2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record18–15 (8–10 Mountain West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThomas & Mack Center
Seasons
2015–16 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
San Diego State 16 2   .889 28 10   .737
Fresno State 13 5   .722 25 10   .714
Boise State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Nevada 10 8   .556 24 14   .632
New Mexico 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
Colorado State 8 10   .444 18 16   .529
UNLV 8 10   .444 18 15   .545
Utah State 7 11   .389 16 15   .516
Wyoming 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Air Force 5 13   .278 14 18   .438
San Jose State 4 14   .222 9 22   .290
Conference tournament winner

The 2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by fifth-year head coach Dave Rice until he was fired on January 10, 2016.[1] They were then led by interim head coach Todd Simon for the remainder of the season.[2] They played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 8–10 in Mountain West play, to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Air Force to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Fresno State.

On March 28, the school announced that Chris Beard had been hired as head coach.[3] However, less than three weeks later, Beard left UNLV to accept the head coaching position at Texas Tech.[4] On April 16, the school hired Marvin Menzies as head coach.[5]

Previous season

[edit]

The 2014–15 Runnin' Rebels finished the season with an overall record of 18–15, and 8–10 in Mountain West play. The Runnin' Rebels defeated Nevada in the first round of the Mountain West tournament, before losing to San Diego State in the quarterfinals.[6]

Departures

[edit]
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Rashad Vaughn 1 G 6'6" 210 Freshman Golden Valley, MN Declared for 2015 NBA draft[7]
Christian Wood 5 F 6'11" 220 Sophomore Long Beach, CA Declared for 2015 NBA draft[8]
Barry Cheaney 12 G 6'1" 165 RS Junior Corona, CA Walk-on; did not return
Jelan Kendrick 22 G 6'6" 210 RS Senior Atlanta, GA Graduated
Dantley Walker 30 G 5'11" 170 RS Freshman Panaca, NV Transferred to Chaminade
Charles Rushman 33 G 6'3" 185 RS Junior Oconomowoc, WI Transferred to Lindenwood
Cody Doolin 45 G 6'3" 180 Senior Austin, TX Graduated

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ike Nwamu 0 G 6'5" 205 RS Senior Greensboro, NC Graduate transfer from Mercer University.
Will be eligible to play immediately since Nwamu graduated from Mercer.
Tyrell Bellot-Green 12 F 6'7" Junior Toronto, ON Junior college transfer from Hill College
Chris Obekpa 34 F/C 6'10" 236 Senior Makurdi, Nigeria Transferred from St. John's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Obekpa will have to sit out the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of eligibility left.

2015 recruiting class

[edit]
Stephen Zimmerman in the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jaylen Poyser
#64 SG
Malton, ON Athlete Institute Basketball Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 2, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Derrick Jones
#3 SF
Philadelphia, PA Archbishop John Carroll High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 13, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Stephen Zimmerman
#5 C
Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Apr 16, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  • "2015 UNLV Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.

Roster

[edit]
2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 Derrick Jones Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Archbishop John Carroll HS Philadelphia, PA
G 2 Jerome Seagears 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Rutgers Silver Spring, MD
G 3 Jordan Cornish 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Brother Martin HS New Orleans, LA
G 10 Daquan Cook 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr St. Frances Academy Baltimore, MD
F 12 Tyrell Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Hill College Toronto, ON
F 13 Ben Carter 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Oregon Las Vegas, NV
G 14 Alex Perez 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr St. Katherine San Diego, CA
F 15 Dwayne Morgan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So St. Frances Academy Baltimore, MD
G 20 Austin Starr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Foothill HS Las Vegas, NV
G 22 Patrick McCaw 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Montrose Christian School St. Louis, MO
G 24 Jaylen Poyser 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Athlete Institute Basketball Academy Malton, ON
C 33 Stephen Zimmerman 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas, NV
G 34* Ike Nwamu 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Mercer Greensboro, NC
C 35 Chris Obekpa (I) Current redshirt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr St. John's Makurdi, Nigeria
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: May 30, 2024

  • November 27, 2015 – Sophomore Goodluck Okonoboh asked for his release and will transfer.[9]
  • February 8, 2016 – Freshman Stephen Zimmerman out indefinitely due to a left knee injury.[10] Returned for the February 27 game against Wyoming.

* Ike Nwamu wore #0 until February 6 when he changed to #34 to honor former Mercer teammate Jibri Bryan who was murdered on February 2.

Schedule

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/06/2015*
7:00 p.m.
Whittier W 94–57 
Thomas & Mack Center (10,232)
Paradise, NV
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015*
7:00 p.m.
Cal Poly
Maui Invitational opening round
W 74–72  1–0
Thomas & Mack Center (12,201)
Paradise, NV
11/16/2015*
7:00 p.m.
New Mexico Highlands W 107–45  2–0
Thomas & Mack Center (9,961)
Paradise, NV
11/18/2015*
7:30 p.m.
Southern Utah W 84–64  3–0
Thomas & Mack Center (10,824)
Paradise, NV
11/23/2015*
8:30 p.m., ESPN2
vs. UCLA
Maui Invitational Quarterfinals
L 75–77  3–1
Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
11/24/2015*
1:30 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Chaminade
Maui Invitational second-round consolation
W 93–73  4–1
Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
11/25/2015*
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. No. 13 Indiana
Maui Invitational fifth-place game
W 72–69  5–1
Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
11/28/2015*
7:00 p.m.
Prairie View A&M W 80–62  6–1
Thomas & Mack Center (10,858)
Paradise, NV
12/04/2015*
8:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. No. 15 Oregon
MGM Grand Showcase
W 80–69  7–1
MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,117)
Paradise, NV
12/09/2015*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Wichita State
MW–MVC Challenge
L 50–56  7–2
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
12/12/2015*
7:00 p.m.
at UC Riverside W 73–62  8–2
Student Recreation Center (1,772)
Riverside, CA
12/16/2015*
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
Arizona State L 56–66  8–3
Thomas & Mack Center (13,014)
Paradise, NV
12/19/2015*
5:30 p.m., ESPN2
at No. 13 Arizona L 70–82  8–4
McKale Center (14,644)
Tucson, AZ
12/22/2015*
7:00 p.m.
South Dakota W 103–68  9–4
Thomas & Mack Center (11,990)
Paradise, NV
Mountain West regular season
12/30/2015
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Fresno State L 66–69  9–5
(0–1)
Thomas & Mack Center (12,220)
Paradise, NV
01/06/2016
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Colorado State L 65–66  9–6
(0–2)
Moby Arena (3,431)
Fort Collins, CO
01/09/2016
3:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Wyoming L 57–59  9–7
(0–3)
Arena-Auditorium (5,485)
Laramie, WY
01/13/2016
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
New Mexico W 86–74  10–7
(1–3)
Thomas & Mack Center (11,377)
Paradise, NV
01/16/2016
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Air Force W 100–64  11–7
(2–3)
Thomas & Mack Center (13,198)
Paradise, NV
01/19/2016
8:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Utah State W 80–68  12–7
(3–3)
Smith Spectrum (9,394)
Logan, UT
01/23/2016
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Nevada L 63–65  12–8
(3–4)
Lawlor Events Center (11,341)
Reno, NV
01/27/2016
8:00 p.m., CBSSN
Boise State W 87–77  13–8
(4–4)
Thomas & Mack Center (12,586)
Paradise, NV
01/30/2016
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
San Diego State L 52–67  13–9
(4–5)
Thomas & Mack Center (15,243)
Paradise, NV
02/02/2016
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
at New Mexico L 83–87  13–10
(4–6)
WisePies Arena (13,359)
Albuquerque, NM
02/06/2016
4:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Fresno State L 104–111 2OT 13–11
(4–7)
Save Mart Center (7,754)
Fresno, CA
02/10/2016
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
San Jose State W 64–61  14–11
(5–7)
Thomas & Mack Center (11,647)
Paradise, NV
02/13/2016
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Colorado State W 87–80  15–11
(6–7)
Thomas & Mack Center (11,753)
Paradise, NV
02/17/2016
6:30 p.m., CBSSN
at Air Force L 74–79  15–12
(6–8)
Clune Arena (1,445)
Colorado Springs, CO
02/20/2016
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
Nevada W 101–92 OT 16–12
(7–8)
Thomas & Mack Center (14,640)
Paradise, NV
02/23/2016
8:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Boise State L 69–81  16–13
(7–9)
Taco Bell Arena (4,605)
Boise, ID
02/27/2016
5:00 p.m., ESPN3
Wyoming W 79–74  17–13
(8–9)
Thomas & Mack Center (12,412)
Paradise, NV
03/05/2016
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at San Diego State L 56–92  17–14
(8–10)
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, CA
Mountain West tournament
03/09/2016
1:30 p.m., MWN
Air Force
First round
W 108–102 3OT 18–14
Thomas & Mack Center (5,970)
Paradise, NV
03/10/2016
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
Fresno State
Quarterfinals
L 82–95  18–15
Thomas & Mack Center (6,325)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Youmans, Matt (January 11, 2016). "UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice fired". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Goodman, Jeff and Katz, Andy (January 10, 2016). "Rice out as UNLV's coach amid 0-3 start in MWC". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Anderson, Mark (March 28, 2016). "UNLV announces Chris Beard as basketball coach, but his introduction will have to wait". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Goodman, Jeff (April 15, 2016). "Job hopper: Beard leaves UNLV for Texas Tech". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "UNLV hires Marvin Menzies as basketball coach after Chris Beard bolts". Spokesman.com. April 16, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Ramirez, W.G. "UNLV Falls To San Diego State in MW Quarterfinals, 67-64". UNLVRebels.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  7. ^ Vecenie, Sam (March 31, 2015). "UNLV's Rashad Vaughn officially enters draft by signing with agent". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Youmans, Matt (April 22, 2015). "UNLV's Wood headed to the NBA". ReviewJournal.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  9. ^ Manzano, Gilbert (November 27, 2015). "Goodluck Okonoboh is leaving UNLV". Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Anderson, Mark (February 9, 2016). "UNLV's Zimmerman Jr. out indefinitely". Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Retrieved May 30, 2024.