Logwood decides he wants to stay after all

Coaching change has led to a change of heart for the rising UNM senior forward

It’s like he never left. Running up and down the Rudy Davalos Center practice court at the University of New Mexico on Friday with his Lobo teammates in a full five on-five pickup game, Sam Logwood felt at home.

He had a smile on his face, lift in his jumper and energy in his voice talking about his high hopes for the future of Lobo basketball.

Logwood took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that, after at least a half dozen meetings with new Lobos head coach Paul Weir over the previous week, he wants to finish his college basketball career at UNM, after all. Along with posting a picture of himself in a Lobos uniform, Logwood wrote: “One more year in the Pit. #GoLobos”

“Leaving wasn’t something I wanted to do,” said Logwood, the 6-foot-7 forward who last month had announced he was transferring from UNM after having started 66 games over the past three seasons. “It was something I felt like I had to do at that point.

“But now, with the new coach, I feel like I’ve got to keep establishing a relationship with him and building a family here. From now, I’ve got one more year to do this and get guys on board.”

Logwood said he wanted to transfer a year ago, following a sophomore season in which he said he never felt comfortable with his role on the team.

“Just me and coach (Craig) Neal weren’t on the same page exactly,” Logwood said of the spring of 2016. “We had a lot of meetings. I was telling him I was thinking about leaving and he said just to give it another chance. I did that. But (this season), I felt nothing really changed, exactly. So I felt it was time I do what was best for me and move forward (and transfer).”

Neal was fired March 31 and Weir was hired April 11. In the time between, Logwood realized that in order to transfer to another Division I school, he would have to find a school willing to give him two years of scholarships — one to sit out a season per NCAA rules and one to play in the 2018-19 season. It was hardly ideal. But when Weir was hired from the instate rival New Mexico State, Logwood decided to give him a chance to make a pitch.

“The first or second day he was here, he was showing us film,” Logwood said. “He was showing me how he felt I could fit into what he wants to do. … Just seeing what he wants to do with us really caught my eye. I like the way he wants to play. I feel like it will fit me much more than the last system I was in with coach Neal. I feel like I have a lot more freedom. I feel like it will be more fitting for a lot of the guys on the team.”

One thing Logwood said caught his attention as much as anything was when Weir put in game film of the UNM-NMSU games of the past season.

“Then he showed us the game film against us and what he was trying to do against us,” Logwood said. “It was really interesting how another team was coaching against us and how poorly we looked on film.”

Logwood isn’t the only one who considered leaving UNM. Lobo freshman guard Damien Jefferson, who never announced he would transfer but was considering it over the past month, let Lobo fans exhale Thursday night. Also tweeting a picture of himself in a Lobo uniform, Jefferson wrote: “I’m right back like I never left.”

Freshman point guard Jalen Harris and sophomore guard Anthony Mathis are two players who, like Logwood, have been granted their release to transfer, but both are in the wait and seen mode with Weir. Mathis has said he wants to stay and Harris has remained tight lipped.

Both were a part of Friday’s pickup game with Logwood.

Seniors-to-be Elijah Brown, a graduate transfer, and Xavier Adams are still planning to transfer.

For those who do come back, along with whoever Weir signs in the coming weeks, Logwood has high hopes.

“I feel like we can be toward the top of the pack by the end,” Logwood said. “… It’s just about will.”