New Mexico Basketball: Anthony Mathis return adds to 2019-20 hopes

New Mexico Basketball has aspirations of contending in the Mountain West next season. With Anthony Mathis coming back for another year, things are looking up for the Lobos.

After going 14-18 (7-11 in Mountain West), New Mexico Basketball have high hopes for a better campaign next season. They’ll likely have Ohio State transfer Jaquan Lyle back after missing all of this past season with an injury (currently testing NBA Draft waters), and will also have Zane Martin off a transfer redshirt. He scored nearly 20 ppg for the 2017-18 season with Towson before coming to the Pit.

They’ll be joining other Lobo transfers who already had success with this team. Vance Jackson was second on the team with 14.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg, while former five-star recruit Carlton Bragg putt up 10.5 ppg and 8.8 rpg in 24 games played after sitting out the non-conference after transferring from Arizona State. Role players Makuach Maluach, Corey Manigault, and Keith McGee, who each averaged at least 9.0 ppg, will provide the depth needed for New Mexico to compete for a top spot in the Mountain West.

One player who they won’t have is Anthony Mathis, who the team with 14.4 ppg, 1.1 apg and 88% free throw shooting in 31 mpg. With so many new pieces and moving parts on the roster this past season, the senior guard was one of the most reliable faces each night for head coach Paul Weir. But with his eligibility up, the Lobos would have to find a way to replace the season-record holder for most three-pointers in school history.

That was the case….. until an early Christmas gift arrived.

The NCAA has granted Mathis with a fifth year of eligibility, after playing just 10 games in the 2016-17 season. It’s rare that this kind of ruling happens but a similar situation occurred just this past offseason, with Florida State’s Phil Cofer getting an extra year to play college basketball.

But for New Mexico, this is incredible news. Not only do they add continuity with a senior leader and lethal three-point shooter but the Lobos have another ball handler on the roster. As of now, that’s the biggest question mark on the team.

Still, barring any unexpected departures, New Mexico will still return their top six scorers and bring in two impact transfers to their rotation. And while they’re brining in players, their Mountain West competitors are losing players. Nevada’s coaching change has creative complete roster influx, with many players currently on the transfer portal. Even if most of them return, the Wolf Pack will be much more vulnerable.

As for the way-too-early preseason favorites Utah State, their roster could go one way or another. The could land WAC Player of the Year Jake Toolson as a grad transfer but could also lose big man Neemias Queta to the NBA Draft after his freshman year. Either way, the Lobos now have a roster that at least on paper, could challenge the Aggies and Wolf Pack in the Mountain West.

This will already be a feel-good story for Mathis, who started his career with head coach Craig Neal. There has been a ton of turmoil (and losses) with the program in the past few years but it seems like things are turning for the better. And Mathis, the true Lobo of the team, will be front and center to experience it.