Lobo freshman Tomislav Buljan is having a blast being so angry

Tomislav Buljan is a happy guy.

The 23-year-old from Split, Croatia, who on Monday won his second Mountain West Freshman of the Week award in the past three weeks, says he’s enjoying his college experience at the University of New Mexico, loves his Lobo teammates and he feels lucky to be able to play in the Pit.

So why do his coaches keep trying to get him so upset?

Well, because that’s just the way he wants it.

“That’s what I say sometimes to the coaches, ‘get me angry because it helps me to compete’,” Buljan said Saturday night after the Lobos’ 98-71 blowout victory over Santa Clara in which he registered his fourth double-double on the season with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, a steal and seven drawn fouls.

“When I’m angry, I think I show the most what I can show because then I’m really confident. It kind of helps me. Coaches were laughing at it because they didn’t expect (it). Some players don’t like when you yell at them, but for me, when coaches sometimes yell at me when I don’t do a good pass or something, that helps me to say, ‘Okay, I didn’t do a good job there.’ And so next time, I’m gonna get it right.”

And there’s one coach in particular who Buljan credited with being the best at upsetting him: Lobos assistant Tom Tankelewicz, the man responsible for recruiting Buljan to the United States in the first place.

“He’s on my ass sometimes when I don’t perform, when I don’t play hard,” Buljan said with a smile. “He’s on my ass, and then I gotta say, ‘Okay, look. He’s saying that I didn’t do a good job. Yeah, I’m going to show him that I’m more capable of doing things.’”

He’s proven plenty capable so far this season.

In eight games played, Buljan is averaging 12.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and is shooting 55.0% from the field.

So why, exactly, is the 6-foot-9, 250-pound non-traditional freshman who played at the highest professional level in Croatia starting to flourish now, playing his best basketball at the college level in the United States?

He says the college game is far more aggressive than what he was used to in Croatia.

“They want to play defense (here), especially guards,” Buljan said. “They’re always trying to get to the ball. ... It helps me to improve my ball handling and my decision making, and that’s why I like playing basketball here. In Europe, people who are like 30 years old, they’re not going to be so aggressive. They’re going to let you be sometimes.”

Apparently, Buljan doesn’t want anyone to just let him be — at least not his coaches or his opponents. The more they go at him the better he seems to get.

That was the case Nov. 21 in Kansas City when the athletic frontline of the SEC’s Mississippi State Bulldogs and rebound-emphasizing coach Chris Jans couldn’t contain Buljan all game. He ended up with 19 points and 21 rebounds, a new freshman rebounding record in a week that led to his first MW Freshman of the Week honor of the season.

As for those pesky guards swatting at the ball and forcing him to improve his ball handling, Buljan has started to show his comfort level in the open court more and more as the season has progressed.

In fact, Saturday against Santa Clara, it was Buljan’s open court ability that may have actually changed the game altogether before some fans had even found their seats.

With 19:19 still showing on the first half clock, Buljan caught a baseline inbounds pass just outside the 3-point line on the left side of the court. He quickly drove Santa Clara’s 7-1 center Bukky Oboye into the lane, stopped, spun toward the rim and drew a foul from the late-recovering Oboye as he swiped down across Buljan’s arms.

Then, on the next Lobos possession with 18:39 on the clock, Buljan got the ball outside the 3-point line on the right side, did one quick fake to the left before putting the ball on the court to blow past Oboye on the right, again leading to a late-recovery foul as Buljan attacked the rim.

Two fouls on Santa Clara’s rim-protecting center in the first 81 seconds — Oboye eventually fouled out after just 13:36 — that changed the complexion of what is the biggest win thus far in the Eric Olen coaching era.

Plenty of Lobos had a hand in Saturday’s win, which made it so satisfying for so many.

But it was Buljan who got things rolling early and set the tone for things to come.

Just don’t go patting him on the back about it.

The Lobos need him to stay angry.