Albuquerque Journal

Alford Will Have To Provide Answers
By Rick Wright Of the Journal

Last basketball season, the talk was all about what Steve Alford did for J.R. Giddens.
       Now, we're seeing what Giddens did for Alford.
       In Alford's second year as UNM's men's coach, but his first without Giddens, the Lobos are 3-4 against a schedule that as of Thursday morning ranked 312th in the nation according to collegerpi.com. The Lobos' RPI, meanwhile, was 313.
       Thursday, Alford dismissed pre-January Ratings Percentage Index numbers as deceptive and incomplete. The Lobos' nonconference schedule, he pointed out, will get tougher. The RPI numbers will change.
       But how much will the Lobos change? Without Giddens to lean on, can they get tougher? Alford is challenging his players to do just that.
       To his credit, he's not playing the we-coached-great-but-they-played-lousy card.
       “This is gonna be a year,” he said Thursday, “where the coaches are gonna have to do everything they can with providing leadership.”
       Last season, Alford and his staff did a masterful job in making Giddens not merely a terrific individual player — he obviously had the makings — but a team-oriented guy whose boundless confidence was contagious. In short, a leader.
       Did Alford make Giddens a better player? Yes.
       Did Giddens make Alford a better coach? Oh, my. Try to imagine last season without No. 15.
       Now, Alford is finding out what life as men's basketball coach at the University of New Mexico has been for most of the 21st century.
       In their senior years, Giddens and Danny Granger led the Lobos to a combined record of 50-16 overall, 21-9 in Mountain West Conference play. The rest of this decade, starting with Fran Fraschilla's first season in 1999-2000, those numbers are 114-107 and 42-60.
       Blame Fraschilla and Ritchie McKay if you wish, though it's worth noting — if only as a fun fact — that McKay's Liberty Flames are 5-1 and were 54th in the RPI as of Thursday morning.
       It's also worth noting, once more, that Alford came to UNM with a record at his previous stop that didn't exactly wow 'em back in Iowa.
       Yet, in he came, and presto, the Lobos were winners.
       But that wasn't a magic wand Alford was waving; he was just waving at Giddens, reminding him that it was time to hit a big basket or grab a crucial rebound or get a much-needed defensive stop.
       All at once, Alford lost his best scorer, best rebounder and best defender.
       Now, it's time to coach.
       Without question, Alford embraces the challenge. He talked on Thursday of changing the team's defensive philosophy; tinkering with lineups; running practice drills intended to “see who wants to make the shot, see who wants to make the play, who can make the defensive stops. What group of guys to put on the floor to do that.”
       He also talked of an attitude adjustment he deems absolutely necessary if his second UNM team is to approach the success of his first.
       “Sometimes when you join a program, you think (winning is) a right instead of a privilege,” he said. “Those are hard lessons to learn.
       “... It's a right; you have to earn that. This group of guys hasn't earned anything.”
       And what has Alford earned at UNM? Respect, for having taken Giddens' raw, unfocused talent and making him the centerpiece of a 24-win season. Respect, for assembling this year's fine recruiting class and the exciting one on the horizon.
       But what has Alford done to make the current Lobos a winner? What will he do? What can he do, with parts that suddenly don't seem to fit?
       Hey, that's why he's the guy in the long pants.