2016–17 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2016–17 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Runnin' Rebels were led by first-year head coach Marvin Menzies . They played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference . They finished the season 11–21, 4–14 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They lost in the first round of the Mountain West tournament to San Diego State .
Previous season
The 2015–16 Runnin' Rebels finished the 2015–16 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 January 10, 2016, UNLV announced that head coach Dave Rice and the school had mutually agreed for him to step down as head coach.[ 1] Associate head coach Todd Simon was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[ 1] On March 28, the school announced that Chris Beard had been hired as head coach.[ 2] However, less than three weeks later, Beard left UNLV to accept the head coaching position at Texas Tech .[ 3] On April 16, the school hired Mavin Menzies as head coach.[ 4]
Departures
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Ike Nwamu
34
G
6'5"
210
RS Senior
Greensboro, NC
Graduated
Jerome Seagears
2
G
6'1"
180
RS Senior
Silver Spring, MD
Graduated
Alex Perez
14
G
6'4"
180
Senior
San Diego, CA
Graduated
Daquan Cook
10
G
6'2"
170
Senior
Baltimore, MD
Dismissed from the team due to a DUI[ 5]
Chris Obekpa
35
C
6'10"
225
Senior
Makurdi, Nigeria
Declared for 2016 NBA draft
Ben Carter
13
F
6'9"
225
RS Junior
Las Vegas, NV
Graduate transferred to Michigan State
Patrick McCaw
22
G
6'7"
185
Sophomore
St. Louis, MO
Declared for 2016 NBA draft
Jordan Cornish
3
G
6'6"
220
Sophomore
New Orleans, LA
Transferred to Tulane
Goodluck Okonoboh
11
F/C
6'10"
225
Sophomore
Woburn, MA
Declared for 2016 NBA draft
Derrick Jones Jr.
1
F
6'7"
190
Freshman
Philadelphia, PA
Declared for 2016 NBA draft
Austin Starr
20
G
6'3"
185
Freshman
Las Vegas, NV
Transferred to College of Southern Idaho
Stephen Zimmerman
33
C
7'0"
240
Freshman
Las Vegas, NV
Declared for 2016 NBA draft
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Kris Clyburn
1
G
6'3"
170
Sophomore
Romulus, MI
Junior college transferred from Ranger College .
Uche Ofoegbu
2
F
6'4"
214
RS Senior
San Antonio, TX
Transferred from San Francisco . Will eligible to play immediately since Ofoegbu graduated from San Francisco .
Christian Jones
20
F
6'7"
230
RS Senior
Arlington, TX
Transferred from St. John's . Will eligible to play immediately since Jones graduated from St. John's .
Jordan Johnson
24
G
5'9"
175
Senior
Waukegan, IL
Transferred from Milwaukee . Under NCAA transfer rules, Johnson will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Jovan Mooring
30
G
6'2"
205
Junior
Chicago, IL
Junior college transferred from South Suburban College .
2016 recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Cheickna Dembele #18 C
Mali
Scotland Performance Institute
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Apr 30, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : ESPN :
Ben Coupet Jr. #39 SF
Chicago, IL
Simeon Career Academy
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
May 9, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN :
Zion Morgan SG
Chicago, IL
Kenwood Academy High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
May 12, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN : N/A
Jaylan Ballou PG
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Saint Paul High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jun 1, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN : N/A
Djordjije Sljivancanin C
Belgrade, Serbia
IMG Academy
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
250 lb (110 kg)
May 18, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN : N/A
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:
Roster
2016–17 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Larry Bush (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Jr
Moorpark College
Calabasas, CA
G
1
Kris Clyburn
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
So
Ranger College
Romulus, MI
F
2
Uche Ofoegbu
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Sr
San Francisco
Chicago, IL
F
3
Tyrell Green
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Sr
Hill College
Toronto, ON
G
5
Jaylen Poyser
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
So
Athlete Institute Basketball Academy
Malton, ON
G
10
Zion Morgan
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Kenwood Academy
Chicago, IL
F
11
Cheickna Dembélé
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Fr
Scotland Performance Institute
Mali, Africa
C
12
Djordjije Sljivancanin
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
IMG Academy
Belgrade, Serbia
G
13
Ben Coupet Jr.
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Simeon Career Academy
Chicago, IL
F
15
Dwayne Morgan
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Jr
St. Frances Academy
Baltimore, MD
F
20
Christian Jones
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS Sr
St. John's
Arlington, TX
G
22
Jaylan Ballou
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Fr
St. Paul HS
Santa Fe Springs, CA
G
24
Jordan Johnson (I)
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Sr
Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Waukegan, IL
G
30
Jovan Mooring
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
South Suburban College
Country Club Hills, IL
F
31
Troy Baxter Jr.
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Fr
Oldsmar Christian HS
Tallahassee, FL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/01/2016 *7:00 pm
Dakota Wesleyan
W 96–80
Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
11/05/2016 *7:00 pm
New Mexico Highlands
W 92–66
Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016 *7:00 pm
South Alabama
L 68–76
0–1
Thomas & Mack Center (9,981)Paradise, NV
11/16/2016 *7:00 pm
UC Riverside
W 74–62
1–1
Thomas & Mack Center (8,711)Paradise, NV
11/19/2016 *7:00 pm
Cal State Fullerton Global Sports Classic
W 77–68
2–1
Thomas & Mack Center (9,416)Paradise, NV
11/22/2016 *7:00 pm
Northern Arizona Global Sports Classic
W 110–71
3–1
Thomas & Mack Center (8,822)Paradise, NV
11/25/2016 *7:30 pm
TCU Global Sports Classic semifinals
L 59–63
3–2
Thomas & Mack Center (9,815)Paradise, NV
11/26/2016 *5:00 pm
WKU Global Sports Classic 3rd place game
W 71–61
4–2
Thomas & Mack Center (8,810)Paradise, NV
11/30/2016 *6:00 pm
at Southern Utah
W 89–81
5–2
Centrum Arena (4,249)Cedar City, UT
12/03/2016 *5:00 pm, P12N
at Arizona State
L 73–97
5–3
Wells Fargo Arena (7,707)Tempe, AZ
12/10/2016 *2:15 pm, ESPN
vs. No. 5 Duke T-Mobile Arena Showcase
L 45–94
5–4
T-Mobile Arena (19,107)Paradise, NV
12/14/2016 *7:00 pm
Incarnate Word
W 92–64
6–4
Thomas & Mack Center (8,202)Paradise, NV
12/17/2016 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 22 Oregon Portland Showcase
L 63–83
6–5
Moda Center (9,728)Portland, OR
12/19/2016 *7:00 pm
Southern Illinois MW–MVC Challenge
W 68–61
7–5
Thomas & Mack Center (11,758)Paradise, NV
12/22/2016 *6:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 3 Kansas
L 53–71
7–6
Thomas & Mack Center (14,116)Paradise, NV
Mountain West regular season
12/28/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Colorado State
L 77–91
7–7 (0–1)
Moby Arena (2,464)Fort Collins, CO
12/31/2016 1:00 pm
Wyoming
W 81–75
8–7 (1–1)
Thomas & Mack Center (9,352)Paradise, NV
01/04/2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN
Boise State
L 59–77
8–8 (1–2)
Thomas & Mack Center (8,872)Paradise, NV
01/07/2017 3:00 pm, CBSSN
at Utah State
L 63–79
8–9 (1–3)
Smith Spectrum (6,080)Logan, UT
01/10/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3
at New Mexico
W 71–66
9–9 (2–3)
The Pit (11,379)Albuquerque, NM
01/17/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3
San Diego State
L 51–64
9–10 (2–4)
Thomas & Mack Center (10,007)Paradise, NV
01/21/2017 3:00 pm, RTRM
Air Force
W 87–85 2OT
10–10 (3–4)
Thomas & Mack Center (9,917)Paradise, NV
01/25/2017 6:00 pm
at Wyoming
L 65–66
10–11 (3–5)
Arena-Auditorium (5,019)Laramie, WY
01/28/2017 7:00 pm
at San Jose State
L 72–76
10–12 (3–6)
Event Center Arena (2,106)San Jose, CA
02/01/2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN
New Mexico
L 77–80
10–13 (3–7)
Thomas & Mack Center (12,001)Paradise, NV
02/04/2017 3:00 pm, CBSSN
Colorado State
L 49–69
10–14 (3–8)
Thomas & Mack Center (12,434)Paradise, NV
02/08/2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Nevada
L 77–104
10–15 (3–9)
Lawlor Events Center (11,841)Reno, NV
02/11/2017 3:00 pm
San Jose State
L 74–76
10–16 (3–10)
Thomas & Mack Center (10,349)Paradise, NV
02/19/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN
at San Diego State
L 64–77
10–17 (3–11)
Viejas Arena (11,896)San Diego, CA
02/22/2017 6:00 pm
at Air Force
L 58–81
10–18 (3–12)
Clune Arena (2,031)Colorado Springs, CO
02/25/2017 3:00 pm, CBSSN
Nevada
L 58–94
10–19 (3–13)
Thomas & Mack Center (14,808)Paradise, NV
03/01/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU
Utah State
W 66–59
11–19 (4–13)
Thomas & Mack Center (9,931)Paradise, NV
03/04/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Fresno State
L 59–72
11–20 (4–14)
Save Mart Center (8,236)Fresno, CA
Mountain West tournament
03/08/2017 4:00 pm, MW Net
(11)
(6) San Diego State First round
L 52–62 OT
11–21
Thomas & Mack Center (4,979)Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Pacific Time .
References
^ a b Review-Journal, Matt Youmans Las Vegas (January 10, 2016). "UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice fired" . Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
^ REVIEW-JOURNAL, MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS (March 28, 2016). "UNLV announces Chris Beard as basketball coach, but his introduction will have to wait" . Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
^ "Job hopper: Beard leaves UNLV for Texas Tech" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
^ "UNLV hires Marvin Menzies as basketball coach after Chris Beard bolts" . Spokesman.com . Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
^ "Daquan Cook dismissed from UNLV basketball team; no reason given" . Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved July 8, 2015 .
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics