True freshman showing promise as a team leader
In the absence of a leader, a true freshman is making his bid to become just that for The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team.
Makuach Maluach has taken on a more aggressive tone at both ends of the floor in the past week or so, scoring 32 points while shooting 61 percent from the floor and recording three steals. In some ways, the numbers may seem pedestrian for a leadership role, but for a team like the Lobos it has made all the difference in the world.
Entering Saturday’s road trip to Fresno State, they have won two straight, and at 8-10 overall and 3-2 in Mountain West Conference play, are at least in the discussion for the initial leg of the MWC race.
The Lobos have yet to win a game outside The Pit this season, making them the only conference team not to win at least once on the road or on a neutral court. There have been a couple of near-misses, but nothing of substance.
That’s where finding someone who can put the ball in the basket helps. Minus leading scorer Sam Logwood, the onus of putting up points falls to a committee of supporting players, Maluach included. At 6-foot-5 with a wingspan covering nearly seven feet, he certainly has the raw athletic ability to get the job done. He’s a leaper, an explosive player with speed and a reliable shot.
It wasn’t until Logwood’s exit from the lineup that Maluach truly began to blossom. Logwood has missed each of the last two games with a shoulder injury and it’s unclear if and when he will return.
Head coach Paul Weir has not discussed Logwood’s issue with the media and it’s clear that, on some level, the senior forward has fallen into disfavor for the second time this season. The first was when he temporarily left the team to contemplate his future.
With him out of the picture, Weir assigned Maluach all of his duties in the Wyoming game. He was in the starting lineup and was told to take it directly at Cowboys power forward Hayden Dalton on both ends of the floor. Dalton eventually fouled out with 10 points, more than seven below his average coming in.
Weir was also sketchy about the return of shooting guard Troy Simons. Like Logwood he has missed the last two games; one due to a league-mandated suspension and the other was Weir’s decision. Simons was not allowed to sit with the team on the sidelines in a Jan. 6 win over San Jose State and was in street clothes on the bench against Wyoming.
There, once again, was Maluach. The Australian teen sensation has played an average of 28 minutes while making 11 of 18 shots and going 7-of-8 from the line and 3-of-4 from 3-point range the last two games. He has pulled down nine rebounds — his most in a two-game stint since the very start of the season — and spent much of his time defensively guarding the opponent’s top wing.
Rebounding has been a focal point for Weir in recent weeks. Led by forward Joe Furstinger’s ball-hawking style the last seven games, the team’s biggest weakness has been largely neutralized.
“Earlier this year it was, like, man if we miss a boxout it was an automatic offensive rebound,” Weir said. “So I think Joe staying on the floor, staying out of foul trouble and now really impacting the game with defensive rebounds is helping us quite a bit.”
While there’s plenty of season still left and plenty of tough challenges ahead, it’s the opportunities given to players like Maluach and Furstinger that have helped give the Lobos a reason for optimism moving forward.