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Jonathan Wills goes to the J.R. Giddens school of hard knocks.

It is Wills' job to guard the gifted Giddens during practice, a task he says "is no easy thing."

"He's so active and his physicalness makes him difficult to stop," Wills said. "But I pride myself a lot on my defense. One of my favorite (NBA) players is Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons). He's a great defender. So I get after J.R. as much as I can."

Giddens, a 6-foot-5 senior on the University of New Mexico men's basketball team, praised the 6-5 freshman Wills for his play against him. But Giddens also threw in a little jibe with the accolades.

"He plays great defense," Giddens said. "He blocks my shot a lot in practice. He causes me problems with his length. That helps me get ready for the games.

"Of course, I think he fouls a lot, too."

Giddens, a Parade All-American in high school who started his collegiate career at Kansas, added: "It's not easy being a freshman. Jonathan is getting better every day. He's had his ups and downs but he's starting to figure out his niche on this team."

Wills has been in and out of coach Steve Alford's starting lineup, part of the maturing process, the coach said.

"I'm just working hard and doing what coach asks," Wills said.

Wills showed promise as a perimeter scoring threat early on this season, hitting a season-high 13 points in UNM's opener at Colorado. He started the first six games of his UNM career but his scoring tailed off and so did his court time.

Wills then found himself on the bench for the next 16 games, including a DNP (did not play) against San Diego State.

His efforts in recent practices led to his re-emergence in the starting lineup in UNM's last game, a 91-51 romp over Colorado State on Tuesday night.

Wills' production in that game suffered because of early foul trouble. He finished with three points and four fouls in 15 minutes.

Alford said it's likely Wills will get another chance to start tonight against Wyoming.

"Jonathan is doing a good job of guarding J.R. in practice every day," Alford said. "He's a freshman so he's still learning."

Wills played only two minutes in the first meeting at Wyoming, a game the Lobos rallied from 16 points after halftime to win 99-92 in double overtime.

Wills said he's eager for a bigger contribution this go-round.

"Wyoming gave us a lot of problems defensively last time," Wills said. "We've got to get off to a better start."

Wills lists UNLV's Wink Adams as the toughest opposing player he's had to guard this season.

But when you face a teammate like Giddens in practice, taking on Adams or anyone else Wyoming throws at him tonight seems less daunting.

"I wouldn't say it's easier because there are a lot of talented players in the conference," Wills said. "But at least I'm ready."