NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of New Mexico of last decade

3. Alex Kirk – New Mexico

It may be hard to believe based on recent events in the MWC, but New Mexico was one of the best programs in the conference a decade ago. Kirk is a 7’0 center from Los Alamos who played his collegiate career for the Lobos, arriving on campus way back in 2010 during that run of success. He was actually a top 100 prospect, but he missed an entire season due to a serious back injury. Fortunately, Kirk bounced back nicely from that injury and had a prosperous career at New Mexico.

He had decent numbers in limited chances as a freshman, while also exploding for a 31-point outpouring in a win over Cal State Bakersfield. He then redshirted after that back injury before bouncing back with two impressive seasons as a full-time starting center. He averaged at least 12 points and 8 rebounds per game in each of the next two years, including a 22-point, 12-rebound effort in an NCAA Tournament loss to Harvard. He helped lead New Mexico to consecutive MWC Tournament crowns and had a slew of double-doubles in his career.

Kirk was twice on the MWC All-Defense team and was All-MWC Second Team as a sophomore and Third Team as a junior. He led the conference in blocks as a sophomore and is among the conference’s all-time leading rebounders in just three seasons of action. He skipped out on his final season of college ball to test the professional waters, settling mostly for an international career after a brief stint on the Cleveland Cavaliers.