Wyoming prepares for New Mexico State's sizable frontcourt
Jonathan Barnes needed but three words to describe New Mexico State big man Pascal Siakam: ?He?s a beast.?
The Aggies? 6-foot-9, 230-pound sophomore ranks second nationally in field goals made (77), fifth in scoring (24.9 points per game) and third in rebounding (13.1 rpg).
Wyoming travels to New Mexico State?s Pan American Arena on Sunday for its final true road game of nonconference play. In Siakam?s last home game, he recorded 24 points and 23 rebounds against UTEP ? his school?s first 20-20 game in 13 seasons.
Beast, indeed.
?They?ve got one really dominating player nationally: Pascal,? UW coach Larry Shyatt said. ?It?s not a surprise. We played against him last year, snuck out of the gym with a win but he got his (19) points and nine rebounds. He?s even averaging more now because they go to him more often.?
Last year against Wyoming, Siakam made 8 of 14 shots in a 78-75 loss.
He wound up averaging 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman, helping guide the Aggies to their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance. He garnered Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year honors at the end of the year, and opened this season by being named the WAC?s preseason player of the year.
?He does a lot of things well. He runs the floor, gets rebounds and is an athlete,? UW sophomore forward Alan Herndon said. ?He does everything well and now it?s starting to show for him even more so this year because he has an improved role. It?ll be a tough task, but something I?m prepared to take on.?
Siakam alone will test Wyoming?s rebounding prowess, which appeared idle Thursday night as the Cowboys finished with a minus-20 margin on the glass in a home loss to Southern.
But New Mexico State boasts several other rebounding weapons, including 7-3 sophomore center Tanveer Bhullar (5.8 rpg), the younger brother of former Sacramento King Sim Bhullar, who stands 7-5.
Along with Tanveer Bhullar, the Aggies? front line includes 6-10 sophomore Johnathon Wilkins (3.3 rpg) and 6-11 freshman Jose Campo (1.0 rpg).
?It?s definitely different having to play against that height,? said Herndon, who, at 6-9, may look short next to Bhullar. ?They?re a very talented group. Coaches will come up with a game plan for us to try to contain what God has given them: that height.?
Altogether, New Mexico State pulls down 46.0 rebounds per contest, compared to 29.4 for Wyoming.
Last weekend against California, the Cowboys were outrebounded by 11, but were competitive enough on the glass to push the Golden Bears to overtime.
The 45-25 deficit in boards against Southern proved far to great to overcome.
The Pokes know they can?t afford a similar performance Sunday.
?Hopefully we can just have everyone more focused on rebounding,? Herndon said. ?... We definitely took a game off and it hurt us. So hopefully we come into next game prepared. They?ve got very tall guys that are athletic, too, so we have to box out. We have no choice or it?s just going to be offensive rebounding night for New Mexico State.?
Shyatt says it will be valuable preparation for Mountain West Conference play, when several teams will have size comparable to New Mexico State.
Heading into Sunday, the Cowboys have roughly 2? weeks to prepare for their conference opener Dec. 30 at San Diego State.
?They have athleticism on the perimeter and some serious talent and size inside,? Shyatt said. ?But we?re going to see that all year. Our league is loaded, unlike some leagues that have six to seven teams that have losing records, our men?s basketball conference has all winning records. So we?re walking into 20-plus games like this, which is good seasoning for these guys.?
Jonathan Barnes needed but three words to describe New Mexico State big man Pascal Siakam: ?He?s a beast.?
The Aggies? 6-foot-9, 230-pound sophomore ranks second nationally in field goals made (77), fifth in scoring (24.9 points per game) and third in rebounding (13.1 rpg).
Wyoming travels to New Mexico State?s Pan American Arena on Sunday for its final true road game of nonconference play. In Siakam?s last home game, he recorded 24 points and 23 rebounds against UTEP ? his school?s first 20-20 game in 13 seasons.
Beast, indeed.
?They?ve got one really dominating player nationally: Pascal,? UW coach Larry Shyatt said. ?It?s not a surprise. We played against him last year, snuck out of the gym with a win but he got his (19) points and nine rebounds. He?s even averaging more now because they go to him more often.?
Last year against Wyoming, Siakam made 8 of 14 shots in a 78-75 loss.
He wound up averaging 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman, helping guide the Aggies to their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance. He garnered Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year honors at the end of the year, and opened this season by being named the WAC?s preseason player of the year.
?He does a lot of things well. He runs the floor, gets rebounds and is an athlete,? UW sophomore forward Alan Herndon said. ?He does everything well and now it?s starting to show for him even more so this year because he has an improved role. It?ll be a tough task, but something I?m prepared to take on.?
Siakam alone will test Wyoming?s rebounding prowess, which appeared idle Thursday night as the Cowboys finished with a minus-20 margin on the glass in a home loss to Southern.
But New Mexico State boasts several other rebounding weapons, including 7-3 sophomore center Tanveer Bhullar (5.8 rpg), the younger brother of former Sacramento King Sim Bhullar, who stands 7-5.
Along with Tanveer Bhullar, the Aggies? front line includes 6-10 sophomore Johnathon Wilkins (3.3 rpg) and 6-11 freshman Jose Campo (1.0 rpg).
?It?s definitely different having to play against that height,? said Herndon, who, at 6-9, may look short next to Bhullar. ?They?re a very talented group. Coaches will come up with a game plan for us to try to contain what God has given them: that height.?
Altogether, New Mexico State pulls down 46.0 rebounds per contest, compared to 29.4 for Wyoming.
Last weekend against California, the Cowboys were outrebounded by 11, but were competitive enough on the glass to push the Golden Bears to overtime.
The 45-25 deficit in boards against Southern proved far to great to overcome.
The Pokes know they can?t afford a similar performance Sunday.
?Hopefully we can just have everyone more focused on rebounding,? Herndon said. ?... We definitely took a game off and it hurt us. So hopefully we come into next game prepared. They?ve got very tall guys that are athletic, too, so we have to box out. We have no choice or it?s just going to be offensive rebounding night for New Mexico State.?
Shyatt says it will be valuable preparation for Mountain West Conference play, when several teams will have size comparable to New Mexico State.
Heading into Sunday, the Cowboys have roughly 2? weeks to prepare for their conference opener Dec. 30 at San Diego State.
?They have athleticism on the perimeter and some serious talent and size inside,? Shyatt said. ?But we?re going to see that all year. Our league is loaded, unlike some leagues that have six to seven teams that have losing records, our men?s basketball conference has all winning records. So we?re walking into 20-plus games like this, which is good seasoning for these guys.?
