Lobo hoops notebook: Future Lobo fares well in loss, revenue sharing payments begin and Rio Grande Rivalry returning to twice a season?

There was good news and there was bad news Tuesday in Switzerland for those fans with a rooting interest in Team France at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.

Future-Lobo Timéo Pons — a 6-foot-8 guard joining UNM after the conclusion of the World Cup — followed his 12-point game against Team USA over the weekend with a solid nine-point game, in 13 minutes off the bench, in a 71-63 upset loss to Australia in the final game of group play. As a result, France finished third in Group D at 1-2 (USA was 3-0, Australia 2-1, Cameroon 0-3).

Next, France plays tournament host Switzerland at noon MT on Wednesday in the 16-team bracket play portion of the event. The winner of that game goes on to play the winner of New Zealand and China in Friday’s quarterfinals. The winner there will likely face either Canada or Team USA in the semifinals.

Pons on Tuesday hit 2-of-5 3-point attempts (he was 3-of-3 from deep on Sunday vs. Team USA) and hit all three of his free throws to go along with two assists, a steal and a turnover. France outscored Australia by one point in the 12 minutes, 44 seconds Pons was on the court and got outscored by nine points in the 27 minutes he was on the bench.

Aggies, oh Aggies

The UNM/NM State rivalry being dropped to once a season may be short lived.

NMSU Athletic Director Amber Burdge told the Las Cruces Sun-News this week that there is mutual interest in returning the series to a home-and-home each season, as opposed to a more traditional two-year home-and-home set up (game played in the Pit one season, and in the Pan Am Center the next).

UNM Athletic Director Fernando Lovo has said for a few weeks that he’s open to exploring returning the highly-attended series to twice a season, but can’t really commit to anything until the Mountain West schedule is released later this summer.

The series was played in the Pit this past season and is scheduled to be played in Las Cruces this November. Until this past season, it had been scheduled twice a season — once at both schools — since World War II, minus the COVID season of 2020-21 and the 2022-23 season when the shooting death of a UNM student in self defense by an Aggie player on the UNM campus at 2 a.m. the morning of that year’s first game led to the series being canceled.

For years, coaches for both teams have said they prefer the game be played just once a year. However, the rivalry game between the Lobos and the Aggies is the highest grossing nonconference game of the season for both schools. Reducing that income opportunity from once a year to once every two years poses a significant financial downside.

House call

July 1 is the start of a new fiscal year, new laws go into effect and the new world of college athletics begins.

With the recent House settlement allowing athletes to take part in revenue sharing with schools, UNM on Tuesday made its first payments to football players and by July 15 plan to begin payments to UNM basketball players.

The school is not disclosing how much money is being paid or to which players the money is going to, citing its belief the payments fall under exemptions to public record laws that would otherwise require a public university to disclose such payments.

Buljan soon?

There is optimism around UNM, and in Croatia, that power forward Tomislav Buljan could be in Albuquerque within a week.

Buljan and his future UNM coaches are confident the process to get his student visa is near completion. In the meantime, Buljan, the 6-9 power forward who led his league in rebounding this past season, has been working out and staying in shape with fellow countrymen on the national team, including some who play in the NBA.

New podcast!

Episode 111 of the Talking Grammer podcast, a conversation with new Lobo assistant coach Mike Roberts, is available on the Journal’s YouTube page (video) and wherever you download podcasts (audio).

Roberts, a 6-foot-9 former Indiana University player who specializes in defense and developing post players, has connections with a number of former UNM coaches and assistants, from former Lobo head coach and Indiana assistant coach Norm Ellenberger, to being friends with former UNM assistant/current Creighton coach in waiting Alan Huss, among others.