Lobo hoops notebook: Popular retro jerseys raise revenue-share funds through auction

The retro-themed Lobo basketball jerseys and warm-up gear worn by the UNM men's and women's basketball teams last month for games in the Pit were a hit.

So much so that an online auction for some of the game-worn gear from those games brought in $10,850, according to a UNM Athletics administrator.

Lobo guard Jake Hall's No. 23 jersey brought in a bid of $900 and was the top-selling item in the auction. In that retro game, the freshman sharpshooter had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and hit five 3-pointers in the Jan. 24 win over Nevada, coached by former Lobo coach Steve Alford.

The "extra large" No. 35 jersey of Lobo fan favorite J.T. Rock sold for $450, the next highest amount for a jersey. The 7-foot-1 Rock had 11 points in just nine minutes played and a pair of blocked shots.

The top women's jersey bid on for Joana Magalhães' No. 13 jersey, which went for $300. She had six points, four rebounds and two steals in the team's Jan. 31 win over Utah State.

A total of 35 items were part of the auction, which included several shooting shirts (no. name attached) worn by players with oversized "LOBOS" lettering, four of which sold for $500.

The money raised went to the Lobo Alliance — a fundraising initiative aimed specifically at helping fund revenue-sharing for retention and recruitment efforts of Lobo athletes in all sports.

One pass, three takes

It may have been the play of the game in Saturday's Lobos win over the visiting San Diego State Aztecs, and it didn't show up in the stat book.

With a one-point lead, UNM point guard Deyton Albury leaped high above San Diego State defenders to grab a surprise pass — and relatively bad one — from the otherwise clear statistical MVP of the game, Lobo big man Tomislav Buljan.

With about 30 seconds to go in a close game, the Lobos were facing an intense press in the backcourt from the Aztecs. Luke Haupt inbounded the ball from under the SDSU basket to a leaping Buljan. After catching the pass and before landing, Buljan twisted and tried to throw down court to Albury.

To put it mildly, his plan didn't work. 

But Albury saved the would-be turnover anyway, was fouled and the Lobos went on to victory, 81-76.

Haupt, Lobos head coach Eric Olen and Buljan addressed the play afterward.

"I mean, I caught the ball and I saw that the last (defender) was a little bit up," Buljan said. "(The pass) was intentional, of course. If I threw it a little bit harder, he would have had a wide open layup. ... When you're confident, sometimes when you risk, it can go both ways. But if you don't risk, how can you know what's gonna be?"

I was a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" approach from the Croatian Sensation who otherwise had a monster game with 24 points and 18 rebounds.

"That is not exactly how we drew that up," Olen said with a grin.

"How was it drawn up?" asked a reporter.

"Differently," Olen said.

And what was Haupt, the San Diego native and hero whose final minute 3-pointer won the game, thinking when he saw what Buljan did?

"I don't think I could say that up here," he told reporters. "Deyton made a play on that ball, and he's a special athlete. Deyton told me before that if I got in trouble, throw it up to me. And it wasn't me that threw it up to him, but someone threw it up to him, and he went and made a play."

House in China

It must be March. Jaelen House is doing big things.

The former Lobos point guard who led UNM to four wins in four days to win the 2024 Mountain West Tournament championship and end the program's decade-long NCAA Tournament drought, flew to China on Monday to start playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, the top tier league of professional basketball in that country.

It is unclear which team House has signed with and attempts by the Journal to reach House have not been returned.

Less than two weeks ago (on Feb. 20), House scored a San Diego Clippers franchise record high 45 points in their NBA G-League game against the Austin Spurs, leading his team back from 20 points down to a 135-132 win.

But in his second season with the team, and after two summers in the NBA Summer League, House had not been called up to play for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.

The CBA is not considered as good a league as the top tier leagues in Europe, but has opened up its pocketbooks to play American players quite well.

The San Diego Clippers on Monday posted confirmation of their dissolution with House and wished him well: "Thank you for two awesome seasons Jaelen! good luck on your next adventure." The post had a picture of House with the words "Thank you" on it and the message included an image of an airplane.

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.