Nevada Wolf Pack
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #61
Conference Rank: #2 Mountain West
Nevada has absolutely dominated the Mountain West Conference over the last three years. Eric Musselman lead the program to a CBI title in 2016 during his first year as the Wolf Pack’s head coach and followed it up with three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. But now Musselman is gone and so are most of the players who were involved in that recent success. Nevada went out and grabbed Steve Alford to take over the program in an effort to keep that success going. There will be a lot of changes on and off the court, but this is still a Wolf Pack team that will compete for a conference title and potentially even a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
2018-19 Record: 29-5, 15-3
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Steve Alford
Coach Record: 0-0 at Nevada, 587-298 overall
Key Departed Players:
Caleb Martin, Guard, 19.2 ppg
Cody Martin, Guard, 12.1 ppg
Jordan Caroline, Forward, 17.0 ppg
Tre’Shawn Thurman, Forward, 8.2 ppg
Trey Porter, Forward, 7.2 ppg
Jordan Brown, Forward, 3.0 ppg
Corey Henson, Guard, 2.7 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Jazz Johnson, Senior, Guard, 11.0 ppg
Nisre Zouzoua, Senior, Guard, 1.3 ppg
Lindsey Drew, Senior, Guard, DNP last season
Key New Players:
Gabe Bansuelo, Freshman, Guard
Jalen Harris, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Louisiana Tech
K.J. Hymes, Freshman, Forward
Zane Meeks, Freshman, Forward
Kane Milling, Freshman, Guard
Eric Parrish, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Johncarlos Reyes, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Boston College
Robby Robinson, Sophomore, Forward, JC Transfer
Warren Washington, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Oregon State, not eligible
Desmond Cambridge, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Brown, not eligible
Projection:
Senior guards Jazz Johnson and Lindsey Drew are the key holdovers. Johnson averaged 11.0 points per game last year and connected on an impressive 45.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Two years ago Lindsey Drew averaged 8.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds before suffering an injury that cause him to miss the end of that season and all of the 2018-2019 campaign. The rest of the production will have to come from a large group of newcomers. Jalen Harris highlights the group after transferring in from Louisiana Tech. As a freshman, he averaged 10.9 points per game and boosted that total to 15.3 points in a shortened sophomore season. Eric Parrish comes from the junior college ranks, but is another big guard who has the talent to emerge as a consistent double-digit scoring threat. Johncarlos Reyes and Robby Robinson bring some much needed experience to the frontcourt. Robinson, who spent one season at San Diego City College, should make a big impact from day one. With a few talented freshmen like K.J. Hymes and Gabe Bansuelo adding depth and options, Coach Alford has the tools he needs to continue the recent success. This year will not be as dominating as the last three, but it will set up the Wolf Pack for similar success in the years to come.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 80.1 (28th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.7 (55, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.2 (68, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.0 (42, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.7 (74, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.7 (155, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.8 (167, 6)
Rebound Margin: 2.6 (97, 3)
Assists Per Game: 14.6 (75, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.4 (13, 1)
