Dairese Gary | |
---|---|
College | University of New Mexico |
Conference | Mountain West |
Sport | Basketball |
Position | Point guard |
Jersey # | 5 |
Class | Senior |
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
Born | October 21, 1988 Elkhart, Indiana |
High school | Concord High School (Elkhart, Indiana) |
Dairese Gary (born October 21, 1988, pronounced da-REECE) is an American college basketball player, formerly of the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Gary was the starting point guard at UNM from 2007 to 2011, a span of four years totalling 130 consecutive games.
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Gary attended Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana, lettering in two sports, basketball and football[1]. During his junior year at Concord, Gary led the team to the sectional title, averaging 22.3 point per game, four rebounds per game and two assists per game while guiding Concord to a 22-2 record[1]. During his senior year, he led Concord back to another winning record, 13-7, while compiling 21.8 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He shot 56.3% from the floor, 34.7% from three-point range and 69.0% from the foul line during his senior season[1]. He finish his high school career at Concord scoring 1,330 points (ninth all-time at Concord) and as a two-time first team all-area selection, enough to garner a three-star rating from Scout.com[2].
After transferring with incoming Lobos coach Steve Alford from Iowa as Alford's first recruit at New Mexico,[1] Gary started the last 28 games as the team's point guard, the most starts at from a freshman at point guard in nearly ten years[1]. Gary led the Lobos in assists (as well as being eighth in the Mountain West Conference and first among all MWC newcomers), and second on the team in steals [1]. Gary posted 18 points and two assists in a 80-63 victory over Texas Tech and scored 12 points, dished out 2 assists and pulled down two boards in 73-63 win at San Diego State. Due to his freshman success, CollegeHoops.net named Gary and honorable mention High-Major All-Freshman[3] after helping the J. R. Giddens-led team to a 24–9 record, including a NIT bearth.
Games played | Games started | Minutes/Game | Points/Game | Rebounds/Game | Assists/Game | Field goal percentage | 3pt. field goal percentage | Free throw percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 | 28 | 23.5 | 7.8 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 44.5% | 39.1% | 73.9% |
After a year as the team's starting point guard, Gary's role was more defined as he began flourishing in his new role, being the only player to start every game. He was second in the Mountain West Conference assists, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio and ninth in steals[1]. Along with players like junior Roman Martinez, and seniors Daniel Faris, Chad Toppert and Tony Danridge, the Lobos posted a 22–12 record and a NIT bearth, advancing to the second round where Gary put up 15 points, four assists and a pair of steals in a losing effort to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Gary was also instrumental in a late season victory against Colorado State, putting up 18 points (all after halftime), eight assists and four rebounds in a 81-79 double-OT win[1].
Games played | Games started | Minutes/Game | Points/Game | Rebounds/Game | Assists/Game | Field goal percentage | 3pt. field goal percentage | Free throw percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | 34 | 23.9 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 43.6% | 39.2% | 72.1% |
After the departure of the aforementioned Faris, Toppert and Danridge, the burden of leading the New Mexico team to success fell on the shoulders of Roman Martinez, Darington Hobson and Gary. They posted a 12-game winning streak, in which Gary posted five games scoring double figures, including a 21-point, 4-assist, 4-rebound game at University of San Diego on December 9. Despite the preseason fifth-place rank the Lobos were picked in the Mountain West Conference[4], the Lobos won 14 straight in the conference, with Gary averaging 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds during the streak, including 23 points or greater in three games (BYU twice and Colorado State)[1]. Gary was honored for his play be being First-Team All-Mountain West and part of the All-Defensive Team in the Mountain West Conference[5].
Games played | Games started | Minutes/Game | Points/Game | Rebounds/Game | Assists/Game | Field goal percentage | 3pt. field goal percentage | Free throw percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
35 | 35 | 28.6 | 13.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 45.0% | 34.1% | 75.0% |
Just like the year before, Gary has been saddled with a young team lacking leaders and experience, as there was only one senior (himself), three juniors and eight underclassmen. Nonetheless, Gary, a Preseason All-Conference member,[6] led the Lobos in points and assists, including a double-double (14 points and 10 assists) against then-ranked No. 9 BYU in an 86–77 win in The Pit. He followed that by posting career-highs in points in back-to-back games against UNLV and TCU, putting up 26 and 32 point, respectively. Like his junior year, Gary was honored by being named First-Team All-Mountain West and part of the All-Defensive Team in the Mountain West.[7] However, in a semifinals game in a Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament game against BYU, Gary tore his ACL, ending his collegiate career.[8]
Games played | Games started | Minutes/Game | Points/Game | Rebounds/Game | Assists/Game | Field goal percentage | 3pt. field goal percentage | Free throw percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 | 33 | 33.8 | 14.1 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 48.2% | 33.7% | 78.0% |