After their season ended with a loss to Michigan State, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team is already being reshaped for next season. Head Coach Richard Pitino will not be back next season, and as of Wednesday, March 26, four players have declared that they entered the transfer portal.
Pitino, who has been head coach of the men's basketball team for the last four seasons, accepted a job as head coach of the Xavier University men's basketball team, according to The Associated Press.
Pitino led the Lobos to a Mountain West tournament championship in the 2023-24 season for the first time since 2014; a Mountain West regular season championship in the 2024-25 season for the first time since 2013; two NCAA Tournament appearances; and their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012. He had three seasons with over 20 wins and improved the team’s record during each year of his tenure. He leaves the program with an overall record of 88-49, according to the AP.
UNM Director of Athletics Fernando Lovo announced Tuesday, March 25 that a national search for the next head coach has already begun.
The most prominent Lobos player to enter the transfer portal is Donovan Dent, a junior guard from Riverside, California, and the reigning Mountain West Conference player of the year. He told On3 on March 25 that he planned to enter the portal. Dent has played all three of his seasons at New Mexico and showed consistent improvement each season.
Dent led the Lobos in scoring this season, averaging 20.4 points and 6.4 assists, according to ESPN. He is 12th in the nation in points per game and 13th in assists per game, according to the NCAA. This is a major blow to the team, as Dent was a critical piece in the Lobos' regular-season championship and their appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore guard Tru Washington, who is from Phoenix, Arizona, also announced March 25 that he entered the portal. He averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game this season, according to ESPN, and provided the Lobos with crucial defensive energy. Washington was named a Mountain West 2024-25 honorable mention on March 11.
Quinton Webb, a redshirt sophomore guard from San Bernardino, California, entered the transfer portal on Monday, March 24. Webb appeared in 13 games this season and averaged 4.0 minutes, 0.5 points and 0.5 rebounds, according to ESPN.
Shane Douma-Sanchez, a redshirt freshman guard from Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, also entered the portal on March 24. Douma-Sanchez did not appear in a game this season, and has not been part of the team since December after a fellow teammate allegedly assaulted him.
The NCAA men's basketball transfer portal opened on March 24 and will close on April 22.
Jaden McKelvey-Francis is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @jadenmckelvey
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