Allick optimistic as undefeated Lobos eye MWC play
Dec. 23—He's the guy with the Sideshow Bob hairdo and Joe Namath (fur coat and all) swagger.
And if he keeps this up, he'll become one of the most popular Lobos in recent memory.
True to the hype surrounding his transfer to the University of New Mexico in the spring, 6-foot-8 senior power forward Josiah Allick has become part of a potent 1-2 punch in the paint for the Lobos. He's a big reason the team is undefeated after 12 games and an even bigger reason there's a slow resurgence in fan interest in the Lobos.
His first day on campus had him moving his belongings while wearing a Namath-style fur coat. When seen out in public, he's easily identifiable by shoulder-length curly hair that, on game days, is pulled back and held in place by a headband.
That's the Allick the fans see. What most don't get is the intelligent mind of a player who gives long, thoughtful responses to even the most innocuous questions.
When asked if he was surprised at UNM's 12-0 start that has it on the verge of cracking the Top 25 for the first time in nearly a decade, he said he took the time during the preseason to study the team's schedule and make an educated guess at how far the Lobos would go.
While he stopped short of predicting an undefeated run through nonconference play, he did see the Lobos making noise before the holiday break. Following Tuesday's win over Prairie View A&M, most of the players left town to visit family for Christmas. For Allick that meant a trip home to Lincoln, Neb.
He parlayed a strong senior year in high school into a three-year stint at Kansas City in the Summit League. He left the Roos to join UNM, adding some much-needed punch to a low-post game that was painfully thin last season. Thus far he and fellow transfer Morris Udeze are averaging 27 points and 15.5 rebounds between them.
"I looked at the schedule and was, like, 'OK we should bag that one, we should be favored in that one,' " Allick said. "Overall I felt we were definitely going to be in a very good position going into conference. Now I was a little bit surprised and I'm kind of proud the way this team was able to pull out some of the dogfights that we had, those quality wins like Saint Mary's and San Francisco and Iona. All three are our best wins."
Allick likes the veteran leadership of the Lobos. He, Udeze, guard Jaelen House and junior Jamal Mashburn — all of whom have started every game this season — provide a stable emotional base that passes down to the younger players.
"Maybe it's just like some blind confidence or whatever it may be, but every time I step on the court if I'm able to play my team has a chance to win," he said. "I've never gone into any game despite the odds and been like, aw I'm just going to try to get some good numbers or we'll try keep it close."
Mountain West Conference play starts Wednesday when Colorado State (8-5), an NCAA Tournament team from last season, comes to The Pit for the first of 18 league games to close out the regular season.
Allick said the team everyone needs to look out for is perennial power San Diego State, which spent the first part of nonconference play in the Top 25.
"If we play the way we can and the way we have shown we have at times, I really don't think that there's anybody that can beat us," Allick said. "Now, is every game going to be by 30? Absolutely not, but we've shown that we can dog them out."
Allick leads the MWC in rebounding, averaging 8.2 a game with 2.5 of those coming off the offensive glass. He's converting 57.3 percent of his shots, a number that climbs to a ridiculous 70.7 percent if you take out his 2-for-17 effort from 3-point range.
He even has more assists than turnovers, which isn't terribly common for big men in a guard-heavy offense like the Lobos have. While his numbers are down slightly from those he posted at Kansas City, they're more than acceptable for a UNM team that is just one victory shy from matching last season's win total.
"You look at the veteran leadership we've added with Mo and Josiah and, yeah, I really like this team," said UNM coach Richard Pitino. "Those two are veteran players who know how to handle themselves on and off the court. Every team needs guys like that."
While Allick thinks the Lobos are good enough to be a legitimate Top 25 team, he wouldn't say exactly how many games he thought the team would win before the first game was even played.
The one thing he did do was go through the ESPN app that shows each team's projected percentage for winning each game. Considering the app relies on data from last season's 13-19 team and didn't account for the impact that Allick and Udeze would have, it's safe to say that proving them wrong is something that brings a smile to the Big Hairdo's face.
"Right before the game I go back and look and see if it's changed a little bit, better or worse," he said, referencing the Saint Mary's game that said UNM had a 20 percent chance of winning. "I always like being the underdog, you know? That's basically how it was for every game at my last school."
