Scouting Report: New Mexico State Aggies

Preparing for the first opponent of the season is always a bit more difficult. That is even more true in the transfer portal era when so many programs experience significant turnover. However, the Kentucky Wildcats could not have picked a tougher opening day opponent to prepare for. The New Mexico State Aggies not only bring in an entirely new roster, but they literally didn’t even finish the season in 2022-2023. Off-the-court legal issues and an internal hazing scandal led to New Mexico State canceling its season in early February. In the wake, the Aggies’ coaching staff was fired and every single player either graduated or left the program. This is a team that is starting fresh, and rightfully so, in 2023-2024.

Coach Jason Hooten was hired to return the Aggies to prominence. After 13 seasons and 260 wins at Sam Houston State, Coach Hooten is no stranger to success. He is coming off his best year yet winning 26 games, finishing second in the WAC, and ending the season ranked in the KenPom Top 75. Coach Hooten left a good situation with the Bearkats and is entering into what was the biggest dumpster fire in collegiate athletics just a few months ago. However, New Mexico State is a proud program with a rich history. From 2018-2023 Coach Chris Jans, now at Mississippi State, took the Aggies to three NCAA Tournaments and it would have been for if the 2020 postseason hadn’t been cancelled. In 2022 they went to the second round. It just all came crashing down under Greg Heiar.

To figure out what to expect on Monday night you have to dive into the personnel’s previous stops. Stylistically, Coach Hooten is known for coaching high-level defensive teams. His last five teams at Sam Houston State finished no lower than 41st in defensive turnover rate. Overall, the Bearkats were 21st last season in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. You can expect that in-your-face, aggressive style of defense to travel to Las Cruces. It remains a mystery how the pieces will fit together though. Two key pieces are likely to be unavailable as they await an NCAA waiver as two-time transfers. Without Femi Odukale and Davion Bradford, it will be a rough transition to Conference USA. However, there is still some intriguing talent for year one of the rebuild.

As we do prior to each game we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s opponent. We will deep-dive into the Aggies personnel, take a look at their overall offensive and defensive tendencies, and outline the keys to the game. Without further ado, let’s dive on in and get to know more about the New Mexico State Aggies.

New Mexico State Aggies Personnel

Starters

#2 Jordan Rawls: 6’2″ 180 lbs, Senior Guard

7.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.6 apg (Western Kentucky)

Point Guard. Likely to be the primary ball-handler when he is in there. Very quick and shifty with the ball. He is going to try and shake you up off of the dribble. Stay disciplined and be between him and the basket. Right-hand driver. No right-hand drives! Wants to use the left-to-right crossover to come back to his right hand. Much better as a driver than as a shooter. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Likes to shoot the floater going right. Get your hands up to contest. The goal is to stay between him and the basket and make him score over you. Get the ball stopped in transition. No right-hand drives. No layups.

#0 Jaylin Jackson-Posey: 6’2″ 196 lbs, Junior Guard

6.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.6 apg (Stephen F. Austin)

Capable shooter that will play on and off of the ball. Shot better from 3 than 2 last season in a small sample size. Need to be there on the catch to give a hard contest to the obvious catch-and-shoot. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot you can bounce back and guard against the drive. He is right handed, but likes to drive it to his left a lot. Need to play him straight up and be ready for him to attack either way. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs to start, but be ready to contest if he shoots behind it. Be willing to switch the ballscreens to keep him from getting downhill. Very good on-ball defender. Be strong with the ball. No uncontested 3’s. No layups.

#4 Brandon Suggs: 6’6″ 205 lbs, Senior Guard

6.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.9 apg (Central Florida)

Bigger wing. Capable shooter, but more aggressive as a slasher and right-hand driver. Only going to shoot the wide-open, catch-and-shoot 3’s. Be ready to get a hand up to contest. However, much more concerned about him driving it right. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot you can bounce back and guard against the right-hand drive. No right-hand drives. He is going to use the shot fake on the perimeter to try and attack your closeout. We want to stay down as we shouldn’t be closing out THAT aggressively. He is looking to get all the way to the rim going right and will shoot the jumper going left. Give it a hard contest. Look for opportunities to take it off of him when he is driving it right. More turnovers than assists in his career. Box out!

#25 Clarence “Monzy” Jackson: 6’7″ 210 lbs, Senior Forward

7.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.8 apg (Jacksonville State)

Athletic forward who will face-up and pick-and-pop. Shot 25-55 from 3 last season. Need to be there to give a hard contest to all catch-and-shoot 3’s. Be very willing to switch if he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3s. He likes to “ghost” screen into a pop. If there is no screen there is no switch. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot he is going to look to drive it right. Right hand, left shoulder around the basket. Capable finisher with both hands so play him a little more straight up, but still better with his right hand. Wall up around the basket and make him finish over you. Very good offensive rebounder. Be physical and box him out. No pick-and-pop 3’s for him.

#1 Kaosi Ezeagu: 6’10” 255 lbs, Graduate Student Center

5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.4 apg (Sam Houston)

Big, strong post presence. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. He is really going to force his way to his left shoulder so he can score with his right hand. Be physical, wall up, and make him score over you. Do your work early and push him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Pick and choose some opportunities to come aggressively dig the ball out of the post. Come with the mindset of taking it off of him. 12 assists, 42 turnovers last season. Not going to be comfortable under pressure. Don’t let him bounce it more than twice without aggressively stunting or faking at him. Excellent offensive rebounder. Need to be physical when the shot goes up. Will set up in the dunker’s spot. No dunks. No left shoulder baskets.

Bench

#21 Robert Carpenter: 6’7″ 215 lbs, Junior Forward

17.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.6 apg (Mississippi Valley State)

Aggressive scorer. Bigger wing that can swing between the backcourt and the front court. Shot 25-78 from 3 last season in just 12 games. Need to be tight enough to him to give a hard contest to his catch-and-shoot threes. All-around jump shooter. Give a hard contest to all jump shots. Be ready to CHASE him off of downscreens and handoffs. Be very willing to SWITCH if he sets a ballscreen or anytime there is too much space. Don’t want to let him be comfortable on the perimeter. He will drive it right some, but he is hunting jump shots. Be tight to him at all times and give a hard contest. The goal is more shots than points for him. Good size and very athletic. Crashes the offensive glass hard. Box out. Less willing to help off of him than other guys on the floor. No uncontested jump shots.

#3 Christian Cook: 6’2″ 175 lbs, Junior Guard

16.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg (Northeastern State)

SHOOTER!!! No 3’s! Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Made 61 3’s last season. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Go OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. Be very willing to switch anytime there is space to get out and take him away from 3. Aggressive offensive player. Need to give a hard contest to all jump shots. Always the next most dangerous man in transition. Career 42.6% shooter from 3-point range. Do not help off of him. Your only responsibility when guarding him is taking away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. No 3’s!

#24 Jonathan Kanyanga: 6’9″ 225 lbs, Graduate Student Center

5.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 bpg (Edward Walters)

Bouncy, athletic 5-man. He is going to play in the dunker’s spot and look for dump off passes at the rim. Very capable of finishing lobs. You do not want to help up off of him at the rim and give up a dunk. Stunt and fake at the ball while staying home with him. Make him score with you between him and the basket. His percentages will go down significantly if he has to score over you. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical, wall up, and don’t let him turn the corner. Rim runs hard in transition. Don’t let him beat you down the court. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out! Elite shot blocker. Must play off of two feet and use a shot fake at the end of your drives when he is in there. No dunks for him.

#14 Yaak Yaak: 6’11” 235 lbs, Freshman Forward

Stats unavailable (NBA Global Academy)

Backup forward. Has some skill. Will face-up to drive it right some. No right-hand drives. Get a hand up to contest the face-up jump shot. Capable shooter out to 3-point range. You can be active helping off of him, but closeout with your hands up. He doesn’t want the game to be physical around the basket. Wall up and make him score over you. Right hand, left shoulder. He is going to face-up on every catch around the basket. Would rather shoot it or drive it right hand make a real post move. No uncontested face-up jump shots. Box out.

New Mexico State Aggies Offense

• Quite simply, we have no idea what to expect from the New Mexico Aggies offensively. This is an all-new coaching staff leading an all-new roster.
• Traditionally, Coach Hooten has been a coach who will play to the strengths of his personnel. For example, in 2020 and 2021 at Sam Houston State his teams averaged over 71 possessions per game as one of the more uptempo groups in the country. However, in 2022 and 2023 the Bearkats averaged under 65 possessions per game as one of the slower teams in the country. With #2 Rawls and #0 Jackson-Posey this group will probably skew towards a faster pace.
• Last season at Sam Houston, Coach Hooten ran some sets out of horns, set a lot of high ballscreens, and was primarily a 4-around-1 Motion team with Ezeagu in the post.

Here is a clip of Coach Hooten running Spain action at Sam Houston in last year’s NIT. The roll man who finishes at the rim is New Mexico State’s starting 5-man Kaosi Ezeagu who came to Las Cruces with his coach. He is a very good ball screener and will roll hard to the rim. There should be enough places to help from on the court at all times so that we don’t have to give this clean of a lane on the roll.

New Mexico State Aggies Defense

• What little we can glean about the New Mexico State Aggies stylistically comes from Coach Hooten’s past at Sam Houston. That means you can expect his first team in Las Cruces to be very hard-nosed and aggressive on the defensive end of the floor.
• When looking at the analytics, Coach Hooten’s teams force teams to shoot a ton of three-point shots. Additionally, as a by-product of their aggressive style that looks to force turnovers, they also foul a lot.
• Expect to see the Aggies be aggressive in the passing lanes and very “in the gap.” They are going to help with two hands and two feet to try to steal the ball. In ballscreen action they will look to hard hedge or switch. Be ready to be under pressure at all times across half court. You will see the back of defenders on the wing a lot. Must play off of two feet at the end of our drives. The next pass will be there. Back cuts on the perimeter will be there as well.

Obviously, this is Sam Houston State, not New Mexico State, but this possession gives you a good idea of what it will look like when the Aggies are defending. You see them switch the middle ballscreen and then aggressively help with two hands and two feet on the drive. There are nearly 10 feet in the paint when the ball is driven leaving the kick out wide open. As the ball gets swung, you can see #10 in white with his back to the ball and way up in the passing lane. That ultimately allows the backcut and layup. Take notes from what Santa Clara did offensively on that possession.

Keys to the Game

• Assist on 60% or more of our field goals. We should be one of the best playmaking teams in the country this season. The New Mexico State Aggies are going to help aggressively and force kickouts on drives to the paint. Be willing to make the extra pass.
• Turnover percentage 17% or lower. Take care of the basketball. NMSU is going to try and create turnovers. That will be the only way they can stay in the game. Play off of two feet when you drive it.
• 75% or better on the defensive glass. The Aggies have size at the 5, but we are bigger and more athletic across the board still. This should be a game where we can still rebound at a relatively high level.
• 75% or better at the free throw line. We are going to shoot a lot of free throws in this game. Convert the free opportunities.