So when I hear the name Josh Davis, I think of this.

This would be creepy enough as a photo, but this is actually a GIF on a 15 second video loop. If you watch closely, you can see a shadow slowly move across his joyless face.

But thanks to today’s news, I can purge this image from my head once and for all. There’s a new Josh Davis in town, eveybody!

So what does this new Josh Davis — the Josh Davis who fights for freedom and justice — look like? You tell me, white person and CBS Sports College Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman:

The Aztecs also sold Davis on the comparison to former San Diego State star Kawhi Leonard, who is long and athletic and also bears a facial resemblance as well.

Dude. I bet they all look alike to you, don’t they Jeff. I mean, there better be a pretty strong resemblance for me to not just come right out and call you a racis …

Oh. In that case, I retract my accusation.

(Another similarity: On my first page of Google image results, there are no pictures of Josh Davis smiling. Not one. One can safely assume he his saving up his grins just in case he might have the opportunity to taunt Jimmer Fredette in the near future.)

So this is probably the point in the post where you expect me to get serious and break down the senior Tulane transfer’s seismic impact on the 2013-14 Aztecs. HAHAHAHA you must be new here. My superficial observations have only begun, sir.

Such as these pros and cons of the Davis get:

Pros

• He is 6-foot-8, which science indicates is rather tall.
• He had 19 double-doubles last year, which is only a tenth as many as Bryce Massamba ate, but still.
• His insertion as a scoring threat down low takes heaps of pressure off developing sophomore Skylar Spencer and allows JJ O’Brien to miss easy shots from elsewhere on the floor show his considerable versatility.
• Ohio State was making a push for this guy, so be sure to rub it in Buckeyes fans’ faces after we moral victory them in football next year (SPOILER ALERT!). Though remember to be prepared to answer the retort, “Who the fuck is Josh Davis, bruh?”
• He does things like this, apparently:

  
  Neat!

• He hit 71.6 percent of his free throws, so just feel free to make your own Deshawn Stephens free throw joke here.
• If he sucks or turns out to be some kind of asshole, he’s only a one-year rental!
• He very probably does not suck and does not appear to be an asshole based on that one random postgame interview I just watched on youtube.

Cons

• He once lost to USD. Better cut that shit out in a hurry, mister.
• I am James Johnson.
• That idiot AztecsKillingHim pretty much thinks everyone is going to be an impact transfer.

In summation: Good player make Aztecs more good. I approve of this development.

The Aztecs are definitely going back to the NCAA Tournament this year. And if they don’t, at least I’ll have a new Josh Davis haunting my dreams.

Our podcast for the week of April 30th.

Topics: NFL Draft, NBA draft, grad student transfer draft, basketball coaching draft, draft beer.

Music:

• Intro: White and Nerdy by “Weird” Al Yankovic
• Outro: Let It All Hang Out by Los Hombres

This weeks ridiculous thread on AztecMesa:

2011 draft recap

Like us on Facebook! View our show notes. Subscribe on iTunes, or download.

Twitter: Jhonka, AztecsKillingHim, LetsDoSomeWaving

Help us pay to host this podcast by donating below:

Leave us some feedback to prove you don’t suck: 619-78-MONTY or jhonka34@gmail.com

(Spoiler: With $250,000, Tony Bland can probably buy several new almas mater and mentors so … yeah)

Remember that Tournament Challenge thingy we did a while back? Well, apparently basketball ended yesterday (who knew?) and the results are in.

Well would you look at that. How interesting that the three people who have written hoops for this blog in the past year finished 1-2-3 over the great unwashed internet rabble.

But I’m not here to gloat. No, I just hope that the next time you decide to leave a comment about how my posts are “nothing but lame, recycled meth jokes and dated pop culture references” or “lacking in any insight whatsoever”, you’ll stop and remember that the person you’re addressing is a college basketball expert.

Bitch.

Our podcast for the week of March 26th.

Topics: SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE HOLDING HANDS!!!

Music:

• Intro: Everybody Hurts by REM
• Outro: Shiny Happy People by REM

This weeks ridiculous thread on AztecMesa:

N/A

Like us on Facebook! View our show notes. Subscribe on iTunes, or download.

Twitter: Jhonka, AztecsKillingHim, LetsDoSomeWaving

Help us pay to host this podcast by donating below:

Leave us some feedback to prove you don’t suck: 619-78-MONTY or jhonka34@gmail.com

I really thought that the University of New Mexico San Diego State University finally had a men’s basketball team that earned the loyalty of their fans.

I was wrong.

I’ve been around Lobo blogging Aztecs basketball for 33 two seasons. For 32 both of those seasons, I knew that UNM SDSU had a team that could fold and lose to anyone at any time. I never got my expectations too high because a collapse was possible anytime they walked out on that floor.

Ever since Friday at about 10:45 p.m. Central Time I thought this team was different. I was convinced that this Lobo Aztecs team was for real. It had experience, a good front line and a good backcourt and good chemistry and was smart.

I was wrong.

The main difference between these Lobos Aztecs and the others guys last year who fell flat lost in the first round was that the 2012-13 team played defense had more than, like, two guys on the bench not named Narbeh. New Mexico SDSU forced opponents to take bad shots and actually guarded on Friday. This team had real potential, I decided after my fifth vodka cran.

I was wrong.

This was a team that had the rightful MWC Player of the Year in Kendall Williams Jamaal Franklin and the MWC Tournament MVP in Tony Snell and two big men who had been outstanding at times and a point guard who had developed quickly some other players too (?). I never expected the Player of the Year to be absolutely invisible when he was needed most or that the tournament MVP couldn’t hit a 3-pointer on a bet Florida Gulf Coast to be a thing that exists let alone to be good at basketball.

I was wrong.

I thought this team had accomplished something by winning the Mountain West Conference during the regular season and in the tournament a game over UCLA … LOL UCLA. A win over UNLV on its home floor was impressive San Diego Christian also happened. Beating San Diego State and Colorado State and Boise State and New Mexico was the sign of success because the conference and these teams were so good.

I was wrong.

Now, the mighty MWC is 1-3 in a skid mark on the underpants of the NCAA, and has not lost to any team seeded above a 13 1, which sort of makes that point moot because 1 seeds are good. It’s not like they lost to Indiana or Louisville or even Georgetown or Michigan State. No, the losses were to the traditional powerhouses of LaSalle, California, Florida Gulf Coast and Harvard. The league I thought was so good turns out to be so bad.

I was wrong.

I was disappointed when New Mexico was seeded a lowly third. I truly believed UNM would prove the committee wrong and thought that going to the Final Four was a realistic possibility. This was going to be the Year of the Lobo. New Mexico was finally going to get the credit, the respect and the attention it deserved. had several citizens arrested for stealing Sudafed. I thought that was just a bad stereotype.

I was wrong.

I thought that coach Steve Alford and athletic director Paul Krebbs were smart to announce a new 10-year contract the day before the Lobos started their march through the NCAA. No one would complain about the big dollars because UNM was on the road to glory. I could carry on this joke for this long without you getting tired of it.

I was wrong.

But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower as they were on Friday morning. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted Taco Bell Arena is a hella tough place to play probably. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM SDSU put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships probably listens to Jimmy Buffett or some shit, I’ve given up. Having all five starters Winston Shepard back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that because turnovers are bad when you are attempting to win basketball games. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.

No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo Aztecs basketball game after covering the team as an unpaid blogger for much of the last 33 two years.

Good-bye Lobo Aztecs basketball.

PS: Is that good enough for you Deadspin?? Please post a link, K THX BAI!

PPS: Please don’t sue me, Loboland. I’m basically broke already.

Redemption is a beautiful thing, isn’t it?

Heading into the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the 2012-13 San Diego State Aztecs basically had their epitaph written. They were a squad that had all the talent in the world, but just couldn’t get their shit correct. Over its final 16 games, SDSU had gone a mediocre 8-8, resulting in a demoralized fan base and a contract extension for A.J. Smith.

And then, when it mattered most, the team we were expecting all along showed up and waved its nuts in the face of a “major conference” foe.

And it was fucking pimp.

The magnitude of this win cannot be understated. Before today, the Aztecs had two wins in the NCAA Tournament ever. Both of those wins came against mid-major schools. Even though Oklahoma clearly wasn’t all that great, the Sooners are still a Big XII team. And beating a Big XII team on a stage like this matters in terms of perception.

No longer are the Aztecs mid-major pretenders. No longer are the Aztecs a program devoid of history save for one fluke season. Maybe you can say that about New Mexico (LOLOLOL, by the way), but not San Diego State.

Now, the Aztecs are just one win over something called Florida Gulf Coast away from hanging a motherfucking Sweet 16 banner. The second in three years. But more on that later.

If the theme tonight is redemption, it’s fitting that Jamaal Franklin was the star. He might be the most polarizing player to ever wear an SDSU uniform. There is a large contingent of fans who love him, and there is just as sizable a group who can’t stand him. And scores of people (including myself) are card carrying members of both factions depending on mood and alcohol intake.

Tonight, Franklin solidified his place as an Aztec player for the ages. He played though dings and a tweaked ankle to score 21 points. He played with his usual huevos, but he did so under control and with intelligence. Also those gold shoes were hella awesome so suck it Reggie Miller and Len Elmore.

And then there was James Rahon, a player who had gone from a guy with a reputation as a dead-eye sharpshooter to a guy with a reputation as someone who plays kind of good defense or whatever so get off his back already you h8r. Well tonight, Rahon the scorer resurfaced (17 points) at just the right time, keeping the Aztecs in striking distance when things threatened to get out of hand in the first half.

And let’s hope Deshawn Stephens doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. He had 11 boards (six offensive) to help the Aztecs outrebound the Sooners 36-28. Just a fantastic, gritty effort from the senior.

But it was a team win. The defense in the second half was unbelievable, holding the Sooners to one freaking field goal during a nine-minute span down the stretch. The Aztecs also hit 16-of-17 free throws, which has probably led to this reaction over on AztecMesa.

Surely, a lot of Aztec fans are now going to look at the Florida Gulf Coast matchup on Sunday and flip the fuck out. And that’s natural. Frankly, it’s kind of our way.

OMG if we lose to those nobodies, we will be a laughingstock forever and all will be lost!!!

Bullshit. With a tournament win in the bag, this season is already an unqualified success. And now, we’ll either get a win and another motherfucking banner, or we’ll get a prominent role in the forthcoming Disney movie about Florida Gulf Coast’s season starring Taylor Lautner and Nick Cannon.

One way or the other, immortality will be ours.

Ten reasons to hate SDSU’s NCAA Tournament opponent: The Oklahoma Sooners.

10. Lon Kruger is kind of a doucher

Sweet shirt, brah. Who has two thumbs and came to crush? This guy, that’s who.

9. They’re eating all the food
Oklahoma was ranked as the sixth fattest state in the union in a 2012 study. They are clearly to blame for the skyrocketing price of bacon flavored mayonnaise and Crisco bricks.

8. Chuckles
If only that crazy Alabama fan had poisoned the Stoops coaching tree by mistake …

7. Ed Harris is an alum
God he was such a dick in The Truman Show. Truman just wanted to be free, man, but did Ed Harris care? No. He wanted Truman imprisoned for the entertainment of millions, living out his pointless existence in the meaningless and fraudulent world Harris duped him into believing was real. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ED HARRIS? YOU ARE NOT GOD.

6. The war on booze
Oklahoma has some of the most restrictive alcohol laws in the country. The state enacted total prohibition in 1907, and didn’t repeal that shit until 1959. Oklahoma bars STILL can’t sell beer with for than 4 percent ABV. As someone writing this post while drinking a pint glass full of wine, I find such policies barbaric and repugnant.

5. LOL The Boz
For all the hype the Sooners’ storied program gets, this play is still Oklahoma’s most notable contribution to the game of football:

4. Awful music
Garth Brooks is from there. Also Oklahoman Bob Dunn invented the electric guitar, which makes the state directly responsible for Bon Jovi, Nickelback, and Creed.

3. Did I mention this guy?

Yes? Just checking.

2. Blake Griffin is super annoying
I guess he seems like an OK fella and he sure can execute a fine slam-dunk, but the guy is constantly trying to sell me shit that sucks. No dude, Subway is not where winners eat, unless you define winners as “people whose butts will soon resemble gas-station squeegees.” Pro-tip: Avoid the chipotle mayo. And are you really trying to convince me that a 6-foot-10 multimillionaire is cruising around in a Kia?

What a fraud. Kind of makes me enjoy watching this:

And by “kind of” I mean “totally.”

1. Because fuck them
For realz.

Huh, I honestly have no recollection of having done this last year. But who am I to deny the people what they want?

Knock yourselves out. Password is tjfredette.

The winner will get his or her choice of three fabulous prizes:

1. The last can from my 24 pack of imported craft beer.

2. My beagle-sheltie mix.*

*Lucky winner also assumes $7,000 in unpaid vet bills.

3. A plastic jug full of dead flies from Quebec (don’t ask).

Good luck!

Our podcast for the week of March 19th.

Topics: Tourneys and more tourneys!

Music:

• Intro: I Cain’t Say No by Rodgers and Hammerstein
• Outro: Fight Test by The Flaming Lips

This weeks ridiculous thread on AztecMesa:

This is a coaching problem

Like us on Facebook! View our show notes. Subscribe on iTunes, or download.

Twitter: Jhonka, AztecsKillingHim, LetsDoSomeWaving

Help us pay to host this podcast by donating below:

Leave us some feedback to prove you don’t suck: 619-78-MONTY or jhonka34@gmail.com