It was calm.
It was optimistic.
There was no news of more players leaving the program or assistant coaches bolting for other jobs.
After a season of mixed reviews and growing fan discontent, University of New Mexico Lobos men’s basketball coach Craig Neal on Tuesday was upbeat about the future and took ownership of his need to guide the program back to competing for Mountain West titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.
“We had some really good highs where we were playing great,” Neal said at a season-ending press conference recapping his team’s 17-15 season that ended with a second-consecutive opening-game loss in the Mountain West Tournament.