Nov. 2, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The University of New Mexico opens its exhibition season Saturday when its hosts New Mexico Highlands. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., from the The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque.
Another exhibition contest follows on Saturday, Nov. 12, against Seattle Pacific, the alma mater of Lobos head coach Ritchie McKay. The 103rd regular season of New Mexico basketball gets underway Nov. 18-20 as UNM hosts the Jim Thorpe Classic. Ole Miss, South Carolina State and Southern Utah will be in town for the round-robin tournament that features three games in as many days for all four participants.
The South Carolina State affair will be game No. 2,200 for New Mexico since the first encounter on Feb. 2, 1900.
TICKETS – Season tickets are on sale at the UNM athletic ticket office at The Pit through Friday, Nov. 18. Individual game tickets are available at the following: online at unmtickets.com, by calling (505) 925-5858, at the UNM athletic ticket office at The Pit, at the box office at the UNM Bookstore and at all Oshman’s and Raley’s stores.
Ticket office hours at The Pit are 8:30-5 Monday through Friday. For Saturday games, the box office opens three hours before tipoff. Call (505) 925-5626 for more information.
SEASON NO. 103 – The 2005-06 season is the 103rd in school history. The Lobos first laced up the hightops on Feb. 2, 1900, when they lost 8-6 to the Albuquerque Guards. While this season is actually the 105th anniversary of that inaugural year, UNM did not field a team for various reasons in 1900-01, 1903-04, 1917-18 and 1920-21.
The Lobos have been on the hardwoods continuously since the 1921-22 season and have compiled an all-time record of 1,232-967 (.560). New Mexico was 418-495 (.458) from 1900-62, but has gone 814-472 (.633) over the past 43 seasons, an average of nearly 19 wins per year. The Lobos have made 27 trips to the postseason during that span, including 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 16 showings in the NIT.
EXPERIMENTAL RULES – The NCAA Basketball Rules Committee stated that all certified games (previously “exempt” games) that occur before January 1, 2006, will be required to use the following experimental rules in at least one exhibition game (Seattle Pacific) and in the Jim Thorpe Classic:
1) Moving the 3-point line 1 foot beyond the current line to create a new distance of 20 feet, 9 inches.
2) Widening the free-throw lane by 1 foot on each side.
3) Placing a restricted area arc which is to be 3 feet from the center of the basket.
LOBOS PREDICTED FOR 5TH-PLACE FINISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST – New Mexico was picked to finish fifth in the 2005-06 Mountain West Conference race during the league’s preseason media gathering last month in Salt Lake City. Voters were a combination of head coaches and media. UNM was picked to finish fourth in 2004-05, but ended up second behind Utah.
EXHIBITION HISTORY – The Lobos have been playing exhibition games since the 1972-73 season. UNM has a 50-5 all-time record, 45-5 in The Pit. Last year, UNM defeated Eastern New Mexico (99-67) and Sul Ross State (94-63). Average attendance for 50 home exhibition games is 15,227.
NEW DIGS FOR LOBO HOOPS – Groundbreaking for the new practice facility and coaches’ office for UNM men’s and women’s basketball began last May and should be completed in the next four to eight weeks. The $4.2 million project was funded by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and members of the state legislature during the 2004 and 2005 legislative sessions.
The UNM Board of Regents announced last month that the facility will be called the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center, in honor of the current Lobos’ athletics director, who announced his retirement effective Aug. 31, 2006. Davalos has been the AD at UNM since November of 1992.
The new facility was designed by the Albuquerque architectural firm of Molzen-Corbin & Associates. The general contractor is The Jaynes Corporation of Albuquerque.
“We want to express a sincere debt of gratitude to Governor Richardson and those in the state legislature who supported the governor in funding this project,” said Davalos. “The facility will be a tremendous asset to our men’s and women’s programs.”
The facility will provide more than 26,000 square feet. In addition to the practice court and offices, the complex will have coaches’ locker rooms, a video room, computer lab, hospitality area with a caterer’s kitchen, media workroom and a stylish lobby entrance that will showcase the rich history and strong tradition of the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“It’s awesome, absolutely awesome,” said men’s head coach Ritchie McKay. “For Governor Richardson to see fit to fund this facility for the benefit of Lobo basketball and the entire UNM Athletics Department is greatly appreciated. This will be a great addition for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs at New Mexico.”
UNM VS. NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS – The two schools meet for the 30th time since the first encounter on Jan. 15, 1910. The Lobos have a 25-4 lead, including an 86-59 victory in The Pit on Nov. 24, 2003. The last nine games have been played in Albuquerque, dating to 1948. The Cowboys’ last win in the series was Jan. 29, 1929, a 31-30 decision in the Duke City.
MORE ON HIGHLANDS – The Cowboys were 11-17 last year. They were picked to finish third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference West Division as they garnered two first-place votes. Mesa State and Fort Lewis were chosen ahead of NMHU.
Senior forward Robert Franklin was picked as a first-team all-RMAC selection. Franklin averaged 19.2 points and 9.6 rebounds a game in 2004-05. Franklin and senior guard Tim Thompson were selected to the preseason All-West Division team. Thompson averaged 17.3 points and 2.6 assists per game last year.
Greg Berry begins his first year as head coach. Berry spent the majority of his coaching career at New Mexico State, serving during all or part of 13 seasons as an assistant coach while working under four different head coaches. Berry also worked as NMSU’s head softball coach for five seasons and still stands as the winningest coach in that sport in school history.
LOBO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay – Ritchie McKay begins his fourth season in charge of Lobo hoops and his 10th year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is easily McKay’s best season, surpassing a 19-11 ledger at Colorado State in 1998-99. The Lobos won the MWC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. It was McKay’s first trip to the Big Dance.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02). He has a career record of 133-128, 50-39 at New Mexico. In three years at UNM, McKay is 42-12 at home, 31-16 in non-conference games, 26-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-9 in road/neutral games. He is 19-23 in MWC games, 16-5 at home and 3-18 on the road.
2005-06 PERSONNEL PICTURE – The Lobos return eight lettermen, including two starters, from last year’s team that finished 26-7, won the MWC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Chad Toppert, a redshirt last season, gives the Lobos nine players total returning from 2004-05.
The biggest loss from a year ago is Danny Granger, the 17th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, going to the Indiana Pacers. The versatile 6-8 forward led the team in scoring (18.8 ppg), rebounding (8.9 rpg), blocks (2.0 bpg) and steals (2.1 spg). He was an All-American (AP honorable mention, Basketball Times 3rd Team), two-time first team All-MWC and the 2005 MWC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Other starters lost include Alfred Neale and Troy DeVries, both who are playing professionally as well. The trio of Granger, DeVries (11.0 ppg) and Neale (10.3) combined to average 40.1 points a game. Additionally, they were the top 3-pointer shooters on the team, making a combined 43% (197-of-455) of their attempts.
Other lettermen not returning are 6-7 forward Bambale Osby, 6-0 guard Ryan Wall and 6-9 forward Sean Phaler. Osby, Wall and Phaler all decided to transfer following the 2005 season.
Returning starters include senior forward David Chiotti (10.4 ppg) and senior guard Mark Walters (10.5 ppg). Senior Kris Collins, who started 18 games before being sidelined with a foot injury, senior Jeff Hart, junior Kellen Walter and sophomores Tony Danridge, Blake Harden and Darren Prentice are also be back.
McKay and his staff welcome six new faces to the team in 2005-06, three junior college transfers (Joel Box, Kyle Prochaska and Anthony Teague), two freshmen (Daniel Faris and Ryan Kersten) and a Division I transfer from Kansas (J.R. Giddens eligible in 2006-07).