As criticism continues to mount against Craig Neal and the New Mexico Lobos, especially on the team's current four-game losing streak, the negativity seems to be taking its toll on player performance.
Neal said Thursday afternoon that he sensed some of the external noise about the team, and references to the coach being “on the hot seat,” has affected his players. Several players are active on Twitter, so it’s often difficult to avoid the comments, he said.
Being a young team, Neal said, players never experienced that before since most found success in the high school ranks.