After calling off it’s series against San Diego State, and after a press session with coach Paul Weir, it is yet to be seen if the University of New Mexico’s men’s basketball program will finish its season.
While the initial reports of the San Diego State series cancelation came from Albuquerque Journal writer Geoff Grammer and San Diego Union-Tribune writer Mark Zeigler, the UNM men’s program would release an official statement saying that the series was canceled.
This was in concurrence with both the Mountain West Conference and San Diego State releasing similar statements on the matter.
The stated reason for the cancelation is that the Lobos are under a league-mandated threshold of having seven scholarship players available to play in the San Diego State series.
While UNM started the year with 13 players on scholarship, the number of scholarship players has dwindled as of late due to a combination of factors: one has never been medically cleared (Assane Ndiaye), two left the program (Keith McGee and Nolan Dorsey), one is out due to a non-COVID illness (Isaiah Martin), and one is injured (Rod Brown).
Another guard, senior Zane Martin, transferred to Towson University in Maryland before the season began.
Of course these departures didn’t result in the cancelation of the San Diego State series, but in a February 3 press session coach Paul Weir would say that the threshold wasn’t met due to three unnamed players dealing with issues.
One of the players is dealing with academic issues, and will be seeing an academic adviser, another one is out due to injury, and the last one is out due to a personal situation, according to coach Weir.
No return dates for any of the aforementioned three players, along with Brown and Martin, have been announced.
Within the press sesion, coach Weir would initially read a statement where he detailed the challenges that the program has had due to COVID and being in a bubble.
“Our student athletes and our team has lived in the most rigorous bubble anybody can ever imagine,” said Weir, while adding that living in a bubble has “come at a price.”
“Living in a bubble has not been signed off on by a lot of conference commissioners and schools because of their concerns about what it could lead to, and as a witness I’ll tell you that those concerns are valid.”
Weir would also add that “the mental toll that our guys took living through this to be COVID free is, I think, pretty significant.”
When pressed about if the Lobos will be ready to play anymore games this year, Weir would state, “I can’t sit here and say 100% we are going to be in this next game or in the game after that. I can tell you my intent. Our intent is to play at Colorado State.”
I’m hopeful that these next few days will allow us time to re-calibrate ourselves, get back above the threshold, get maybe some walk-ons that haven’t been a part of our team for a while back in shape physically and mentally to where they could compete on a basketball court and then finish the season as best we possibly can.”
A final decision about whether the team will play against CSU will be made by this weekend, according to the Journal.
In the waning moments of the press session, Weir was asked about if he’s confident that he would be back next season.
His response? “That is not my decision.”
Spencer Butler can be contacted at sb751094@gmail.com or on Twitter @SpencerButler48
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