The lights would go down, and player introductions would begin: Ira Harge. Claude Williams. Mike Lucero. Skip Kruzich.
Then, as the name “Dick Ellis” echoed through the University of New Mexico’s Johnson Gymnasium, an almost deafening chorus of boos would rain down from the crowd.
Newcomers to Lobo basketball were puzzled. Why, they wondered, didn’t the fans like this guy?
In fact, they did like him – a lot.
Richard Earl Ellis’ nickname just happened to be “Boo.”
Ellis, a multi-talented guard who helped the Lobos make the championship game of the 1964 National Invitation Tournament, died on Aug.