CHOL PICKS CHERRY: UNM adds talented JUCO transfer in roster rebuild
Antonio Chol drives the line while playing for Garden City Commnuity College. Chol is the third player to join UNM head men’s basketball coach Eric Olen’s team. Photo courtesy of Garden City Community College
It won’t be built in a day, but the UNM men’s basketball roster continues to grow.
Antonio Chol, a 6-foot-9 forward from Garden City (Kansas) Community College, announced his commitment to UNM via X.
Last season with Garden City, the Buffalo, N.Y. native averaged 19 points, seven rebounds, while shooting just under 40 percent from the 3-point line en route to being named a National Junior College Athletic Association 2nd Team All-American. He was also the No. 5-ranked junior college player in the 2025 JUCO class per jucorecuriting.com.
Chol chose UNM after he had interest from some Power 4 schools.
He was reportedly being contacted by Kansas, Ole Miss, Xavier, Arizona State, Washington, among others. Chol already has his first trip to The Pit under his belt. He had an unofficial visit to UNM when the Lobos defeated VCU, 78-71, back in December.
Chol brings hype, but he does have some miles on his engine. He went to three different high schools and was designated as a 3-Star recruit before forgoing his senior year and being an early 2022 commit to Rutgers University.
“He’s as good of a shooter as we have…[h]e’s 6-9 and he's long. His wingspan is 7-2… He’s been really productive, he’s coachable, he’s a good passer, and he shoots the ball with a real confidence,” Rutgers head men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell said about Chol shortly before his freshman season in 2022.
For whatever reason, things did not pan out for Chol with the Scarlet Knights. In his freshman year he appeared in only four games before sustaining an injury and redshirting.
His sophomore season was not much better. He played a total of 36 minutes, scored 12 points and added only five rebounds. He shot 2-16 from beyond the arc.
Chol resurged last season for the Broncbusters. He scored 20 points or more 13 times and put up a career high 35 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 6-of-12 from the 3-point line in a game against North Platte Community College in November.
It will be interesting to see how Chol fits into Olen’s offensive scheme, which likes to move the ball around.
“When you’re building a roster, we’re not taking the shotgun approach, where we just say, ‘here’s this group of talented guys, and we’ll take any, and all of them. ‘It's much more specific than that…” UNM head coach Eric Olen told The Pit Press Live!.
Chol’s highlight tape shows a fair amount of isolations. He is a player who will take contested 3s, mid-range jumpers or take the ball to the rim himself.
But Chol passes the eye test. He has a combination of size, shooting and ability to attack the basket off the dribble. He can finish at the rim and has intangible skill sets that should be able to translate into any system on both ends of the floor.
And a guy who can shoot 40 percent from the 3-point on a high volume of attempts will fit with what Olen wants to do offensively. Chol made 89 of 224 attempts from behind the arc last season for Garden City.
Money Talks
Lobo Nation has been in awe of the amount of reported NIL compensation that former UNM basketball players are making.
Big-12 Player of the Year JT Toppin is reported to sign an NIL deal with Texas Tech’s collective worth $4 million.
Last week, it was reported that last year’s Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, Donovan Dent, will make around $3 million in NIL compensation at UCLA next season.
On Wednesday, Tru Washington announced he has committed to the University of Miami and could be making north of $1 million next year in NIL.
Toppin and Dent’s NIL contracts would be larger than what some NBA second-round draft picks make per year on their rookie deals.
