Lobos land lightning quick Utah State transfer point guard Deyton Albury

This past season, he was a headache for the UNM Lobos.

This coming season, he may be the hero.

Lightning quick point guard Deyton Albury, the 6-foot-3 senior who played at Utah State this past season, announced Tuesday night he has committed to the UNM Lobos to play for head coach Eric Olen.

A native of Nassau, Bahamas, Albury played his first two collegiate seasons at Chipola (Junior) College in Marianna, Florida. He then was named Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Year in 2024 at Queens College before transferring to Utah State, where he averaged 7.8 points, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals in just 18.7 minutes per game this past season — giving not only the UNM Lobos guards fits trying to stay in front of him, but also in a December game against Olen’s UC San Diego Tritons.

He shot 54.8 percent from the field and 43.3% from 3-point range, but on a very low volume (13-of-30 on the season).

In Mountain West play, his Offensive Rating of 127.6 ranked 3rd overall and he ranked sixth in league play in both steal percentage (3.31, with Tru Washington being the only Lobo rated ahead of him) and fouls drawn per 40 minutes (5.1 with Donovan Dent being the only Lobo ahead of him).

Due to the Diego Pavia court ruling that granted players more NCAA eligibility if they started their careers in junior college, Albury should have two years of playing eligibility remaining at UNM.

He was arguably the quickest player in the Mountain West with the ball in his hand in 2024-25 (San Jose State’s Latrell Davis might have an argument) — a trait that could flourish in Olen’s 5-out offense that creates a lot of space for a ball handler to slash and attack the rim.

In a home loss in Logan, Utah, to Olen’s UC San Diego squad in December, Albury came off the bench to score 15 points and two assists on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-2 from 3) and was 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

In UNM’s win in Logan on Feb. 1, Albury had 12 points, two assists and two steals while foul trouble limited his playing time to 14 minutes in the rematch in the Pit on Feb. 16, though he still scored six points with two assists and a steal.

Nearly 6K is on the way

While their commitments were publicized in recent weeks on social and traditional media, including in the Journal, UNM on Tuesday formally confirmed the signings of high school senior guards Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette — a pair of prep recruits who scored nearly a combined 6,000 points in their high school careers.

The prep duo who both originally had committed to Olen at UC San Diego, both switched their commitments to UNM to follow Olen to Albuquerque — Hall announcing his decision before even making a recruiting visit to UNM (he has since visited Albuquerque), Tenette only days after he and his parents visited.

Hall, a 6-foot-4 guard from Carlsbad (California) High School, scored 3,106 points in his high school career and was a two-time All-State First Team selection. He averaged 28.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a senior and shot 40.3% form 3-point range. He had seven 40-point games as a senior.

“Jake is one of the most accomplished basketball players San Diego has seen in recent years,” Olen said in a statement released by UNM. “While his scoring is well-documented, it’s his advanced feel for the game that truly sets him apart. We are excited that Jake and his family are joining our Lobo family next season.”

Tenette is a 5-10, two-sport star at Prescott (Arizona) High School who scored 2,752 points in his high school career while also being named the Grand Canyon Region Player of the Year in both football (he was the team’s quarterback) and basketball, twice for each sport.

As a junior, he led Arizona high schools in scoring at 31.4 points per game and this past season as a senior he was fourth while averaging 29.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.9 steals, including a 54-point, 10-assist game vs. a team from California.

“Uriah has the ability to light up the scoreboard in a hurry,” said Olen. “His offensive game is versatile, whether it’s through finishing at the rim, creating his own shot, or playmaking for teammates. We are thrilled that Uriah and his family have chosen to be part of Lobo Nation.”

Geoff Grammer covers college basketball for the Journal. You can reach him at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.