That something? He has been growing his hair past his shoulders.
He said he grew the long locks because his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 18 months ago.
Other members of the Lobo men’s basketball team got on board to help, too. Head coach Craig Neal and his son, sophomore guard Cullen Neal, have also been growing out their hair to show support for Greenwood’s family.
At Friday night’s Lobo Howl, the annual kickoff event for the basketball season, fans were greeted by a pig-tailed Craig Neal who had his hair cut off and then shaved to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
“We’re family here, and Hugh knows that and our players are like that,” Neal said.
Greenwood’s mother finished treatments and surgeries and was in remission until recently. Greenwood said it has brought his family closer, and he wants to show her how much support there is for them.
He started a fundraising campaign called Pink Pack to accept donations for breast cancer awareness. Proceeds will go to UNM Hospital for their own research.
Greenwood has been growing his hair out since before the Mountain West Conference Tournament of his sophomore year. He originally planned to shave his head at the Lobo Howl, but decided to wait until February, when college basketball has its breast cancer awareness month.
“It will be pretty long and pretty annoying by then, but I think it will be good playing on TV and playing in The Pit and people seeing the long hair and recognizing what I’m doing,” he said. “I think that’s going to be the best way to raise more money.”
He said his mother’s cancer diagnosis was one of the toughest events his family has faced.
Greenwood said he found out his mother had breast cancer the day after his graduation from the Australian Institute of Sport. His parents knew of it the morning before, but waited to tell Greenwood until after graduation.
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“It was a bit of a shock; I didn’t really know too much about it,” he said. “Looking back on it, it was pretty tough at the time. There was a lot of uncertainty, but now we know a lot about it and we’re trying to make some things happen.”
Hugh’s father, Mike Greenwood, and mother arrived in Albuquerque on Tuesday morning. They plan to stay in the States for three months to see the first half of Hugh’s senior year. They will then fly back to Australia to run tests, and if everything is cleared they will return to see the end of Hugh’s season.
Also at the Howl, Lobo faithful were able to meet the nine new players on the roster this season. Players participated in a light scrimmage, dunk contest and 3-point contest.
Freshman Sam Logwood dazzled fans as he received an alley-oop from guard Cullen Neal, who was in the stands. Logwood went on to win the dunk contest.
“He’s very athletic, that’s one reason we decided to take him late and why we recruited him so hard,” Neal said. “He’s got great size — a big athlete, big guard, plays hard.”
Elijah Brown showcased his skills in the 3-point contest, in which he beat Cullen Neal in the final round.
Craig Neal said he was impressed by the way the new players handled the Howl. He said that he likes to get his athletes accustomed to The Pit environment.
“Some of these guys have never played in crowds like that,” he said. “You’re talking about having six to seven thousand people there for a practice. It’s different for some of those guys.”
The regular season tips off on Nov. 14 against Idaho State at The Pit.
Kyle Tomasi is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
