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Dairese Gary has 15 straight starts at point guard this season, the most by a Lobos freshman in nine years. The Indiana product followed head coach Steve Alford to Albuquerque after committing to play for him at Iowa. "I've always loved his competitive spirit," Alford said. "That's why I call him `Bulldog.' You always want somebody on your team like that."

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There is a football player locked inside Dairese Gary - a tough guy, a physical guy, looking for release. It's like he wants to pound on somebody.

In a University of New Mexico basketball game, you might not see this side of Gary much. The officials control that sort of thing. They blow whistles. They call fouls.

In UNM practice sessions, the linebacker lives and roams.

Lobo senior Jamaal Smith saw and felt the football side of Gary in Thursday's practice.

It came a few minutes after Gary got chewed on by the Lobos coaches. It came after Gary had pounded his fist into the padding beneath a goal. It came when Gary was angry.

It came when Smith wedged his 5-foot-9, 175-pound frame between Gary and the basket and backed into Gary hard and low.

Gary, 6-1, 205, grabbed Smith by the shoulders and hurled him back several feet, kind of how a linebacker would shed a block on his way to devour a quarterback.

Smith hit on his butt and skidded across the floor.

Gary got the rebound.

"I can get physical," said Gary, who played running back and safety in high school. "That's why I played football. I like the contact. But I'm a basketball guy."

That physical nature is part of what put Lobos coach Steve Alford on Gary's trail four years ago when Gary played at Concord High in Ind.

Tough is OK with Alford.

"I've always loved his competitive spirit," Alford said. "That's why I call him `Bulldog.' You always want somebody on your team like that.

"In the Utah game (a 77-67 UNM win in overtime), we needed somebody to take our meanness to another level. Even as a freshman, he can do that. When you are looking for a leader, you look for competitive spirit and Dairese has it."

The freshman "Bulldog" isn't exactly a surprise for Alford or UNM this season. He was rated the No. 28 point guard in the nation coming out of high school by one scouting service.

He averaged 22.3 points as a junior and 21.8 points as a senior. He was a tough kid from Indiana.

But what stands out this season is the poise and confidence Gary takes onto the court. He doesn't look or play like a freshman. There are freshman mistakes, sure, but no fear.

"I've always been physical and kind of big as a kid," said Gary, 19. "I always played with my older brothers and older guys.

"My brothers used to tell me, `Why be afraid? You've been playing basketball all your life. There's nothing to worry about out there.' So, I just go play."

Maybe the toughest moments for Gary this season are those quiet times in The Pit when Alford, not the shy one, calls his freshman over for some intimate instruction.

"You want to run the offense or you want to sit?" is one bit of instruction Alford threw at Gary this season.

"He (Alford) can make me mad sometimes. He can get into you," Gary said. "But he explained to us before the season that his competitive nature might get away from him, and we have to understand that.

"He says things that might get you mad, but usually it's a boost to get you going. He always lets me know it's just him being him, and I think I'm kind of used to it now."

As a junior in high school, Gary committed to play for Alford at Iowa. But there was no question Gary would follow the first-year Lobos coach to New Mexico.

"I wanted to play for him," Gary said. "He stayed on me since I was a freshman and I knew he was a great player and a great coach. I felt he could help me get better and maybe I can help him win some championships."

The championship thing at UNM might be a ways off, but Gary already is making an impact as a Lobos rookie.

He has started 15 straight games after replacing Smith at the point. He has the most starts as a UNM freshman point guard since John Robinson II started 30 of 34 games in 1998-99.

He averages 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists, but his highs this season are 18 points, nine rebounds, eight assists.

"We recruited him as a point guard because you don't take it from him," Alford said. "He's a different type than Jamaal. Jamaal is a quick blur. Dairese is more of a set-up guy.

"I think before Dairese leaves here, he'll be one of the better defensive guards New Mexico will have seen. He's really good now and he'll be even better as he continues to learn and mature.

"And Dairese isn't a point guard who is only concerned about his numbers. Dairese is concerned about winning."