SportsLine/Lindy's reports
Nov. 12, 1999

The Aggies shouldn't be a mystery this season.

No one really knew what to make of New Mexico State when coach Lou Henson brought in five players from Northeastern Illinois' defunct program last season because he wasn't allowed to sign any junior college players due to sanctions stemming from past NCAA violations.

Most of the pundits picked New Mexico State to finish anywhere from third to fifth in the Eastern Division of the Big West Conference.

But Henson's experiment provided one of his most successful seasons in his 36-year career that includes two Final Four appearances. The five Northeastern Illinois transfers meshed well with the three returning lettermen and the result was a Big West Championship and New Mexico State's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994.

Now, with four starters back, the Aggies will be a strong favorite to repeat as Big West Champions.

"With the players we have coming back and the new players we've signed I feel pretty good about this year's team," Henson said.

The Aggies, who finished 23-10 last season, will return to the three-guard offense that proved successful last year. Henson will build the offense around 6-2 senior point guard William Keys, who may be one the best kept secrets in the country.

"For us to be successful we need William to be at the top of his game," Henson said. "Your ballclub is only as good as its point guard. William is one of the best in the league and we're going to depend on him for his leadership abilities again."

Besides leading NMSU in assists at 5.1 a game, he's also the leading returning scorer after averaging 13.7 points.

Boise St. Cal Poly SLO Cal State Fullerton UC Irvine UC Santa Barbara Idaho Long Beach St. New Mexico St. Nevada North Texas Pacific Utah St.

Also returning in the backcourt are 6-4 sophomore Eric Channing and 6-2 senior Brad Bestor. Bestor and Channing might be one of the best 3-point shooting tandems in the country. Bestor was seventh in the Big West in 3-point shooting percentage and led the Aggies by hitting 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.

At 46.7 percent, Channing was seventh in the country in 3-point shooting percentage as a freshman and has the potential to blossom into one of the premier scorers in the league after averaging 10.4 points a game.

"Eric is one of the best pure shooters that I have ever coached," Henson said. "He is coming along well and will be a much better player when he works at creating his own shot."

The Aggies have two quality guards to back up Keys, Channing and Bestor. They will look to 6-3 junior Zach Norvell for a spark off of the bench. Norvell sat out the fall semester last season, but proved to be the Aggies' best perimeter defensive player and led the reserves with 6.2 points a game.

The Aggies also added some much-needed depth at point guard when they landed 5-11 Dennis Desmond, who averaged 17.3 points and nine assists for Tabor Academy in Hingham, Mass. He is expected to see some immediate playing time after Keys averaged a team-high 34.1 minutes a game last season.

"Desmond is a tremendous guard and will, besides giving Keys some rest, will allow us to move Keys over to off guard," Henson said. "Last season we weren't deep enough to do that."

Henson's biggest concern will be to replace the production of Charles Gosa, who was the Aggies' only proven inside scorer. Gosa averaged a team-high 14.9 points and eight rebounds a game.

"We're going to miss his numbers," Henson said. "Our biggest challenge will be to find someone that can score in the paint on a regular basis."

The leader of the front court will be 6-9, 240-pound forward Aaron Brodt, who averaged five rebounds a game, but the Aggies may need him to step up his 5.8 points a game to replace some of the production of Gosa.

"Aaron is a very smart player and he is one of the hardest working players on the team," Henson said. "He is a very physical player on the inside. He's probably one of the best defensive players in the league."

The strongest candidate to start at small forward will be 6-6, 215-pound junior Daveeno Hines and 6-6, 200-pound senior Gerard Moore. Hines averaged 2.7 points a game while Moore averaged 4.7 points.

Henson is also expecting big things from his incoming forwards -- 6-9 235-pound sophomore Ryan McDermott and 6-8, 265-pound Stephan Green.

Despite a tough preseason schedule that includes Washington, New Mexico and a date in the Preseason NIT, Henson expects this group of veterans to contend for another Big West title.

"We're playing our toughest non-conference schedule in school history," Henson said. "But this group learned how to win last year and that confidence should carry over into this season."

Keep an eye on

Zach Norvell may have the quickest hands in the Big West. If he develops an outside shot he could be lethal

Aggies at a glance

Returning starters (4):
Brad Bestor, G, 6-2, 180, Sr. (8.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
Aaron Brodt, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (5.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Eric Channing, G, 6-4, 190, So. (10.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
William Keys, PG, 6-2, 175, Sr. (13.7 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4 rpg)

Returning key reserves:
Daveeno Hines, F, 6-6, 215, Jr. (2.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
Gerard Moore, F, 6-6, 200, Sr. (4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
Mikko Noopila, F, 6-7, 205, Jr. (2.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
Zach Norvell, G, 6-3, 175, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg)

Newcomers to watch:
Simon Bredenberg, C, 6-10, 250
Dennis Desmond, PG, 5-11, 170
Stephan Green, F, 6-8, 165
Ryan McDermott, F, 6-9, 235

Starters lost (1):
Charles Gosa, F, 6-9, 200 (14.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg)

Schedule