Dent, Joseph and Pitino Earn NABC All-District Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team had three individuals honored Tuesday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the NABC All-District Teams were announced. Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph were named first team All-Mountain District, while Richard Pitino was the Mountain District Coach of the Year.

The NABC Mountain District consists of all Division I teams from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

Dent earned first-team NABC All-District honors for the second consecutive season. The 2024-25 Mountain West Player of the Year, he is the first player in conference history to average 20 points and six assists in league play. He became the 14th player in NCAA history to record 600 points and 200 assists in the regular season, and is in the top 15 nationally in scoring (20.6) and assists (6.4).

Joseph earned his third selection to a NABC All-District first-team, having been also honored in 2022 and 2023 while at Iona. A first-team All-Mountain West honoree, he is the only player in the conference and one of 11 players nationally averaging a double-double this season, at 14.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. He ranks 10th nationally this season with 16 double-doubles.

Pitino earned his second NABC District Coach of the Year honor, as he also earned recognition in 2017 while at Minnesota. The Mountain West Coach of the Year, he led the Lobos to the regular season title at 17-3, tying the Mountain West record for conference wins in a season. Pitino has led UNM to 26 wins this season and its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Lobos (26-7) are the No. 10 seed in the South Region in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will begin play Friday with a first round matchup with No. 7 seed Marquette. The game, played at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, will tip off at 7:25 pm ET (5:25 pm MT) and air on TBS.