LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Under the direction of first-year head coach Paul Weir, the NM State men's basketball team's quest to return to the NCAA Tournament begins Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. (MT) on Lou Henson Court in the Pan American Center against Arizona Christian.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @AggieArmy.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to Adam Young on 99.5 Zia Country or listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. In addition, fans can listen to the game on the following affiliate stations:
 
Alamagordo      103.7 FM KNMZ
Carlsbad           1240 AM KAMQ
Gallup               1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas         107.1 FM KMDS
 
BAKER NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Senior guard Ian Baker was named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday the award committee announced. The honor is especially meaningful for the Aggies with the legendary head coach having led New Mexico State and currently serves as a special advisor to the team. The recipient of the 2017 Lou Henson Award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet on April 31 in Phoenix, site of the men's Division I basketball championship.
 
UNIFORM REVEAL
The NM State men's and women's basketball team along with several other Aggie programs will unveil their uniforms and other gear on Thursday, Nov. 10, in the NMSU Barnes & Noble Bookstore. A social hour is set to begin at 5 p.m. (MT) while the fashion show-esque event will begin at 6:15. Fans can also enjoy 25% off select Under Armour gear.
 
MILITARY APPRECIATION
With Friday's game landing on Veteran's day, all military personnel can purchase select tickets to the season-opener and home-opener against Arizona Christian for $5 with ID. Fans can purchase tickets at the Pan American Center ticket box or in advance by calling 575-646-1420.
 
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Members of the National Guard and the Army ROTC will conduct a brief enlistment ceremony during halftime of the men's basketball game. Fans can watch a new generation of service members take their first step at halftime when they take their oath.
 
DOUBLEHEADER FRIDAY
Friday will be a season-opener and home-opener for both the men and women's basketball teams. The women's team is set to clash with San José State at 5:30 p.m. (MT) before the men's team takes the court at 7:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the completion of the women's game.
 
MAYFIELD BAND TAKES CENTER STAGE
The Mayfield High School Band, under the direction of Johnnie Lee Lang, will be the honorary pep band for the NM State Men's Basketball home-opener on Friday, Nov. 11 when the Aggies take on Arizona Christian.  About 30 members of the Mayfield Band will be filling section 117 in the Pan American Center for the first home game of 2016-17 season. Along with providing a fun game-day atmosphere, the addition of the Mayfield band serves as way to re-incorporate the community back to the NM State Basketball program — an outreach goal of new head men's basketball coach Paul Weir.
 
The NMSU Marching Band cited other engagements that preclude its participation at the basketball games on Friday, Nov. 11, as well as the men's game against Samford on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
 
OH SNAP!
The first 1,000 Aggie fans will get their first chance to grab a special edition Aggie snapback hat at Friday night's game. Only fans with a ticket to the men's game will be able to get a snapback hat. Those that attend the women's game can pick up their snapback hats beginning at 6:30 p.m. at one of the five entrances.
 
ALL THE CRAZE
Want to join in on the #MannequinChallenge craze!? The NM State marketing team is calling all NMSU students to the come to Friday's game and be a part of the NM State Athletic Department's #MannequinChallenge video at halftime. Students with valid NMSU ID get into all NM State athletic events for free.
 
THE AGGIE ARMY WANTS YOU!
Be a part of the @AggieArmy student section NOW for just $20 and receive a limited edition Under Armour shirt, priority seating and pizza during pregame at ALL home men's basketball games. You'll also get plugged into inside scoop about the men's basketball team, including special events and news. To join, click here.
 
GO, GO, GO!
With the start of the 2016-17 season set to begin on Friday, Nov. 11, it will also be the start of a wild 15-day stretch for NM State. The Aggies are set to play seven games in 15 days, including three on the road and will be traveling over 3,000 miles between three states during that stretch.
 
HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
New Mexico State has enjoyed a lot of success in the friendly confines of the Pan American Center throughout the years and history proves it. Heading into the 2016-17 season, NM State is 589-151 (.796) all-time inside the Pan Am and can notch its 600th win this season.
 
Since its debut in the Pan Am Center for the 1968-69 season, NM State has gone undefeated four times, with the last perfect season at home coming in 1989-90. Heading into its 49th season at the Pan Am, NM State has only had seven season with less than 10 wins and of those seven season, the Aggies have been under .500 at home twice through 740 games.
 
NOT THE AGGIES OF OLD
Under the direction of new head coach Paul Weir, fans will see a different style of Aggie basketball on the floor this season. The first-year head coach intends to play a more up-tempo style of play with an even more tenacious defensive, especially with the addition of assistant coach Jesse Bopp.
 
Ian Baker leads the group of returners as the floor general while Sidy N'Dir, Braxton Huggins, Jalyn Pennie and Matt Taylor rounds out the backcourt for NM State. In the front court, Johnathan Wilkins, Tanveer Bhullar and Eli Chuha will look to protect the rim. Coming out of their redshirt seasons will be Jermaine Haley and Bollo Gnahore.
 
Weir also added a little extra firepower in the backcourt with the addition of 3-point threat, Chancellor Ellis, and Las Cruces native Joe Garza. In addition to those three, NM State will also have the services of AJ Harris, an Ohio State transfer, in 2017-18 after he sits out this season as required by the NCAA transfer rules. With the new style of play, Weir also recruited some dynamic rim protectors in Jemerrio Jones, Marlon Jones and Johnny McCants.
 
ENTER THE FIRESTORM
The NM State men's basketball team is set to open the 2016-17 season this Friday, Nov. 11, when it squares off against Arizona Christian (1-0). This will just be the second meeting between the Aggies and Firestorm when the two teams step out onto Lou Henson Court.
 
Arizona Christian is coming off a 23-9 season last year and finished third in the Golden State Athletic Conference with a 10-6 mark. Chris Sterling, the team's leading scorer last season with 17.3 points per game, returns for the Firestorm and looks to have a solid senior season. Standing at 6-5, Sterling shot 43-percent from the floor last season and 34-percent from beyond the arc with 5.4 boards per game. 
 
The next leading scorer for Arizona Christian is senior Mishima Gray. Gray was the seventh leading scorer on the team with 4.5 points per game. Despite ACU boasting a roster with lots of upperclassmen, many of them are transfers that are playing for the first time at Arizona Christian.
 
Shy McClelland, a transfer from South Dakota, put up 16 points in his first game with the Firestorm against West Coast Baptist while Sterling led all scorers with 24. McClelland, a 6-0 point guard, led the team on the glass with nine boards. McClelland, who found his way to South Dakota in 2015-16 by way of Mesa Community College, averaged 11.5 points, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the Coyotes last season.
 
Arizona Christian head coach Jeff Rutter also added the services of Matt Wilkomm, who comes to ACU from Allan Hancock College where he was the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer with 16.4 points per game. Wilkomm shot a deadly 45-percent from the field as well as from the 3-point range last season, draining a team-high 90 triples. The 6-1 guard was the third-leading scorer for ACU in its season-opening game with 12 points, five boards, four assists and three steals.
 
In the front court, ACU will rely on Patson Siame (6-11) and Lawrence Combs (6-5) to protect the rim. Siame joined the Firestorm after sitting out last season at 2013 NCAA Tournament darling Florida Gulf Coast. Prior to FGCU, Siame spent his first two seasons at Loyola Marymount where he averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 block. Combs is one of the true freshmen on the ACU roster, playing his prep years at Mountain Pointe High School.
 
MOVIN' ON UP
With the start of his senior season, Ian Baker will have a chance to move himself up the all-time career-list in the 3-point shooting category at New Mexico State. The senior is currently seventh all-time in 3-pointers made with 137, and could move all the way up to third all-time if numbers are similar to that of last season. The same should go for the 3-point field-goal attempts category. Baker is also tied for seventh right now with Gordo Castillo (2007-11) in the career 3-point shooting-percentage, checking in with a .407 clip.
 
AND SO IT BEGINS…
On April 26, 2016, long-time Aggie men's basketball assistant Paul Weir was named the 25th head coach at NM State. Weir, who has spent the last nine seasons on the NM State bench, has been the Aggies associate head coach and defensive coordinator since July 2011 for his predecessor Marvin Menzies.
 
Quickly after taking over the reins, Weir began assembling his coaching staff. His first hiring as head coach was securing legendary head coach Lou Henson as the team's special advisor. Weir then added Jesse Bopp, who came from Chattanooga by way of VCU, to his staff. He then rounded out his staff with CSU Bakersfield assistant Marc Hsu. A familiar face for fans on the bench this year will be Aerick Sanders, who stayed on to work under Weir.
 
Guy Meyer, a Santa Fe native, also joined Weir as the director of basketball operations. Jordan Sperber filled out the support staff as the video coordinator.
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
NM State was picked to win the Western Athletic Conference in both the coaches' and media poll, but by just a slim margin ahead of Grand Canyon. Senior guard Ian Baker was the lone Aggie to earn first-team preseason honors.
 
UP NEXT
After Friday night's game, the Aggies will jump on a plane Saturday and head to Ft. Collins, Colo., for a 2 p.m. (MT) match-up against Colorado State on Sunday, Nov. 13. Sunday's game can be seen on ROOT Sports.
 
SUPER SIAKAM
Former New Mexico State men's basketball power forward Pascal Siakam secured his name into Aggie lore on June 23 after being selected in the first round by the Toronto Raptors as the 27th pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft.
 
Siakam is just the third player in NM State history and the first in 46 years to be drafted in the first round since Sam Lacey (fifth overall) and Jimmy Collins (11th) in 1970. The Douala, Cameroon, native is also the first player drafted in the NBA since Randy Brown, who was the fourth pick in the second round of the 1991 NBA Draft.
 
Siakam becomes just the fourth player from Cameroon since 2000 to be drafted to the NBA, joining Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (2001, Portland Trailblazers), Luc Mbah a Moute (2008, Milwaukee Bucks) and Joel Embiid (2014, Philadelphia 76ers).
 
The 6-9 forward had a breakout season in 2015-16, averaging 20.3 points and 11.6 rebounds and ended with Siakam earning AP All-America Honorable Mention. He also racked up Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, NABC First-Team All-District VI, USBWA All-District VIII and Lou Henson All-America honors.
 
He led the nation with a whopping 27 double-doubles as a redshirt sophomore and was finished in the top 40 in several statistical categories, averaging 20.3 points (26th), 11.6 rebounds (eighth) and 2.4 blocks (32nd). Of the 22 players in 2015-16 that averaged a double-double, Siakam was the only player to score 20-plus points per game.
 
In just two seasons in Las Cruces, Siakam recorded 1,126 points – which ranks 21st in the program's all-time scoring list. His two-year total in points is also the fourth-best in NM State history while his 658 career rebounds rank him 15th all-time.
 
His 690 points this season is the second-most in Aggie history for a single season while his 396 rebounds were the third-highest. The 396 boards was also the fourth-best mark in a single-season for the WAC. Siakam's 658 career rebounds also ranks him 15th in conference history.