Nov. 13, 2011
Complete Release 
NEVADA at?UNLV
After falling 68-46 to Missouri State to open the 2011-12 season, Nevada travels to intrastate rival UNLV on Monday. The Rebels defeated Grand Canyon 83-66 to start the season. UNLV is under the direction of first-year head coach Dave Rice.
Monday, 7:05 p.m. PT
NEVADA WOLF PACK
(0-1)
at
UNLV Rebels
(1-0)
Thomas & Mack Center (18,500)
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (KUUB 94.5 FM Reno; KELY 1230 AM Ely; KWNA 1400 AM Winnemucca; and KSVL 92.3 FM Yerington). Monday's game will not air on KPLY 630 AM Reno as NFL football will be aired during that time slot. Ryan Radtke (play-by-play), pregame starts at 6:30 p.m.
TELEVISION: CBS?Sports Network - Check your television provider for channel information. Play by Play: Roger Twibell, Color Commentary: Steve Lappas
Live stats: Livestats Link
WEB STREAMING: none
SERIES?HISTORY: UNLV leads the series 53-19. The Rebels have won the last five games including a 82-70 victory in Reno last year. In the last 10 meetings UNLV has won seven.
UP?NEXT: Nevada begins a three-game home stand hosting Pacific on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m.
ABOUT?THE?UNLV?REBELS - UNLV (1-0) began the 2011-12 season with an 83-66 home victory over Grand Canyon for first-year head coach Dave Rice. Rice inherited a club that returns four starters and nine letterwinners from a team that went 24-9 last season and advanced to the NCAA?Tournament.
Five players scored in double-figures in the opener led by 6-3, guard Justin Hawkins who totaled 25. Mike Moser (6-8,?forward) finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Guard Oscar Bellfield (6-2) and forward Quintrell Thomas (6-8) had 12 points apiece. Center Brice Massamba (6-10) added 10 points in the victory.
The Rebels shot 46.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. On the glass UNLV held a 43-35 advantage.
HUNT BREAKS?NEVADA BLOCKS?RECORD - Senior forward Dario Hunt broke the Nevada career blocks record in the season opener versus Missouri State with the 193rd block his career. Hunt came into the season tied with Nick Fazekas (2004-07) with 192.
Hunt had six blocks in the Pack's 66-60 loss to New Mexico State in the WAC?Tournament last year to move into a tie with Fazekas. Hunt's 193 blocks have come in 101 games while Fazekas accomplished the feat in 131 games. Hunt has three of the top five seasons in school history with his best year of 67 during the 2008-09 season ranking third and is the freshman record. In 2009-10 he had 66 which are fourth on the list and his 59 last year ranks fifth.
Hunt is also climbing the Nevada rebounds career chart with his 703 ranking seventh. His nine in the MSU?game moved over 700 for his career. Ric Herrin (1989-93) is sixth with 815 rebounds.
BURTON FIFTH PACK PLAYER TO EARN PRESEASON WAC POY NOD - Point guard Deonte Burton became the fifth Nevada player and sixth overall to be selected as the WAC?Coaches' Preseason Player of the Year. Kirk Snyder (2003-04), Nick Fazekas (2005-06 & 2006-07), Armon Johnson (2008-09) and Luke Babbitt (2009-10) were all preseason players of the year with Fazekas earning the honor twice. Snyder, Fazekas?(twice) and Babbitt all earned the honor at the end of the season when chosen as the preseason player of the year. Like Burton, Babbitt and Johnson were both sophomores when they earned the preseason honor.
A?Nevada player has been named the season ending WAC?Player of the Year in five of the last eight seasons with Fazekas grabbing the honor three consecutive seasons from 2003-2007.
Johnson and Babbitt are currently on the roster of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Snyder was first round pick of the Utah Jazz and Fazekas was chosen in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. Both played for several teams in the NBA.
Burton was the fourth Pack player to earn WAC?Freshman of the Year honors last year when he averaged 13.7 points and 3.5 assists per game. ?Ramon Sessions (2005), Johnson (2008) and Babbitt (2009) were the previous Nevada players named WAC?Freshman of the Year. Sessions, a second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, is currently on the roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
YOUNG GUNS NO MORE - Nevada was dominated by first-year players last season with nine new faces on the 14-man roster. This season there are two new faces on the 13 player roster. The Wolf Pack returns 93 percent of its offense from last season. All five starters are back in Deonte Burton, Malik Story, Jerry Evans Jr., Dario Hunt and Olek Czyz. Burton, Story and Hunt started all 32 games while Czyz made 21 starts and Evans 20. Four other players who made starts last season are back in Kevin Panzer (10), Jordan Burris (6), Jordan Finn (3) and Devonte Elliott (3). Patrick Nyeko appeared in 26 games last year and earned the team's Sixth Man Award. Junior guard Keith Fuetsch is back for his third season in the program giving the Pack 11 letterwiners on the 2011-12 roster. The two newcomers are freshmen Richard Bell and sophomore Brice Crook.
WINNING AT LAWLOR --Nevada has won 81 percent of its games over the past eight seasons posting a 110-25 record at Lawlor Events Center. The Wolf Pack has posted a 55-11 WAC mark during that same stretch, a winning percentage of 83. Last year was the first year the Pack did not win 10 or more games at the on-campus facility in the last eight seasons.
CARTER INKS THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD - University of Nevada head men's basketball coach David Carter signed three players to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 season. Guard Marqueze Coleman along with forwards Cole Huff and Raphael Carter will join the Pack next season.
Coleman, of Encino, Calif., is a 6-3, 180-pound shooting guard who averaged 13.1 points, 2.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Calif. last season. He earned first-team All-CIF and second-team Mission League honors following his junior year. The Warriors posted a 20-11 record last year.
The 6-8, 200-pound Huff from Altadena, Calif. attends Campbell Hall High School in North Hollywood, Calif. As a junior, the small forward averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.2 assists per game. He helped the Vikings to a 17-10 record last season.
Carter is a 6-8, 215-pound forward who is currently in his sophomore season at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif. The Columbus, Ohio native earned first-team All-Big 8 Conference and honorable mention all-state honors as a freshman last season. He helped the Vikings to the conference title with a 13-1 mark and an overall record of 26-5. His freshman year he averaged 9.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
NEVADA ONE?OF?TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST EIGHT SEASONS
Over the last eight seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 182-85 record, the second-most wins of any WAC team during that time (.682 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 98 games, the most in that same time period. The top two teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last eight seasons:
2011-12 Nevada Men's Basketball Preview
The 2011-12 University of Nevada men's basketball team returns all five starters and 11 letterwinners for third-year head coach David Carter. Last year's team was built around youth as eight players put on the Nevada uniform for the first time. The Wolf Pack went 13-19 overall and tied for fifth in the Western Athletic Conference with a mark of 8-8.
The returning starters were the top five scorers on last year's team, with four players averaging at least 12.3 points per game. In all, 91 percent of the Pack's offense from last season is back this year.
The inexperienced 2010-11 squad lost 13 games by nine points or less and 10 of those by six points or less. After starting the season 1-7, the Pack went 12-12 the rest of the year and put together a season-high four-game win streak at one point. In the first round of the WAC?Tournament, Nevada defeated Fresno State 90-80 before suffering a six-point setback to New Mexico State, 66-60, to end the year.
Another factor that contributed to a slow start was playing five of the first six games of the season away from Reno, something a young team was unable to overcome. Four of the road games were in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT?Season Tip-Off with two in Los Angeles and two more across the country in Washington, D.C.
Backcourt
The returning starters in the backcourt are Deonte Burton, Malik Story and Jerry Evans, Jr. Letterwinners Patrick Nyeko, Jordan Finn, Jordan Burris and Keith Fuetsch also return this season. Sophomore walk-on Brice Crook has joined the team for this season.
After an outstanding freshman year that saw him selected as the WAC?Freshman of the Year, Burton has been chosen as the Preseason WAC?Player of the Year by the conference's coaches. He was also named to the WAC?coaches' and media preseason teams. The 6-1 point guard was second on the team last year, averaging 13.7 points per game and a team-high 3.5 assists per contest. He was also named to the WAC?Newcomer team and honorable mention on the All-WAC squad a year ago.
Story led the team in scoring last year, averaging 14.5 points per game, made a team-high 76, three-pointers and was good on 38.6 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. In the WAC?Tournament, he scored a Pack season-high 34 points, which included a 6-of-6 performance from three-point range. The 6-5 junior was named to the Preseason WAC?Coaches' second team. He spent part of last summer traveling with Reach USA in basketball tour of China with teammate Devonte Elliott.
The 6-8 Evans started 20 games as redshirt freshman a year ago. His 4.9 points per game ranked fifth on the team and his 3.5 rebounds per game was third. Defensively, he caused problems for opponents with his length on the perimeter.
Nyeko earned the team's Sixth Man Award at the end of the season by playing 26 games off the bench. In the final 16 games of the year, his playing time increased as he averaged just over 14 minutes per game. On the season, he averaged 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in just under 10 minutes per contest.
Burris played in 30 games and earned six starts early in his freshman year. The 6-7 shooting guard averaged 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds last year. In the offseason he worked on improving his three-point shooting.
Another Pack sophomore, Finn saw action in 27 games and made three starts as a freshman. Finn saw action at both point and shooting guard last season. He is expected to work more at point guard in his second year in the program.
Crook joined the team just prior to the first practice as a walk-on and is working to incorporate himself into the program.
Frontcourt
Seniors Dario Hunt and Olek Czyz are expected to once again lead the Wolf Pack frontcourt this season. Sophomores Devonte Elliott and Kevin Panzer provide the team with height, depth and experience off the bench. Newcomer Richard Bell is a 6-9 forward and the lone freshman on the team.
Hunt nearly averaged a double-double last season, scoring 12.4 points per game and grabbing a WAC-best 9.7 rebounds per outing. He also led the conference with 1.84 blocks shots per game. The 9.7 rebounds per game ranked 27th in NCAA?and the 1.84 blocks were 81st. His 192 career blocks entering the year is tied for first on the Nevada career list with Nick Fazekas (2004-07). The 6-8 forward has earned a spot on the All-WAC?Defensive team each of the past two seasons. Last season, he was selected to the WAC?second team and this year was named to the Preseason WAC?Coaches' second team and media squad.
Czyz became eligible second semester last year after sitting out a year under NCAA?transfer rules and started 15 of the final 16 games. The 6-7 forward was fourth on the squad averaging 12.3 points per game and his 5.7 rebounds per game was second. He joined Burton on the 2011 WAC?Newcomer team giving the Pack two representatives on the five-man squad. In WAC?play, his 46.8, three-point percentage led the conference.
Elliott started the first three games last season and appeared in all 32 contests. The 6-10 forward averaged 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game. He gained valuable experience traveling with Reach USA in a tour of China this past summer. After working hard in the offseason to add strength he should be more of a factor on the glass in his sophomore year.
The 6-9 Panzer made 10 starts and played in all 32 games as a freshman a year ago. He averaged 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. He is another of the Pack's second-year players who is expected to make key contributions in year two in the program.
Bell comes to Nevada from West Sussex, England where he attended Worthing College Academy of Sports. The 6-9 forward will gain valuable experience in his first season playing behind a veteran frontcourt.
Schedule
After opening the season with five of six games on the road last season, Nevada plays five of six at home to begin the 2011-12 campaign. In total the Pack plays 17 regular season home contests and one home exhibition this season.
Nevada will play host to the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference champions when Missouri State comes to Lawlor Events Center to begin the season on Nov. 11. Pacific, Prairie View A&M and Longwood come to Reno the first month of the season.
The Prairie View A&M?and Longwood games are part of the Chicago Invitational Challenge that runs Nov. 20-26. After hosting those two teams, the Pack will travel to Chicago to play BYU and either Bradley or Wisconsin on Thanksgiving weekend.
Washington is at Lawlor for an ESPNU contest on Dec. 2. Nevada travels to Arizona State, another Pacific-12 school, on Dec. 7 and is then off to Montana on the 10th.
Nevada concludes the 2011 calendar year with home games with UC?Riverside, Portland and Cedarville.
The new-look WAC?has eight teams playing a 16-game schedule. Conference play gets underway in January with trips to Idaho and Utah State.
Four consecutive mid-January home games include three conference games with San Jose State, Hawai`i and Fresno State. ?The fourth game is a non-conference tilt with Nebraska-Omaha. January ends with road trips to New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.
The month of February consists of WAC?home games with Utah State and Idaho along with a non-conference game with Cal State Bakersfield. The Pack plays three conference road games at Hawai`i, San Jose State and Fresno State. A second non-conference road game is a BracketBusters contest at a to-be-announced opponent.
The final two home games are an ESPN2 contest with New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech the first week of March.
For the second year in a row, the WAC?Tournament will be played at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, March 8-10.
WAC Race
Nevada was picked to finish first in the WAC?Coaches' Preseason Poll, receiving five of eight first-place votes. In the media poll, the Wolf Pack was second behind Utah State, garnering five first-place votes.
Three members of the Pack earned preseason honors from the WAC coaches. Sophomore point guard Deonte Burton was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year and to the coaches' first team. Senior forward Dario Hunt and junior guard Malik Story were named to the second team. Burton and Hunt were both named the media's preseason squad.
