UNM senior forward Tony Danridge suffered a broken leg during a pickup game Thursday night. I'm working on getting more details. You can check out Lobo Zone throughout the day for updates.

Posted by ilimon at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I meant to clarify earlier that Nate Garth will not be visiting the Lobos this weekend. He will be on his official visit next weekend. Isaiah Rusher and Will Brown are scheduled to visit the same weekend and watch UNM take on BYU for homecoming. When I spoke with Garth this week, he told me his visit would be this weekend. Obviously, his plans changed. Not to knock Sacramento State, but I think the BYU game will make for a more entertaining visit. The recruits may as well learn now just how much Lobo fans hate BYU.

There still be a shirts-and-skins game today around 4 p.m. The game is in The Pit, free and open to the public.

Posted by ilimon at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mountain West Conference released its TV coverage for the 2007-08 men's basketball season. You can view the complete schedule on the Mountain West Conference Web site. My very quick (don't hold me to it because I counted real fast) tally indicates the Lobos will be on The Mountain, CSTV or Versus 19 times this season. It seems like a pretty good number if you have access to those channels. No word yet on how many non-conference games will be broadcast on other channels with wider distribution.

Posted by ilimon at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before I forget, I need to tell men's basketball fans that they can catch Houston recruiting analyst Jimmy Hicks interviewing future Lobo Phillip McDonald and his family from 8-9:30 p.m. Mountain time Monday on a Web broadcast streamed live online at RCSSports.com. Fans can call and ask questions using a toll free number posted on Hicks site. Hicks is really excited about the interview, and he said he would love to hear from Lobo fans during the show.

Posted by ilimon at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Steve Alford told me when we first chatted in August he wanted to stay hot on the recruiting trail. It looks like he's living up to the goal right now.

Nate Garth, a Dallas-area 6-foot-3 point guard who previously had committed to play for Tubby Smith at Minnesota, orally committed to the Lobos. I spoke with a few of his coaches who confirmed Garth's decision and am still working the phones for a complete story. You can visit keep checking Lobo Zone for a story within the hour.

Now people around here seem pretty adamant about figuring out who breaks each recruiting story. I'm not sure who was the first to report the news, since it seemed to exploding everywhere all at once. I was at football practice when it went down. If I had to guess, I would say The Red Menace was the first to post a bulletin.

Posted by ilimon at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm back.

While I was gone, it sounds like Phillip McDonald had a very nice visit to UNM. McDonald, the Texas hoops star who everyone says is capable of transforming a program, made his official trek to Albuquerque this weekend.

His older brother, Terrance Hatton, is fielding as many calls as possible for McDonald to protect him from all the recruiting craziness. Hatton told me they loved the weather, the people, the coaches and the atmosphere. So it was all A's for the Lobos on that front. Hatton also said McDonald noticed Danny Granger watching the shirts and skins game and thought it was really cool Granger would come back to visit his old school.

So four other schools are still in the McDonald hunt -- Oregon, Kansas, Oklahoma and UConn. It's a tough lineup, but the Lobos have put their best foot forward.

Posted by ilimon at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I talked with Terrance Hatton, Phillip McDonald's older brother, to confirm McDonald is still making his official visit to UNM this weekend, and he confirmed McDonald will be in Albuquerque Friday through Sunday.

There was a lot of controversy when some Lobo fans greeted recruits at the airport in the past. Sometimes the recruits loved seeing them and other times it scared them. So I asked Hatton how McDonald would react to Lobo fans going nuts upon his arrival. He said McDonald is pretty laid back, but he doesn't mind the attention. Hatton reads fan Web sites and local newspapers, so he already warned his younger brother he will be getting a lot of attention. And Hatton said McDonald will enjoy the spotlight.

So go ahead and cheer without worrying you're chasing him away.

Posted by ilimon at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peripatetic Darrington Hobson has found a home. It's not Pepperdine, the first school he committed to in the recruiting process. It's not UNM, the school he signed with during the recruiting process. It's not UNLV, the school where it was rumored he would magically walk on after the NCAA Clearinghouse wouldn't approve his paperwork.

Hobson is enrolled at College of Eastern Utah, where he will be playing on the same team as his cousin. Once he gets started with classes, he has to complete his associate's degree before he can transfer to a Division I school. It typically takes two years to complete the degree.

Posted by ilimon at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Coach Steve Alford has ended the suspense and confirmed Darrington Hobson won't be coming to UNM this semester. It's still unclear whether Hobson will go to junior college or try to wiggle his way in at UNLV. It seems like the JC route is his best bet to get clearance, then he can pick his next school.

I think it might be best if the Lobos just walk away from him now, but lots of people are still drooling over his potential. With so many other strong recruits listening to offers from Alford, I don't think the Lobos have to settle for someone who had so much trouble getting into school. We may hear more from Alford on the subject later today, but he's at a golf tournament in Santa Fe right now (I told you this coach loves his golf).

Now Lobo fans have been pestering me to write about some basketball player who is visiting Friday through Sunday. They say he's important. They say he's a really big deal. Meh.

Just kidding. Phillip McDonald is getting the royal treatment from Lobo fans, who are just beside themselves he's coming this week. And yes, he's really, really coming for his official visit. If you want to catch a glimpse of the boy wonder, you should be at the Sunport around 3:30 p.m. Friday. Just look for the big crowd in red near the security entrance. You also can check out a shirts and skins scrimmage in The Pit Saturday two hours before the New Mexico State game. McDonald does have other visits lined up, so Lobo fans are begging their comrades to show up in force.

Posted by ilimon at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I just confirmed Darrington Hobson is still not enrolled at UNM. The coaches expected to have an update as soon as this week, so I wanted to keep tabs on his status. The longer this drags out, the more likely it seems he will start school in December because it would be challenging to catch up on class work.

Posted by ilimon at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

UNM head men's basketball coach Steve Alford and his top assistant, Craig Neal, will be out of the office for a few days this week to hit the golf course.

No, they're not kicking back and celebrating their work on the recruiting trail.

They are participating in the Neal-Delagrange Golf Classic, a celebrity golf tournament Neal co-founded in Fort Wayne, Ind. The tournament has little overhead and the proceeds benefit a variety of children's charities. The event has raised more than $600,000 during the past five years. This year a big chunk of the change raised will go to Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Alford and Neal must like golf. They're planning a golf-related meet-and-greet with UNM fans before the basketball season. The coaches are still hammering out the details, but I'll post more info as soon as they settle on the details.

Posted by ilimon at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wrote a story for Saturday's Trib about men's basketball recruiting. I wanted to take a quick step band and actually ask coach Steve Alford about his approach to recruiting. I also wanted to include a 2008 recruiting list, which I needed as much, if not more, than fans to get a clear picture of who the Lobos are courting. I know the list of guys they talked to is huge, but I tried to go with the 12 that are either really into the Lobos or the Lobos are really pursuing.

During my research, I learned that Nate Garth isn't a hot prospect for the Lobos. They'd love to have him, but he's shopping around and isn't looking that hard at UNM. Of course, that could change.

The big prize remains Phillip McDonald. I think the commitments UNM has will most certainly stick if McDonald commits to the Lobos. He will be here the weekend of the New Mexico State football game, Sept. 7-9, but he also has some official visits lined up to other schools.

Posted by ilimon at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Linz has done something unprecedented.

The Arrogant One has asked readers for ... help!

He actually wants your opinion. The Linz is searching for a suitable nickname for new UNM men's basketball coach Steve Alford. I've heard some of the candidates (Steve Un-Alfordable) and The Linz really, really needs your help. This nickname matters. It will be repeated hundreds of times, so give it some thought and fire away. You can post suggestions in the comments section of the link to the Linz's story or in the comments section of this blog. You also can e-mail Richard Stevens at rstevens@abqtrib.com.

Posted by ilimon at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Does UNM have more than one men's basketball team?

It's starting to feel like the Lobos are stocking up on enough recruits to fill, like, five or six teams.

Tons of sites, including The Red Menace, are reporting Curtis Dennis has orally committed to the Lobos. I still have not been able to corner Dennis for a phone interview, but I'm certain it's true because it has been so widely reported by so many different sources.

During my research, a few red flags popped up. Dennis has moved a lot. He has high school stops in New York, two different schools in Houston and he may move to yet another school in Nevada this coming year. That can be a really sticky issue for the NCAA Clearinghouse, as Darrington Hobson is figuring out right now. It doesn't help that Dennis' stops have included charter schools, where the impression is that the emphasis is on basketball and not school. Of course, some really awesome basketball players come out of those schools. So if the coaches can work out all the paperwork, he could another coup for the Lobos.

Posted by ilimon at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Red Menace first reported Will Brown committed to the Lobos while I was out of town last week at a conference. I called and called and called his cell phone when I got back, but it kept going to voicemail. He probably had dozens of messages from me. Brown called me back yesterday, and I wrote a story about his decision for today's Tribune. It turns out he was moving to Florida and the battery on his cell phone couldn't hold a charge.

Brown is the latest big man with Texas ties eager to follow assistant coach Chris Walker to UNM. He played on the T-Mac All-Stars and he is rated a Top 125 recruit by a whole bunch of recruiting services. He obviously would be a very strong addition to the Lobos' lineup, but I wonder if the transfer to a prep school will raise any eyebrows with the NCAA Clearinghouse. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Posted by ilimon at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I met with Steve Alford Monday to introduce myself as the Trib's new men's basketball beat writer. It was good to chat and get started on the right foot. Based on our conversation, I wrote a story for today's Trib that Darrington Hobson and Kem Nweke may not be cleared to play this year. Hobson is still waiting on approval from the NCAA Clearinghouse, while some poor grades may trip up Nweke.

Alford said he thinks Hobson will get approved, but he isn't sure what will happen with Nweke. The team won't begin the fall semester basketball workouts for about 10 days while all the newcomers get their NCAA paperwork sorted out. While Alford's fast and furious recruiting helped the team in the long-run, I think it's been a bit of a nightmare for the UNM compliance office making sure everyone is ready to go. Here is a link to the updated men's basketball roster on the UNM athletics Web site. It does not include Hobson because he hasn't been approved by the clearinghouse.

While I was chatting with Alford, he apologized for his crowded office space. He has been on the road recruiting and taking care of so many other things that he still hasn't unpacked all the boxes in his office. Maybe he'll get around to that at some point. Maybe not. When Kentucky men's Billy Gillespie was still at UTEP, a TV crew came to film the Miners watching Selection Sunday at his home. Gillespie is a bachelor and basketball junkie, so everyone had to avoid the Christmas tree still set up in his living room in March. I give the guy credit for actually setting up a Christmas tree.

I'm curious how the new and old players will mesh on Alford's team, but I did get a glimpse of the coaching staff bonding. Alford, Craig Neal, Chris Walker and Ryan Miller played full-court two-on-two at the practice facility. They aren't exactly racing up and down the floor like would have 10 years ago, but they were still pretty entertaining to watch. Alford's shot is still as smooth as ever. I don't understand why anyone would ever double Neal on pick-and-roll and leave Alford open, but it happened a few times. And Alford talks a lot of smack. Clean trash talk, but trash talk nevertheless. It'll be interesting to see if his teams play with that much fire and intensity.

Posted by ilimon at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)