This column appears in Friday's (Dec. 28) Las Cruces Bulletin.   Also, check out Jack Nixon's column.   The Bulletin can be viewed on line at: 
http://www.lascrucesbulletin.c...scrucesbulletin


Aggies building a special relationship with city
This year’s players are loyal, dedicated

by Paul Weir, Associate Men's Basketball Coach

In light of the holiday season and in the spirit of fellowship, my intent in this column is to shed some light on your Aggie basketball team.

I am in the unique position of having a special relationship and affinity with the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico State University and also the 15 student athletes who represent our Aggies. Unfortunately, we are frequently reminded that these two entities don’t have the type of interaction and relationship we all hope for.

The most frequent interaction we have is through community service and postgame activities for those who attend the games. For the rest, we rely on popular stories through common forms of communication such as newspaper, radio and so on. But through this somewhat vanilla process is a lost transparency where the people of Las Cruces and NM State cannot always connect with the student athletes representing them in competition.

For instance, did most of you know that almost the entire roster was in Las Cruces for Christmas? Because of our practice and game schedule, many of these players were not be able to travel home to their families for the holidays.

Our team GPA this past fall semester fell just barely short of a 3.0 overall. Daniel Mullings has lost nearly 15 pounds continuing to play with his jaw wired shut and the obvious option of not having to play. Tyrone Watson has postponed potentially season-ending surgery to continue to play through his senior season. Tshilidzi Nephawe played an additional two games with a cast knowing full well that surgery was inevitable for him.

For the first time since I arrived at NM State, we have a roster full of students who represent us off the floor in nothing short of an exemplary way. These are the type of young men who have a loyalty to Aggie Nation like no other, a value system you would admire and a sense of responsibility you would want in an Aggie.

I’ve been told I am maxed out at 500 words or I could go on with this collection of young men. And I am not saying all this to necessarily impress you but to instead let you know how uniquely special this group is.

They are the most unselfish, quality character, and amenable­to- coaching collection we have had in my time here (and for the few of you who know me, I do not embellish nor give compliments lightly).

On the flipside of this relationship is the city of Las Cruces and NM State. Having lived in Las Cruces for six years now, I have developed a relationship with the city that has now evolved into that of my home. I truly hope my house here is one that I will have with me for the rest of my life.

This past spring I was honored to be an MBA graduate of NM State, and the connections I built through that only drew me closer to this special university.

As I stated in the opening, my wish now is that NM State and Las Cruces can come to enjoy their Aggies and how they represent such a special place and university.

Great article, thanks for sharing KK. Weir should write this same thing as a letter to the Sound Off in the LC Sun News.

We are very proud of our Aggies and we appreciate this letter and the news it brings.

When we entrusted the keys to the kingdom to Coach Weir Coach Menzies Coach Mack and the rest of the staff, we did not do so lightly. We take Aggie Basketball very seriously and we were very careful on who we allowed the privilege to run our program.

We could not have done better than with our selection of Coach Menzies, Coach Weir, Coach Mack and the rest of the staff. This letter highlights that we made a wise choice.

Las Cruces is a special place to many of us here, and we are glad to accept Coach Weir into the Cruces family as he outlines in his letter. It is great to have a Canadian Connection way down at what must seem like the South Pole to them.

We look forward to many more 3.0 semesters, many more Aggie wins in the Pan Am, many more trips to Vegas followed by many more NCAA Big Dances.

Thanks Coach Weir for taking the time to write us this great letter. It is always great to hear from the source directly. We appreciate all you do for us and for making NMSU your home. We are glad you are an Aggie.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

JT

I am so glad to have this basketball family at NMSU. This is truly what is important to me.  Of course beating our rivals is good but I wouldn't trade any of this for a person like Alford.  Thanks for sharing...and thanks to Coach Weir for being an Aggie.

Finding the right combination of good citizens who are good players is difficult for teams not called UCLA, Duke, Kansas, etc. We all want big time players at NMSU who can compete at the highest level. The "Candadian Connection" has brought some really good players (Mullings, Sy, Dixon, Bhullar et. al.) that is paying dividends and that could even take the Aggies to an even higher level. No, we are not satisfied with where NMSU is at right now, but again, I think the best is yet to come.

I wonder? to date, who do Aggie fans consider the most talented Canadian to play for NMSU? Also, the most talented European and African to suit up in an Aggie jersey?

NMSUPistolPete wrote:

I wonder? to date, who do Aggie fans consider the most talented Canadian to play for NMSU? Also, the most talented European and African to suit up in an Aggie jersey?

I'd have to say Hernst Laroche is the most talented Canadian to play in an Aggie uniform so far, but Daniel Mullings will likely surpass him, in my opinion.  Ron Putzi, who played in the early 90s, is Canadian and while he didn't start, he was a pretty good player and a fan favorite.  Sim Bhullar, from Toronto, could end up being the most celebrated Canadian to play at NMSU. 

As for Europeans, I would say Bosjon Leban from Serbia and Mikko Noopila from Finland who played for McCarthy in the 90s were the most talented so far.  Bandja Sy and Remi Barry are from France and Matej Buovac is from Croatia, and while the clock is ticking on Sy, Barry and Buovac could emerge.

As for an African, the only African I know that has played at NMSU is current player Tshilidzi "Chili" Nephawe. 

I may have left some out, but that's what I remember.

I don't know where he ranks as an Aggie, but Duane John was also Canadian.

NMSUPistolPete wrote: I don't know where he ranks as an Aggie, but Duane John was also Canadian.

Yes, Canadian, but I think he was born in the West Indies, but not sure.

I think most Aggie fans are happy if our player are good students, keep out of trouble, and can compete/win on the court. I respect what Coach Weir has done for NMSU but if Hernst Laroche is the best Canadian to play for NMSU (to date), I am concerned NMSU will never have a better team than UNM while Alford is there. Weir will need to do better than Laroche if Menzies ever expects to turn the tide against the Lobos. Mullings and Bhullar is a good start but NMSU will need to sign two or three of that caliber player each year.

Let's not forget Canadian Sean L'Ecluse who played for the Aggie Football team in the mid to late 90's.