It used to be that when UNM forward Wayland White had to leave the floor, it would leave a gap as wide as The Pit floor inside for the already smallish Lobo team.
White’s contributions not only drive the team but create a presence for the Lobos down low.
In last night’s loss to Brigham Young University, White played all of five minutes, totaling five fouls and four points on the night.
And when he picked up his second foul of the night while guarding BYU’s foul magnet, Mekeli Wesley, with only 1:05 gone in the first half, a recently familiar face appeared and filled in nicely for White — freshman forward Patrick Dennehy.
“Pat did a lot of great things tonight; he keeps getting better, he’s learning,” UNM head coach Fran Fraschilla said. “He did a tremendous job tonight of rebounding the basketball.”
Scolded publicly earlier this season by Fraschilla for speaking out to the media about not getting enough playing time, Dennehy seems to have found the formula that will keep him on the floor — hard work and gutsy play.
Last night, in a career-high 29 minutes, Dennehy pulled down 11 rebounds, scored five points and blocked four shots. He also caught an elbow in the sternum from Wesley that led the two to share not-so-kind words.
In UNM’s previous four games, Dennehy had averaged more than eight rebounds per contest to lead the team.
So, what has contributed to Dennehy’s emergence?
“I’m just showing coach that I can play hard; I have heart out there,” Dennehy said. “I play hard and I want to get things done on the floor, and that’s why he’s keeping me out there.”
Dennehy also had two assists against BYU, one on a nice dish to guard Ruben Douglas that resulted in two made free throws and the other a bullet from inside the lane to Douglas for a 3-pointer.
“I’ve always been a good passer, that’s one thing I’ve always prided myself on,” Dennehy said. “If you’re going to cut, I’m going to hit the man cutting.”
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Dennehy seemed reticent to play up his performance, likely because BYU’s Eric Nielsen beat him down floor for an easy basket once or because his fifth foul on Wesley resulted in two free throws for a 66-62 BYU lead with 1:20 to play.
But on the positive side, Dennehy didn’t pick up his first personal foul until more than four minutes were gone in the second half, and a key offensive rebound with more than two minutes left to play led to a Douglas basket that brought UNM to within 64-62. On top of that, he drew the duty of parking Wesley for most of the night with UNM’s defensive stopper, White, on the bench.
“We lost and I went out there to accomplish a win,” Dennehy said. “I made a lot of mistakes that went against the team, and I tried to make as many contributions to the team that I could. It’s tough to work so hard and not have anything to show for it.”
Dennehy seems comfortable in his role as a Lobo, though, even playing into the bitter rivalry between the Lobos and Cougars.
With more than 10 minutes to play in the second half, Wesley drove toward the basket, trying to get a shot off before the shot clock expired. He couldn’t and as he twirled around, Wesley jabbed his elbow into Dennehy’s sternum. He glared at Dennehy and the two seemed to want to take their discussion a little further.
“I just told him, ‘You come at me like that again, there’s going to be a problem,’” Dennehy said. “He knows he fouled me, but he just got away with it.”
Dennehy and the other Lobos will get their next test Saturday, when the University of Utah comes to town for UNM’s final home game of the year. The Utes feature a lineup that starts three players taller than 6 feet, 9 inches, with a 6 foot-11 senior coming off the bench, so Dennehy will likely see a great deal of playing time again.
“I’m ready for another test,” Dennehy said. “I just hope we can come out with a victory.”
