With the likes of Danny Granger, Ruben Douglas, Tony Snell and others highlighting the first ever Lobo All-Star game it was a chance that other former Lobos didn’t want to say no to.
Fans will get to see some of the best Lobo players in the history of the program this Sunday at The Pit.
Kendall Williams said he would’ve helped former teammate Cameron Bairstow run his camp, regardless if there was an All-Star game or not. When Bairstow said there was going to be an All-Star game between Lobo greats, it was just an added bonus for Williams.
“The decision was easy. It’s Cam’s event and it’s the first event just supporting his camp would’ve been enough to get me here,” Kendall Williams said. “Then he told me I get to play with a bunch of past Lobos. My feelings are that I’m very excited to participate in it.”
Cameron Bairstow, who now plays professionally for the Chicago Bulls, said he it’s nice to reconnect with his old teammates like Williams and Alex Kirk. Snell was also a teammate of Bairstow’s during his playing days at UNM, but both play together in Chicago.
“It’s very exciting. It’s something that I think is a great idea to get a group of guys back together like it’s sort of a reunion,” he said. “We got a mix of young and old guys that might know of each other but not necessarily played with.”
All-Star games are not known for their competitiveness. In the NBA All-Star game, the players usually don’t try as hard on defense or hustle in general. The pace will start out slow but it will pick up after the feeling out process is done, Williams said.
“It’s just going to be one giant pickup game. It will start slow because there are too many good players,” he said. “There’s a lot of basketball knowledge around there and an incredible amount of talent, and it will end up living up to the expectations that people came for.”
Both Dariese Gary and Williams said they are looking to playing against Ruben Douglas, who played at UNM from 2000-03 after a year at Arizona. Douglas was one of the most prolific scorers in Lobo history and in 2002-03 led the nation with a 28-points-per-game average.
Douglas hasn’t played professionally since 2012 when he played for the Turkish league.
“I’m looking forward to playing with everybody,” Gary said. “I’ve never experienced playing with Ruben Douglas, but I’m excited that I’ll get to play with him. I’m excited just to see everybody and be on the court with everyone again.”
Williams said it’s an opportunity that he will relish.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“It’s incredible. Just this roster of guys that are participating in this and got invited to it. It means a lot to me,” he said. “A lot of these guys are still playing professionally, so to be able to play against that kind of talent at this time. It’s beneficial for those people still playing ball. I’m just really honored to be here.”
The Lobo All-Star game will start at 6 p.m. on Sunday and will include a dunk contest. Tickets are still available online through unmtickets.com for $8 and the proceeds will go to charity.
All-Star game participants
- Cameron Bairstow
- Alex Kirk
- J.R. Giddens
- Tony Dandridge
- Dariese Gary
- Jamal Fenton
- Kendall Williams
- Danny Granger
- Tony Snell
- Alex Gordon
- Philip McDonald
- DeShawn Delaney
- Ruben Douglas
- Daniel Farris
- Emmanuel Negedu
