Emptying the Notebook: Lobo center Nelly Junior Joseph sets a dominant tone for season

Here are a few extra notes, quotes, stats, videos and other odds & ends I managed to empty out of the old notebook after Monday's 91-84 UNM Lobos win over Nicholls State in the Pit:

Woah, Nelly!

OK, I promise not to use the good old "Woah Nelly!" headline or subhead more than like 50 times this season, but after Monday, I pretty much had to do it.

28 points. 16 rebounds. Nine fouls drawn. Three blocked shots. Two steals. 10-of-12 at the free throw line.

Sure, the stakes were much different, of course, but statistically, it was dominance not seen at that position for UNM arguably since Lobo great Kenny Thomas went for 30 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots while going 12-of-15 at the free throw line in the 1996 WAC Championship game win over Utah.

Remember a year ago, Junior Joseph arrived in the United States from Nigeria only two nights before the Lobos' first exhibition game due to student visa issues. That meant he didn't practice with the Lobos all summer and fall. He was behind the 8-ball, both physically and in terms of just adapting to his new team from Day 1 after having transferred from Iona after three seasons there.

And when J.T. Toppin had a breakout freshman season (helped greatly by not having to guard the opposing teams best big man because Junior Joseph was doing it), I think it's safe to say Junior Joseph never really showed how dominant he could be last season, maybe even leading some to think he was a disappointment, at least relative to how much so many expected of him last season.

Monday wasn't a surprise to everyone. His teammates, for instance, sure knew what was coming.

"People forget how good Nelly was before he came here last season," Donovan Dent said in Episode 93 of the Talking Grammer podcast. "He was a great player at Iona. He didn't get his offseason training (at UNM last year). That's important for a lot of players. He didn't get that last year. So, I'm excited for this year for him."

Said his starting frontcourt mate Mustapha Amzil on Monday night in a postgame interview on 610 AM: "We've got bigger guys, so we're going to try and bully some teams. Today, nobody could stop Nelly."

As for Junior Joseph himself, while the specific numbers might not have been part of the thought process, a much better performance this season was something he had no doubt would happen.

"I expected the season to start (well) because obviously I work out with the team during the summer so we know how to play together and stuff," Junior Joseph said in the postgame press conference. "I expect the season to be like this."

Talking two weeks ago to the men's basketball strength coach Matt Flores, Junior Joesph's summer in the weight room was insanely good and he is the strongest player on the roster and in better shape today than at any point last year.

So, let's take a look at just how good his game was on Monday night:

• Points: 28

• Rebounds: 16 (6 offensive)

• Steals: 2

• Blocks: 3

• Assists: 2

• Turnovers: 3

• Shooting: 9-15 (all 2s)

• Free throws: 10-12

• Fouls drawn: 9

• Fouls committed: 2

All of that was good enough to make one of the "Lines 'o the night" on the statistics website KenPom.com.

So, is this what we can expect every game from Junior Joseph?

"I will come every game and play hard every single day," Junior Joseph said. "That's what you're gonna expect from me."

The Lobos would be fortunate if Junior Joseph came close to matching that stat line on any sort of consistent basis this season. His 28 points was a career high, besting his previous best of 26 points scored against Harvard on Nov. 13, 2021, when he was still playing at Iona.

His 16 rebounds was 1 short of a career high, but is a new high as a Lobo (previous was 13 at Nevada on Feb. 13).

Maybe most impressive about the night for Junior Joseph had to do with the fouls — as in his drawing a ton of them, hitting his free throws and not committing many himself.

Take a look:

NJJ in 2023-24 season

• Fouls committed per 40 minutes: 4.2

• Fouls drawn per 40 minutes: 4.0

• Free throw percent: 52.3%

• FTs made per game: 1.9

• FTs attempted per game: 3.6

NJJ on Monday night

• Fouls committed per 40 minutes: 2.2

• Fouls drawn per 40 minutes: 10

• Free throw percent: 83.3%

• FTs made: 10

• FTs attempted: 12

Richard Pitino was asked after the game if playing Junior Joseph was sustainable all season.

"Extremely when he's having 28 points and 16 rebounds," Pitino fired back immediately. "I was bothered when I had to take him out. He was dominant. He'll be fine. I'm not worried about that. He was really, really good today."

Asked if there was a concern about the lack of minutes and production from the guys behind Junior Joseph on the bench, Pitino said it was more of a product of Junior Joseph have a career game than anything to do with the bench players.

"When a guy's playing that well, I'm not subbing," Pitino said. "I'm gonna keep him in until I can't, and he was playing great."

The gamer...

Here is the gamer I filed Monday night in the Pit media room after the Lobos 91-84 win over Nicholls State:

Triple threats: Nicholls hits a lot of 3s; UNM answers with 3 double-doubles in victory

New Mexico senior center Nelly Junior Joseph recorded 28 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Mustapha Amzil and Donovan Dent also had…

Postgame shenanigans...

Some pushing and shoving in the postgame handshake line visible to all in the Pit carried over up the Pit ramp near the media work room and visitor locker room, leading to police officers and security sprinting up the ramp to help calm things down.

According to UNM Interim Athletic Director David Williams, nothing escalated beyond shoving.

"Tempers flared on the court during handshake lines," Williams said. "It continued as the teams went up the ramp. Security separated the teams without incident."

Lobos have rare triple double-double...

The Lobos had three players record double-doubles in the same game on Monday, the first time that has happened for UNM in 27 years, since Dec. 20, 1997, vs. Texas Tech.

Here's a look at the the three players who accomplished the feat in each of those games:

MONDAY: W, 91-84 vs. Nicholls State

Nelly Junior Joseph

• Points: 28 (career high)

• Rebounds: 16

Donovan Dent

• Points: 15

• Assists: 11

Mustapha Amzil

• Points: 13

• Rebounds: 13 (career high)

Dec. 20, 1997: W, 81-62 vs. Texas Tech

Kenny Thomas

• Points: 26

• Rebounds: 10

Clayton Shields

• Points: 13 points

• Rebounds: 15

Lamont Long

• 19 points

• 13 rebounds

Oh, those 3s...

The Lobos were outscored by 24 points at the 3-point line on Monday night — 15 made 3s (45 points) vs. seven made 3s (21 points) — a disparity that's going to be hard to overcome most nights.

Nicholls State, a team I wrote about in Monday's pregame matchup box relied on 3-pointers for scoring far more than most teams in the country and was pretty good at hitting them a year ago, did exactly what was expected. They fired up 37 3-pointers.

The Colonels making a Pitino-era high 15 3-pointers, tied for fourth most all-time against UNM, is what clearly wasn't expected by a Lobos defense that a season ago, with a much shorter team, ranked 22nd out of 362 Division I teams in 3-point defense, holding DI opponents to just 30.7% made 3-pointers.

Most 3FG by Lobo opponent

19 — Colorado State (Jan. 15, 2020, in Fort Collins)

17 — Nevada (Jan. 25, 2020, in Reno)

16 — BYU (Dec. 23, 2015, in Hawaii)

15 — Monday night and 8 other instances (7 in the Pit, two on road)

Making matters worse, a Lobo team that I feel has one easy to identify weakness (outside shooting) decided to fall for the Nicholls State matchup zone trap and fire away 3s like they were a roster of Steph Currys, going 4-for-22 in the first half (they averaged 19.8 attempted 3s per game last season).

By game's end, it was 7-of-36 (19.4%) from beyond the arc for the Lobos. Woof, as they say.

There have been only nine games since the 3-point line became part of the college where the Lobos have attempted more than the 36 3-pointers they attempted Monday.

They did at least cut back on the attempts in the second half — from 22 in the first half to 14 in the second — when it was apparent Junior Joseph couldn't be stopped in the paint.

Now that was fast...

The Lobos have played fast under Richard Pitino.

Like, really fast.

UNM's Adjusted Tempo National Ranking (KenPom)

• 2023-24: 9th (out of 362 Division I teams)

• 2022-23: 17th

• 2021-22: 22nd

Yet never, under Pitino, had they played as "fast" as Monday night.

Some context: Tempo in hoops is generally determined by the number of possessions a team has in a game. Shoot earlier in the shot clock, more possessions. More possessions, the "faster" a game's tempo is.

Monday's game had 84 possessions.

According to KenPom.com, that is the 8th fastest Lobos game since at least 1997 and the fastest since an 87-possession game vs. Green Bay in November 2019.

Donnie Dimes...

One game into his junior season and Donovan Dent has climbed inside the Top 20 all-time at UNM in assists. His 11 assists on Monday night gives him 280 for his Lobos career. Here is the company he is keeping in the record book:

UNM Career Assists

1. Darrell McGee, 1987-90 — 684 (137 games)

—

17. Royce Olney, 1995-98 — 312

18. Lamont Long, 1997-00 — 301

19. Donovan Dent, 2023-present — 280

20. Russell Sanders, 1978-79 — 271

21. Mark Walters, 2003-06 — 269

Want more on Dent?

I had a feature in Monday's Journal on Mountain West coaches just gushing about Dent, including San Jose State's Tim Miles saying the following:

"He reminds me of Damian Lillard. Dame wasn’t Dame (when he was at Weber State), right? He was a college kid. But (Dent’s) got that electricity, he’s got that change of pace. He’s got that game to him. He’s got a cool attitude, a cool way about him, too, you know?

“Certainly he’s going to improve as an outside shooter and all those things. I think he’s a terrific, terrific guard. I think he’s got a chance to be player of the year in our league.”

Here is that feature: Mountain West coaches heap praise on Donovan Dent as he leads Lobos into season

Also, Episode 93 of the Talking Grammer podcast is a one-on-one interview I did with Dent. You can listen at the links HERE or watch here on YouTube:

For openers...

The Lobos have now won 22 consecutive season openers with the last 0-1 start to a season coming on Nov. 23, 2002, when the Ritchie McKay-coached Lobos lost 76-68 in the Pit to Cal.

Under Pitino, the Lobos are 4-0 in openers.

• 99-92 vs. Florida Atlantic (Nov. 10, 2021)

• 89-81 vs. Southern Utah (Nov. 7, 2022)

• 92-55 vs. Texas Southern (Nov. 6, 2023)

• 91-84 vs. Nicholls State (Monday)

Good news for the Colonels?

All three previous season-opening opponents the Lobos faced under Pitino wound up playing in the postseason.

• Florida Atlantic went 19-15 in the 2021-22 season and lost in the first round of the CBI

• Southern Utah went 24-13 in the 2022-23 season and lost in the third round of the CBI

• Texas Southern went 16-17 un the 2023-24 season and lost in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament

Turnover turnaround...

UNM committed 20 turnovers in a closed scrimmage vs. Santa Clara.

UNM committed 25 turnovers in an exhibition game vs. UTEP.

UNM committed just 8 turnovers Monday vs. Nicholls State.

Moment of silence...

UNM asked fans for a moment of silence before Monday's game for the recent sudden death of South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, a very close, personal friend of UNM Associate Head Coach Isaac Chew since their both coached together at Murray State 15 years ago.

First impressions...

Five Lobos played their first regular season game for UNM on Monday:

Filip Borovicanin: The Arizona transfer looked much better, certainly much more assertive Monday than in last week's UTEP exhibition. He finished with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 19:01.

C.J. Noland: Not a great shooting night for the North Texas transfer, going 1-for-9 from 3-point range (3-for-5 inside the arc) for 10 points. Noland helped in other ways, though, including with his career-high three blocks.

Atiki Ally Atiki: The BYU transfer was active, but also was 0-for-3 from the floor in just 4:20 of playing time. That number will increase this season, but Junior Joseph, the starter ahead of Atiki, simply couldn't come off the court as good as he was playing.

Kayde Dotson: The freshman point guard looked great for a college debut, especially in his minutes on the court at the same time as staring point guard Donovan Dent.

His first college points: Made 3-pointer with 4:24 left in the first half.

Jovan Milicevic: The big 6-10 forward from Arizona by way of Toronto and who is the son of two Serbian immigrants, looked better last week vs. UTEP, but wasn't bad on Monday. He was 0-1 shooting (it was a 3), 2-4 FTs, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 1 steal in 8:15.

His first college points: Made two free throws with 11:15 left in the game.

Attendance...

The announced attendance for Monday's season opener between Nicholls and UNM in the Pit: 10,690

Speaking of attendance...

UNM's Interim Athletic Director Jalen Dominguez on Monday night told me that season ticket sales, which remain on sale until Dec. 1, are at 8,168. That's the highest since before COVID.

Here is an article I wrote last week on season ticket sales for Lobo basketball:

• Lobo basketball season ticket sales on pace to surpass last year

Meanwhile, from earlier in the Pit...

Monday was actually a double dose of Lobo hoops in the Pit with the UNM women's team playing a midday game. Unfortunately for the Lobo women, the outcome was not as good as it was for the men.

UNM lost at the buzzer to Northern Arizona, 80-78, making the Pit home to the first buzzer beater of the college basketball season.

Plus/minus...

Here are the plus/minus numbers for Monday's game with minutes in parenthesis:

NEW MEXICO

+13 Mustapha Amzil (31:45)

+12 Kayde Dotson (10:27)

+11 Nelly Junior Joseph (35:40)

+9 Filip Borovicanin (19:01)

+6 Donovan Dent (37:45)

+2 Braden Appelhans (8:58)

0 Quinton Webb (1:14)

-2 C.J. Noland (22:26)

-4 Atiki Ally Atiki (4:20)

-6 Tru Washington (20:09)

-6 Jovan Milicevic (8:15)

Walk-on wounded...

As I reported last week, walk-on Shane Douma-Sanchez is out for the season after shoulder surgery. Monday, it was revealed walk-on Deraje Agbaosi also has a shoulder injury that kept him from suiting up for the Nicholls State game and it remains unclear how long he will be out.

Line 'em up...

The UNM Lobos played 11 players and used 15 unique lineup combinations. Nicholls State played 9 players and used 16 unique lineup combinations.

Here's a look at some of the Lobos lineup combinations, starting with the starters.

This is the same starting five UNM used in its closed-door scrimmage vs. Santa Clara and in last week's exhibition win over UTEP.

STARTING LINEUP

• WHO: Donovan Dent, Tru Washington, Filip Borovicanin, Mustapha Amzil, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7 (24-17)

• TIME ON COURT: 8:36

• NOTE: Against UTEP, the starting five was tremendous with all five players posting +15 or better plus/minus figures for the game. Basically, they would put the Lobos up comfortably, then Pitino would go to the bench, and the Miners would come back. Monday, it was similar minus one key difference off the bench and that was the big minutes coming from Kayde Dotson (more on that below). Otherwise, it's worth noting that the Lobo starters, again, were noticeably and clearly better than any combination of players they played against now in three games (the close scrimmage win against a very good Santa Clara team, the win over UTEP and the win over Nicholls).

BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Kayde Dotson, Donovan Dent, C.J. Noland, Mustapha Amzil, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5 (6-1)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:04

• NOTE: The starting five was probably better than this lineup, but you already read about them. This group in a brief sample size, got things done as well. And it was interesting to see how well Dotson, the true freshman, played the point with Dent also on the floor playing off the ball. Having that flexibility, and ability to ease some of the pressure off Dent for even just 1-2 minute stretches, could be huge. This grouping with three small guards (no, not as small as last season's 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, but as small as it'll get this season with 6-2, 6-4, 6-4) scored a shade over 2.9 points per minute and was aided by three steals in just those two minutes on the court together.

WORST LINEUP

• WHO: C.J. Noland, Donovan Dent, Tru Washington, Jovan Milicevic, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -5 (0-5)

• TIME ON COURT: 1:19

• NOTE: There were two groupings that posted a -5 and one grouping (Noland, Dent, Washington, Amzil and Junior Joseph) that had a -3 in 9:32 on the court together, which was even more than the starters, but I picked this lineup for the "worst" of the game since it didn't even score a point — something hard to accomplish in a game your team scores 91 of them in.

VIDEO: Pitino and Nelly...

Here is the postgame presser with UNM Lobos coach Richard Pitino and senior center Nelly Junior Joseph...

If I had a Nicholls for every time...

This was UNM's third time playing Nicholls State in the Pit in the past 15 years. The Lobos are 3-0.

• W, 83-59 (Nov. 20, 2009) — Phillip McDonald led four Lobos in double figures with 18 points

• W, 75-63 (Nov. 25, 2015) — Elijah Brown had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and two steals in the win

• W, 91-84 (Monday) — Nelly Junior Joseph led three Lobos with double-doubles with his 28 points and 16 rebounds.

Meanwhile, in Laramie...

Sundance Wicks — the Energizer Bunny after 10 energy drinks — got his first coaching victory as the head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys on Monday with his team's 108-85 victory over Division II Concordia-St. Paul.

Here's how the Pokes celebrated in the postgame locker room.

Around the Mountain...

There were seven Mountain West teams in action Monday night with three more getting their season started off on Wednesday.

Here is a look at the first week schedule of Mountain West hoops:

MONDAY

• New Mexico 91, Nicholls State 84

• Wyoming 108, DII Concordia-St. Paul 85

• North Alabama 73, Air Force 57

• Colorado State 82, North Dakota 56

• Western Illinois 59, San Jose State 55

• Nevada 91, Sam Houston State 75

• UNLV 93, Alabama State 79

WEDNESDAY

• Oakland at Boise State, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• Alcorn State at Utah State, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• UC San Diego at San Diego State, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

THURSDAY

• Jacksonville State at Air Force, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

FRIDAY

• Tennessee State at Colorado State, 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• Sacramento State at Fresno State, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• Pacific at San Jose State, 7:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• New Mexico vs. No. 22 UCLA, Henderson, Nevada, 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network)

SATURDAY

• Memphis at UNLV, 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• Charlotte at Utah State, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW.com)

• Washington at Nevada, 7 p.m .PT/8 p.m. MT (TheMW.com/Nevada Sports Net)

• Boise State at San Francisco, 7:30 p.m./8:30 p.m. (ESPN-plus)

Mountain West records...

(standings don't really matter until we have league games, and after one night, even looking at records doesn't do much, but, here we are.)

1-0 Colorado State

1-0 Nevada

1-0 New Mexico

1-0 UNLV

1-0 Wyoming

0-0 Boise State

0-0 Fresno State

0-0 San Diego State

0-0 Utah State

0-1 Air Force

0-1 San Jose State

Other Monday scores of note...

• NM State 97, D-II New Mexico Highlands 57

• UTEP 102, D-II Sul Ross State 55

• No. 22 UCLA 85, Rider 50

• St. John's 92, Fordham 60

Meanwhile, in realignment news...

OK, not really news here, but Brian Mueller, the president of future Mountain West member Grand Canyon University spoke with reporters on Monday and, in answering the general "why the Mountain West" question, he gave the Pit a shout out early in this video:

Stats and stats...

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted Monday night: New Mexico 91, Nicholls State 84

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 91, Nicholls State 84

Up next...

For New Mexico: The Lobos play No. 22 UCLA on Friday in Henderson, Nevada, at 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network

For Nicholls: The Colonols host South Alabama at 6:30 p.m. MT on Friday

Lobo schedule/results...