Vance Jackson, Lobo

by Zach

We’re alive! And so is Lobo Basketball! It’s been a crazy summer so far for the boys in cherry and silver, so we’re going to look at a few of the things going on right now.

Vance Jackson, Lobo:

Vance Jackson tweeted out that it was decision time Sunday night, which left a lot of Lobo fans staring at their phones all night hoping to see the good news. That news didn’t come that night, but unbeknownst to us, the decision was still made. Jackson had committed (and signed!) with the Lobos on Sunday night. Assistant Coach Marc Hsu had a tweet that allowed you to connect the dots a little to see what was going on, but most Lobo fans didn’t know of the decision until Jackson tweeted an article by Jeff Goodman at 10 AM on Monday. Lobo fans could both celebrate a significant recruiting win and get a glimpse at the vision for what Coach Weir and his staff are trying to build.

There are many reasons the Jackson addition is huge, but here are some of the main reasons we are excited:

  • From a basketball standpoint, Jackson is a very talented 6-8 small forward who can score in many different ways. He is a very good three-point shooter (39.7%) and has the size that will create plenty of mismatches for opposing defenses in the conference. It is very likely that Jackson will play a lot of small-ball four, but it is likely that the Lobos will have a lot of four-guard lineups (two guards, two wings or three guards, one wing). He also has the profile of a very good defensive player, something that we know Coach Weir prioritizes. Quite frankly, if he lives up to his potential, he’ll be the sort of two-way player who will cause problems for the other teams in the conference.
  • Getting Jackson elevates the talent level on the roster, which can still be a net positive for this season. While he isn’t able to play in games, he will be able to play in practice, which will elevate the level of play in practice. Jackson will improve during his redshirt season, so the player the Lobos are getting today should be even better in the fall of 2018.
  • Getting Jackson changes the momentum in recruiting, as the Lobos beat out SDSU, Washington, Rutgers, and TCU for Jackson. Beating SDSU for a player is something that has been difficult for the Lobos the last few years. If memory serves me right, Drew Gordan was the last Lobo player to pick the Lobos over SDSU. TCU is a different animal now, with Dixon and former Lobo Assistant Ryan Miller and the prestige of the Big 12 behind them. I would venture to guess that we will have a few recruiting battles with TCU in the next few seasons.
    As we have seen in the NBA and the blue blood colleges (such as Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Arizona etc.), players want to play with other talented players, meaning that Jackson could be the domino that brings even more talent to UNM. And simply from a fan’s mindset, this should snap anyone out of a defeatist attitude. After all, this is a big win for us.
  • Jackson is the first player to commit to the Lobos under Coach Weir that is a long-term piece, as every other player so far to commit to play for the Lobos have either been JuCo players that will have two years of eligibility, or a grad transfer who will have one year of eligibility. I like all the pieces that Lobos have added this offseason and the approach Coach Weir and staff have taken this offseason trying to build a competitive roster for next season, but they never tried to grab a guy that didn’t fit what they are trying to build here, and didn’t do anything to put them in a tough spot in the next recruiting cycle. So with no other freshmen or sophomores on the roster, Jackson is the foundation for the Lobos’ future.
  • The Lobos have rarely picked up a player who just transferred after their freshman season. In fact, Elijah Brown (Butler) was the first one since Reuben Douglas transferred to UNM after the 1999 season at Arizona. Jackson is different than either of those two players, since Elijah Brown had a connection with Cullen and Coach Neal, and Reuben Douglas had UNM as a finalist before going to Arizona. Jackson never had UNM on his radar as a high school player, so this is truly a win for Coach Weir and his staff.
  • In my opinion, Jackson is the best NBA prospect the Lobos have had since the 2010 recruiting class (Drew Gordan, Tony Snell, Alex Kirk and Cam Bairstow). This doesn’t mean that I think Jackson is a shoe-in to make the NBA, but he is the first player in a while that it doesn’t take many steps to see him in a NBA uniform in a couple of years.

With all that said, we can’t wait for Jackson to start playing in the fall of 2018 and see what the roster that will be surrounding him will look like.

The Roster Situation:

  • Joe Furstinger, Sr. Post
  • Sam Logwood, Sr. Wing/Forward
  • Antino Jackson, Sr. Guard
  • Dane Kuiper, Jr. Wing
  • Connor MacDougall, Rs. Jr. Post
  • Anthony Mathis, Jr. Guard
  • Chris McNeal, Jr. Guard
  • Troy Simons, Jr. Guard
  • Jachai Simmons, Jr. Wing/Forward
  • Vance Jackson, Soph. Wing/Forward (Sitting out Per NCAA Transfer Rules)

There has been a ton of turnover this offseason, which was somewhat expected but still staggering to witness. We’ll get into more specifics once all the dust completely settles (Maybe soon? Hopefully?), but suffice to say, the roster is still very much under construction.

With 10 scholarship players on the roster for next season, the Lobos have three open scholarships open for this upcoming season, which gives them plenty of options to try and fill out the roster. Plus, with the three seniors on the roster, the Lobos have six open scholarships for the next two recruiting cycles (granted, this one is almost over). Given what appears to be available, I would expect the remaining scholarships for this season to be filled by transfers, as it feels unlikely for Coach Weir to find an incoming freshman that he will believe is worth committing to for four years. My guess is that the Lobos will have at least one open scholarship this season, and at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are two open spots. Those would leave the door open for mid-year transfers, which could lead to some exciting possibilities.

This year’s recruiting class most certainly won’t be the norm, as the heavy reliance on JuCo players and grad transfers comes more out of necessity than anything else. Starting this next recruiting cycle, you will start seeing more high school targets and more long-term prospects. I’m sure Coach Weir will keep bringing in quality transfers when he has the opportunity, but I’d be surprised if the 2018 incoming class doesn’t have any freshmen in it.

Team Canada:

This summer, Coach Weir was given the opportunity to help coach the Canadian U19 team, which has many talented upcoming prospects that could consider UNM with a fellow Canadian as the head coach. After all, he’s only one in College Basketball, which is pretty cool in its own right. While I don’t expect the Lobos to get the top-10 prospects that are on the team, Coach Weir helping with Team Canada will get the Lobos in the living room for some of these players, something they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. And sometimes, that’s half the battle.