Everybody is a Lobo! – well, maybe – but one former Grants resident is for sure a Lobo. Shane Douma-Sanchez, former resident of Grants and son of former Grants High School head boys' basketball coach Joseph Sanchez, committed as a preferred walk on to the University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team.
“I joined the Lobos because it truly has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember,” said Douma-Sanchez. “I’ve been wanting this my whole life so when the opportunity presented itself it was a no brainer for me to take it.”
Douma-Sanchez, a guard, who at 6’1” led the Del Norte Knights this year to the state tournament and also led the state in three categories as he averaged 32.5 points per game, accumulated over 273 field goals and made 200 free throws. Douma-Sanchez also set a new record for the Albuquerque metro teams as the only single player to have scored 60 points in a single game. In that game he scored 60 of the 72 points his team made in that 78-72 loss to the Eldorado Eagles.
Douma-Sanchez also broke the Del Norte Knights all-time scoring record set by professional basketball player Scott Bamforth in December of 2022 when he dropped 35 points in a 63-62 defeat of West Mesa High School giving Douma-Sanchez 1,289 career points after that game.
Douma-Sanchez was also New Mexico Max Preps player of the year, USA Today top college basketball recruit for the state of New Mexico 2023, district 6-4A Player of the Year for the 3rd time and ranks number nine overall in state scoring history.
Douma-Sanchez was part of two Del Norte state championship teams, one which brought Del Norte High School their first ever state championship in 2021 and a runner-up trophy in 2022.
“I feel like at UNM I can make an impact on the entire state---kids and young athletes can use me as motivation to chase their dreams too,” said Douma Sanchez. Lobo workouts with the team start this summer.