New Mexico announces signings of two basketball transfers
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On Wednesday, New Mexico officially announced the signing of basketball transfers Chris Howell and Milos Vincentic.
The duo arrives in Albuquerque after spending last season on Eric Olen’s UC San Diego team. Olen and his assistant coaches have now received commitments from 11 players since taking over at New Mexico roughly five weeks ago.
Howell was New Mexico’s second commitment this offseason and the first from out of the portal. He spent last season at UC San Diego and joins older brother and assistant coach Mikey Howell in New Mexico. Howell spent three seasons at St. Mary’s, redshirting in 202122 before going on to play 59 games for the Gaels. With UC San Diego this past season, he started all 35 games for the Tritons on their way to a Big West championship and their first even appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Howell has made his mark on the defensive end in college, averaging six points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals per game this past season. He was second in the Big West Conference in steals and ranked 15th nationally. He also finished 10th nationally in Defensive Win Shares. He was the 2021 San Diego Section Player of the Year as a senior at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. Howell averaged 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals per game while helping the Falcons to the San Diego Section Open Division championship and a 30-1 record.
Milos Vincentic spent one season at UC San Diego and played in one game, injuring his foot against San Diego State that resulted in a season-ending injury. A native of Serbia, Vincentic began his collegiate career playing three seasons for McKendree University. In his last season at McKendree, Vincentic averaged 21.5 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from three-point range. He scored 41 points in a triple overtime victory against Illinois-Springfield, going on to earn NABC Division II All-American honors. Vincentic scored 1,226 points over his four seasons at McKendree.
Vicentic was the fourth player to commit to Olen and staff this offseason, following Jake Hall, Chris Howell and junior college standout Antonio Chol. The New Mexico staff continues to put the finishing touches on next season’s roster following a complete departure of the roster after Richard Pitino’s exit to Xavier.
MORE MOUNTAIN WEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.