Aggie Basketball to Tour Canada in August
New Mexico State men?s basketball head coach Marvin Menzies is taking the Aggies abroad. Menzies and company are taking a preseason trip to Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Aug. 8-16.
Currently, the Aggies are slated to play McGill University in Montreal and Carleton University in Ottawa. Dates and game times will be announced at a later date. Exhibition play against NCAA Division I teams isn?t a new trend for Carleton, a six-time Canadian National Champion, as the Ravens have played Cincinnati, Louisville, Kansas, Alabama, Illinois and Villanova in recent years. This season, Minnesota, Northern Arizona and Kentucky have preseason tours to Canada planned.
?It?s a tremendous competitive advantage to be able to participate with our own players that early in the year,? Menzies said. ?A benefit of going to Canada, where we have several players from that area, is to allow their families to see them play as well as continuing to grow the established recruiting roots that we have in that area.?
The Aggies have three Canadian players on the roster including junior guard Hernst Laroche (Montreal, Quebec), sophomore forward Tyrone Watson (Hamilton, Ontario) and incoming freshman guard Christian Kabongo (Toronto, Ontario).
The preseason trip allows incoming freshman center Tshilidzi Nephawe and Kabongo to develop as collegiate players before official practice begins in October.
?The advantages of getting the new players on the floor early in the year along with players that didn?t see many minutes last year are tremendous,? Menzies said. ?It sets a good foundation entering the non-conference schedule and gives us a better familiarity with what we have to play with and the ability to tweak some things.
?From a coach?s perspective there is nothing but positives to taking a trip of this nature,? he said. ?This trip would not have been possible without the support of the Sixth Man Club and its members.?
The Aggies were 22-12 in 2009-10 after winning the WAC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson and White return three starters, senior forward Wendell McKines, junior center Hamidu Rahman and Laroche along with junior forward Troy Gillenwater and senior guard Gordo Castillo.
The NCAA permits a foreign tour every four years along with 10 practices prior to the trip. Before the 2006-07 season, the Aggies traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a four-day tour.
