During the hot, sticky summer of 2016, when Joe Garza was bent double on the New Mexico State track, gasping for air and throwing up after endless windsprints—a workout he put himself through in an effort to get into top shape—the 6-foot, 175-pound guard couldn’t help but ask himself, “is this worth it?”
Yes, the local product, a graduate of Las Cruces High had always dreamed of playing for the hometown Aggies. Didn’t every little boy? Probably not all of them were as dedicated as Garza though, who showed up to Aggie games with his brother and screamed his lungs out in order to get a free t-shirt (he had a pile of NMSU gear long before he joined the team), who played summer pick-up games with Aggie players and asked them what it would take to be a college player (“shoot until your abs hurt,” was the advice, which took more work than Garza could have ever imagined).