New Mexico Lobos Basketball

Former Kansas and New Mexico State basketball player Gethro Muscadin died Monday as the result of injuries he suffered in a December 2021 car crash.

He was 22.

"Gethro left us late last night," Kansas coach Bill Self said Tuesday. "He was involved in a major car accident 10 months ago and has basically been in a non-responsive state since then. Although only here one year, Gethro was loved and liked by all and will always be remembered as a Jayhawk. We wish his family and loved ones the best going through this most difficult time."

Muscadin was the passenger in a one-car crash on Dec. 30, 2021, in which the vehicle "went off the road, rolled multiple times, and came to rest on the fence line," according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The car was driven by his girlfriend, with whom he had attended a Kansas vs. Nevada basketball game the previous day.

Muscadin grew up in Haiti and came to the United States at 16 to pursue a basketball career. He spent the 2020-21 season at Kansas before transferring to New Mexico, where he averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12 games played.

Muscadin had been in a coma for the last 10 months following the crash.

Richard Pitino will be back on the sidelines next season, having been hired as the head coach of the New Mexico men's basketball team Tuesday.

Minnesota fired Pitino on Monday night after he spent eight seasons with the Golden Gophers. The 38-year-old succeeds Paul Weir with the Lobos.

Minnesota went 141-123 under Pitino. The team captured an NIT championship in his first season (2013-14) and reached the NCAA tournament in 2017 and 2019.

While he eventually fell short of the school's expectations, Pitino did reasonably well considering the Golden Gophers haven't enjoyed much consistent success. The Clem Haskins era was an outlier, but his tenure, which ran from 1986 to 1999, ended in scandal.

New Mexico is in a somewhat similar position. Although the Lobos became NCAA tournament mainstays when Dave Bliss and Steve Alford were in charge, they've made only two Sweet 16 appearances, the last of which came in 1974.

The fact that New Mexico has gone seven straight years without an NCAA tournament appearance will set the bar for success pretty low early on. Lobos fans are passionate, but they won't be expecting Pitino to deliver a deep run in the Big Dance right out of the gate.

He's also inheriting a roster that had just two seniors in 2020-21. Leading scorer Makuach Maluach (15.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is moving on. Beyond that, the cupboard should be full.

New Mexico has also received a commitment from 3-star small forward Jamel King, who sits 38th at the position in 247Sports' composite rankings. King's 0.8967 composite rating would be the eighth-highest for the Lobos since 2000.

J.B. White, a 2021 basketball recruit who was committed to the University of New Mexico, was killed in a shooting Saturday at the age of 18. 

Juan Rios, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman, told ESPN's Myron Medcalf that White was shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, around 3:30 a.m. local time. 

"[White] was the victim of the shooting," Rios said. "He passed away as a result of his injuries at the residence."

Per Medcalf's report, Rios said investigators are still seeking information about the shooting and haven't made any arrests thus far. 

White committed to the Lobos in Oct. 2019:   

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, White was a 4-star prospect and the No. 76 overall player in the 2021 class. 

James Yodice of the Albuquerque Journal reported in May that White was planning to graduate from high school early to enroll in classes at New Mexico for the fall semester.