New Mexico adds Texas combo forward
Over the weekend, New Mexico hosted an important visitor. Tuesday night, Steve Alford and company locked him up.
Nick Banyard, an athletic 6-foot-7 combo-forward from Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus committed just days after completing his official visit.
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"I was really just wanting to get it over with," Banyard told Rivals.com of the timing of his decision. "I wanted to be committed before basketball season started so I wouldn't have to worry about having that weight on my shoulders.
"That's off my back and now I don't have anything to worry about with recruiting."
While it was important to Banyard to get things over with, it was just as important to him that he got the feeling that his future coaches and teammates cared about him.
"After visiting I know that the coaches have my back and the players too," said Banyard. "They just made me feel welcome."
A long and versatile player, Banyard has always been able to utilize his quickness and bounce around the rim. Over the past year, though, he's become more dedicated as a rebounder and has also improved tremendously as a jump shooter.
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"They see me fitting in perfect," said Banyard of the Lobos' plans for him. "They've been telling me for the longest that I'm the missing key.
"They've recruited me as like a three/four combo. It all just depends on who is in the game. That's why they love me is because I'm so versatile."
With his recruitment out of the way, Banyard is looking forward to a big senior season and is working hard to add strength. He's also high on a program that he thinks some of his peers aren't valuing quite enough.
"Everybody is like congratulations but I don't think they know what New Mexico is coming up on," said Banyard. "I think they are one of those upcoming programs and this year and next year we are going take that next step to be real good."