Lobo elder statesman Kuiper takes on leader role
Right now, everything’s good. The shot is true, the body isn’t tired and the chemistry is spot-on, leaving crystal clear visions of a conference title and a trip to the Big Dance bouncing around his head.
But Dane Kuiper knows better. A senior guard for the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team, he’s been around long enough to know the offseason is more about preparing for the long haul and not for a singular moment this coming winter.
That’s why he spends hours in the weight room and even more time with his teammates, trying to build the relationships that will come in handy when the season starts in November.
“You don’t have that learning curve,” he said during a recent practice in The Pit. “You already know what you’re doing. You’re just trying to improve the skills that you already know. It’ll be a lot smoother for us and it’ll be a lot easier for us to teach the other guys.”
The undercurrent to Kuiper’s Lobo career has been massive turnover on and off the court. Only two people who were here the day he arrived in the summer of 2015 are still with the program; assistant coach Chris Harriman and fellow senior guard Antony Mathis.
Everyone else, including the head coach, team trainer and every other player, came here after him.
“I’d like to say I’m one of them,” he said when asked if he considered himself a leader. “I’m a four-year guy here and I try to work as hard as I can, so I hope I can lead by example and impart some of my wisdom on these guys.”
A 6-foot-7 shooting guard who was named Arizona’s top player his senior season in high
school, Kuiper came to UNM with lofty expectations that left some Lobo fans feeling as though he hadn’t quite lived up to the height. He posted careerhighs in scoring (6.4 points) and rebounding (3.2) last season as a junior, but he also endured a prolonged shooting slump that saw his accuracy take a significant dip.
He hit just 31 percent of his 3-point tries, missing 17 straight attempts early in the Mountain West Conference schedule. He turned things around toward the end of the regular season but was just 2-for-14 from distance in the final five games, which included the three games in the MWC Tournament.
He has spent considerable time working on his jumper this summer, with good reason. The Lobos will have at least five players at 6-8 or taller in the rotation next season, meaning the emphasis on Kuiper’s game will be hitting open jumpers from the outside.
Head coach Paul Weir will lean on Kuiper’s experience to stabilize the backcourt. What’s more, he’ll need his senior’s ability to be a leader and ensure that things work smoothly on the floor.
“I felt like we all had an immediate connection,” Kuiper said of the team’s slew of new faces. “We all bond really well off the court and that just improves our connection on the court.”
Then again, it’s only June. Things are always perfect when the pressure of the season is several months away and the battle for playing time hasn’t consumed the players.
NOTES
Bound for the City Different: The Lobos will be in Santa Fe this weekend for their annual skills camp for players in grades 1-8. The camp runs Saturday and Sunday at the Santa Fe Indian School. Registration is still open through the team’s website at www.golobos. com.
Hold the phone on Bragg: Weir said he’s remaining reserved on 6-9 low post threat Carlton Bragg, a former player at Kansas who transferred to Arizona State before winding up at UNM earlier this year.
It’s still unclear if Bragg will get cleared by the NCAA in time to start the upcoming season. Although he never played a game at Arizona State, he still needs to get a waiver from the NCAA to land on UNM’s opening night roster.
Weir said he expects Bragg to be eligible either by the start of the season or as a mid-year transfer once the first semester ends in mid-December. Until then, Weir’s taking measured steps to include Bragg in all team activities — including getting face time before the media and public.
Weir said Bragg still has to fulfill program expectations that include academic progress, social habits and workout routines.
“I still think he’s working through that progress,” Weir said. “I meet with him frequently. He has a lot of standards he has to meet. Until he meets all those, I just don’t personally see the benefit of having him out in front of the media and talking to people consistently.”
He stressed that it doesn’t mean he doesn’t believe in Bragg. He does.
“Until we know more on a lot of levels, I just want to wait on that with him,” Weir said.
Another new face: Tajuan Agee, a 6-8, 215-pound power forward out of Chicago by way of Tyler Junior College, is on campus and ready to begin regular workouts.
He is the latest big man to join the roster and one of the last of the newcomers to get playing time in practice this month. The only other current Lobo not to be on campus for workouts is guard Erik McGee, the team’s projected starting point guard.
Recruiting: Weir’s focus on the 2019 recruiting class is guards. With the departure of seniors Kuiper and Mathis, the backcourt will need replenishing.
As for the players he has brought to the program the last few months, it’s still a work in progress.
“As much as I think they fit our style of play, they’ve yet to totally play our style of play,” Weir said. “We’re continuing to kind of indoctrinate them and teach them about our style and the way we do things. It just takes time. They’re starting to realize that the system is definitely more important than they are an subscribing to that sooner rather than later is just going to beneficial to everyone here.”