Looks like this is the first time he has had a team take a down swing as a head coach. It happens, and is unfortunately happening to our team right now. It is a new challenge for NM. Think about where we would be if he left after this year.... probably not so good. We got super lucky with an experieced team that came back when miles left during that upswing in Csu basketball. I could have coached that team to the NCAA tourney. But what happened the years after that? Not so great, and no consistency.

Odd year for the team with the departure of 4 players that were solid contributors while there were at CSU (Moore, Thomas, Thistlewood, and Roddy). Then replace a super athletic guy in Jacobs. That is 5 guys gone, plus a frosh PG, and now you are replacing 6, when only 1, Jacobs, did not have the eligibility to return. 3 would have moved on in normal times running out of eligibility, but I am not sure the staff knew those scholarships were opening. They new it was possible, but how does a potential recruit look at that potential offer of a scholarship if a player leaves compared to another school that has a known spot? Tough position to recruit from.

Excuse, no... other teams faced similar challenges. We did not do that great in the portal compared to others, but we got a few guys that are giving great effort.

We did bring in 3 freshman, which is a longer term play. We have 2 more freshman coming next year.

I like the way NM builds things. He can recruit and develop high school players.

Does he hit is big on the portal, no. Does he make a living with JUCO guys, no. But think about our history, when were we good? Did we do it with Juco/transfer players - no. sure we had a few bright years, but they are never consistent with the turnover. Our best years have been when we developed teams with high school players and kept them in the program over the 4-5 years. Yes, we added a transfer or two that gave us a lift. Look at the talent levels of our high school recruits, they are taller, quicker, more athletic, and more complete players than we had before. Are they 4 star guys that dominate, no.

For those that think we should be in the tourney every year. I get that, but we are not there yet. We are not a basketball powerhouse. We are better than average, and in looking at 2019-2022, we were way better than most out there.

Give NM the benefit of the doubt this year. See if we get improvement through out the year, then look for consistency later this year and the next.