Jake and Dax Hall — the two brothers from Carlsbad, California, who found their way to New Mexico — will now share the court with one another when basketball season comes back around in November — the second season in a row featuring siblings after Kevin Patton Jr. and Kallai Patton played with the team last year.
In April, Dax Hall announced his commitment to the University of New Mexico, just one day after his older brother, Jake, announced he would be returning to UNM after a stint in the transfer portal. From an outside perspective, it would seem as if Dax’s commitment may have impacted Jake’s decision to return, but that's not the entire story.
“It definitely had an impact, but we wanted to make decisions based on ourselves,” Jake said. “We try to make decisions that would be best for ourselves and (it) happened that (this) was the best opportunity and decision I could have made, just happened he was there.”
The two brothers grew up close with one another, something that is still true today, as each one said they consider the other to be their best friend. The brothers’ bond is something that could turn into a weapon on court this year as the chemistry between the two is already so well-established.
“The chemistry is awesome, we kind of have a feel for each other and where we are on the court,” Dax said. “We’re very aware of what we like and what we want.”
While this will not be the first time the brothers have been on the same team together, they both have something they are looking forward to when they share the court. For Jake, it’s to experience his brother living out his dream.
“Just being able to witness him doing all of that and being himself out there it’s going to be awesome for me,” Jake said.
Dax is looking forward to something the brothers will both remember forever — an assist.
“That’s something that’s going to stick with me and Jake for a long time,” Dax said. “That first assist in The Pit is going to be something special.”
While the two together could create a promising duo, they also stand out on their own: Jake Hall is coming off of a historic freshman season at UNM, and his resume speaks for itself; in 37 games as a starter, Jake averaged 16.4 points and 3.2 rebounds-per-game while also setting a plethora of school records. Along with that, Jake was named 1st-Team All-Mountain West and 1st-Team NABC All-Mountain District, and took home Mountain West Freshman of the Year to boot.
Dax Hall finished his senior season at Santa Fe Christian averaging 27 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists-per-game. Dax is a smaller guard, standing at 6-foot-1, and said he tries to model his game after similarly-sized players like Steve Nash and T.J. McConnell.
With the days winding down until Lobo basketball is here, the brothers each have one thing in particular on their mind — winning.
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“I came back to win, and that’s the goal,” Jake said.
“The reason I came here (is) to win championships, and winning a championship is something that sticks with you forever and then to do it with Jake is something I hope to tell my kids in the future and something that my family will hold very true to their hearts,” Dax said.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
