Tuesday night, it was all smiles at the Pit — for Lobo fans and Lobo players.
Fans got to see Jake Hall hit some 3s, Uriah Tenette show off a few dunks (ok, lots of dunks), and even get their fill of autographs and selfies after the game.
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For the Lobo players, the smiles seemed to be as much about getting to show off a little in front of those fans on the eve of their summer workout program coming to a close as it was about Charisse Williams letting them off easy. Tuesday night’s open practice, after all, was night and day compared to what they went through on Monday.
That was when the second year strength and conditioning coach for the Lobos — the Lobos’ second year strength and conditioning coach who is usually quite popular with the team — put the squad through a bit of a wake-up-call sort of workout that might get her taken off a few Christmas card lists.
“I can tell you we’re doing (this workout or that workout usually) for speed or for power,” Williams can be heard telling the team on a social media video the team posted on Monday. “But honestly, we just have to do hard things. We need to learn how to suffer.”
Earning every step.
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Reminder ‼️ Open Practice Tuesday night at 6pm! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/32NGPj28oQ
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) July 20, 2026
And so it began: The day “Reece” became the meanest strength coach around … for a day.
In addition to the team running every step in the Pit, there were stations with various obscure workouts for the players to do — in teams of two — before they could proceed.
Were the drills and challenges specific to anything that might help them on the basketball court?
“Not really,” Williams said Tuesday night.
Sometimes, her role is as much about building mental strength as physical.
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Rytis Petritis, the new Lobo who spent two years earlier in his college career training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, acknowledged this week’s workout had some similarities to his days as a cadet — both in terms of it being a generally miserable physical experience and also providing something that can only be accomplished through such challenges.
“Oh, there were definitely some flashbacks for sure,” Petritis said. “… My mindset for it all was — we all had a partner, so it was kind of like run with your partner — finish as a team, or don’t. If you finish first and your partner’s behind, it doesn’t really mean anything. Finish as a team, so that was kind of my mindset. That’s what I was kind of pushing for. …
“I wouldn’t say it was to the same extent as at Air Force, but I was suffering, that’s for sure. But it’s about going through these things together and the payoff of that means so much down the road.”
The hope is the team that suffers together, grows together.
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“A lot of growth happens when we’re suffering,” Williams said in the social media video. “That’s what we did today, but we made it through.”
And however it happens, Lobo basketball coach Eric Olen is absolutely thrilled with the results Williams gets out of the players.
“She has a really great ability to connect with the players and relate to them and also pushing them and making sure that they’re making progress,” Olen said. “She does a great job of keeping things light but really getting to work when it’s time to work, and I think there’s a real respect for what she does from our group, and that’s because of how she works, how she prepares, the way she teaches them.
“She’s all business when it’s time for business, but also has a great personality where she’s able to connect with everyone. We’re so lucky to have her.”
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New Lobo on board
Nate Muriithi, a high school senior from Oklahoma City, has committed to the UNM Lobos for the coming season.
The 6-foot-6 forward announced his commitment on Tuesday morning on his social media pages.
“I think Nate’s a really talented guy. We feel fortunate to add a player like him with this timing,” said Olen. “He had a really productive summer. He continued to play. I think he’s really smart. He’s tough. Plays with a high motor.”
It’s fairly unusual, though not unheard of, to sign a player this late in the summer, but less so in recent years as the transfer portal has changed the way a lot of recruiting calendars, especially for high school players, now play out.
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Muriithi becomes the 13th player on the Lobos 2026-27 roster. The NCAA allows 15. For now, Olen says he thinks they’re probably done … maybe.
Muriithi played this past season at Putnam City North in Oklahoma City and just this past week averaged 8.7 points and 6.5 rebounds for Mokan Elite, a highly-respected AAU team, at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in Augusta, South Carolina, one of the top recruited prep events of the year.
High fives, anyone?
As for that late recruiting… The new NCAA “five-for-five” ruling that may or may not ultimately lead to players who thought they finished their college careers this past spring now getting one more year to play (pending court rulings and NCAA amendments), every college team is still monitoring the situation and seeing who may or may not become available.
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For the Lobos, Olen acknowledged there isn’t much to offer other than a scholarship, which limits who they might be in play for in an NIL-world where players can now get paid to play.
Sibling rivalry check in
The Lobos started the summer with a timed mile run — a painful acclimation to the mile-high elevations of Albuquerque.
Freshman Dax Hall took first in the timed mile in June, completing it in 5 minutes, 40 seconds. When the Journal gave older brother Jake Hall a hard time for his brother beating him, the older Hall insisted he was only slower than Dax last month because Jake was resting a tired knee for a few weeks and wasn’t in top shape. And in his first run last summer as a freshman, he was sure he was faster than Dax.
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According to Williams, last summer’s first Jake Hall run was also timed at 5:40.
So, this past week, both in good condition, how did the Halls do?
Dax — 5:33.
Jake — 5:35.
Coupled with beating his older brother multiple times over the past year on the golf course, Dax seems to be faring quite well in this sibling rivalry so far.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
