I filled in for Trib reporter Jeremy Fowler today during the UNM men's basketball team's final open practice for hitting the road for the lovely Bahamas. Must be nice. Here's what I learned:

-- Coach Steve Alford had to return home to Iowa to deal with a family emergency (a relative's health problems), so he missed practice and will be meeting the team in the Bahamas. His immediate family also will be accompanying him, as will the wives of all the coaches.

-- Blake Harden missed Thursday night's practice, but he had a previous conflict and his absence was approved by the coaches.

-- Assistant coach Craig Neal wanted to emphasize that the coaching staff is not punishing J.R. Giddens by deciding not to take him along on the trip. Giddens is enrolled in an intercession class that does not end until Thursday (one week from tonight's practice) and attendance is mandatory.

-- Neal continued the new coaching staff's praise of Giddens, saying he has done everything the coaches have asked and has behaved perfectly. Apparently Giddens has not reacted poorly to missing out on the Bahamas trip.

-- The practice was fairly intense, with guys clearly competing for Neal's attention. They were pretty aggressive during drills and the handful of scrimmage situations. It will be a lot easier on the team when they get at least 12 players on the roster so they can scrimmage five-on-five and give a few guys a breather. Alford and Neal apparently run pretty grueling practices, so subs are a precious commodity. Everyone seemed to put in a good effort and Neal said as much after practice.

-- Darren Prentice had his hair in three little puffs that could pass for three mini ponytails. He grimaced at having to do TV interviews after practice with the less-than-cool do. Turns out he was having his hair braided before the trip and ran out of time to get it finished before practice, so he just came with it tied up and out of his face. The plan backfired when TV cameras showed up. Its a nice look. Too bad I didn't have a camera so everyone reading this blog could see it for themselves.

That's all for now. Check out Friday's Trib for more UNM men's basketball news.

Posted by ilimon at 09:34 PM | Permalink