In Episode 50 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I have a conversation with the Lobos' two new big men Josiah Allick and Morris Udeze. The pair is being counted on to add size, strength and physicality that was lacking on last year's UNM hoops roster. I also go over the Lobos' surprising scrimmage result from Saturday against Northern Arizona.
In Episode 49 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I have a conversation with the Lobos' two returning All-Mountain West guards, Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr., about what they learned in Year 1 at UNM about themselves and each other, and what fans should expect from Year 2 from the highest scoring returning backcourt in the league. Both have NCAA Tournament expectations, but don't shy away from acknowledging the work starts with defense.
In Episode 48 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I have a conversation with new Lobo basketball assistant Tarvish Felton, who worked at Utah State for a decade and was at Fresno State the past four seasons. He told me stories of coaching Sam Merrill and Orlando Robinson and old WAC rivalries with NMSU. So what's his role now with the Lobos and how good does he think this roster is?
In Episode 47 of the Talking Grammer podcast, as the first official team practices for the 2022-23 men's basketball season are starting, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with second-year Lobos coach Richard Pitino as expectations have been elevated for his team. How did the offseason go? How is putting up with his dad on Twitter? Which player was the offseason MVP? And lots more.
In Episode 46 of the Talking Grammer podcast, in an interview recorded in June, I caught up Arizona State transfer Jaelen House who is vying to be the starting point guard for the UNM Lobos this season. "The ball finds energy," he told me, which sums up what his approach to the game is. He plays hard -- on defense, especially -- and feeds off the crowd. We talk about his hair, his rich hoops DNA and why he decided to branch out from his Arizona roots.
In Episode 45 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up with second year Lobo football coach Danny Gonzales ahead of his program's 2021 season in an interview that has less to do with X's and O's and more to do with his growing up in Albuquerque, his role in the Athletic Department beyond coaching football and, yes, even his sensitive side. From his memories of Dukes baseball and Lobo basketball growing up to the split personalities he shows on the sidelines vs. at home with his family, we cov...
In Episode 44 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up former Lobo Anthony Mathis ahead of his playing both in the Lobo alumni all-star game in the Pit and as part of the Enchantment TBT team that will play in the $1 million, winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament event later this month. We cover his time as a Lobo, his leaving for Oregon, his playing in the G-League and what he plans to do if friend and former teammate Joe Furstinger flexes on him in the All-Star game or in any pickup gam...
In Episode 43 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up with Makuach Maluach who recently made official his decision to move on from UNM after graduating and his pursuit now to play professional basketball. We talk about his degree, his future, the future of the Lobo basketball team, practicing with new coach Richard Pitino and I see what he thinks of my list of my Top 5 memories covering his four-year Lobo hoops career.
In Episode 42, I caught up with UNM Lobo women's soccer coach Heather Dyche ahead of her program hosting the Mountain West soccer championship match against San Diego State. While we talk about the game, a possible NCAA Tournament berth and her team's recent MWC awards (including who she thinks the league snubbed from her team), she also indulges me in some Ted Lasso talk and you might be surprised who she says is most like the Roy Kent character on her team. Fun conversation here with Heather t...
In Episode 41, I caught up with former Albuquerque Journal staffer Andy Katz to talk about his time spent with the NBA on TNT crew over an 18-day span in Atlanta covering the NCAA Tournament, including Charles Barkley at one point saying he would bet the Albuquerque Journal doesn't even exist anymore. Not only does it, but now we've got Andy on the podcast (for a second time) talking about it. Katz also offers up some thoughts on UNM's new hoops hire, Richard Pitino.
In Episode 40, I have a brief cell phone (recored for the the podcast) conversation Tuesday with newly hired UNM Lobo men's basketball coach Richard Pitino. We talked about what didn't work at Minnesota, what he loves about the UNM opportunity and the influences on him as a coach from people like his dad, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, and Billy Donovan, who had some guidance in his hiring at UNM. And what can Lobo fans expect to see on the court from a Pitino-coached team? He explains.
In Episode 39, I have a brief, but insightful conversation with Lobo senior wing Makuach Maluach. Due to the state of New Mexico's public health order, the senior from Australia is about to play his "Senior Night" game at the U.S. Air Force Academy for the Lobos final "home" game of the season -- 400 miles north of the Pit, where he quietly etched his name deep into Lobo record books. We talk about his future (will he come back with the NCAA not counting this season against player eligibility?),...
In Episode 38, I catch up with Colorado State head coach Niko Medved about his team that was supposed to be a year away, but didn't care and put itself right in the middle of the Mountain West title race this season led by a pair of sophomore Player of the Year candidates and a roster without a senior. Medved, who was an assistant at CSU from 2007-2013, recalled one painful Lobo memory in Moby Arena -- Kendall Williams' 46 point game with 10 made 3-pointers that pretty much clinched the 2013 MWC...
In Episode 37, I catch up with Lobo basketball assistant coach Ralph Davis, in his third year with the program but first as assistant coach. We recorded this podcast last week as the team just returned to Albuquerque allowed for the first time this season to practice in the state due to the public health order. We talked about him enjoying being home for trash day, winning the 2003 New Jersey high school triple jump state championship, he asked about my love of the movie La Bamba and, of course,...
In Episode 36, I catch up with former Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich about his new role as special assistant to the head coach for UNM Lobo men's basketball in what has been a crazy season of relocation, on-court struggles and having to find quarters for washing machines on the road. Dave talks about the new perspective he's getting from outside the head coaching spotlight and how he hopes to help Lobo players and Lobo coach Paul Weir in any way he can. We also talk about the Mountain West...
In Episode 35, I catch up with former Kentucky Wildcat national champion, former NBA first round draft pick and current UNM Lobos assistant coach Scott Padgett. We talk about the craziness of this season, the unique time to move a family -- his wife and three kids -- to New Mexico where schools haven't been open for in-person learning and what he uses as a coach from influences like playing for Rick Pitino and Jerry Sloan or as a teammate alongside guys like John Stockton, Karl Malone and later ...
In Episode 34, I catch up with former NMSU Aggie basketball star and former UNM Lobo assistant coach Brandon Mason trying to figure out what he's been up to since resigning in August. Has he been watching the Lobos, many of whom he recruited to Albuquerque? What's next for him with basketball in the state? And how's that Lobo alumni team coming along for this summer's TBT (The Basketball Tournament)?
In Episode 33.1, (correcting Ep 33 that started 10 minutes into the podcast) I catch up with UNM assistant Dan McHale about what makes a good press defense? How often with the Lobos press this year? What are the pitfalls of pressing? The product of the Rick Pitino coaching tree walks me through a bit of the basics on what to look for in a press and why the Lobos will do more of it as the season goes on. Also, there's some sound from NMSU coach Chris Jans about telling his team about their recent...
In Episode 32, I catch up with NMSU Aggies coach Chris Jans about life as a program relocated out of New Mexico due to the public health order, what he did on the team's recent COVID pause (spoiler alert, we talked streamed shows and Christmas movies) and what he knows about his team so far in this crazy season as games are (finally) about to start again for his team.
In Episode 31, I catch up with La Cueva High and UCLA graduate Bryce Alford about his participation in TBT (The Basketball Tournament), his take on what his older brother will be like in his first head coaching job at an NAIA school in Indiana, his dad's return to he Mountain West with Nevada, what his own basketball future may bring and plenty of other things.
In Episode 30 I catch up with Albuquerque Academy graduate Cody Toppert, former NBA assistant and current Memphis Tigers assistant about his upcoming gig as a coach in TBT (The Basketball Tournament), the Elam Ending, coaching with Penny Hardaway, basketball analytics and whether or not his team has a shot at winning $1 million.
In Episode 29 I catch up with UNM Lobo basketball rising seniors Makuach Maluach and Keith McGee (the team's third senior, Zane Martin, was not available). They talk about the odd offseason being away from teammates, expectations for next year, who is the best at video games and what they're learning watching 'The Last Dance' documentary on the Chicago Bulls.
I check in with Lobo assistant coach and former NMSU Aggie player Brandon Mason to get his perspective on 'The Last Dance' documentary on the Chicago Bulls. Mason was a junior playing basketball in Chicago during the 1997-98 Bulls championship season, wore 23 throughout his career due to Michael Jordan and I ask him what if a 5-star recruit wants to play for the Lobos but thinks LeBron is better than MJ.
In Episode 27 I catch up with Lobo hoops assistant coach Dan McHale to see what the heck college basketball coaches who aren't allowed to be on the road recruiting or in the office due to coronavirus concerns are doing this time of year. Turns out, they're still busy as ever. Dan walks us through his Rick Pitino coaching education, how UNM is recruiting now and some thoughts on next year's team.
In Episode 26 I veer off course a bit with a conversation with New Mexico's own Holly Holm ahead of UFC 246 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nev. Holly is in the co-main event of UFC 246 against Raquel Pennington and while we touch on that some, the main point I wanted to talk about in the time we got with her away from the rest of the media is her connection with the fans of New Mexico who love her so much and her sense of obligation to never let them down.
While some Mountain West coaches brag on wins on the court or on the recruiting trail, the life of a service academy coach is a little different. I had a talk with, admittedly, one of my favorite coaches in the Mountain West, Air Force's Dave Pilipovich. He talks about what it's like coaching cadets, their lives after college basketball, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the charity work he and his wife do in Colorado Springs, some memories of coaching against the Lobos, and I ask him for some of his fav...
UNM Lobos point guard J.J. Caldwell and I sat down before a practice earlier this week to talk about his quick start in UNM's 7-2 start to the season after having played very little basketball over the past three years. The pass-first PG may be getting overlooked since he isn't one of the team's scorers. We talk about that and I break down the start of Mountain West hoops play before wrapping up the pod with a brief interview with my 10-year-old daughter about her strategy to beat me picking gam...
One-time Albuquerque Journal staffer Andy Katz, the former Lobo hoops beat writer who went on to the Fresno Bee, ESPN and now spreads his work around with NCAA.com, Turner Sports, The BigTen Network, Fox and elsewhere, talked with us about his memories of covering the Lobos, his current Albuquerque connections and the state of the Lobo program today.
On the eve of the 2019 version of the Rio Grande Rivalry, I interview UNM Operations Director Ralph Davis who was the head coach at New Mexico Military Institute when current NMSU Aggies star Trevelin Queen played there. Davis offers his unique insight on the pro potential of the NMSU guard. I also answer listener questions and break down UNM's loss at UTEP.
I talk with Craig Snow, the special assistant to the head coach of Lobo basketball who is the former assistant coach with the team but spent the past five years as head coach and part of that time as Athletic Director at New Mexico Highlands. We talk about his journey from playing at Evansville to Albuquerque and what brought him back for a second stint with the Lobos.
