The men’s basketball team’s performance in the MWC conference last year was forgettable, yet it must have made an impression on someone.
The Lobos were selected as the preseason favorite by the MWC last week for the first time in their conference history.
However, head coach Steve Alford said preseason awards don’t mean much.
“You’ve got to play the games,” Alford said. “So the preseason stuff, whether it’s individual stuff or our team, doesn’t mean a whole lot. But it does speak volumes in that we’re five years in now, and we’re at the top of the league.”
After 22-13 record last season without team leader Dairese Gary, the Lobos nabbed 22 of 26 MWC votes for the predicted first-place finish in conference.
UNLV came in second place with four votes.
The Lobos received as much praise individually as collectively.
Senior forward Drew Gordon was selected as the preseason player of the year, and Hugh Greenwood was named preseason freshman of the year.
“I was kind of shocked, but at the same time, that’s what I wanted,” Gordon said. “That’s what I was working for.”
Gordon, who became eligible to play mid-season last year, has become one of the most important pieces in the success of the program. He averaged 13.0 points per game and 10.5 rebounds in his junior season.
Alford said the offense is going to go through Gordon a lot more this season.
“He better be one of our go-to guys,” Alford said. “I think he was last year to some extent, and I think that role will just increase this year.”
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Greenwood is the fourth Australian player to come to UNM. He said while preseason awards are nice, the important awards are given postseason.
“It was real exciting, and it was real humbling at the same time,” Greenwood said.
“Yeah, it’s really good, but it’s preseason, it’s not the postseason,” he said. “If you ask me that in a few months time and it’s the postseason, I’ll be feeling even more excited.”
Gordon shared the same mentality about the award.
“If I end up winning player of the year, that’d be amazing,”
Gordon said. “I don’t know if I have words to describe how happy I’d be, but if not, I just want to make sure I worked as hard as I possibly can and we got as far as we possibly could.”
Gordon, along with sophomore guard Kendall Williams, made the preseason All-Conference Team.
Williams, who broke the school record for most three-point field goals made by a freshman last season with 55, is yet another Lobo unsatisfied with the preseason accolades.
“It doesn’t tell too much about how this year is going to play out,” he said, “but it definitely provides big expectations, so hopefully the pressure can propel me to lead my team to a few victories.”
The expectations are rising in Alford’s fifth year at UNM. He said that is what he wants for the program.
“We want to stay in the upper echelon of the league every year,” Alford said. “We want to be one of those teams that are fighting for championships and are fighting for postseason play every year. And we’ve been able to do that.”
