Once more, Udeze was bright spot
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from Geoff Grammer’s “Emptying the Notebook” column of Lobo basketball news and notes that has appeared each morning following a UNM men’s basketball game at ABQJournal.com/sports.
We barely got to know you, Uncle Mo. Not too many players will go down in Lobo lore gaining as much popularity and appreciation from fans in only one season with the program as Morris Udeze just managed to do at New Mexico.
The Wichita State transfer decided to give UNM a chance as a fifthyear graduate transfer who was coveted by many. He said he came to UNM because he saw postseason potential and an opportunity for himself to show off parts of his game he hadn’t been able to fully display in the past.
While Wednesday didn’t go as any Lobo player or fan would have liked, an 83-69 home loss to Utah Valley, Mo did get his wish this season.
The Lobos made the postseason for the first time in nine years. Yes, the NIT and not the NCAA Tournament, but the postseason drought is, indeed, over. And Udeze not only got an opportunity to show off his complete skill set, he took that opportunity and ran with it.
And it benefitted both the Lobo basketball program and Udeze’s future earning potential as a professional basketball player, wherever that may be.
As UNM coach Richard Pitino put it about Udeze’s one-year stint with the Lobos, it was “a match made in heaven” that will not soon be forgotten.
“Just phenomenal,” Pitino said. “Hate that he had to walk off this court with a loss. But like I told him in the locker room, you certainly helped our program. I hope we helped your career. Because when you take these one-year guys, sometimes it doesn’t work.
“This was a match made in heaven. Whoever calls me, whether it’s NBA, overseas, G League, they’re going to get the greatest recommendation ever for a person and a player.”
As for what Udeze had to say after Wednesday’s game, it was what you would expect from the
guy who earned so much respect from his teammates and Lobo fans for the way he handled business all season — after wins and after losses.
“For me, I just feel like for my last year, I wouldn’t want to choose another school but UNM,” Udeze said.
As for what the 6-foot-8 Udeze
did specifically in Wednesday’s game, going head to head at the “5” spot against 7-foot Aziz Bandaogo, who is third in the nation in blocked shots per game at 2.9,
well, Udeze had one of his best games in his college career:
●Points: 18
●Rebounds: 19
● Note: Broke Luc Longley’s
UNM record of 18 rebounds in an NIT game (1990)
● Fouls drawn: 7
● Double-double: No. 15 on season
And just how much did his one-year stop in Albuquerque show off all those skills he had hoped to show before turning pro?
Where do some of those numbers place Udeze in the singleseason Lobo record books? See the box with this colum. As far as other numbers:
UNM season rebounds
1. Drew Gordon (2011-12) -- 388 6. Luc Longley (1989-90) -- 330 7. Morris Udeze (2022-23) -- 326 8. Darington Hobson (2009-10) -- 325
UNM season double-doubles
1. Willie Long (1969-70) -- 23 7. Kenny Thomas (1997-98) -- 16 8. Morris Udeze (2022-23) -- 15