NMSU basketball adds dynamic scorer in Wayne Stewart

New Mexico State men’s basketball head coach, Chris Jans, added another backcourt player to the team as he looks to improve for the upcoming season.

Jans added six-foot-six-inch Philadelphia native and Lamar Community College player Wayne Stewart, who just had a breakout sophomore season.

“Wayne is a fantastic young man who happens to be a great basketball player,” Jans said. “Because of Wayne’s versatility and ability to score, rebound and block shots he can quickly fill up a box score.

Over the last two seasons at the community college level Stewart averaged 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds.

In his final season with the Knights he scored 18.3 points per game, while shooting nearly 47 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from the three-point line. Stewart also grabbed 6.8 boards a game and blocked 1.2 shots per game.

Stewart’s impressive play saw him win the NJCAA Region IX Player of the Year and make the NJCAA First-Team All-Region as well.

While Stewart had an impressive scoring season where he started every single game and only didn’t get double-digit scoring totals in four games, there are some aspects of his game he needs to improve on.

“Once Wayne adds more strength to his long frame to go with his established work ethic, he will immediately impact winning at the Division I level,” Jans said.

Stewart is the team’s third newcomer along with Kortrijk and Gabe Hadley who will look to help the team progress from last season where the Aggies lost to Baylor, 91-73, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.