Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Nevada (Projected: 5th in MWC)
After choking away a first round matchup against Dayton this past March, there’s no doubt Nevada will be looking for redemption this season. The Wolf Pack lose their top two scorers from the squad, but head coach Steve Alford did a solid job adding depth through the transfer portal. The Mountain West likely won’t be as good as it was last season, but I think the conference can still send four or more teams to the NCAA Tournament, and Nevada will have a fighting chance to be one of them.
The big returner from last year’s tournament squad is forward Nick Davidson (12 ppg, 7 rpg). Davidson recorded seven double-doubles last season and really found his stride once conference play hit. Davidson had a seven-game stretch at the start of February where he averaged 19 ppg and 9 rpg. Although he likely won’t be able produce those numbers for a full season, if he can get closer to those numbers he will become one of the best interior players in the conference this season. Now entering his junior year, he’ll be called upon as more of a leader for his experience in the Wolf Pack lineup, something he started to show at the end of last season.
The returners list doesn’t end with Davidson though, as seven other Wolf Pack players return for another season. The backcourt keeps Tyler Rolison (4 ppg), a young guard who impressed during his limited minutes as a freshman last season and Amire Robinson (1 ppg). The frontcourt is where a bulk of the returning minutes come from, with Tre Coleman (9 ppg, 4 rpg), KJ Hymes (6 ppg), Daniel Foster (4 ppg, 5 rpg), Jeriah Coleman (1 ppg), and Isaac Hymes (Redshirt) returning to the program.
Five Wolf Pack players departed this offseason including three graduates and two transfers. The starting backcourt duo of Jarod Lucas (18 ppg, 3 rpg) and Kenan Blackshear Jr. (15 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg) will be the most missed, but the depth also takes a hit. Guard Hunter McIntosh (6 ppg), guard Tytan Pope (4 ppg) and center Jazz Gardner (3 ppg) all played solid minutes for the Wolfpack’s last season off the bench and left this offseason.
The two big gets in the transfer portal for Steve Alford were the replacements for Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear Jr. Cal Poly transfer Kobe Sanders (20 ppg, 4 rpg at Cal Poly) played on one of the worst teams in the country last season, but was very obviously his team’s only good player. Sanders fits the prototype of a big guard that will use his size to his advantage, something Blackshear utilized extremely effective last season. Sanders adds the element of a three-point shot to his game over Blackshear, as he shot 33.9% from three in 2023-24. The other backcourt addition was Fresno State transfer Xavier DuSell (12 ppg at Fresno State), a veteran sharpshooter who has already spent time at two different Mountain West programs. With Rolison and Sanders hopefully finding DuSell more open looks than he did at Fresno State, his already impressive mark from three (39.5% on 223 attempts) could improve.
The transfer class went six deep, with four depth pieces added by Steve Alford. The frontcourt adds mid-major players Yuto Yamanachi (9 ppg, 5 rpg at Portland) and Brandon Love (10 ppg, 5 rpg at Texas State). With Yamanachi, Love, and the plethora of returning forwards, don’t be surprised to see some big lineups from the Wolf Pack this season. The backcourt adds more depth having lost their two stars, adding sophomores Justin McBride (3 ppg at Oklahoma State) and Chuck Bailey III (8 ppg at Evansville). With only one name to mention in the high school recruiting class, I’ll mention him here, with unranked guard Caelum Harris joining the program this fall.
Nevada had one of the best mid-major backcourts in the country last season, and while that may not be the case again this season, I still think they have a squad that will compete at the top of the Mountain West. The conference won’t be as talented as it was last year, so six bids would be a bit of a stretch, but I think it’s a conference that can secure at least four bids.
For Nevada to think about the tournament, the backcourt needs to pan out. We know what Nick Davidson and the returning frontcourt players can provide, but the backcourt received a full makeover. The X-factors on this team for me are Tyler Rolison and Kobe Sanders. Rolison showed flashes of his ability to play point guard in the MWC in limited minutes last season, and now will need to be called upon for consistent minutes this winter. Sanders played for a 4-28 team last season, and while he’s an extremely talented player that put up very impressive numbers, I question his ability to play winning basketball. Of course as the saying goes, you’re a loser until you’re a winner, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sanders proves this wrong right away and leads the Wolf Pack to some big wins to start the season.
The non-conference will be the most important time of the year for every Mountain West school. The more games they each win there, the easier it becomes in conference play to beat each other up and still feel confident about the number of bids the tournament will receive. Boise State and New Mexico feel a step above the rest of the conference, but San Diego State, UNLV, Utah State, Nevada, and Colorado State will all compete for a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament this season. In the conference this season, I’ve got the Wolf Pack slotted at 5th out of 11 teams.