The New Mexico State hydra of bigs

While most WAC teams struggle to land an at least adequate center, New Mexico State's roster is overflowing with talls.

Try:

* 6-foot-11 senior Hamidu Rahman -- out of American Christian School in New Jersey

* 6-foot-10 sophomore Tshilidzi Nephawe -- out of South Africa, he finished up with two seasons at Stoneridge Prep in southern California

* 7-foot-5 freshman Sim Bhullar -- out of Toronto, Canada, he finished up with a year at Huntington Prep in West Virginia

Plus there is this pair, although each is officially listed as a forward:

*  6-foot-11 junior B.J. West -- out of Louisiana who finished up at God's Academy in Dallas

* 6-foot-10 sophomore Renaldo Dixon -- out of Toronto, Canada who finished up at Christian Faith Academy in North Carolina

So how did this big and tall collection come to be?

PTW isn't sure who on the Aggie staff was responsible for securing Rahman.

Nephawe may have been seen by Coach Marvin Menzies during a trip to Africa but the young man also wasn't hard to find by being in southern California.

Bhullar is out of Canada as is Renaldo Dixon so it seems major credit should go to now Associate Head Coach Paul Weir, himself a Canadian native.

With West, who knows who got first sight of him.

We believe Nephawe will be the starter for the Aggies, with he and Rahman seeing the most time in the middle. Bhullar is simply an unknown at this point. His stated goal is to get to the pros in two seasons but that period of time is uber-optimistic if the intended target is the NBA or a top flight overseas squad. West was the stronger rebounder and shotblocker while Dixon displayed a longer shooting range as both averaged around 10 minutes a game during the 2010-11 season.

Is there some sort of commonality among the quintet (besides height)?

Prep school enrollment, whether it be of the secondary or post secondary version, appears to be a connection as each player last attended a prep school of sorts.

Some schools won't bother going after kids from certain prep schools or talent who made up for earlier academic deficiencies in a relative short period of time, sensing that their particular college academic requirements will prevent an enrollment from taking place. PTW has no idea what situation each of this quintet faced coming out of high school but it's readily apparent Menzies and his staff have done the job in getting them these talents on the floor and producing.

Hey, Louisiana Tech and Fresno State could really use an in-the-middle loaner for this season. Say West or Dixon for a favor to be repaid later?

* By the way, 6-foot-11 Antwond Roshell is no longer on the roster in Ruston and PTW believes he had a senior season of eligibility remaining. It looks like he is on the roster at D-2 Southern Indiana.