By: Ben Dickson
People around the nation may not recognize the degree to which New Mexico State basketball has achieved success, but the Las Cruces community certainly does.
Basketball means plenty to the people of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and their local Aggies have annually given them something to be passionate about. Since the 2006-07 season, New Mexico State has won seven WAC regular-season titles, played in 10 NCAA Tournaments and has won an average of more than 23 games per season. It is no small feat for a school that plays in a traditional one-bid conference to build such a winning reputation and culture.
The Panamaniacs, a New Mexico State alumni team, will bring that culture to TBT 2022. They will also be able to play in front of their home fans at The Pit – their rival New Mexico’s home arena.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It's official!✅<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/Panamaniacs_TBT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Panamaniacs_TBT</a> have been accepted into <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thetournament</a>'s 64-team field!🏀<br><br>The team of Aggie alumni will start their run in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Regional on July 18-21!💰<br><br>Flash sale today and tomorrow with the code: TBT25<br>👉<a href="https://t.co/IIZeuS74AS">https://t.co/IIZeuS74AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZvZ2NQewvV">pic.twitter.com/ZvZ2NQewvV</a></p>— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMStateMBB/status/1524041579274510336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Perhaps no one knows the ins and outs of New Mexico State hoops and basketball in “The Land of Enchantment” a whole better than Panamaniacs general manager Brandon Mason. Mason had an illustrious career playing for New Mexico State, scoring 1,000 points from 1999-2003, and spent time on both the Aggies and New Mexico coaching staffs.
Mason played a big role in getting The Enchantment, the New Mexico alumni team, to TBT in 2021. Just one year later, he is doing the same with his alma mater.
“I had a vision, of course, last year when I started the Enchantment team, coaching for the Lobos and then coaching for the Aggies and playing for the Aggies,” Mason said. “I always knew that I wanted to get the Aggies going and have just a nice little rivalry which would be big time in the state of New Mexico and get them on that platform as well.”
It would be remiss not to mention the “nice little rivalry” that Mason referred to. New Mexico vs. New Mexico State creates some of the best theatrics in college basketball. A rare rivalry that pits two teams playing against each other twice despite being non-conference opponents, the memories are unforgettable for former players like Mason, who could recall his first moment in The Pit like it was yesterday.
“It’s very intense,” Mason said of the rivalry. “When I played at New Mexico State, The Pit sat 18,000 at that time (it sits 15,411 today), and I had to guard guys like Ruben Douglas, Eric Chatfield, guys that were pros at a really high level.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨BREAKING🚨: New Mexico State’s alumni have applied & we’ve accepted their bid for TBT 2022! <br><br>This <a href="https://twitter.com/Panamaniacs_TBT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Panamaniacs_TBT</a> roster is LOADED!<br><br>Catch your favorite <a href="https://twitter.com/NMStateMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NMStateMBB</a> hoopers at New Mexico July 18-21<br><br>🎟: <a href="https://t.co/XX3ERmOr1k">https://t.co/XX3ERmOr1k</a> <a href="https://t.co/IJrRhTDelF">pic.twitter.com/IJrRhTDelF</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1524045511086555137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The Pit can be intimidating for some, and it may not ever get more hectic in a season than the one time the Lobos host the Aggies. Mason was a nervous teenager his first time traveling to the Pit in 1999, and his actions reflected that.
“I just remember going to The Pit and it was sold out, 18,000,” Mason said. “And as a freshman at 17, 18 years old from Chicago, I was missing layups in the warmups. I was so nervous, and it’s all about the hype built into it. Like the fans, I’d be walking down getting ready for practice that week and I’d be walking to the gym and people would be like, ‘you ready for the game this weekend?’ I’m like, ‘man this is a big one.’”
A big one, undoubtedly, and one that gave guys that might have been on the fence about playing in TBT all the reasoning that they needed.
“I think that was a lot of the deciding factor,” Mason said. “Of guys that say, ‘Oh we can play the Aggies?’ Or ‘Oh we can play the Lobos? We’re all in, I can’t wait for that.’”
Mason admits there has been trash talk from both sides of the rivalry that has yet to surface on social media. The former players do not forget the moments from the Rio Grande Rivalry and the opposing players that took part in them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here we go… <br><br>The first team accepted into the New Mexico regional in <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePitUNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ThePitUNM</a> is that team from down south… <a href="https://t.co/vFj27sWJLG">https://t.co/vFj27sWJLG</a></p>— The Enchantment TBT (UNM) (@Enchantment_TBT) <a href="https://twitter.com/Enchantment_TBT/status/1524046213745504257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>If The Panamaniacs and The Enchantment meet at The Pit in TBT 2022, it could prove to be a golden opportunity for both the fans and the players to dive into unforgettable moments from the past.
Mason got the wheels churning on actually building the Panamaniacs with the help of Preston Laird, who is an assistant coach for Little Rock men’s basketball. Laird was a part of the New Mexico State coaching staff, along with Mason, when Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakim starred for the Aggies. Mason raved about Laird’s feel for New Mexico State basketball and Las Cruces, which is why he was his first call when the Panamaniacs idea came to fruition.
In building this summer’s New Mexico State alumni squad, Mason and Laird wanted to find the best pieces to the puzzle, regardless of which big names the team could secure. Whoever suits up for the Panamaniacs has to be fit to thrive with the fans in Las Cruces.
The first player Mason mentioned was Justin Hawkins, a “legend” who played for the Aggies from 2006-08. Hawkins should bring a “perfect veteran” presence to the Panamaniacs. Additionally, Zach Lofton, a 2018 All-WAC First Team honoree, brings “elite scoring” to his ball club.
He also wanted to add “specialists” that he coached in guards Braxton Huggins and Ian Baker, guys who played in multiple NCAA Tournaments and have played professionally, too.
With several championships amassed over the last few decades, a winning mentality is ingrained in the eldest and youngest Panamaniacs. “Junkyard dogs” Wendell McKines and Johnny McCants return to their alma mater as must-need pieces to Mason’s puzzle, but nearly a decade separates the two men. McKines starred in his 2011-12 senior season, averaging 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, while McCants just finished up an all-conference, six-year Aggie career with an NCAA Tournament win this past March.
The Panamaniacs hope that the 23 seasons and five Aggie head coaches that separate Mason’s 1999-2000 freshman season and the 2021-22 final collegiate season of the Panamaniacs’ least-seasoned player in McCants can help them find a winning formula. Each player on the Panamaniacs roster has won a championship of some sort with the Aggies, and that creates a special winning bond that is etched forever.
“They’ll hang their hat on a winning tradition and playing hard,” Mason said. “They play harder than any and everybody, and they have a mentality that Aggie nation loves and that’s what we want to bring to them. We don’t want to sell the fans short or anybody short. We want to come out and have them go as hard as they can, and I’m pretty sure they’re built like that, so they’ll do it anyway.”
As an incentive to the fans, Mason has spearheaded a jubilant celebration tabbed “Aggie Week,” which will get the former player alumni together and connect them to the New Mexico State fans.
Festivities during Aggie Week will include open practices at the Pan American Center (NMSU’s home arena), a golf event where fans can play with the former players and likely some dinners and a banquet. The Panamaniacs will pride themselves on being entrenched with the community, being social and giving fans the “up close and personal feel that they deserve.”
“I’m gonna tell you this, I think the players miss it just as much as the fans,” Mason said. “They miss that warm welcome in Las Cruces, so I think it’ll be great for both sides.”