UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
2018-2019 Overall Rank: #127
Conference Rank: #6 Mountain West
Despite having some talent, Coach Marvin Menzies has not been able to put everything together at UNLV. The Rebels finish last season with a respectable 20 wins on the year, but were just 8-10 in the Mountain West. This time around there are some key departures with Brandon McCoy, Jovan Mooring and Jordan Johnson moving on, but this roster also has more continuity than we have seen from UNLV over the last couple of seasons so the team may start playing like a team in 2018-2019.
2017-18 Record: 20-13, 8-10
2017-18 Postseason: None
Coach: Marvin Menzies
Coach Record: 31-34 at UNLV, 229-145 overall
Key Departed Players:
Brandon McCoy, Forward, 16.9 ppg
Jovan Mooring, Guard, 13.8 ppg
Jordan Johnson, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Shakur Juiston, Senior, Forward, 14.6 ppg
Kris Clyburn, Senior, Guard, 7.3 ppg
Trevell Beck, Sophomore, Forward, 7.3 ppg
Amauri Hardy, Sophomore, Guard, 5.0 ppg
Cheikh Mbacke Diong, Sophomore, Forward, 2.1 ppg
Jay Green, Sophomore, Guard, 0.8 ppg
Ben Coupet Jr, Sophomore Forward, DNP last season
Djordjije Sljivancanin, Sophomore, Forward, DNP last season
Key New Players:
Noah Robotham, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Akron
Nick Blair, Junior, Forward, Transfer from Idaho
Bryce Hamilton, Freshman, Guard
Trey Woodbury, Freshman, Guard
Joel Ntambwe, Freshman, Forward
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Skahur Juiston is the only player returning who averaged double digits in the scoring column last season. The 6-7 senior is a beast in the paint and averaged 14.6 points and 10.0 rebounds. Juiston may find space more difficult to come by without McCoy by his side, but he is talented enough to take over games on his own. The frontcourt also returns sophomores Trevell Beck and Cheikh Mbacke Diong. Beck played well off the bench last season and Diong will eventually develop into a very good player, but it remains to be seen if that will happen this year or not. The backcourt will reload around senior Kris Clyburn. He should be the most dangerous three-point shooter on the team. The addition of Akron transfer Noah Robotham will take care of the point guard spot. Robotham was a three-year starter with the Zips and averaged 8.9 points and 3.1 assists as a junior back in 2016-2017. The group of incoming freshmen does not have a headliner like McCoy this year, but all four of them could make an immediate impact. Guards Bryce Hamilton and Trey Woodbury are both considered top 100 prospects in this class.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 83.4 (13th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 78.1 (305, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.9 (19, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.1 (120, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.6 (327, 11)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.4 (261, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.5 (212, 8)
Rebound Margin: 5.6 (31, 2)
Assists Per Game: 16.2 (26, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (301, 10)
Madness 2018 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#85 Bryce Hamilton
