Everything to Know About the Nevada Men’s Basketball Team As Practice Begins

The Wolf Pack are back in the gym, but don’t expect anything familiar. Nevada men’s basketball is starting from scratch. No returning starters. Just four players back. It is a total overhaul. But don’t call it a rebuild. The new guys didn’t come to play it safe.

Last year was rough. The Wolf Pack finished 17-16 and 8-12 in Mountain West play, a big drop from preseason expectations. After a fast start, they fell apart in conference play and couldn’t beat a team with a winning record. Locker room issues and a three-point slump didn’t help either. This season, Coach Steve Alford is turning the page hard.

Who is Running the Show for the Wolf Pack?

Steve Alford enters his seventh year in Reno, sitting at 113-75 with Nevada and over 600 wins in his career. He has been around the block. His longtime sidekick Craig Neal is still here as associate head coach, along with assistants Bil Duany, Lo Leath, and Michael Furlong. Former Virginia star Kyle Guy is also on staff.

Nevada Hoops / IG / The Wolf Pack isn’t supposed to win the league. San Diego State, Boise State, and Utah State all look stronger on paper. But Nevada’s ceiling depends on how quickly this group can click.

The coaching staff had its hands full this offseason. The roster was gutted. Kobe Sanders went to the NBA. Nick Davidson transferred to Clemson. Justin McBride dipped to James Madison. No returning starter stayed. Just four guys are back, and only two (Tyler Rolison and Chuck Bailey III) were even part of the rotation last year. That meant Nevada had to hit the portal, and hard.

Lots of New Faces to Watch Out For

The Wolf Pack didn’t waste time. They added real pieces from every level. Elijah Price comes from Fresno State, where he averaged double figures and was one of the league’s top rebounders. He brings toughness and energy as a power forward. Tayshawn Comer from Evansville is a gritty point guard who plays fast and defends with purpose.

Corey Camper Jr. made the C-USA All-Defensive Team at UTEP. He’s a lockdown guy on the wing.

Then you have got the wildcard crew. Kaleb Lowery was a two-time NAIA All-American. Vaughn Weems scored like crazy in junior college. Joel Armotrading is a rim protector from UC Riverside who will battle for the starting center job. Nevada also brought in four high schoolers to develop, but the focus is clearly on winning now.

This group gives the Wolf Pack what they lacked last season: speed, defense, and depth. They plan to pick up the pace after ranking 340th in tempo last year. It will be a different look. Faster. More aggressive. Less predictable.

Problems Still Linger for the Wolf Pack

But let’s be real. There are risks. Nevada returns almost nobody. Rolison is the most experienced returner, and even he lost his starting spot for a chunk of last season. Bailey and Robinson have potential, but didn’t show much consistency. That is a lot of unknowns.

Nevada Hoops / IG / The Wolf Pack’s new group has struggled from deep. The eight D-I players on the roster have a combined three-point percentage of just 31.5% in their careers.

That is bad! The backcourt is also undersized. So while the team added grit and athleticism, spacing and shooting could still be a problem, especially in close games.

What Went Wrong in 2024?

Last season was disappointing and confusing. Nevada started 6-1, shot 41.9% from three in non-league play, and looked like a tournament team. Then Mountain West play hit. The threes stopped falling, the offense froze, and the locker room split.

They finished 0-11 against the top four teams in the conference. Four wins in 23 games against winning teams. That says it all. Add in some late-season injuries and bad luck – they ranked 353rd in KenPom’s luck metric – and you get a season where everything that could go wrong, did.