New Mexico State features an international ethnic flavor for sure, but it’s not the kind of names you’d count on for a school just 40 miles from the Mexican border. It’s the preponderance of Canadians that really stands out. In fact, this past season, NMSU featured five players from north of the border.
NMSU is winning—they’ve qualified for three of the last four NCAA Tournaments—while the school has become a sort of basketball border checkpoint, an Ellis Island, especially for Canadians.