2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

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.

2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
Conference	Mountain West Conference
2015–16 record	18–15 (8–10 Mountain West)
Head coach	Dave Rice (fired 1/10/16) Todd Simon (from 1/11/16)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Miller Stacey Augmon
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center

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
† 2016 MWC Tournament winner

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

The 2014–15 Runnin' Rebels finished the season with an overall record of 18–15, and 8–10 in conference 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

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; didn't 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

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 in the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of eligibility left.

2015 Recruiting class

Stephen Zimmerman in the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jaylen Poyser #64 SG	Malton, Ontario	Athlete Institute Basketball Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 2, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Derrick Jones #3 SF	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Archbishop John Carroll High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 13, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Stephen Zimmerman #5 C	Las Vegas, Nevada	Bishop Gorman High School	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Apr 16, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
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

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)  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr St. John's Makurdi, Nigeria	Head coach Todd Simon (UNLV) Assistant coach(es) Ryan Miller (Northern State) Stacey Augmon (UNLV) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 8, 2016

• Nov. 27, 2015 – Sophomore Goodluck Okonoboh asked for his release and will transfer.[9]
• Feb. 8, 2016 – Freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr. out indefinitely due to a left knee injury.[10] Returned Feb. 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

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

1. Review-Journal, Matt Youmans Las Vegas (2016-01-10). "UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice fired". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
2. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14545007/dave-rice-fired-coach-unlv-rebels
3. REVIEW-JOURNAL, MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS (2016-03-28). "UNLV announces Chris Beard as basketball coach, but his introduction will have to wait". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
4. "Job hopper: Beard leaves UNLV for Texas Tech". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
5. "UNLV hires Marvin Menzies as basketball coach after Chris Beard bolts". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
6. Ramirez, W.G. "UNLV Falls To San Diego State in MW Quarterfinals, 67-64". UNLVRebels.com. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
7. Vecenie, Sam. "UNLV's Rashad Vaughn officially enters draft by signing with agent". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
8. Youmans, Matt. "UNLV's Wood headed to the NBA". ReviewJournal.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
9. Manzano, Gilbert. "Goodluck Okonoboh is leaving UNLV". ReviewJournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
10. Anderson, Mark. "UNLV's Zimmerman Jr. out indefinitely". ReviewJournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Retrieved 9 February 2016.