Dec. 4, 2004
This week’s featured Lobo is sophomore Ryan Wall. Ryan is in his second year on the New Mexico men’s basketball squad. A native of Coppell, Texas, Wall is a 6-0 point guard who is a skilled passer and a fiery competitor. So far this season, Wall is playing the back-up role for the Lobos at the point guard position. He has seen action in five games this year, averaging 5.4 minutes in those contests. Although his playing time has been limited, Wall has shown fans that he is capable of stepping in when needed. He pushes players in practice and is a valuable member of the squad. A 2004 member of the Academic All-Mountain West Conference team, Ryan is majoring in Management.
Here are some of the questions you submitted for sophomore Ryan Wall.
Q: Hello Ryan, who would you compare your game to now that you are a Lobo? (Brad – Mineral Wells, Texas)
RW: Well Brad, my favorite player is Steve Nash, so I would probably compare my game to his.
Q: Ryan, are you completely healed from the stress fracture you had leading into the season? (Mike S. – Albuquerque)
RW: No, not really. It has its days where it doesn’t bother me, but then there are days when it does. It has its good days and bad days, but it is a lot better than it was this summer.
I was wondering, what do you think of Danny Granger on and off the court? (Scotty Granger – New Orleans, La.)
RW: He is our leader. He keeps everybody together both on and off the court.
Hey Ryan Wall, good job so far this season. I wanted to know if you have had any embarrassing moments as a Lobo? (Sammi – Rio Rancho, N.M.)
RW: I don’t know. I haven’t had any yet, but I will let you know.
How badly do you think Colleyville will beat Coppell in the upcoming high school basketball season? (Jason Carter – Dallas, Texas)
RW: What’s up Jason…Well, I only lost to Colleyville once, so I am going to have to say Coppell will win by 15. It will be a good game though.
Hey Ryan, congrats on making Academic All-Mountain West Conference, keep up the good work in the classroom. Now that the team has a few games in the book, how do you think that you will do in conference and do you think an NCAA trip is possible this season? (Fred Gracon – Coppell, Texas)
RW: I think we have a good chance at going to the tournament this year. We actually have a pretty good chance at winning the conference, I think. Hopefully all goes well and we keep winning.
Ryan, you look much stronger this season. Can you tell us what your workout regiment consisted of during the off-season? (Shane – Albuquerque)
RW: I lifted a lot this summer with strength coach Aaron Day. I ate a lot more and when I did eat it was later at night than normal.
Why is it such a rivalry against the Aggies and how many games have you won against them?
RW: I am actually 2-1 against them now. The rivalry is so big mainly because it is two in-state universities playing against each other.
Hi Ryan. Since you are now a sophomore, do you feel the same pressures you felt last season? (Christina – Auburn, Wash.)
RW: No, I think I have matured a little bit. I got a little experience last year and hopefully it will help me through the season.
What is your favorite thing about playing in The Pit?
RW: The fans, I really love their support. It is so loud in there and that gets us going.
What is your favorite thing about New Mexico?
RW: The weather here is a lot better than it is in Texas. There is no humidity here and I like that.
What is the biggest strength of this year’s team?
RW: Our togetherness, and we are a lot better defensive team than we were last year. We are also a lot deeper. Last year we used five or six players where as this year we can use nine or ten players.
What will be the biggest challenge for this year’s team?
RW: Adversity. When adversity hits, how are we going to handle it? Our biggest challenge will be overcoming it.