I reside in Albuquerque- the final stop of my military career, and have been following the local men's basketball team, the University of New Mexico Lobos since 2005 (was a season ticket holder for a few years).
Once the transfer portal started becoming an important component of building (or rebuilding/refreshing) a team, i started to keep my eye out for young players on New Mexico's roster with multiple years of eligibility remaining that might be a good fit for my Texas Aggies.
Two years ago, I identified JT Toppin for consideration. The 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year was a double double machine for the Lobos - and I was hoping that Buzz might finally bring in a talented big man to complement his guard oriented approach. I also hoped that the kid's Texas roots might lead him back to his home state. Well. It did, but it was Texas Tech that got him - and he has proven to be a very productive player for them last year and this year until he tore his ACL last month (which will likely lead to an early exit for Tech from this year's NCAAT).
Last year, Lobo PG, Donovan Dent, possibly the best point guard in the country, was my choice as a potential portal transfer target for the Aggies to focus on. However, his Riverside, CA roots likely contributed to UCLA's success in reeling him in. I don't follow UCLA as closely as I do the Aggies and Lobos and their conference foes, but noted that Dent's stat line in UCLAs defeat of Michigan State last night sure did look like a typical game for the Lobos last year - scoring 23 points on 8/19 shooting (3/5 from beyond the arc and 4/5 from the free throw line) to go with 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in 38 minutes of playing time. Impressive!
This year, I present two options for Bucky to focus on - one from my New Mexico Lobo team - and the other from the team that defeated them last night:
From the Lobos- fresman guard, Jake Hall, hailing from Carlsbad, CA just broke the Mountain West Conference freshman record for three-point shooting. The 6'4" guard is a perfect fit for Bucky Ball.
However, the guy who really intrigued me while watching last night's game is San Diego State redshirt freshman, Magoon Gwath, a 7-foot kid from Euless, Texas (my home town and high school) who can really play! He is a coordinated smooth ball handler, can obviously rebound and go strong inside - but also legitimately shoots almost 40% from three point range! Would LOVE for Bucky to convince some BMA to "sponsor" this Texas kid and get him back to Aggieland for a year or two before he moves on to the NBA.
Looking forward to what I hope will be a surprisingly good showing for what I suspect will be my tenth seeded Texas Aggies in the NCAAT.
But also looking forward to what Bucky might be able to achieve next year with a few key transfer portal additions to our team.
BTHO the bracket and everyone we play going forward!!!
Once the transfer portal started becoming an important component of building (or rebuilding/refreshing) a team, i started to keep my eye out for young players on New Mexico's roster with multiple years of eligibility remaining that might be a good fit for my Texas Aggies.
Two years ago, I identified JT Toppin for consideration. The 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year was a double double machine for the Lobos - and I was hoping that Buzz might finally bring in a talented big man to complement his guard oriented approach. I also hoped that the kid's Texas roots might lead him back to his home state. Well. It did, but it was Texas Tech that got him - and he has proven to be a very productive player for them last year and this year until he tore his ACL last month (which will likely lead to an early exit for Tech from this year's NCAAT).
Last year, Lobo PG, Donovan Dent, possibly the best point guard in the country, was my choice as a potential portal transfer target for the Aggies to focus on. However, his Riverside, CA roots likely contributed to UCLA's success in reeling him in. I don't follow UCLA as closely as I do the Aggies and Lobos and their conference foes, but noted that Dent's stat line in UCLAs defeat of Michigan State last night sure did look like a typical game for the Lobos last year - scoring 23 points on 8/19 shooting (3/5 from beyond the arc and 4/5 from the free throw line) to go with 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in 38 minutes of playing time. Impressive!
This year, I present two options for Bucky to focus on - one from my New Mexico Lobo team - and the other from the team that defeated them last night:
From the Lobos- fresman guard, Jake Hall, hailing from Carlsbad, CA just broke the Mountain West Conference freshman record for three-point shooting. The 6'4" guard is a perfect fit for Bucky Ball.
However, the guy who really intrigued me while watching last night's game is San Diego State redshirt freshman, Magoon Gwath, a 7-foot kid from Euless, Texas (my home town and high school) who can really play! He is a coordinated smooth ball handler, can obviously rebound and go strong inside - but also legitimately shoots almost 40% from three point range! Would LOVE for Bucky to convince some BMA to "sponsor" this Texas kid and get him back to Aggieland for a year or two before he moves on to the NBA.
Looking forward to what I hope will be a surprisingly good showing for what I suspect will be my tenth seeded Texas Aggies in the NCAAT.
But also looking forward to what Bucky might be able to achieve next year with a few key transfer portal additions to our team.
BTHO the bracket and everyone we play going forward!!!
