After a tough, 2-1 loss on the road to 19th-ranked Texas Tech, the Lobos (0-1-0) get back to work today against Cal (1-1-0). The Golden Bears are now ranked either 19th or 21st, depending on who you ask, so they will be another tough test for the Lobos, especially on the road. They’ve already given one strong effort on the road, so there’s reason to believe that they’ll be ready for the challenge.
Author: Jono
UNM to the Big 12?
The Big 12 is planning on expanding to, um, 12 teams soon, as reported by just about everyone. So the obvious question that people are asking is which universities, exactly, will be the lucky two to find a golden ticket in their chocolate, so to speak? Lots of names have been thrown around, but what makes this round of expansion so interesting is that the Big 12 has basically opened up the floor for interested parties to nominate themselves. It made it almost irresponsible for any athletic director from a non-Power 5 university to not express interest. Because of that, the Big 12 is reportedly going to listen to the pitches of a whopping 18 universities, including UNM, before making a decision.
The Summer of Cam
August is here, which means three things: school is about to be back in session, another year of Lobo sports is about to start, and we should probably start writing again. There’s a ground to cover that is either about to happen or that occurred while we were taking our semi-unplanned summer vacation, but I figured that I’d first focus on the Lobo that I’ve found myself thinking about the most over the last two months: Cam Bairstow. You see, while I haven’t done much more than alternating between loving and hating the summer weather, Cam’s actually been out doing things.
Here’s a (probably) incomplete list of things that camp has done in just the past couple of months:
- As he did last year, Cam hosted a basketball camp for local kids. He didn’t do it alone, though, as there were a lot of familiar faces involved:
So, not only is he giving back to our community, he’s also proving to be quite adept at bringing generations of Lobo basketball players back together.
- Speaking of local kids, Cam did something that at least slipped under my radar a little bit: he started sponsoring the AAU club formally known as the Danny Granger Hurricanes. I actually found out about this when I happened to be on the same plane as the club a few weeks ago as they were heading to their first tournament under their new, aussified name: the Bairstow Boomers. I think that we’d all like to see more high-level basketball players come out of our state, and Cam being a part of this will only help that cause.
- After the basketball camp, he organized the Battle of the Rio Grande, where Lobo and Aggie Alums played each other to demonstrate which one is the superior basketball program in the state. The Lobo Alums won, naturally, 102-97.
- Right before Cam did all of this in Albuquerque, he had a sudden career change when he was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Detroit Pistons for Spencer Dinwiddie. It looked like he was going to have the opportunity to earn a spot on the roster until the Pistons signed the hilariously large man that is Boban Marjanović, which overcrowded their frontcourt and left Cam as the odd man out. He was released by the team shortly thereafter.
- That didn’t keep Cam down for long though. Just over a week later, and after apparently fielding several offers to play all over the world, he signed with his hometown team, the Brisbane Bullets. For their part, the Bullets seem almost beside themselves that they were able to get him, calling the signing “one of the biggest signings in National Basketball League (NBL) history” and “not only a massive coup for the club, but also the NBL” in their press release. I think that this is awesome for Cam, as not only does he get to play for the team he grew up watching, he’ll actually get to play a lot, which will likely do more for his development as a player, and be more fun, than sitting on the bench most games. As an added bonus, he gets to face his old coach later this month, when the Bullets play an exhibition game against UCLA. Go Bullets.
- Oh, and on top off all of this, he made the Australian Olympic team.
https://twitter.com/cbairstow41/status/761727663723712512
Not a bad way to cap off a busy summer.
There’s an underlying context to all of this that makes it somewhat amazing to me that I’ve paid so much attention to Cam this summer. After all, just five years ago, I’m not sure that any of this seemed likely to happen. Cam was that really tall Aussie who only managed to get limited action his first couple of seasons at UNM and was somewhat of an afterthought going into his junior year. We all know what happened after that. By the end of his senior year, he transformed himself into one of the best college basketball players in the country and muscled his way into being drafted by the Chicago Bulls.
Cam’s story is a perfect example of why I love college sports. We get to watch the players grow up, we get to know them, and then, when everything is said and done, we end up being so proud of them and celebrate all their successes. And while it’s great to root for a hometown kid, college sports somehow make it where even a kid from Brisbane, Australia can become a New Mexican.
Premature Thoughts on the Men’s Basketball Schedule
As we’re in a bit of a lull in terms of Lobo news, the release of the men’s basketball schedule for next year is a welcome sight (you can find it here). Also because we’re in a bit of a lull, we might as well overanalyze the schedule now. Of course, these thoughts should be taken with the usual caveat that we’re still five months away from any meaningful basketball being played, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what any of these teams will really look like in the future. Will basketball even still be played in the future? Probably!
Track and Field Outdoor Championships Preview
Starting this afternoon, hundreds of athletes will converge on Eugene, Oregon to compete in the NCAA D1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Among those athletes will be 10 Lobos, all of whom will be looking to cap off their great seasons – and in some cases, collegiate careers – with a strong showing against the best that college track and field has to offer. Simply making to the championships is impressive enough in its own right, but several of these Lobos have good shots at earning a spot as a first-team All-American.
How to Destroy Your Basketball Program in 7 Easy Steps
Dear intrepid athletic director, are you tired of this whole basketball thing? Are you sick of the effort it takes to field a competitive team, year in and year out? Well, have I got news for you! Thanks to the tireless research performed by the athletic department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a new, state-of-the-art method has been developed that can decimate even the most proud of basketball programs. Yes, even those with a National Championship in their past! So without further ado, here are the 7 easy steps to destroy your basketball program:
Jalen Harris Signs with the Lobos
He committed over the weekend, but Jalen Harris to the Lobos didn’t become official until yesterday, when he put ink to paper and – more importantly – announced his signing on Twitter. The point guard out of Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina takes up the last available scholarship and should help fill the void left by Cullen Neal’s transfer to Ole Miss. By the sounds of it, he’s a quick, pass-first point guard who is willing to score when needed, which sounds like a great fit for the Lobos. With those abilities, if he can get up to speed quickly, he should see plenty of action next season. So, what does his signing mean to the team as a whole?
Men’s Basketball: Players of the Game Results
Now that the NCAA Tournament is over and the dust is starting to settle, it seems as good a time as any to start looking back on this Lobo basketball season to take stock of the highs and lows they experienced, and ultimately start to get an idea of what the future might hold. First things first, we spent the entire season giving out points to the top players of each game, so it seems like we should probably see how that ended up going.
Cullen Neal to Transfer
News got out this morning that Cullen Neal has made the decision to transfer from the Lobos and play his two remaining college seasons elsewhere. Recently, there were rumblings about this potentially happening, so it’s not particularly surprising, but it is really disappointing to see. And maybe the worst part about it is that his decision is completely understandable.
Men’s Basketball vs. Nevada (MWCT) Recap
In college basketball, March brings about something that can go missing in February: hope. Teams that underperformed and teams that were overmatched earlier in the season are given one last chance to fulfill a dream and to make the NCAA Tournament. However, for 283 teams, that dream dies and each program is left trying to figure out what went wrong and where to go from there. Unfortunately, the Lobos are one of those teams. With their 64-62 loss to Nevada, their season is over and what could be a tumultuous offseason begins.