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New Mexico Basketball: Lobos hire Paul Weir to be new head coach

By Andrew Nostvick

Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; New Mexico State Aggies head coach Paul Weir claps during the first half against the Baylor Bears in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; New Mexico State Aggies head coach Paul Weir claps during the first half against the Baylor Bears in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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New Mexico basketball picked up Paul Weir away from New Mexico State to be their new head coach.

The University of New Mexico chose a basketball coach with a little familiarity with the geography around the region.

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New Mexico introduced New Mexico State’s Paul Weir as the new head coach Tuesday afternoon in Albuquerque. Weir is the 21st head coach to be hired in the history of New Mexico Lobos basketball.

He takes over for Craig Neal, who the Lobos fired earlier this month after four seasons on the sideline.

Neal led New Mexico to a 76-52 record with one Mountain West Conference tournament championship and one NCAA Tournament appearance. In his first season, Neal led New Mexico to a 27-7 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance, the school’s third straight.

After that, New Mexico hovered around the .500 mark for the remaining three years with Neal as coach.

Weir has primarily been an assistant for most of his career. He spent nearly 10 seasons as an assistant at New Mexico State before taking over as head coach last season. As the head man for the Aggies, Weir guided them to a school record 28 wins, with a WAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

New Mexico State lost, 93-71, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Baylor to end their season.

Plucking Weir from New Mexico State could add quite a bit of intrigue to the Rio Grande Rivalry. With Weir as head coach, the Aggies defeated New Mexico 84-71 last December for their first win against the Lobos since 2013.

Weir has his work cut out ahead of him. The Lobos go into the offseason with five players transferring.

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New Mexico will have to play on without leading scorer Elijah Brown, one of the five players who announced his transfer. The Lobos finished the 2016-17 season with a 17-14 record, finishing fifth in the conference with a 10-8 record.