Mountain West Conference officials released the men’s basketball MW Preseason Media Poll Tuesday afternoon, where the Lobos found themselves sitting in third place. UNM finished second in the conference behind San Diego State last season.
Head coach Craig Neal said a third-place finish is higher than he and the team would have expected.
“Being picked third, I think it’s just respect of what our program has done in eight years,” he said. “I thought we would be picked between five and seven but that’s just what we’ve done with our program and where we’ve come in eight years.”
Winning the conference tournament championship last season, the Lobos became the first program in Mountain West history to win the title three years in a row.
Senior guard Hugh Greenwood said even after losing three seniors, he is happy with where they were picked. UNM lost starting guard Kendall Williams, forward Cameron Bairstow and center Alex Kirk, all of which are playing professionally in the NBA or overseas.
“There’s obviously motivation to not be picked the winner,” he said. “You want to prove that you can win it, but this stage were focusing one game at a time and what we can control.”
In one of the more lopsided polls in recent years, San Diego State, received 34 of 35 first-place votes and was selected to come out on top of the MW. Boise State had one first-place vote for second in the poll.
The Lobos did not have any players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Those honors went to San Diego State’s Winston Shepard and Dwayne Polee II, both forwards; Boise State guard/forward Anthony Drmic; Colorado State guard Daniel Bejarano; and Wyoming forward Larry Nance Jr., who also received the Preseason Player of the Year award.
Neal said this year he wants Greenwood to be “old Hugh” who is a more scoring guard, rather than a passing guard. He said it’s now Greenwood’s chance to step up his responsibility and roll on the team.
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Greenwood said “old Hugh” is the type of player that he was before he arrived at UNM his freshman year.
“I think ‘old Hugh’ is pre-UNM, with a background of scoring,” he said. “A guy that can score and do different things. I wouldn’t take away the championships for anything but this year I am definitely looking forward to taking a bigger responsibility.”
The Lobo Howl is a chance for fans to see the new players showcase their skills. Following a brief practice and scrimmage, fans will be treated with a dunk contest and a 3-point contest to end the night.
Neal joked with Greenwood during the press conference, saying that he and his son, Cullen Neal, backed out on him with regards to shaving their heads on Friday at the Lobo Howl.
“I’ll be glad (when) Friday comes, with our Lobo Howl, so I can cut my hair,” he said. “I guess being the father of the program, I get to be the first one to get my head shaved.”
The Lobo Howl will take place Friday evening at 6 p.m. at The Pit. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
Kyle Tomasi is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
2014-15 Mountain West men’s basketball preseason poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1. | San Diego State | 383 |
| 2. | Boise State | 275 |
| 3. | New Mexico | 270 |
| 4. | UNLV | 296 |
| 5. | Colorado State | 258 |
| 6. | Wyoming | 256 |
| 7. | Fresno State | 232 |
| 8. | Nevada | 126 |
| 9. | Air Force | 102 |
| 10. | Utah State | 98 |
| 11. | San Jose State | 41 |
