Dec. 15, 2006
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team traveled to Laguna-Acoma High School today for an open practice and autograph session with Lobo fans in the area. The Lobos held and hour practice session that was open to the public, followed by a half-hour meet-and-greet with those in attendance.
“Being only 45 miles from Albuquerque, Laguna has always been a very strong supporter of the Lobos,” stated Jerry Smith, President of the Laguna Development Corporation. It’s great that the team was able to come out here today. We really do appreciate all of their efforts. The community and the kids here have always dreamed about playing college ball. One of the things that we want to do is use the resources that we have available to us to try to connect the community with UNM. Hopefully one of these days we will have one of our kids playing Lobo basketball.”
“We are privileged to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves,” stated UNM head coach Ritchie McKay. “Anytime we have a chance to go into the local community to show some love and invest in a young person’s life, it is a blessing. We have great young people in our program, so it is neat to see how easy and natural this is for them.”
“Basically, today was all about giving back to the community,” stated Lobo junior J.R. Giddens. “This might be the only chance these kids get to see a college team up close. Today we got to interact with them and it was just as much fun for us as it seemed to be for them.”
The Lobos next hit the court on Saturday, December 16, against North Carolina A&T at 1:00 p.m. (M.S.T.). Saturday is Youth Day at The Pit with all Youth Tickets going for just $5. Call (505) 925-LOBO or click here for more information or to purchase tickets. The Lobos also play two more home games in the next five days, taking on Longwood on Sunday, December 17, at 6:00 p.m. and Charleston Southern on Tuesday, December 19, at 7:00 p.m. at The Pit.