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Basketball Recruiting: October’s Been a Busy Month For New Mexico
The Lobos add Four recruits in October So Far.
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Paul Weir’s staff receives three commits for 2020, and keeps local four star home in 2021.
The month of October has been good to Dr. Paul Weir and company. The Lobos have received a total of four commitments this month with more possibly around the corner. This jump in the programs recruiting success comes just in time with the departure of several impact seniors set to graduate in May. Forwards Corey Manigault and Carlton Bragg Jr. are both seniors and as of right now Ohio State transfer guard JaQuan Lyle is too. Lyle is listed as a redshirt senior on the lobos official roster, but it is unclear if he and the coaching staff will decide to apply for a medical waiver after sitting out last season with an Achilles injury suffered in the preseason.
Add junior forward Vance Jackson to the mix who tested the NBA Draft waters last year in April. He ultimately decided to return but could do the same this spring and depending on his performance this year may not come back. That makes a possible four guys the coaching staff has to plan on replacing, not accounting for possible transfers out of the program.
Which saw a peak under Craig Neal with fourteen players opting to play for other programs. And Paul Weir has had five players leave the team during his tenure, four transfers and forward Karim Ezzedine who opted to move back to France and to begin his professional career.
The bulk of Paul Weir’s players have come by way of transfers into the program from high major conferences. Guys like Vance Jackson (UCONN), JJ Caldwell (Texas A&M), Jaquan Lyle (Ohio State), Carlton Bragg (Arizona St./Kansas) and Vante Hendrix (Utah) all come to Albuquerque after logging minutes in high major conferences. While others come from smaller schools like Zane Martin (Towson) or Antino Jackson (Akron). Weir has also dipped into the junior college ranks to recruit and grabbed impact guys like Chris McNeal (Indian Hills C.C.) and Troy Simon (Polk State) in 17-18 and Keith McGee (South Plains College) and Corey Manigault (Indian Hills C.C.) last season.
This high influx of transfers has been combined with only ten freshman (two international) over the past three seasons and has produced different results in both of Weir’s first two seasons in Albuquerque. But this looks to be the year Lobos fans have been waiting for, and it’s headlined by a group of talented seniors and juniors.
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