He said he expects a lot out of his young guys, and won’t settle for little mistakes being made this far into the season.
“I don’t expect them to have mental breakdowns; I don’t expect them to forget plays; I don’t expect them to forget how we guard things,” Neal said. “They’ve played enough games, they’ve been through enough practices — they can’t have mental breakdowns.”
Neal did credit his youthful team with getting through the toughest part of the conference schedule on the road — SDSU, Utah State, UNLV and Wyoming.
Senior guard Hugh Greenwood has been the cornerstone for the Lobos so far this season. He is averaging 13.6 points per game in conference play.
Junior college transfer Jordan Goodman, a junior forward, did not play in the second half against Wyoming due to an ankle injury sustained at some point during the first half of Saturday’s game.
Goodman practiced all week and seemed to be 100 percent ready to go on Thursday’s practice, running full speed through all of the team drills.
“It’s going to be game-to-game — he’s got a spur (in his ankle), and I’m not a doctor so I just know it flares up,” Neal said. “He’s got a lot of pain, so it’s game-to-game.”
The Lobos (13-7, 5-3 Mountain West) return home after a tough two-game conference road split where they traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada and defeated UNLV, then to Laramie, Wyoming where they lost an overtime thriller to the Cowboys.
Neal said there is no carryover after a tough loss last week, and that it’s just part of the game.
“We lost a game. We’re going to go forward and we’re not going to look back,” Neal said. “We lose together and we win together. I haven’t thought one minute about it for the last two days.”
Neal mentioned that his team is not overlooking the San Jose State Spartans (2-18, 0-8 MW) just because of their record. He said he will have his guys focused for Saturday’s game, just like he has the whole season.
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“I don’t think they can look past anybody. I think our guys realize that they’re on the hunt (for Mountain West standings),” Neal said. “But to be on the hunt they can’t be pretenders, they have to be contenders.”
The Spartans have struggled this year, with only two wins out of 20 contests. They are winless in the first half of the Mountain West Conference.
They are led by their sophomore guard Rashad Muhammad, who averages 12.6 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game.
SJSU is down to eight men on their roster after a series of transfers, injuries and suspensions.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
