Jun. 6—There will be a French connection in the Pit this coming basketball season.
Timéo Pons, a 6-foot-7 guard from France, announced on his Instagram page on Friday that he has committed to play for the UNM Lobos.
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He has played for Nanterre 92, a professional club in France for the past three years, though never as a paid professional.
As such there isn’t expected to be any eligibility questions to sort through for the NCAA. Pons will be classified as freshman.
Pons, who is turning 19 in July, is one of 17 players invited to try out for the French National U-19 team, which will compete in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
France is in the highly competitive Group D of the June 28-July 3 tournament in Switzerland. The group also includes Team USA, Australia and Cameroon.
From Nanterre, France, a suburb of Paris, Pons led the Nanterre U21 team this past season in scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.2 rebounds per game), according to reports.
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The last player from France to play for UNM’s men’s basketball team was Karim Ezzeddine, from Paris. The 6-foot-9 forward played in 17 games for the Lobos in the 2018-19 season before leaving midway through the season to play professionally overseas.
Pons is the 14th player to accept a scholarship offer for the coming season at UNM, including five first-time collegiate players — Pons; forward Tomislav Buljan from Croatia; guard Jake Hall from Carlsbad, California; guard Sir Marius Jones from Sacramento, California; and guard Uriah Tenette, from Prescott, Arizona.
Buljan, who has received compensation for playing in basketball leagues overseas, is awaiting an NCAA decision in how much eligibility he will have when he starts playing for UNM.
Most of the new Lobos for the coming season start arriving on campus this weekend and summer classes and practices begin next week.
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2025-26 UNM Lobo roster
Players who have committed or signed to play for the UNM Lobos men’s basketball team for the coming 2025-26 season:
—Deyton Albury, 6-2, guard, transfer from Utah State (two years of eligibility)
—Tomislav Buljan, 6-9 forward, incoming freshman from Split, Croatia (awaiting NCAA ruling on number of years of eligibility)
—Antonio Chol, 6-9 guard/forward, junior college transfer from Garden City Community College in Kansas (two years of eligibility)
—Jake Hall, 6-4 guard, incoming freshman from Carlsbad (California) High School (four years of eligibility)
—Luke Haupt, 6-6 guard, transfer from Division II Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego (one year of eligibility)
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—Chris Howell, 6-6 guard, transfer from UC San Diego (one year of eligibility)
—Sir Marius Jones, 6-4, guard, incoming freshman from Sacramento (California) High School (four years of eligibility)
—Tajavis Miller, 6-4 guard, transfer from North Dakota State (one year of eligibility)
—Kallai Patton, 6-4 guard, transfer from USC (four years of eligibility)
—Kevin Patton, 6-8 guard, transfer from USC (two years of eligibility)
—Timéo Pons, 6-7 guard, incoming freshman from France (four years of eligibility)
—J.T. Rock, 7-1 center, transfer from Iowa State (three years of eligibility)
—Uriah Tenette, 5-10, incoming freshman from Prescott (Arizona) High School (four years of eligibility)
—Milos Vicentic, 6-7 forward, graduate transfer from UC San Diego (one year of eligibility)
