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UNM Men's Basketball: Lobos sign junior college center
Monquel Pegues is coach Steve Alford's fourth signee of the 2007 class.
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This could be the monster in the paint for whom Lobos fans crave.
Monquel Pegues, a 6-foot-10 center out of Cape Fear (N.C.) Community College, has agreed to sign with the University of New Mexico men's basketball team on Friday, Cape Fear coach Ryan Mantlo said.
Pegues (pronounced peh-geese) is the only true center out of first-year coach Steve Alford's 2007 recruiting class that includes 6-8 junior college forward Johnnie Harris and highly touted high school guards Darrington Hobson and Dairese Gary.
"He's felt comfortable with UNM since day one," Mantlo said. "He came into my office today and said he finally had peace with his decision. He can help this team right away."
UNM assistant Craig Neal was in North Carolina on Monday to secure Pegues' future as a Lobo. Considering 6-9 Daniel Faris is the only returning post player from last year's roster, Pegues likely won't have to fight for much playing time.
Mantlo said Pegues -- good for 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season -- will have no issues scoring and rebounding at the Division-I level. Pegues registered games of 42, 33, 31 and 28 points last season.
Now it's time to hone the defensive skills, Mantlo said. Plus he must qualify academically with 15 hours of summer classes. Mantlo said he's confident Pegues will make the grade.
"He's long, but sometimes he just needs to keep his hands straight up on defense," Mantlo said. "He's learning to stay out of foul trouble."
The 250-pound Pegues will become a stronger force when around 240, Mantlo said. UTEP, Georgia and Arkansas-Little Rock also recruited Pegues.
The trend with Alford is talking about a recruit after he signs with the team. The Lobos have up to five scholarships to use this signing period. UNM is diligently recruiting 7-footer Beas Hamga, Hobson's teammate at Decatur (Ill.) Christian. Kentucky and UNLV also are in the mix for Hamga, one of the top-rated centers in the class of 2008 who might reclassify to 2007.
Already signed to UNM are two top-150 guards in Hobson and Dairese Gary. Some recruiting sites list Hobson as a four-star recruit out of five. Harris averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, the runner up in the junior college national championship game.
