# 2008–09 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team

The 2008–09 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University in the 2008–09 college basketball season. This was Marvin Menzies 2nd season as head coach. The Aggies played their home games at Pan American Center and competed in the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 9–7 in WAC play. They lost in the 2nd round of the 2009 WAC men's basketball tournament to end the season.

## 2008–09 Team
### Roster

Source
| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 0 | Tray Britt | 6'3" | 200 | G | Jr. | Richmond, California | Hogan HS |
| 1 | Jahmar Young | 6'5" | 180 | G | So. | Baltimore, Maryland | Laurinburg Prep |
| 13 | Hernst Laroche | 6'1" | 165 | G | Fr. | Montreal, Quebec | Page-Concordia Vanier |
| 15 | Kelly Merker | 6'4" | 205 | F | Jr. | Santa Fe, New Mexico | Monte del Sol HS |
| 21 | Makhtar Diop | 6'6" | 185 | G | Fr. | Dakar, Senegal | St. Jeanne d'Arc Institute |
| 22 | Jonathan Gibson | 6'1" | 180 | G | Jr. | West Covina, California | Calvary Christian Prep |
| 23 | Terrance Joyner | 6'2" | | G | Fr. | Los Angeles, California | Genesis One Prep (MS) |
| 24 | Robert Lumpkins | 6'7" | 210 | F | So. | Washington, D.C. | Kilgore College |
| 31 | Wendell McKines | 6'6" | 225 | F | So. | Oakland, California | Richmond HS |
| 32 | Hamidu Rahman | 6'11" | 255 | C | Fr. | Somerset, New Jersey | American Christian HS |
| 33 | Troy Gillenwater | 6'8" | 230 | F | Fr. | Boston, Massachusetts | Stoneridge Prep |
| 34 | Aaron Gordo Castillo | 6'5" | 180 | G | So. | Las Cruces, New Mexico | Las Cruces HS |
| 50 | Chris Gabriel | 6'9" | 240 | C | Fr. | San Juan Capistrano, California | JSerra Catholic HS |

### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year at NMSU | Alma Mater (Year) |
| Marvin Menzies | Head coach | 2nd | UCLA (1987) |
| Mick Durham | Assistant coach | 1st | Montana State (1979) |
| Chris Pompey | Assistant coach | 3rd | Pittsburgh (1984) |
| Paul Weir | Assistant coach | 2nd | York (2004) |

## 2008-09 Schedule and results

* All times are Mountain
| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Fri, Oct 31 7:00pm | New Mexico Highlands | W 98-73 | – | Pan American Center (1,626) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Thu, Nov 6 7:00pm | Western New Mexico | W 110–63 | – | Pan American Center (1,679) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Sat, Nov 15* 1:00pm | UC Riverside | W 79-52 | 1-0 | Pan American Center (2,481) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Tue, Nov 18* 7:00pm | at No. 19 USC | L 60-73 | 1-1 | Galen Center (5,618) Los Angeles, California |
| Fri, Nov 21* 7:30pm | Pepperdine | W 90-66 | 2-1 | Pan American Center (4,641) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sun, Nov 30* 5:00pm | at Long Beach State | L 77-82 | 2-2 | Walter Pyramid (1,759) Long Beach, California |
| Wed, Dec 3* 6:00pm | at Kansas | L 79-100 | 2–3 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Sat, Dec 6* 6:00pm | at North Texas | L 83-85 | 2–4 | The Super Pit (3,017) Denton, Texas |
| Thu, Dec 11* 7:00pm | Sacramento State Lou Henson Classic | W 76-65 | 3-4 | Pan American Center (5,336) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sun, Dec 14* 2:00pm | UTEP Battle of I-10 | W 90-78 | 4-4 | Pan American Center (8,168) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Wed, Dec 17* 7:00pm | Prairie View A&M | W 88-74 | 5-4 | Pan American Center (5,098) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Dec 20* 7:00pm | at UTEP Battle of I-10 | L 69-84 | 5-5 | Don Haskins Center (8,513) El Paso, Texas |
| Tue, Dec 23* 6:30pm | at New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | L 62-76 | 5–6 | The Pit (arena) (17,197) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Sun, Dec 28* 1:00pm | Loyola Marymount | W 104-62 | 6–6 | Pan American Center (4,815) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Tue, Dec 30* 7:00pm | New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | L 66-68 | 6-7 | Pan American Center (10,285) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Jan 3 8:00pm | at Fresno State | W 79-66 | 7-7 (1–0) | Save Mart Center (8,909) Fresno, California |
| Mon, Jan 5 8:00pm | at San Jose State | W 75-73 | 8–7 (2-0) | Event Center Arena (1,341) San Jose, California |
| Thu, Jan 8 7:00pm | Nevada | L 71-79 | 8-8 (2–1) | Pan American Center (6,314) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Jan 10 8:00pm | Utah State | L 67-77 | 8-9 (2-2) | Pan American Center (6,577) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Thu, Jan 15 7:00pm | Idaho | W 74-71 | 9-9 (3-2) | Pan American Center (6,821) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Thu, Jan 22 7:00pm | at Boise State | L 84-87 | 9-10 (3-3) | Taco Bell Arena (3,079) Boise, Idaho |
| Sat, Jan 24 7:00pm | at Idaho | L 57-67 | 9-11 (3-4) | Cowan Spectrum (2,129) Moscow, Idaho |
| Thu, Jan 29 7:00pm | San Jose State | W 89-81 | 10-11 (4-4) | Pan American Center (6,194) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Jan 31 7:00pm | Hawaii | W 82-72 | 11-11 (5-4) | Pan American Center (6,355) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Thu, Feb 5 7:00pm | at No. 25 Utah State | L 59-78 | 11-12 (5-5) | Smith Spectrum (9,415) Logan, Utah |
| Sat, Feb 7 6:00pm, ESPN2 | at Nevada | W 62-60 | 12-12 (6-5) | Lawlor Events Center (6,786) Reno, Nevada |
| Sat, Feb 14 7:00pm | Fresno State | W 79-71 | 13-12 (7-5) | Pan American Center (6,411) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Mon, Feb 16 7:00pm | Louisiana Tech | W 65-63 | 14-12 (8-5) | Pan American Center (6,034) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Feb 21* 7:00pm | Cal State Fullerton ESPN BracketBusters | W 94-86 | 15-12 (8-5) | Pan American Center (6,371) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Thu, Feb 26 6:00pm | at Louisiana Tech | L 71-80 | 15-13 (8-6) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,668) Ruston, Louisiana |
| Mon, Mar 2 7:00pm | Boise State | L 92-104 | 15-14 (8-7) | Pan American Center (5,878) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Sat, Mar 7 10:00pm | at Hawaii | W 70-59 | 16-14 (9-7) | Stan Sheriff Center (6,640) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| WAC tournament ||||||
| Thu, Mar 12 1:00pm | vs. Boise State Quarterfinals | W 80-70 | 17-14 | Lawlor Events Center (NA) Reno, Nevada |
| Fri, Mar 13 7:00pm | vs. Utah State Semifinals | L 70-71 | 17-15 | Lawlor Events Center (NA) Reno, Nevada |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
|- The attendance for the 16 home games was 99,839 which averaged 6,240 per game.

## Statistics leaders

* Scoring - Jahmar Young, 17.9 pts/g
* Field Goal % - Hamidu Rahman, 53.0%
* 3-point Field Goal % - Jahmar Young, 42.1%
* Free Throws - Jahmar Young, 82.4%
* Rebounds - Wendell McKines, 10.0 Reb/g
* Assists - Hernst Laroche, 139
* Blocks - Hamidu Rahman, 44
* Steals - Jonathan Gibson, Hernst Laroche, Jahmar Young; 44

## Ring of Honor Additions

During the Jan 31, 2009 game against Hawaii, a ceremony was held which added new Aggies to the Ring of Honor - they were Jimmy Collins, Jerry Hines, and John Williamson. Also recognized were the 1978–79 and 1998-99 teams which each appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

## Season highlights

* Jahmar Young was named First Team All WAC
* Jahmar Young was named WAC Player of the Week twice during the season
* Wendell McKines' rebounding average of 10.0 reb/g is a Top 10 in All-Time Aggie history
* Gordo Castillo's 3-point FG% of 44.8% is a Top 10 in All-Time Aggie history