New Mexico State came within a lane violation of having the ball for one final shot to upset Michigan State in the first round of this year's NCAA tournament.
Aggies coach Marvin Menzies apparently has his sights set on going even further this coming season, judging from his interview with KSNM 570 AM.
"Second round of the NCAAs, at least," Menzies said, laughing. "That's the plan.
"It's one of those type of deals where you have the dream and the vision to be a perennial player in the Big Dance every year, and we're hopeful and optimistic that we can get back again this year."
New Mexico State, as Menzies noted, loses its top two scorers from a year ago and will need to make up for nearly 38 points per game combined if it is to make its way out of the WAC and back to the NCAAs.
The Aggies are getting a head start on their preseason tour of Canada and are currently in Montreal visiting the hometown of emerging guard Hernst Laroche, who led the team in assists as a sophomore and averaged 6.3 points per game.
Laroche's family, which hosted a team dinner last night, has yet to see him play college basketball in person. But the Aggies play their first game tomorrow and are looking to extending their season with an even longer postseason run.
(HT: bleedCrimson.net)