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Richard Stevens: Angry McKay spells disgust with a capital 'P'

By Richard Stevens
Thursday, January 4, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas — A tantrum and a single, emphatic word - "freakin" - might best describe this Lobo fiasco in Fort Worth and the repercussions to come.

Minutes after the University of New Mexico Lobos shot a major hole in their Mountain West Conference hopes with a 64-52 loss at TCU, Lobos coach Ritchie McKay went berserk.

And almost cussed.

"Pathetic with a capital `P.' Horrendous," McKay angrily said of his Lobos' MWC opener. "Each individual in (the locker room) has their own freakin' agenda and it's horrible; horrible executing a game plan.

"They don't do what I ask."

McKay then flung open the door to the locker room, said it was open to the media, tossed down a crumpled stats sheet and stormed off to do his radio show.

It might have been the only time on the night that any Lobo showed the emotion needed to leave TCU a winner.

About the only element to this loss that gives any promise to UNM's MWC season is time.

It was UNM's first league game. The 0-1 (MWC) Lobos have 15 more - and the MWC tournament.

But this loss hurts. It's impossible not to view a loss at TCU as a crippling blow to MWC regular season title hopes - and possibly NCAA at-large hopes.

TCU is not a good basketball team. But neither were the Lobos Wednesday night in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

"To come out and lose to a team like this, I mean, to just give up . . . I don't know," said Lobos guard Jamaal Smith.

"This was a must-win game and we gave it away. We're not the same team we used to be."

Actually, the Lobos are very much the same team they used to be. They are the team that lost by 24 at UTEP and the team that lost by 31 at New Mexico State.

They are the team that lives and dies by the jumper.

UNM shot 25 percent from 3-point range and 25 percent from the floor in the second half against TCU and was outscored 36-19. UNM led 33-28 at the half.

"We played horrible tonight," said UNM's Darren Prentice. "There is no excuse for that. We don't listen."

The problem with this UNM team might be that there are no solutions.

The inside game is too soft for Division I. The dribble penetration is weak and too much of an afterthought.

"We found we could pound it inside and keep pounding it inside," said TCU forward Kevin Langford, who had 14 points. "So we kept doing it.

"On defense, we mostly focused on trying to defend the 3-pointer, stop any penetration and make them go inside."

Another problem for UNM is that too many of these Lobos parts need to be clicking at the same time in order for UNM to find success - especially on the road.

There were a lot more bricks than clicks at TCU.

Smith had one point and one assist. J.R. Giddens was 6-of-15 from the floor with three turnovers. Tony Danridge, playing on a hurt hip, had no points and no rebounds in 12 minutes. Daniel Faris had no points and one rebound in 11 minutes. Roman Martinez was not a factor playing only seven minutes. Ryan Kersten had five points and one assist. Jeffrey Henfield had no points and one rebound.

The only Lobos who turned in decent games were Prentice with 12 points on a 4-of-6 shooting and Chad Toppert with nine points, going 3-of-7 from 3-point range.

And McKay only showed his emotion when the game was over. Maybe the tantrum should have surfaced sometime during TCU's 14-0 run to start the second half.

"I know for a fact that we didn't play hard," Smith said. "If we give our all and play great defense, we're not going to lose to a team like this no matter if our shots are falling or not.

"You're not supposed to lose to a team like this. We have a lot of things to straighten out."

Yeah, like Lobos jumpers, Lobos toughness and maybe their philosophy on offense.

And Smith is right. You aren't supposed to lose to a team like this - not if you want to contend for a MWC title and not if you want to go to the NCAA Tournament.

"Like coach said, this is pathetic," Prentice said.