The college basketball season is still months away, but building team chemistry takes time. The New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball team hosted an open practice at the Pit on Tuesday, June 23 to give a preview to fans of what to look forward to in the fall.
Lobos guard Uriah Tenette said he was excited for the upcoming season with this new squad.
“We're excited for this practice, being able to have the fans come out, watch us (for the) firsttime seeing us as a group,” Tenette said. “The past three weeks of the summer, it's been really good, we're in our chemistry. I think I'm gonna take a huge leap, I think our team's going to take a huge leap.”
The practice included a number of drills including three-point shooting, layups and transitions. There was some 5-on-5 scrimmage action as well, featuring one team in cherry and the team in silver. After some more drills, the open practice came to an end, and the players stopped to offer autographs and pictures.
Lobos Head Coach Eric Olen thanked the crowd and fans that showed up to give their support.
“We are fortunate for the support that we have, fortunate to keep the guys that are excited about this,” Olen said.
“For us, it's really just trying to get them working together, you want to improve individually, get in a little better shape, get on the same page,” Lobos guard Jake Hall said.
Coming into his second year, Hall said he has welcomed more of a leadership role now, a change he’s seen across the team.
“I think all our returners had to take a big step in leadership just to acclimate our team to not only basketball, but life here and just getting used to everything,” Hall said.
The Lobo Men’s Basketball regular season opener will take place on Monday, November 2 as they host the Utah Tech Trailblazers.
Alex Joe is a freelance videographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
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