UNLV Runnin’ Rebel Roster 2024 - 2025

[UNLV2001]

 

[Hoser]

On 3/15/2024 at 8:34 AM, quickdraw said:

Let’s get it started. As usual the next few weeks may see changes. 

The roster as it stands today. Updated as changes occur

Updated 4/16

 

Rebel Roster 2024-2025
 

1. Rob Whaley              Sr    F.   6’7”   260lbs
2. Jalen Hill                   Sr    G.  6’6”.  230lbs
3. Isaiah Cottrell          Jr    F.    6’11”.  245lbs
4. Jeremiah Cherry     Jr   F *.   6’11”   250lbs
5. DJ Thomas              So   G    6’1”.    170lbs
6. Brooklyn Hicks        So   G.   6’3”.   185lbs
7. Jacob Bannarbie     Fr   F.     6’9”.   230lbs
8. James Evans           Fr   G *.  6’5”.   210lbs
9. Pape N’Diaye          Fr   F *.   6’11”.  215lbs
10. Jayden Henley.       Jr.   F*.   6’7”.  200lbs
11. Jace Whiting.         Jr.   G*    6’3”.   190lbs 
12. *
13. *

 

* New to roster

2025 Recruits:

1.

Looks good on paper. time will tell if this lineup is as good as it looks.

[4UNLV]

On 4/26/2024 at 6:10 PM, Hoser said:

Looks good on paper. time will tell if this lineup is as good as it looks.

Personally I think it looks like mid MW. 
But, maybe KK can make sure they all play hard from the get go, and not shoot themselves in the foot the first game of the season, or mid season against a bad AFA team. So far, I just don’t see him even replacing what we’re losing.

But that’s just me.

[ph90702]

On 4/26/2024 at 8:07 PM, 4UNLV said:

Personally I think it looks like mid MW. 
But, maybe KK can make sure they all play hard from the get go, and not shoot themselves in the foot the first game of the season, or mid season against a bad AFA team. So far, I just don’t see him even replacing what we’re losing.

But that’s just me.

They need an impact player or two.

[qwelish]

On 4/26/2024 at 11:10 AM, UNLV2001 said:

 

Was never a consideration. Dad not  a KK fan.

[RebelRobert]

On 4/28/2024 at 8:48 AM, qwelish said:

Was never a consideration. Dad not  a KK fan.

KK is not a fan of players who rape women.

https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/courts/2024/03/27/hearing-set-on-pseudonym-use-in-lawsuit-against-techs-pop-isaacs/73123543007/

[qwelish]

Pop Isaac's and Milo's Uzan both transferred and neither considered UNLV at all.

[ph90702]

On 4/28/2024 at 2:44 PM, qwelish said:

Pop Isaac's and Milo's Uzan both transferred and neither considered UNLV at all.

Oh well!

[RebelRobert]

On 4/28/2024 at 4:44 PM, qwelish said:

Pop Isaac's and Milo's Uzan both transferred and neither considered UNLV at all.

We have a point guard. Think they wanted to ride pine. Kevin was never taking a suspected rapist.

[qwelish]

Either way those are solid backcourt prospects from Las Vegas. And both can and have played sg.

Uzan is good enough for Houston and Pop went to the dance.

But hey.. there's always Jace Whiting to light it up for UNLV.

 

[RebelRobert]

On 4/28/2024 at 8:35 PM, qwelish said:

Either way those are solid backcourt prospects from Las Vegas. And both can and have played sg.

Uzan is good enough for Houston and Pop went to the dance.

But hey.. there's always Jace Whiting to light it up for UNLV.

 

Lots of players are scared to compete and have zero loyalty. They don't belong at UNLV.

UNLV has gotten better every single year under Kevin Kruger:

2023/24 - NCAA NET Ranking (#76)

2022/23 - NCAA NET Ranking (#94)

2021/22 - NCAA NET Ranking (#97)

2020/21 - NCAA NET Ranking (#189)

Sorry if his progress isn't fast enough for you but those of us who understand basketball can see what he is building towards.

The team is NOT getting worse, it is getting better with program players. We have FOUR returning starters next year off a team that was arguably the best in the MWC.

Kevin will NOT cut corners. He will not take players who are not committed to being at UNLV. 

He will continue to improve the team each year. He will build stability. He will develop his players.

Nobody will want to play UNLV Basketball. We will be tough to beat.

Kevin already fixed it. You just can't see it because you are willfully blind. These are the good times. UNLV has a legit Top 50 team again.

[qwelish]

 

On 4/28/2024 at 7:26 PM, RebelRobert said:

2023/24 - NCAA NET Ranking (#76)

On 4/28/2024 at 7:26 PM, RebelRobert said:

UNLV has a legit Top 50 team again.

How many things have you been wrong about? Too many to count.

No difference here, your assumptions are way off. 

All I'm saying is those programs have all been going to the ncaas consistently for years.

Although UNLV has improved, it still hasn't sniffed the dance. Top local players probably notice stuff like that.

I'm sure KK will land a stud to shoot the lights out. But I'm not ready to promise results beyond what we've seen, like you are.

But you're shamelessly wrong all the time. So based on track record, I'd say basically the opposite of whatever you post will probably happen.

[qwelish]

On 4/26/2024 at 8:07 PM, 4UNLV said:

Personally I think it looks like mid MW. 
But, maybe KK can make sure they all play hard from the get go, and not shoot themselves in the foot the first game of the season, or mid season against a bad AFA team. So far, I just don’t see him even replacing what we’re losing.

But that’s just me.

I really don't want KK replacing what was lost. 

Keylan, Kalib, LouRod, JJ3 did not fit Krugers offensive philosophy. He didn't know how to deploy those guys within his system and it showed. The offense was atrocious this season. I don't want to see a repeat of that at all.

I'd much rather see KK bring in guys that fit what he wants to do. Which is a guard heavy, perimeter blitzing, iso face up, jumpshooting, 3pt seeking offense.

The frontcourt players coming in are all back to the basket inside bigs. No shooters. Which again doesn't fit what KK likes to do offensively. 

He's going to need some strong perimeter players to make up for the lack of frontcourt shooting. If not KK will have bigs wasting away on the bench like the last few seasons.

 

[RebelRobert]

On 4/28/2024 at 11:26 PM, qwelish said:

 

How many things have you been wrong about? Too many to count.

No difference here, your assumptions are way off. 

All I'm saying is those programs have all been going to the ncaas consistently for years.

Although UNLV has improved, it still hasn't sniffed the dance. Top local players probably notice stuff like that.

I'm sure KK will land a stud to shoot the lights out. But I'm not ready to promise results beyond what we've seen, like you are.

But you're shamelessly wrong all the time. So based on track record, I'd say basically the opposite of whatever you post will probably happen.

Know nothings like you said the same things about Houston. Said they were dead that they would never be good again. Wrong

UNLVs time is coming and we will return to the top. Kevin is not going to cut corners as you wish he would. He will build it his way and it is a pleasure to watch. 

Winning will get us better players. Consistency will give us strength. Building a tough culture with demands on players to go above and beyond while showing loyalty is what is needed. 

Kevin will build UNLV back into a top 25 program and when he does, the studs will be begging to play fo us and we will never lose.

We will be NCAAs every year. Kevin knows what he is doing. All of you just need to shut up and watch. This is a master at work. Not a  junky like Bayno, he is not past his prime like Spoon, not out of his element like Lon who was searching for that final retirement payday, not a beta deer in headlights like Rice, won’t cut corners like Menzies, and not disloyal clowns like weirdo Beardo and crybaby Otz.

Kevin already rebuilt this thing. UNLV is top 50 from here on out and the consistent winning will produce a level of talent we haven’t seen since 1990.

[Rebels18]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:16 AM, RebelRobert said:

Know nothings like you said the same things about Houston. Said they were dead that they would never be good again. Wrong

UNLVs time is coming and we will return to the top. Kevin is not going to cut corners as you wish he would. He will build it his way and it is a pleasure to watch. 

Winning will get us better players. Consistency will give us strength. Building a tough culture with demands on players to go above and beyond while showing loyalty is what is needed. 

Kevin will build UNLV back into a top 25 program and when he does, the studs will be begging to play fo us and we will never lose.

We will be NCAAs every year. Kevin knows what he is doing. All of you just need to shut up and watch. This is a master at work. Not a  junky like Bayno, he is not past his prime like Spoon, not out of his element like Lon who was searching for that final retirement payday, not a beta deer in headlights like Rice, won’t cut corners like Menzies, and not disloyal clowns like weirdo Beardo and crybaby Otz.

Kevin already rebuilt this thing. UNLV is top 50 from here on out and the consistent winning will produce a level of talent we haven’t seen since 1990.

Kevie can't recruit at a high enough level to get us into Top-25 consistently. 

Can he get enough talent after 4-5 years to sneak us into the NCAA Tourney every half decade or so? ....maybe?? guess we'll see. Slightly better than the last string of coaches, pretty sad how far the bar has fallen.

Kevie has yet to adequately replace the talent of the Boones/Lurod. Only starters returning are DTJ/Whaley and Hill coming off ACL surgery. A couple project bigs isn't going to translate into much improvement over last season. He needed to land high impact players from the portal, and so far he's gotten benchwarmers for Boise 0-10ers and Depaul. 

let's face it, Kevie only still has a job because of the heroics of DTJ

[RebelRobert]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:47 AM, Rebels18 said:

Kevie can't recruit at a high enough level to get us into Top-25 consistently. 

Can he get enough talent after 4-5 years to sneak us into the NCAA Tourney every half decade or so? ....maybe?? guess we'll see. Slightly better than the last string of coaches, pretty sad how far the bar has fallen.

Kevie has yet to adequately replace the talent of the Boones/Lurod. Only starters returning are DTJ/Whaley and Hill coming off ACL surgery. A couple project bigs isn't going to translate into much improvement over last season. He needed to land high impact players from the portal, and so far he's gotten benchwarmers for Boise 0-10ers and Depaul. 

let's face it, Kevie only still has a job because of the heroics of DTJ

To recruit the best players you need NIL money and a winning program.

Kevin Kruger took over the #189 NCAA NET Ranked team that had zero talent and zero fans left.

UNLV fans don't like to hear it but it is a rebuilding project. That is exactly what Kevin Kruger is doing, every year our NCAA NET has improved and we just made the NIT and actually won a few games. This was a DEAD program. It is being resurrected.

It is unfair to judge a staffs recruiting class until the RECRUITING is finished. 

All coaches only have jobs because of the heroics of the players THEY RECRUIT. The wins and LOSSES go next to the coaches name.

Kevin Kruger will rebuild this program into the best in the MWC and a consistent yearly NCAA Tournament team. Winning will garner fan attention which will bring in additional funds and attract better players. This is a process. Kevin didn't take over 1993 UNLV Basketball, he took over 2022 UNLV Basketball which was DEAD and buried. We are now once again a legit team that we as fans can be proud of, are we at the finish line HELL NO but the ride to the top is the fun part.

Dedan Thomas Jr, Isaiah Cottrell, Rob Whaley Jr, and Jalen Hill all started games for UNLV last year. UNLV also returns Brooklyn Hicks who was a Freshman and gained major minutes in the rotation down the stretch run of the season.

The program has RETURNING PLAYERS. We finished #76 in NET. We made postseason NIT. We will only be better next year.

Sorry to burst your bubbles, but this is what we as fans should want for the program. Continuity. Young Coach who is hungry and has Rebel blood. Improvement every year. Postseason play. That is how you build a strong program that other schools DON'T WANT TO FACE.

[UNLV2001]

From Arizona to UNLV to Portland State -- That's a downhill progression 

And........how the portal has shifted recruiting 

 

[packNV]

On 4/29/2024 at 8:22 AM, RebelRobert said:

To recruit the best players you need NIL money and a winning program.

Kevin Kruger took over the #189 NCAA NET Ranked team that had zero talent and zero fans left.

UNLV fans don't like to hear it but it is a rebuilding project. That is exactly what Kevin Kruger is doing, every year our NCAA NET has improved and we just made the NIT and actually won a few games. This was a DEAD program. It is being resurrected.

It is unfair to judge a staffs recruiting class until the RECRUITING is finished. 

All coaches only have jobs because of the heroics of the players THEY RECRUIT. The wins and LOSSES go next to the coaches name.

Kevin Kruger will rebuild this program into the best in the MWC and a consistent yearly NCAA Tournament team. Winning will garner fan attention which will bring in additional funds and attract better players. This is a process. Kevin didn't take over 1993 UNLV Basketball, he took over 2022 UNLV Basketball which was DEAD and buried. We are now once again a legit team that we as fans can be proud of, are we at the finish line HELL NO but the ride to the top is the fun part.

Dedan Thomas Jr, Isaiah Cottrell, Rob Whaley Jr, and Jalen Hill all started games for UNLV last year. UNLV also returns Brooklyn Hicks who was a Freshman and gained major minutes in the rotation down the stretch run of the season.

The program has RETURNING PLAYERS. We finished #76 in NET. We made postseason NIT. We will only be better next year.

Sorry to burst your bubbles, but this is what we as fans should want for the program. Continuity. Young Coach who is hungry and has Rebel blood. Improvement every year. Postseason play. That is how you build a strong program that other schools DON'T WANT TO FACE.

You forgot to mention he landed Finley Bizjack.

[RebelRobert]

On 4/29/2024 at 2:26 PM, packNV said:

You forgot to mention he landed Finley Bizjack.

Kevin won’t have any issue finding someone to ride the pine like Bizjack.

[packNV]

On 4/29/2024 at 1:31 PM, RebelRobert said:

Kevin won’t have any issue finding someone to ride the pine like Bizjack.

I agree.  I was just having a little fun with the situation.  The Rebs should be solid next year.