Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi Caps Off UNM’s Busy Week of New Roster Additions
Photo of Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi courtesy of William & Mary Athletics.
In the span of one chaotic week, UNM men’s basketball has gone from short-handed to stacked, bringing back key returners and adding four new faces, capped off by the signing of 6-foot-8 Sweedish junior forward Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi.
Vahlberg Fasasi adds something that Eric Olen and staff had not brought with other four newcomers to this team—multiple years of college basketball experience at the Division I level.
While many of the Lobos’ new additions bring intrigue, Benjamin Schuch, Imran Suljanovic, and Dax Hall are all unproven. Vahlberg Fasasi offers three years of Division I college experience with 98 games played and 56 starts at La Salle and William & Mary.
Vahlberg Fasasi could bring immediate playmaking and scoring while adding great size at the forward position for the Lobos. Vahlberg Fasasi’s 6-foot-8 frame coupled with his impressive athleticism should also allow him to defend multiple positions on the floor. Shortly after signing with William & Marry last season, his former coach Brian Earl praised Vahlberg Fasasi’s versatility as a two-way basketball player:
"Tunde adds another experienced player that was a starter at the Division 1 level," Earl said before last season. "He plays hard and his size, skill, and shooting ability will make an impact in our style. He is also a difference maker on the defensive end with his athleticism and versatility in guarding multiple positions."
Vahlberg Fasasi had a strong season for William & Mary last year averaging 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He shot the 3-ball farily well going 35% on 143 attemps on the season. Vahlberg Fasasi looks to be at least a 2 level scorer, as he shot 4 3-pointers per game last season and was highly efficient scoring the basketball at the rim shooting 64%.
Vahlberg Fasasi put up 20 double-figure scoring games last season and scored 20 or more points four times. Prior to his career at William & Marry, Vahlberg Fasasi attended La Salle for two seasons where he averaged 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds. He also has experience playing professional basketball in Sweden, most recently in the FIBA U20 Euro games where he averaged 9.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Jake Hall Returns
The basketball gods have blessed UNM men’s basketball in many ways this week, but perhaps the biggest blessing was the announcement that Jake Hall would be returning for his sophomore season.
The beloved Mountain West Freshman of the Year had dipped his toes in the transfer portal for 6 days, reportedly taking Zoom calls with blue-blood Power 4 programs which had Lobo fans questioning whether he would return.
But UNM signing Jake’s brother Dax Hall could have been an early sign, as Jake quickly announced the following day that he would be dawning the cherry and silver next season.
Hall shattered the records books for the Lobos last season, knocking down more 3-pointers in a single season than any Lobo in program history while knocking down several clutch shots and becoming the face of the program.
Now the Lobos have two cornerstone returners from last season in Tenette and Hall to go along with a glue-guy in Chris Howell, plus an exciting dynamic guard in Hudson Mayes and two unproven European players with a lot of upside. UNM’s roster up to this point is below:
Uriah Tenette, 5-foot-11
Dax Hall, 6-foot-2
Jake Hall, 6-foot-4
Hudson Mayes, 6-foot-5
Chris Howell, 6-foot-6
Imran Suljanovic, 6-foot-8
Tunde Vahlber Fasasi, 6-foot-8
Benjamin Schuch, 6-foot-9
“I think we’re going to be a really good team next year,” said Tenette when he joined Unfiltered with Kenny Thomas on 610 the Sports Animal on Thursday. “The coaches are doing a very good job with the recruitment process, brining in amazing guys that are going to play well around me, and around Jake, around Chris the guys that are coming back. Bringing back the (Mountain West) freshman of the year from last year, I think we’re going to have a really good team.”
