As Lobos stumble, Utes are primed for a Final Four run

Sporting News, The, Feb 15, 1999 by Mike DeCourcy

Their records are nearly identical, and each resides near the top of the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific Division. New Mexico has been ranked in the Top 25 for much of the season. Utah is back after an extended absence.

Utah is coming. New Mexico is falling fast.

Utah's Andre Miller is the best player in college basketball. New Mexico star Kenny Thomas needs to work harder to be the best player on his team.

"We've still got a long way to go," Utah coach Rick Majerus says, "but we're headed in the right direction."

Says New Mexico coach Dave Bliss, "We're kind of a disjointed team. We're in transition. We've only got 20 percent of our schedule left. Until we run out of air, we'll keep battling."

New Mexico rarely has been the same club two weeks in a row, and it's not the team Bliss planned to field at the start of the year. It started last season when point guard Royce Olney was lost with a knee injury before the NCAA Tournament. This year's problems commenced when point guard recruit Dontay Hicks was lost for the season because of a heart ailment. Thomas was unable to play the first six games because of a settlement with the NCAA in his freshman eligibility case. They started Lamont Long in Hicks' place before choosing to play freshman John Robinson.

Perhaps the greatest cause of instability, though, was Bliss' decision to accept Damion Walker as a transfer from TCU. Walker left because he wasn't getting enough shots. How big an issue that was became clear at New Mexico after Thomas returned and Walker went from a 16.4 scoring average his first four games to being shut out in two of his first three teamings with Thomas.

Bliss finally issued Walker an indefinite suspension. "Damion became a distraction," Bliss says. "What he did, to me, is not befitting what a college basketball player should be doing to help his team. He was never as good as his reputation.

"If he'd just be Damion Walker, he didn't have to be a savior. All he had to do was get 10 points, six rebounds. We feel badly he's not a part of it, but we'd like to finish up strong without him."

Whereas New Mexico kept up a handsome exterior while struggling internally, Utah looked dreadful in the season's first month as Majerus constructed a team Bliss suggests could return to the Final Four. "They're a better defensive team," Bliss says. "They're not quite the offensive team because of losing Michael Doleac, but I think they've got every chance of going back there. They're the best team we've played."

With Doleac gone and Britton Johnsen and Trace Caton on Mormon missions, the Utes stood at 5-4 after nine games. They won their next 12 after dropping a December game to Texas. The NBA lockout contributed to Utah's revival because some of Majerus' NBA buddies had time to watch the Utes, and they convinced him to shorten his rotation. Drew Cullen and Brad Crockett saw their minutes cut as Majerus began to rely more on a steady group of seven players.

It helped that one was Tony Harvey, a versatile, agile 6-6 junior who has been with the Utes for 12 games and plays a variety of positions, including as a backup for Miller. His value exceeds the 8.9 points he contributes. Miller has been as extraordinary through the season as in last year's NCAAs, stinging opponents with jumpers, layups and remarkable work when Majerus sets him up in the low post. "We had no one who could cover him," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace says. "When we went zone, he picked us apart. When we went man, he got layups on us. Either he gets the points, or he gets it to someone who will."

The help has been better of late. Center Nate Althoff and shooting guard Jeremy Killion, so reluctant to assert themselves early in the year, are playing with confidence. Forward Hanno Mottola is scoring inside and out, and frontcourt partner Alex Jensen no longer feels pressure to play beyond his talents now that Althoff and Killion are doing their jobs. Jensen makes as many hustle plays as anyone. "We run a complex system," Majerus says. "We don't put the ball out there and say, `Let's out-athlete them.' That's not going to happen.... Guys know now when the ball is coming. They are more comfortable together."

The key for the Lobos is the continuing maturation of Robinson, who averages 11.8 points and 5.0 assists but struggles to make proper decisions. "Our guard play has been exceptional over the years," Bliss says, "and it's not at that level now."

The Lobos still could present a tough choice to the selection committee, or they could remove any question about being an at-large candidate. They lack quality wins and have an RPI in the low 100s. It's unlikely the committee would reach that far, but it's not often a ranked team is stiffed. If they defeat such teams as Fresno State and UTEP at home, they could end the year ranked. "I don't ever think that's a curse," Bliss says of the ranking. "There are times we've played like a Top 25 team and times we haven't. But I think it's one of those things that we never disdain, the fact you have a chance to be thought of that well."