Matt Staff says he doesn’t know much about the players in the New Mexico men’s basketball program.

But once the Memorial big man took an unofficial visit to the Albuquerque campus May 2 and got in good with coach Steve Alford, Staff knew he had a chance to fit in right away.

Staff, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior, verbally committed to the Lobos Sunday night. He chose New Mexico over Baylor and Marquette and will sign a national letter of intent in November.

“It was the best fit for me and they gave me the best offer,” said Staff, who averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds a game last year for Memorial. “The coaches told me I have a chance to play as a freshman.”

Staff previously had been offered by Texas State, Stephen F. Austin and William & Mary.

His visit to New Mexico was unofficial because he can’t take official visits as a junior.

“New Mexico has been looking at me since the beginning of (last) season,” Staff said. “I wasn’t really thinking about them in the beginning but I was once I got to talk to the coaches.”

Staff, a two-year starter, entered last season ranked No. 23 in Texas and No. 9 in Houston by Rivals.com.

He plays small and power forward for his summer team, the Houston Elite, with some forays out to shooting guard and inside to center.

Staff was largely recruited by Chris Walker, a Houston native and former head coach of the T-Mac All-Stars. Walker also was responsible in large part for luring Cypress Springs shooting guard Phillip McDonald to New Mexico.

Alford hired Walker in August 2007, five months after coming to New Mexico from Iowa.

This and that

Staff’s Houston Elite teammate, Eisenhower’s Ella Ellis, committed to West Point over the weekend. Ellis, voted MVP of District 19-5A last season, averaged more than 15 points a game for the Eagles. … In a move that had been rumored for weeks, Madison lost point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin to Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. Mason-Griffin, who withdrew a verbal commitment to LSU after former coach John Brady was fired, confirmed the news to RCSSports.com this weekend. … Seven Lakes standout guard Brandon Provost recently committed to Air Force. Provost averaged 23 points a game for the Spartans and earned First Team all-District 24-4A. Provost chose Air Force over Northern Iowa and Centenary among other schools. … Multiple media outlets are reporting Josh Pastner, son of local basketball promoter Hal Pastner, has accepted an assistant coach position at Memphis. Pastner, a Kingwood and University of Arizona graduate, has been associated with the Wildcats program as a player and then a coach since 1996. Hal Pastner is the founder of Vision Sports and promoter of the Houston Kingwood Classic and Houston vs. The Nation among other elite basketball tournaments.

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