It may be a guard's world for the UNM men's basketball team, but its frontline held its own, and even showed some promise, during a 77-71 win over the EA Sports Central All-Stars Thursday.
Junior guards Marlon Parmer and Ruben Douglas led the way for UNM with 24 and 17 points, respectively, and Parmer was the top rebounder with 12. But the Lobos' post players are showing signs that they can contribute as the group combined for 20 points and 24 rebounds. Sophomore forward Patrick Dennehy led the charge with 10 points and six rebounds.
Parmer said he would give the frontcourt a positive grade for its first game, but the group has room for improvement.
"They were positive tonight, and they didn't hurt us," Parmer said. "They gave it their all, and they were that good on defense."
Dennehy was a major focus of the offense early on in both halves. The 6-foot-9-inch tall forward had some scoring opportunities to start each half, with varying results. He scored only two points in the first half, but those came on a 17-foot jumper with 7:34 left. It was a different story in the second half, though. His two free throws were the first points in the second half for UNM and he added four more in the first eight minutes.
Broussard took advantage of the absence of senior guard Eric Chatfield's absense, and even though he played only 12 minutes, tallied three points, three rebounds and four assists. After playing out of position in the power forward slot last season, he seems more comfortable as a small forward. Douglas said Broussard brings flare and energy from the bench and he brings a willingness to learn.
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"I kind of take Al under my wing because he's listening, and he's like a sponge," Douglas said. "He listens and he's a smart guy."
Williams, meanwhile, showed the promise that many experts saw in the small forward.
He led all post players with nine rebounds and chipped in five points, but he could have had more if he had connected on a couple of shots late in the game. One came when he grabbed a rebound off a missed Parmer free throw, but his putback bounced off the rim.
"Jamaal Williams didn't have a particularly good night, but he did grab nine rebounds," Frashilla said. "But Jamaal is going to be able to score inside. He missed some shots that he'll make, for sure."
Williams' shot seemed to mimic the inside game's play - good execution, but poor results. Dennehy had one series midway through the second half where he fired a baseline jumper over the basket, but then followed it up on the next possession with a baseline shot that found its target.
Dennehy, Broussard and freshman center Chad Bell combined on one of the most creative plays of the game. Bell grabbed a rebound off a missed shot from senior guard Tim Lightfoot and fired to Broussard in the middle of the paint. As the All-Star defense converged on him, Broussard found Dennehy underneath the basket for a layup and a 55-43 lead with 15:21 left in the game.
The jury is still out on UNM's two biggest - literally and figuratively - inside men. Seven-footer Moustapha Diagne at times looked like a man who is suffering from necrosis, or dying bone, in his right foot as he sometimes grimaced in pain while running.
He played only 13 minutes and had four rebounds and four fouls. The other big man, the 6-foot-11-inch tall Bell, made his only shot - a baby hook four minutes into the second half - and hauled in four rebounds in 20 minutes.
Fraschilla said he doesn't need offense from Diagne or Bell, although he pointed out Diagne had a couple of good shots that didn't go in. He said their height alone is a great contribution to the team.
"Overall, I thought we made it really hard for them to score inside," Fraschilla said. "Our guys say that in practice everyday."
