New Mexico does not rank with California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida, etc. in terms of producing an abundance of Division I basketball players. In fact, we're probably in the cellar; however, we are proud of the Division I basketball players that represent our great state of New Mexico.

Many of us lose track of some of these players as they start their collegiate careers at some small junior college in the middle of nowhere, but several players move on to the Division I level after seasoning at junior college. New Mexico does tend to produce one or two players that are Division I-ready yearly, such as Kasey Cunningham (Southern Cal), Harvey Hale (Wake Forest), Gordo Castillo (New Mexico State), and soon-to-be Jeff Taylor of Hobbs High School.

How can New Mexico's most popular sport be so weak in terms of producing high-caliber basketball prospects? Is it because our state is not exactly in existence on the recruiting map? Is it because recruiters and scouts ignore the top quality players because our level of competition does not rank among the best? Or is it because we really are not a great contributor to producing Division I basketball players, and we are just merely a state that produces several JUCO and Division II players?

Any who, I am here to acknowledge those basketball players that have overcome doubt and currently represent our state at the Division I level.

We will start with Dax Crum, a Kirtland Central High School (Kirtland, NM) graduate of 2004. Crum, who stands at 6-foot-1, was born with just one hand, but his hard work and dedication has earned him a spot on a Division I basketball team. He played his first two seasons at Arizona Western College, where he earned first-team all-region accolades. AWC was ranked No. 1 nationally his last year there. Now he is a senior for Southern Utah University. Crum is averaging 2.3 points. He scored 10 points last week against Western Illinois on 3-for-4 shooting (3-3 3-pt).

Darren Prentice, a 6-foot-1 senior guard for the University of New Mexico, who was a prep sensation at Alamogordo High School (Alamogordo, NM). The class of 2004 representative averaged 23.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 5.1 rebounds which eventually resulted in leading Alamogordo to a 5A State semifinal finish. The Lobo reserve is averaging 8.5 points per game. He went 6-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc at TCU a couple weeks ago and finished with 19 points. Prentice had a career-high of 28 points vs. rival Utah last year. Outstanding play for the quick guard helped earn him honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference last season. With Dairese Gary, an Indiana product that followed Steve Alford to UNM, now at the helm, Prentice has been put into a bench spark role.

Not really known in New Mexico as a Division I baller is Albuquerque High School's (Albuquerque, NM) own Jalen Dominguez. A 6-foot-2 senior for New Mexico State University, Dominguez hardly gets to see court action. As a senior for AHS, he averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. He has not seen more than 3 minutes of action so far this season for Aggies, and totals just 3 points on the season.

Chad Toppert, one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation right now at shooting 48.8% from downtown, is currently UNM's second-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game behind talented Kansas transfer J.R. Giddens. He was a product via Albuquerque Academy (Albuqueque, NM) in 2004. Coming from an athletic family, Toppert has probably been the most improved Lobo this year. Toppert torched in-state rival New Mexico State for 20 points on 6-for-7 shooting from 3-point land. Steve Alford is in the process of making him a more versatile player that does not just rely on 3-pointers. At Albuquerque Academy, the 6-foot-7 redshirt-junior guard for the Lobos, averaged 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior in high school for the 4A Chargers. Also, Toppert has excelled in the classroom at UNM earning Academic All-MWC twice.

Former Rio Grande High School (Albuquerque, NM) star Harvey Hale, a 6-foot-2 guard that was the New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year in 2005. Hale now plays in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for Wake Forest University. Now a junior for the Deacons, Hale is averaging 9.2 points along with 2.0 rebounds. As a junior in high school, he ranked in the Top 150 for the Class of 2005 on rivals.com. A good 3-point shooter is what he is known for. Wake Forest believes he has all-star potential that we have yet to see out of him on the collegiate level.

Daniel Faris is well-known in the state of New Mexico for helping Eldorado High School (Albuquerque, NM) to two consecutive 5A state championships. Now as a starting post for the University of New Mexico, the 6-foot-9 junior is averaging 9.6 points to go along with 4.6 rebounds per contest helping the Lobos boast a 17-6 (4-4 MWC) record. His best prep year was probably his junior year as he averaged 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. Once under the guidance of former Lobo coach Ritchie McKay, Faris molded into a solid post presence. Steve Alford has surmounted several kinks in his game to make him a better offensive contributor to a team that lacks a lot of size.

Former Temple Baptist High School (Albuquerque, NM) star and current Liberty University post Tyler Baker might be somewhat unknown to people who live outside of the Albuquerque-metro area. Baker, who stands at 6-foot-9 and is a redshirt-sophomore, led the Albuquerque-metro area in scoring his senior year at 1A Temple Baptist averaging 25.6 points and 15.0 rebounds. He is now under the guidance of former Lobo coach Ritchie McKay. Though playing very sparingly at Liberty, Baker has achieved in the classroom earning Big South Presidential Honor Roll accolades.

Alex White, a 6-foot-6, 235 pound junior for No. 15 Drake University, played alongside Harvey Hale at Rio Grande High School. He was an intimidating presence in the high school ranks averaging 18.1 points and 13.1 rebounds. White competed at Cochise (AZ) College his first two seasons in college. While averaging 11.5, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, he accumulated All-Region I accolades due to his outstanding play down low. Currently at Drake, he averages 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in just 9.8 minutes of play.

Frank Borden, a graduate of Gadsden High School (Anthony, NM) in 2005, now plays at American University in Washington, D.C. The 6-foot-4 junior combo guard spent the past two years readying his game for the division I level at Cochise (AZ) College with Alex White. Last year he averaged 14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds helping him earn Third Team All-ACCAC. Coming out of high school he had several Division I track and field scholarship offers. He is currently only averaging 3.1 points in 15.9 minutes of playing time each outing. Borden's season-high in points was 10 points against New Jersey Tech where he went 4-for-7 from the field.

Ryan Daniels of La Cueva High School (Albuquerque, NM) now plays for No. 15 Drake University with Alex White. Two New Mexico natives playing for a top 15 team in college is quite an accomplishment for our state. Daniels, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, played one year at Butler (KS) Community College after graduating from La Cueva in 2006. He averaged 16.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 rebounds for the Bears, who made it to the 5A State Finals in 2005. His most impressive performance was without question in the 2006 New Mexico East-West All-Star game. Daniels scored 20 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and 10 steals for a quadruple-double. The assists, rebounds, and steals totals were all career-highs. He has yet to touch the court for Drake, but he is only a sophomore.

Kasey Cunningham, the dominate big man from Cibola High School (Albuquerque, NM), now plays alongside highly-touted freshman O.J. Mayo at the University of Southern California. His senior year in high school ended unexpectedly as he tore his ACL. Prior to the injury he was averaging 22.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Last year at USC he redshirted to recover from ACL surgery. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward was averaging 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 9 games, but has been sidelined with an ALC tear to the same leg as before. He was peaking with lots of potential in his first 9 college games this season, and then this injury occurred during a practice causing him to get surgery again.

He is currently a sophomore. Kennedy scored 16 points this season against an Xavier team that has ranked in the top 25.

Aaron "Gordo" Castillo, the well-known Las Cruces High School (Las Cruces, NM) product, opted to stay in his hometown to play for New Mexico State University. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds. freshman (class of 2007), Castillo has seen very little playing time thus far for the Aggies. He is currently averaging 2.5 points, shooting 40% from behind the arc, with a season-high 8 points against Fresno State. While in high school, he accumulated Gatorade Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons, making him the only player in state history to earn the award twice. His senior year he averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists for his 5A squad. Castillo is well-known for his amazing shooting ability, a major reason why the Aggies rushed to sign him to a letter-of-intent.

Players that tried to make division I basketball work recently have been Blake Harden at UNM, David Kanyinda at UNM, Ervin Youmans at UTEP, Timmy Crowell at Cincinatti, Steven Lovato at NMSU, and Josh Jenkins at NMSU.

Blake Harden, a 6-foot-5 Hope Christian High School (Albuquerque, NM) graduate in 2003, started off at Pepperdine before shortly transferring back home to UNM. In high school he led Hope Christian to two consecutive state championships his final two years. He averaged 16.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in his senior campaign for Hope Christian. While at UNM, he has been a two-time Academic All-MWC selection. He has left the team twice while at UNM. Once with Ritchie McKay and recently with Steve Alford for personal reasons.

David Kanyinda, who transferred to Lamar (CO) Community College in agreement with new Lobo coach Steve Alford, graduated from Sandia High School (Albuquerque, NM) in 2006. He averaged 22.6 points and 6.0 rebounds his senior year. Kanyinda, who is a 6-foot-1 guard with range, had several Division I offers, but decided to walk-on to UNM. Now as a sophomore at Lamar CC, he is trying to garner some more interest from other Division I schools.

Youmans, a 5-foot-11 point guard, currently plays for Division II-North Dakota University. Bouncing around from UTEP and Eastern Arizona College, he had originally signed with Division I Mercer in 2006 but opted for NDU. Youmans was a graduate of Hobbs High School (Hobbs, NM) in 2004, where he averaged 28 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 rebounds.

Timmy Crowell, who is now at Division II-Fort Lewis College, spent two years at Midland (TX) Junior College, where he was an all-star. The Sandia High School (Albuquerque, NM) graduate tried to make things work at the University of Cincinnati in the Big East, but his expectations fell short.

Steven Lovato, a guard from Capital High School (Santa Fe, NM), was a walk-on at NMSU his first year, but when Reggie Theus rolled into town his spot on the team vanished.

Jenkins was dealt the roughest hand when he was charged with rape. He played for NMSU as a true freshman, but had plans to transfer back home to UNM due to former coach Ritchie McKay. He prepped at Valley High School (Albuquerque, NM) and was nothing short of spectacular his senior season.

Of the thirteen athletes that are currently playing Division I basketball, four have had to go through junior college. With this said, look forward to several junior college players from New Mexico to make their way to the Division I ranks. Players that are most likely to do so are: Michael Dominguez (Northeastern (CO) Junior College) from Capital High School (Santa Fe, NM), Will Bynum (Eastern Arizona College) from Hobbs High School (Hobbs, NM), Matt Kellogg (Sheridan (WY) Junior College) from Manzano High School (Albuquerque, NM), Scott Bamforth (Western Nebraska Community College) from Del Norte High School (Albuquerque, NM), Daniel Steffenson (Otero (CO) College) from Rio Rancho High School (Rio Rancho, NM), and Noah Wolfe (Air Force Prep) from Rio Rancho High School (Rio Rancho, NM).

Future from high school stars that are most likely to move on to Division I schools right away are Jeff Taylor and Allen Tate of Hobbs High School (Hobbs, NM), Marcus Williams of Rio Rancho High School (Rio Rancho, NM), Jaye Crockett of Clovis High School (Clovis, NM), Matt Peeler of Alamogordo High School (Alamogordo, NM), Chad Adams and Xavier Blount of Highland High School (Albuquerque, NM), Alfonso Hubbard of Gallup High School (Gallup, NM), Matt Billups of Los Lunas High School (Los Lunas, NM), Alex Kirk of Los Alamos High School (Los Alamos, NM), Eric Kibi of Sandia High School (Albuquerque, NM), Derek Montoya of Artesia High School (Artesia, NM), and Bill Squire of Hagerman High School (Hagerman, NM).

Jeff Taylor has offers from several schools including Gonzaga, Texas, and UNM. Allen Tate, Taylor's teammate, is receiving interest from several Division I schools. Marcus Williams will likely go the JUCO route to get to the Division I level. Jaye Crockett will likely start getting recruited during AAU this off-season. Matt Peeler's injury might make him go through JUCO to get to the Division I level. Chad Adams, who is only junior, has offers from Marquette and UNM already. Adam's teammate Xavier Blount will likely sign somewhere next year. Alfonso Hubbard, who is having an amazing junior season, will likely garner interest during AAU season.

Matt Billups will have to go the JUCO route most likely. Alex Kirk, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, is already getting interest from UNM so watch for more offers to come in the future. Eric Kibi, only a freshman, is leading Sandia in scoring thus far at 17 points per game. Derek Montoya, a 6-foot-4 junior, has unlimited potential and if he gets on the NM Force's AAU team then look for some offers to come his way. Bill Squire, a 6-foot-9 force, could get an offer just because of his size or will go to JUCU to strengthen his game and impress some Division I schools.