New Mexico

Aztecs learn injury fate of Magoon Gwath ahead of showdown vs. New Mexico

Published

11 months ago

February 25, 2025

Aztecs learn injury fate of Magoon Gwath ahead of showdown vs. New Mexico

As his teammates continued preparations for Tuesday night’s visit by first-place New Mexico to Viejas Arena, Magoon Gwath watched them from a padded trainer’s table in the corner while performing various exercises with his injured right knee.

He was paying close attention, watching the scout intently, cheering the 3-pointers, nearly falling off the table when Pharaoh Compton flew down the lane and threw down a ferocious two-handed dunk over 7-foot Thokbor Majak, looking very much like a guy who plans on playing again this season.

And here’s the good news for San Diego State: He very well might.

“Hyperextended knee, sprain, week to week, no surgery required,” coach Brian Dutcher summarized the results of an MRI scan and appointment with the team’s orthopedist Monday morning.

“There’s some swelling in there but it’s less than a day ago. You never know how long the rehab will take. … But I was just happy to hear that surgery is not required. That’s the main thing.”

The similarities with former Aztecs guard Matt Mitchell four years ago are striking. Both had their right knee buckle in the first half against Utah State at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Both were helped off the floor, unable to put pressure on the leg. Both feared the worst — torn ligaments, season-ending surgery.

Both were granted a reprieve after an MRI.

The difference: Mitchell injured his knee on Jan. 14, returned to the floor 10 days later and played the final 14 games of the season. Gwath’s injury happened on Feb. 22, with only four games left in the regular season.

The 7-foot redshirt freshman will miss the game against New Mexico, and Dutcher conceded it’s “probably tough” to expect him back for Saturday at Wyoming. Ten days would be March 4 at UNLV; two weeks would be March 8 at home against Nevada in the regular-season finale.

The conference tournament begins March 12. The NCAA Tournament begins March 18.

“These guys do miracles, the rehab they do, the treatment that’s available now,” Dutcher said. “So I don’t want to close the door on him being back in 10 days. But I’ll never play anybody who’s not ready to go. I err on the side of making sure they are 100% healthy before I put them out there, and I’ll do the same with Magoon. I have his best interests at heart.

“Even though I want to win games, and he’s vitally important to us winning games, I want to make sure he’s healthy because he’s got a future to think about beyond college and I think he’s on that path right now. So maybe that means the conference tournament might be the earliest. Or maybe the NCAA Tournament, if we can make it.”

That depends on what happens in the next four games. The Aztecs (18-7, 11-5) are either solidly in the 68-team field or barely hanging on, depending on which projected bracket you consult.

Field of 68 currently has them as a No. 9 seed. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has them as a 10. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has them as an 11 and headed to Dayton, Ohio, for a First Four play-in game as one of the last teams in.

Win all four of their remaining regular-season games, and the Aztecs are almost certainly in. Win three, and they could still squeak in. Win two, and they might need to claim the Mountain West tournament title in Las Vegas to guarantee a spot.

“All these games are important,” Dutcher said. “We have to find a way to play our best basketball given the situation we’re in. The kids practice hard. They haven’t given in an ounce. They compete at a high level, and they want to win. I have to get the most out of this team down the stretch.”

And that requires playing without arguably their best player over the past month. To that end, the Aztecs spent the last two days teaching 6-foot-7 Miles Byrd and 6-6 Taj DeGourville more set plays at the power forward position to allow Dutcher to go small with four guards and a post.

“We’ve played a small lineup this year in games,” said Dutcher, who used it after Gwath went down Saturday at Utah State. “It’s not something we haven’t done. We just want to make sure we can run more of our playbook with a small lineup. We’ve worked on that the last few days, having the whole playbook available with a smaller lineup. I think we made progress.”

More than any tactical tweaks, though, the Aztecs need more from Byrd, their leading scorer who has gone quiet in recent weeks while battling a series of minor injuries.

The hip issue that has bothered him over the last years has flared up again. He’s also battling a badly sprained and swollen right thumb, trying different combinations of pads and tape wraps – none of which has worked. Against Utah State, he peeled off the tape mid-game and tried that … and shot 2 of 12.

“No excuses,” Byrd said. “If you’re out there, you’re good enough to play and I need to be better. It’s as simple as that.”

Last nine games: 9.4 points, 31.4% shooting overall, 18.4% from 3 (9 of 49).

Previous nine: 16.3 points, 42.2% shooting overall, 42.4% from 3.

“You go from a guy who was maybe eighth on their scout last year to a guy who might be first or second in the scout,” Byrd said. “With that comes responsibility. I’m obviously frustrated with how I’ve been playing, but it’s not something I’m throwing a fit over. I think it’s going to come. I’ve put in a lot of work to be where I’m at, and how teams are playing me is a sign of respect.

“Teams know if I play well, we have a really good chance to win games. I’ve just got to find a way to beat their scout and beat my mind. … Without Goon, even more pressure is added. Everyone has to step up and be their best selves.”

Originally Published: February 24, 2025 at 6:54 PM PST

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New Mexico

New Mexico deserves speedier game commission appointments

Published

11 hours ago

January 9, 2026

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New Mexico deserves speedier game commission appointments

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New Mexico

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

Published

23 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

The governor sets the agenda for the session, including for the budget, so here is what they are looking at so far.

SANTA FE, N.M. — As the regular session of the New Mexico Legislature is set to begin Jan. 20, lawmakers have already filed dozens of bills.

Bills include prohibiting book bans at public libraries and protections against AI, specifically the distribution of sensitive and “Deepfake” images

Juvenile justice reform is, again, a hot topic. House Bill 25 would allow access to someone’s juvenile records during a background check if they’re trying to buy a gun.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sets the agenda and puts forth the proposed budget lawmakers will address during the session. The governor is calling for lawmakers to take up an $11.3 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which is up 4.6% from current spending levels.

Where would that money go? More than $600 million would go to universal free child care. Meanwhile, more than $200 million would go to health care and to protect against federal funding cuts.

There is also $65 million for statewide affordable housing initiatives and $19 million for public safety.

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New Mexico

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation
| Las Cruces Sun-News

After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.

It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.

Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.

Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:

Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).

What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.

That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.

With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.

New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.

But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.

Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.

What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

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