fit for the Lynx. We'll find out soon enough. The Lynx are playing the Monarchs here on May 5 in an early-season exhibition game.

I seem to remember that 2 years ago Minnesota's program had some problems with recruiting violations and/or other things. This might only be Coach Borton's second year with the program. I'm not sure about that.

The McDonald's All American basketball camp is starting up. That is an invitation-only camp that features the best highschool players in the country. They have a slam-dunk contest before the start of the camps. This year the contest featured a couple kids who might head for the NBA next year instead of going to college.

The winner of the slam-dunk contest was a girl -- Candace Parker. She will be a freshmen at Tennessee next year.


Roger Miller


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

I saw thatt girl dunk on ESPN. That's nutz. In high school I could touch the rim but I couldn't dunk if you gave me stilts! LOL.

I think McCarvel is a junior now that I think about it.

The men's program had big problems. Tutors doing the final exams while they played in the final 4. LOL. Just nasty. 

Yah it's Borton's second year. The previous coach took off after 1 year to Providence maybe, not sure. Sucks to be her! But since the men's scandle, they cleaned house on the AD and coaches and consolidated the AD so they have one overseeing men's and woman's programs.

I was just watching the news and they talked to most of the girls. They are so down to earth. No egos. No bad attitudes. Just happy go lucky. Nice change of pace over the pros that get so cocky.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Borton's had some talent to work with, but she has done a great job. She's a steal for $200,000/year. I imagine that salary will be going up when her contract renewal comes around.

There was an article from the Minneapolis paper posted to our fan board this morning. Apparently the Lynx were dealing for an early round draft pick so they could get Whalen and the deal fell through. The Lynx were a playoff team last year so they pick 7th in the draft. Whalen is playing so well in the spotlight that she may go in the first three.

They were talking about trading their first round pick in next years draft to get an earlier pick this year. If they do then it might hurt their chances to grab McCarville next year.

The women players on most teams have pretty down-to-earth attitudes. That's one of the reasons often cited for the growing popularity of the women's game. I worry that their attitudes will change as the amount of money in the sport increases.


Roger Miller


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

Well the Lady Gophers lost tonight but they played a good game. That was fun to watch. Although it was a good weekend since Duke lost in the men's tourny, thank god!


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