New Mexico State prides itself on zone, press

By Matt Tait     Mar 20, 2015

? New Mexico State guard Matt Taylor remembers a time, not long ago, when he thought teammates Daniel Mullings and DK Eldridge were the best defenders on the planet.

His admiration for the two NMSU guards, who will face second-seeded Kansas in the NCAA Tournament at 11:15 a.m. today at CenturyLink Center, has only grown since those days.

“The first week of practice, I don’t think I ever even got the ball across halfcourt, between DK and Daniel Mullings guarding me,” recalled Taylor of the killer press headed up by the Aggies’ defensive menaces. “They’re competitors. They’re both aggressive. It’s really just who they are. The coaches didn’t even have to ask them to do that. That’s just how they want to play.”

And the entire NMSU team has followed suit. Known as much for their active zone defense as their full-court pressure, the Aggies are one of the most aggressive defensive teams in this year’s field. Makes. Misses. Doesn’t matter. New Mexico State is going to pick teams up full-court and do everything in its power to make something as simple as dribbling a basketball extremely uncomfortable.

“If you watch the film, it ain’t nothing serious,” Taylor said. “Just 40 minutes of harassment. We try to bother the offense as much as we can.”

The Aggies (23-10), many of whom said their defense resembled that of Baylor’s, know that Kansas struggled with pressure at times this season. That’s one of the many reasons the NMSU players believe today’s match-up is a good one. And they’re really not planning on changing much about what they do — on offense or defense — against the Jayhawks (26-8).

“At the end of the day, we want the ball more than you do,” Eldridge said. “Either you’re gonna get the ball across halfcourt, or you’re gonna give it to us.”

No threes for KU?

Asked how the Aggies might go about defending Kansas, NMSU big man Tshilidzi Nephawe painted a very simple picture.

“We’re not gonna let them shoot threes for sure,” Nephawe said. “And when they drive inside, we think our size will make them adjust their shots. We should be good if we don’t give them any threes.”

Opponents shot just .293 (120-409) from three-point range against the Aggies this season.

Upset minded

Six players in the NMSU locker room played in last year’s NCAA Tournament loss to San Diego State, which came in overtime and left the Aggies counting down the days to their next shot.

“We like the sound of an upset and all that stuff,” sophomore guard Ian Baker said. “And we lost in overtime in the tournament last year, so we’re really looking forward to getting one this year.”

Baker said the key to knocking off Kansas was for his team to treat today’s game just like any other.

“We just need to do what we’ve been doing all year,” he said. “Don’t let all this atmosphere and the media and the crowd get to us. Just go out there, do what we do and try to win a basketball game. It’s very possible. And hopefully we can make it happen.”

International flavor

The New Mexico State roster features nine foreign-born players and just four Americans. New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies said such diversity has made the basketball experience at the Las Cruces, New Mexico, school about more than just layups and free throws, blocked shots and rebounds.

“I would say there are more advantages than challenges,” Menzies said. “It’s very special for the guys on the team to be able to interact with guys from different countries and cultures and religions. They learn so much. It’s like an opportunity to take a tour around the world right in your locker room.”

Nephawe, who is from Johannesburg, South Africa, said the coming together of so many guys from so many places has created a deeper bond than he could have imagined.

“We just really connect,” Nephawe said.

Nephawe and Pascal Siakam (Cameroon) are from Africa; Mullings, Taylor, Rashawn Browne, Tanveer Bhullar and Jalyn Pennie are from Toronto; and Remi Barry (Paris) and Johnathon Wilkins (Lille) are from France.

Menzies said the heavy international presence on his team was part of a conscious recruiting decision designed to find “hidden gems.”

“I had several relationships in Europe, Africa,” Menzies said. “And we just thought if we were going to compete at a high level, we’ve got to think a little bit outside the box.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.