Nelly's 'cha cha' game rewarded; Dent named to one watchlist, snubbed from other

After what had been to that point an intense, close game in front of a hostile, sold-out arena in Logan, Utah, Nelly Junior Joseph couldn’t help himself.

I mean, who can when the “Cha-Cha Slide” comes on?

During a timeout with 3:21 remaining in the game while referees were taking an agonizingly long time to review whether Drake Allen’s toes were on the 3-point line for a shot, the 6-foot-10 UNM Lobos center from Nigeria was grinning while meticulously going through the commands of the DJ Casper song blaring over the arena speakers.

“To the left ... Take it back now, y’all ... One hop this time ... Right foot, let’s stomp ... Left foot, let’s stomp ... cha cha now y’all!”

Even some of the rather frustrated members of the Hurd, the 3,500-strong Utah State student section that sits on the end of the court where Junior Joseph was dancing seemed to lower their guard ever so briefly to enjoy the moment before one screamed, “You still suck!”

Yeah, Junior Joseph was in a groove Saturday night — at that moment and in the 82-63 Lobos win over Utah State that moved UNM into sole possession of first place in the Mountain West conference.

The Lobos closed out the game on a dominating 45-13 run, handing the Aggies their worst home loss since a 60-41 defeat to Utah in November 1996.

And Junior Joseph was arguably the main reason why.

The Lobos center was named Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday after his 15-point (13 in the second half), 13-rebound game — his Mountain West leading 11th double-double of the season. He also was a perfect 7-of-7 shooting (and 1-for-1 from the free throw line), the third most made field goals without a miss in a game this season by any Mountain West player.

“I mean, there’s nothing different about playing in this environment because we’re used to playing in one of the best environments, which is the Pit,” Junior Joseph told the Journal after the game when asked about the intensity of the crowd in Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. “We’re used to the noise and everything. So we’re just trying to block out the noise and just play basketball.”

According to UNM, since the 1986-87 season, the first in which the NCAA differentiated between offensive and defensive rebounds, only four Lobos have had double-digit defensive rebounds in three consecutive games:

• Nelly Junior Joseph — 2024-25 (active streak)

• Morris Udeze — 2022-23

• Drew Gordon— 2011-12

• Lewis LaMar — 1993-94

Junior Joseph’s award on Monday gives UNM its most player of the week awards in one season in the 26-year history of the Mountain West. Starting point guard Donovan Dent has also won the Player of the Week three times this season. Also, the Lobos are now the third team to have two players receive at least three Player of the Week awards in the same season, joining 2011 San Diego State (Malcolm Thomas and Kawhi Leonard) and 2019 Nevada (Jordan Caroline and Caleb Martin).

Dent, Cousy and Oscar

Dent, who was last week’s Mountain West Player of the Week winner, also had himself a heck of a game Saturday in Logan (14 points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block), got some good news and some bad news on Monday.

First, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame released its 10-player Bob Cousy Award midseason watch list for best point guard, leaving Dent off the list.

The snub caught the attention of several national writers and even his coach, who has preached all season the importance of not putting too much weight into such things.

Pitino posted on his X account: “The Lobos are locked in on the task at hand and don’t care about individual awards. With that being said not having Donovan Dent on this list is a crime!”

Later in the day, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 50-player midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year award. Dent was the only Mountain West player on that list.

The 6-2 junior leads the Mountain West in scoring (19.4 points per game) and is second in assists (6.6 per game).

He is the only player in Division I basketball averaging over 19 points and 6.5 assists per game and the only player nationally to have three 30-point games and three 10-assist games this season.