It’s the second week of the 2018-19 season and New Mexico is 2-0. Scott Forman/The Lobo Lair
Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
With a 2-0 start and no new injuries, things are looking positive for UNM, but head coach Paul Weir is not relaxing as there are a lot of things to take care of.
Starting 2-0, chasing 3-0
The Lobos won their home opener 90-83 against Iona on Tuesday to give them their second win of the season. Click here for Iona recap.
New Mexico began last season with a 2-0 record as well, but then went on to get its first loss from the New Mexico State Aggies. That’s the team the Lobos are hosting this Saturday. Will the Lobos start 3-0 or will the Aggies once again hand them their first loss of the season?
Weir has stressed he doesn’t want a repeat of last year when New Mexico struggled through November and December. Although the Lobos won their first two official matches and their exhibition, Weir said he is being harder on this team than he was last year.
It’s easy to understand why the coach doesn’t want to let his guard down. His team is still working on some stuff including fixing some sloppy passing and improving the defense.
Recruits
The early signing period began this week for college basketball. Emmanuel Andrew, who announced his commitment to New Mexico in October, will be officially signing on Friday.
Be there !!! Green and Gold game + dunk contest+ 3pt contest pic.twitter.com/MnpNSx0xrK
— ひEmmanuel Kuac (@emmanuelkuac23) November 14, 2018
Antwan January received an offer from New Mexico in July and had an official visit in September. He made his decision on Tuesday and selected Illinois.
Drue Drinnon
Drinnon officially made his college debut on Tuesday night. The freshman was coming back from an ankle injury and was cleared to play a couple days earlier but he decided not to play during the exhibition against Northern New Mexico last weekend. Drinnon only recorded two minutes during the Iona game.
“We’re going to keep bringing him along. I don’t know exactly what that’s going to mean for Saturday,” Weir said. “I think physically he’s good. It’s just a question of the timing, the reps, the speed of the game and what’s the cost-benefit of having him out there. Not only for our team and him getting caught up, but even himself and his confidence level.”
NCAA Waiver
Carlton Bragg’s waiver to play this semester instead of waiting until December was denied last week. Weir said during Thursday’s press conference that he and his staff are filing reconsideration with the NCAA.
“Once that goes in, I guess the ball is back on their court,” the coach said. “They can either chose not to review it or hear the case and just refuse it. Or they can look at it and then make a decision one way or the other. We’re just going to keep looking at any which way we can help Carlton potentially not sit out a year and a half.
Hall of Fame
Assistant coach Jerome Robinson earned a spot in the Class of 2018 Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame. Robinson will be inducted on Dec. 1 when the Lobos make the trip to Illinois to take on Bradley during the 2018 Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.
Legends Classic
Jon Rothstein tweeted on Friday morning that New Mexico is one of four schools participating in the 2019 Legends Classic, a college basketball tournament played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.. Auburn and Richmond will also be there. There will be a fourth team added.
COMMENTS