In a simplified nutshell, you can see that Don Flanagan's Lobo women were picked to finish off the top of the Mountain West Conference basketball race for similar reasons that the Lobo men fell into the No. 5 spot.
Flanagan's Lobos, picked fourth in the league's preseason poll, probably will have to look for immediate help from some young Lobos and UNM's inside game is a question mark. Ditto for Alford.
San Diego State, co-champs last season, was a strong pick to grab the 2010 title pulling in 25 of 28 first-place votes. The panel consisted of the league's nine coaches and select members of the media. TCU grabbed the other three first-place votes to take the No. 2 spot followed by 3- Utah, 4- New Mexico, 5- Wyoming, 6- Brigham Young, 7- UNLV, 8-Colorado State, 9- Air Force.
Of course, there is a huge and important reason not to discount the 2009-10 Lobos. A legitimate MWC Player of The Year candidate in senior guard Amy Beggin will lead New Mexico.
"She's a leader and players respond to her leadership," said Flanagan via a teleconference call from Denver. "She is a role-model leader. And this season I expect even more from her."
What Flanagan got from Beggin in 2008-09 was 36 starts, 36.2 minutes per game and 15.6 points. Beggin played the stretch run of the season with torn ligaments in an ankle and a target on her back. Still, she performed at an extremely high level.
Beggin again will carry a target on her back this season on a Lobo team that will be loaded on the perimeter and looking for several players to step up their game in the paint.
The Lobos' leader inside last season, Angela Hartill (12.0 pts), has graduated and Flanagan will begin the season looking at a committee of Lobos to provide the inside rebounding, scoring and muscle from both a post and forward spot.
That group includes 6-foot-6 Valerie Kast, 6-foot Eileen Weissmann, 6-1 Jessica Kielpinski and two freshmen: 6-2 Jordan Unverzagt and 6-5 Emily Stark. Weissmann averaged 5.6 points last season, Kielpinski averaged 4.0 and Kast averaged 3.4 points and 7.0 minutes. That's about the scoring production Hartill produced as an individual.
On the outside, Flanagan is loaded. He also returns 6-foot Lauren Taylor, 5-5 Nikki Nelson, 5-11 Sara Halasz, 5-11 Georonika Jackson, 6-1 Porche Torrance, 6-foot Amanda Best. He also has three freshmen guards in 6-foot Jourdan Erskine, 6-foot Chinyere Nnaji and 6-foot Caroline Durbin.
"A couple of (freshmen) will have to play some minutes and a few of them might play some major minutes," said Flanagan."
Beggin was placed on the MWC First Team Preseason team. "The players respond to Amy and our chemistry is going to be good again," said Flanagan.
SDSU returns four starters including two strong candidates for Player of The Year honors in Jene Morris and Paris Johnson. Aztec coach Beth Burns says her team is both "confident and hungry" for the 2009-10 season.
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