Senior guards the Pit's renovated front gates

Mr. Gary, here is the key to the Lobo-mobile.

There is no doubt that UNM point guard Dairese Gary is in the Lobos’ driver’s seat this season.
But how about this nod for Gary heading into his fourth and final year at UNM: a National Player of the Year candidate and first-team All-Mountain West Conference.

Gary said his teammates and coaches push him every day to become the best basketball player he can be.
“Coach Alford is kind of tough,” he said. “He is always on me.”

Much like Roman Martinez during the 2009-10 season, Gary is UNM’s only senior.
But it doesn’t faze him since he is a three-year returning starter at point guard, and he is already filling Martinez’s spot nicely.
“Our league is very strong this year, and it’s the strongest it’s been in a while,” Gary said. “You have teams coming back with the same players  starters  so just going into our first practice, we know the things that we have to do, things we have to work on to get better. We know how much time we have to put in, because it’s going to be a struggle, but you have to put in that work to get results.”
Cloaked by Martinez and Darington Hobson’s shadows last season, Gary was the behind-the-scenes director, but he was just as responsible — if not more so — for UNM’s school-record 30 wins. He also elevated his play against Washington in the second round of the NCAA tournament, but UNM was halted, 82-64.

Yet Gary was the best Lobo on the court that day.
Besides creating his own “Iron Man” streak at UNM he started his 97th straight game for the Lobos against the Huskies  Gary was the Lobos’ spark in an attempted comeback that fell short.

Gary played 32 minutes, tying a career-high in points (25). He was 11-of-20 from the field and dished out four assists. He was also head coach Steve Alford’s first UNM recruit when Alford took the reins of the program four years ago.
Alford said Gary’s experience will power the Lobos this season.

“As I said at (MWC) media day in Denver, as long as Dairese Gary is on the floor when the jump ball is present, I know we have a chance to win,” Alford said. “From a head coaching standpoint, that’s a lot of fun when you know the catalyst of your team, the point guard, (is) the leader of the team. You respect that much.”

Without question, Gary deserves tons of respect.
Because of his time playing running back and safety at Concord High School in Elkhart, Ind., Gary is strong and powerful enough to drive the lane and create scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Last season, Gary banged up his body averaging 35 minutes per game and 13.1 points. He also hit 45 percent of his field goals.
UNM forward A.J. Hardeman said with Gary at the wheel, he doesn’t need to be a backseat driver; the team is safe with the veteran point guard.
“We have to count on Dairese,” he said.