For Johnny Dee, recruiting new Lobo Dax Hall was only about one thing

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Johnny Dee knows the feeling.

The 6-foot guard averaged 32.8 points per game as a senior at at Rancho Buena Vista (California) High School, leading the CIF San Diego section in scoring, earning all-state recognition and leading his team to a 26-4 record in 2011.

And yet, there were still doubts.

Plenty of them, in fact. His only Division I scholarship offer came from Portland State (he was also recruited, rather heavily in fact, by a local Division II coach named Eric Olen at UC San Diego, but didn’t go that route).

Instead, Dee chose to be a walk-on at the University of San Diego. And all the 6-foot, under-recruited guard did in college was go on to score a school-record 2,046 points for the Toreros, including 25 against the UNM Lobos in November 2013 in the Pit, and etch his name in southern California basketball lore.

The now 33-year-old head coach at Santa Fe Christian school in Solana Beach, California, knows an overlooked, under-appreciated high school basketball player when he sees one.

And in Dax Hall, the 6-foot-1 point guard who averaged 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists while earning CIF San Diego section Player of the Year honors for Santa Fe Christian this past season, Dee sees every bit of that overlooked player he remembers.

“I see a lot of myself in Dax, but he’s a way better player than I was in high school,” Dee told the Journal on Wednesday about Hall, who has signed to play for the UNM Lobos next season.

Welcome to UNM @Daxhall_1 ! The CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year joins the Lobo freshman class! https://t.co/AIUyzatqUk#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/850gOq7U6a

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) April 15, 2026

“He plays the whole complete game. He was our best defender the entire year. He was our best playmaker the entire year. (He) ended up with the highest 3-point percentage for the year, and was the highest scorer.”

Like Dee, Hall also happened to be recruited pretty heavily by that Olen guy, who now is the head coach of the Lobos.

But unlike Dee, this Dax Hall also happens to be the younger brother of Jake Hall, the player who just had one of the best freshman seasons in UNM Lobo history, earning Mountain West Freshman of the Year and becoming just the third freshman to ever earn MW First Team honors along with Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Bennett.

That brotherly connection creates an obvious, and understandable storyline in Lobo Land about the recruitment of the younger brother.

And while Jake Hall is in the NCAA Transfer portal, being courted by some of the bluest of blueblood programs with almost unfathomable amounts of money coming his way, that was never the main concern for the Santa Fe Christian coach.

For Dee, there’s never been a Jake Hall shadow for Dax Hall to escape.

You see, Dee doesn't even know Jake Hall all that well (Jake Hall played at Carlsbad High School in California), so all the the Santa Fe Christian coach really cared about over the past year was Dax’s future without any subtext about his brother.

“When I talked to Olen and Tank (assistant coach Tom Tankelewicz), that was always my biggest thing. ‘Hey, you guys like Dax, right?’” Dee explained. “And I'm telling you they communicated that so thoroughly and so truthfully to me. It was like, ‘Dude, we know Dax can play at this level, and we want him.’

“So, I told Dax after his visit (the Hall family had an official recruiting visit this past Friday at UNM), I just think you’re at the perfect place, because I truly believe in the coaching staff that’s in New Mexico right now. And they know your game and they want you. I think they do an unbelievable job of evaluating but also skill development. ... I’ve learned so much from Coach Olen and Coach Tank, it excites me so much that Dax gets to go play for those guys.”

In Dax Hall, Dee said, even beyond the high-level defense and stat-stuffing ability — there is a leadership intangible he’s never seen at that age.

“He’s the best leader I’ve ever seen at the high school level,” Dee said. “I played college basketball and at the professional level (overseas) and I thought I was a good leader, but he makes me wish I could go back to being 17 years old and lead the way he does. He could have averaged 35 a game for us, but knew setting the table, getting everyone involved first was what would help us best.

“We didn’t have the expectations outside our locker room that we’d be a top team in San Diego, but he gave that belief throughout our entire team. In every practice, every game, the way he was able to bring guys with him while sacrificed as well. It was just amazing to watch and I know he’s going to be great for the Lobos.”

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.