Dangerous from outside, Appelhans lightheartedly says he's ready to embrace intimidating new nickname

Through the first nine games of the season, Braden Appelhans hit eight (of 20) 3-pointers for the Lobos.

In the past two games — an overtime loss to New Mexico State in which he played 16 minutes and a blowout win over Western New Mexico in which he played 23 minutes — the 6-foot-7, baby-faced guard from Kansas City, whom teammates and coaches often refer to as “B.A.” hit nine (of 14) 3-pointers.

While there are other guys on the UNM roster who can hit 3-pointers, Appelhans is the only one you would describe first as a 3-point shooter, and those nine 3s at a 64.3% clip in the past two games has shown it more than at any point in his young Lobos career.

It’s even elevated the crowd favorite, who has been open in the past about his personal struggles with mental health that only seemed to endear him more to Lobo Nation, into rare nickname status this past weekend.

Longtime Lobos fan D.J. Tenorio posted on his X account during Saturday’s game, above the image of a recently published Journal photograph of the 6-foot-7 guard : “B.A. ‘Braden (Burque Assassin) Appelhans’”

With an unassuming grin, seemingly almost a little embarrassed by a question posed to him on Monday about the nickname, Appelhans admitted he kind of liked it.

“My mom sent me that (social media post) the other night, and I’m all for it. I’m not, I’m not against it,” Appelhans said before a quiet laugh while talking to reporters.

The truth is, Appelhans has played himself past specialist minutes. He’s no longer only put in the game in mop-up duty or when the Lobos are desperate for a 3-pointer.

His role is now important for the team’s success.

“I’m really surprised when he misses, which is a great luxury to have,” UNM coach Richard Pitino said of Appelhans. “(He) got hit in the nose pretty bad last game, fought through it, showed great toughness.

“Very, very consistent with his approach. Every single day. He doesn’t have a bad practice, never has a bad attitude, just committed to it, you know? And that’s cool to see, that’s becoming more and more rare now more than ever before, where guys stick it out when they don’t play instead of just transferring. So that’s very rewarding as a coach.”

It’s all something Appelhans isn’t sure he could have handled a year ago when he was battling those personal issues with depression and anxiety that he has since gotten under control.

“One hundred percent, I feel like I’m a different person compared to last year,” Appelhans said. “Last year, I don’t even know, like if I got in the game, I don’t even know if I could survive five minutes in there. Now, I just feel like I’m just more comfortable, really.”

But, assassin? He likes the name, but he and his coaching staff know he’s now at a point where using his gift as a shooter to expand his game is the next step.

“Obviously I’m knocking down shots right now, so teams are going to fly at me (on defense),” Appelhans said. “So shot fakes, side steps, shot fake, get to the rim are definitely going to be open here in the future.”

Pitino elaborated.

“Braden obviously is a great threat, but you got to be complete player,” he said. “... Play like the guy who everybody’s going to say, ‘We don’t want him to attempt it.’ So your shot fakes got to be better. You know, he can get into the lane, and he’s a good playmaker, and he’s got good size, but utilize the strength of being a feared shooter to your advantage.”

SIGN OF THE TIMES: UNM forward Jovan Milicevic on Monday won the Mountain West Freshman of the Week award after scoring 21 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in Saturday’s win over Western New Mexico.

But maybe the most memorable moment of the weekend for Pitino regarding the 6-foot-10 freshman involved a shoot-around in the Pit Saturday as some of the setup for the graduation ceremonies held in the arena was being taken down.

“Jovan asked me, ‘Oh, is this where I’m going to graduate?’ And it was such a nice thing. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, you’re actually thinking about graduating from here. You’re not thinking about jumping in the portal right now?’” Pitino joked.

“It was so, like, a naive comment by him, and I was like, stunned when he said it. I was like, ‘Yeah! If you’re here in four years, this is (where you’ll graduate). It was awesome.”

TIME CHANGE: The Dec. 28 UNM at Colorado State game in Fort Collins, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., will now start at 1 p.m.

The move was made to accommodate fans wanting to also watch the Rams football team playing Miami (Ohio) later that evening in the Arizona Bowl.