Feb. 13, 2012
Game notes 
CSU?Bakersfield at NEVADA
Nevada (21-4, 10-1 WAC) hosts CSU Bakersfield (13-13) in its final nonconference home game of the season on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. PT. The Wolf Pack has won 18 of its last 19 games. CSUB won its last game on Sunday defeating Nebraska Omaha on the road 75-65 to improve to 13-13. Tuesday's game will be the first between the two schools.
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. PT
CSU?Bakersfield
(13-13)
at
NEVADA WOLF PACK
(21-4, WAC: 10-1)
Lawlor Events Center (11,536)
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (KUUB 94.5 FM Reno; KPLY 630 AM Reno; KELY 1230 AM Ely; KWNA 1400 AM Winnemucca; and KSVL 92.3 FM Yerington)
Ryan Radtke (play-by-play), Len Stevens (analyst) - pregame starts at 6:30 p.m.
TELEVISION: none
Live stats: Live stats link
WEB STREAMING: NevadaWolfPack.tv (subscription fee)
SERIES?HISTORY: Tuesday's game will be the first meeting between the Wolf Pack and Roadrunners.
UP?NEXT: Nevada travels to New Rochelle, N.Y. to play Iona College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PT. The game is part of the Sears ESPN?BracketBusters and will air live on ESPN2.
ABOUT?THE CSU BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS - CSUB is led by first-year head coach Rod Barnes who is 13-13 leading the Roadrunners and 154-122 in nine seasons as a head coach. Barnes previously coached at Ole Miss and Georgia State.
The Roadrunners are led by guards Stephon Carter and Issiah Grayson who average 12.1 and 10.7 points respectively. Carter is 6-3, 190 lb junior who shoots 44.7 percent from the field. A 5-11, junior Grayson tops CSUB in assists dishing out 5.8 per game. Senior forward Rashad Savage (6-6) is the leading rebounder at 6.3 per game and contributes 4.5 points per outing.
Offensively CSUB?averages 68.3 points per game and allows 70.1. From the field the Roadrunners shoot 45.7 percent and opponents 47.6. From behind the three-point arc CSUB is making 37.4 percent of its opportunities and opponents 35.7. At the free throw line they shoot 67.5 percent. The Roadrunners average 30.7 rebounds per game and opponents 30.5.
LAST GAME: CZYZ LEADS WOLF PACK PAST SPARTANS, 76-70
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Olek Czyz scored 23 of his career-high 27 points in the second half, helping Nevada fend off another challenge to beat San Jose State 76-70 on Saturday night.
Malik Story scored 15 of his 23 in the first half for the Wolf Pack (21-4, 10-1 Western Athletic), who won their ninth straight on the road. Dario Hunt added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
James Kinney scored 26 points to lead the Spartans (8-17, 1-9), and Keith Shamburger had 17.
Nevada, which has won 18 of its past 19 games, was involved in its sixth consecutive game decided by fewer than 10 points, and its 14th overall.
Wil Carter, who led the Spartans to an overtime win over Fresno State on Thursday night, was in foul trouble most of the way against the Wolf Pack and finished with 12 points.
Nevada led at halftime, 35-27.
NEVADA GETTING DEFENSIVE - Nevada is allowing a WAC low 64.1 points per game and the 64.9 in conference play also tops the league. The Pack is first in overall field goal percentage defense at 41 percent and in WAC?play is also first allowing opponents to shoot just 41 percent. Nationally the 64.1 points per game allowed is 100th and 41 field goal percentage ranks 78th.
The Pack is third in three-point field goal percentage defense, overall (32.9%) and fifth in conference play (32.9%). Nevada tops the WAC in blocks averaging 4.56 per game and is fourth in steals swiping 5.92 per game. In WAC?play Nevada averages 4.18 blocks to rank second and 5.18 steals are fourth. Nationally the Pack is 46th in blocks.
BYU in Chicago and the Idaho home game are the only opponents to shoot over 50 percent versus the Pack. In the first meetings with Utah State and Hawai`i both teams shot exactly 50 percent in losses to the Pack.
Nevada has held eight opponents below 40 percent shooting with a season low 30 percent coming versus UC?Riverside.
HUNT REACHES TWO MILESTONES NEARS A THIRD - Senior forward Dario Hunt reached two milestones this season with his 200th career block and 900th career rebound and is seeking a fourth by trying to become the 22nd player in school history to record 1,000 career points. Hunt has 986 career points, leaving him 14 from 1,000 and surpassed 900 rebounds after his season-high 17 rebounds at Hawai`i.
He is the fifth Nevada player with 900 points and 900 rebounds. If he reaches 1,000 in both categories he would be just the fourth player in school history to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Hunt broke the Nevada career blocks record in the season-opener versus Missouri State with the 193rd block in his career. In the Longwood game Hunt recorded his 200th career block and now has 245 in 125 games. He came into the season tied with Nick Fazekas (2004-07) with 192.
Hunt is first in the WAC and 40th in the nation in blocked shots averaging 2.12 per game. He is sixth in career blocks in the WAC, one behind Tulsa's Kevin Johnson (1999-03) who had 246 in his career.
His 928 career rebounds is fourth in school history, leaving him 72 from 1000. In the WAC his 9.4 rebounds per game is third and nationally he ranks 33rd. His 928 career rebounds is tied for 20th in WAC?history with Arizona State's Joe Caldwell (1962-64)
NEVADA WINS 20 GAMES FOR THE EIGHTH TIME IN NINE YEARS - Nevada won its 20th game of the season after defeating Hawai`i 88-79 on Feb. 11. It is the 13th time a Wolf Pack men's basketball team has won 20 games in a season. The Pack has posted 20 win seasons in eight of the last nine years. Third-year head coach David Carter has led the Pack to a pair of 20 win seasons making him just the second coach at Nevada to have more than one 20 win season leading the Pack. Mark Fox (2004-09) won 20 or more games all five years he coached the Pack.
PACK RECEIVING VOTES - Nevada continues to receive votes in the ESPN/USA?Today Coaches' poll for the sixth week in a row. The Pack received one vote, three votes, 12 votes, 18 votes, nine votes and a season-high 21 votes this week. Nevada got six votes for the first time this season in the Jan. 30 AP Top 25 but after a loss did not receive votes the last two weeks. The last Pack squad to receive votes was the 2006-07 team, which was also the last Nevada team to qualify for the NCAA?Tournament.
4 GAMES, 4 CITIES, 4 STATES, 3 TIME ZONES IN 10 DAYS - Nevada will play a four-game stretch in four different cities, located in four states, in three different time zones in 10 days. It began with a Feb. 9 game in Honolulu against Hawai`i at 7 p.m. HT. Game two was in San Jose, Calif. against San Jose State at 8 p.m. PT on Feb. 11. The third game will be hosting CSU?Bakersfield on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT. Game four is a BracketBusters contest against Iona College on Saturday afternoon in New Rochelle, N.Y. at 4 p.m. ET. The four games will stretch from Honolulu to New York across five time zones. It is 4968 miles from Honolulu to New York.
21 WINS EIGHT MORE THAN ALL OF LAST YEAR - Nevada's 21 wins this season is eight more than last season when the Wolf Pack posted a 13-19 record. Last season the Wolf Pack was 10-15 after 25 games compared to a 21-4 mark this season. Last year the Wolf Pack's 13th and final victory came on March 9, 2011 when Nevada defeated Fresno State 90-80 in the first round of the WAC?tournament.
In addition to improving the overall record the Pack has surpassed its win total away from Reno. This year Nevada is 9-2 away from Lawlor Events Center, 8-1 in true road contests and 1-1 in two neutral site games played in Chicago.
Last season Nevada was 3-10 in away games and 1-4 at neutral sites for a combined 4-14 record outside of Lawlor Events Center. Nevada was 0-10 away from Reno until a 69-67 victory at?Boise State on Jan 15, 2011.
NEVADA'S 10-1 RECORD EQUALS BEST WAC START,
PACK 6-0 ON THE ROAD FOR FIRST TIME IN THE WAC - Nevada's 10-1 start in WAC?play equals the 2006-07 team for best start for a Wolf Pack squad since joining the conference for the 1999-2000 season. The Pack's 8-0 start this season is first time a Nevada team won its first eight games in the WAC. It is also the first time Nevada is 6-0 on the road in WAC play. The 2006-07 team went 29-5 overall and won the WAC?title with a 14-2 mark and were 13-1 before suffering a second WAC loss.
2011-12 team ties SCHOOL RECORD 16-GAME WIN STREAK - The 2011-12 Nevada squad won 16 consecutive games to tie the 1965-66 team for the longest win streak in school history. The streak came to an end when the Wolf Pack fell 72-68 at home to Idaho on Feb. 4.
The streak was the second longest in country when it ended to then undefeated Murray State. The Wolf Pack's 12-game home court win streak also ended and it was tied for 19th longest in the nation at that time.
The 1965-66 squad went on to post a 21-6 record for head coach Jack Spencer.
The 21-4 start is the best since the 2006-07 squad began the year 23-2 on the way to a 29-5 record. Nevada has won 21-of-23 after starting the season 0-2.
NUMBERS DURING THE 16-GAME STREAK - During Nevada's 16-game win streak the Wolf Pack averaged 71.8 points per game and allowed 61.7, plus 10.1. The Pack scored 70 or more points 11 times which included twice scoring 81 points. ?
The Wolf Pack shot 47.4 percent and opponents 40 during the streak. From behind the arc the Pack shot 40.5 percent and opponents 32.1. At the free throw line Nevada converted 65.7 percent of its attempts and opponents 67.8. Nevada outrebounded opponents by 1.8 per game, 34.9-33.1.
Four players averaged double figures during the stretch; Deonte Burton (16.9), Malik Story (14.8), Olek Czyz (13.3) and Dario Hunt (10.5).
NEVADA AT IONA FOR BRACKEBUSTERS GAME - The University of Nevada men's basketball team will travel to New York to play its 2012 Sears BracketBusters game at Iona College on Feb. 18. The 1 p.m. PT game will air on ESPN2 along with ESPN3.
STORY TOPS?WAC, RANKS?SEVENTH NATIONALLY IN THREE-POINT SHOOTING - Junior guard Malik Story leads the WAC?and ranks seventh nationally in three-point shooting making 46.8 percent of his opportunities. Story has made 73-of-156 attempts on the season. At SJSU?on Saturday he was good on 6-of-11, three-pointers. His 2.92 made three-pointers per game is second in the conference and 18th in the country. Story has made a three-pointer in 24-of-25 games this season.
He made a career-high seven, three-pointers in Nevada's 80-78 victory over Longwood. Story was good on seven-of-10, three-point attempts versus the Lancers and finished with 28 points on the night. The 28 points is tied with Deonte Burton for the second highest scoring game for the Pack this season. His previous high for three-pointers was six that he accomplished twice last season, with the last being against Fresno State in the WAC Tournament.
Story is second on the team and sixth in the WAC?in scoring at 15 points per game. The 6-5 guard, is shooting 74.6 percent from the free throw line which is 12th in the conference.
BALANCING ACT - Nevada had five players score in double figures for the first time this season at Hawai`i. Deonte Burton led the way with 20 points and Malik Story totaled 19. Dario Hunt and Olek Czyz each scored 15 points with Jerry Evans, Jr. being the fifth player in double figures with his 13 points on the night.
Nevada has used a balanced attack this year with three players averaging double figures with a fourth close to double digits. Deonte Burton (15.3), Malik Story (15), and Olek Czyz (12.6) are scoring double digits while Dario Hunt is close behind at 9.7 points per game. The Pack's fifth starter, Evans averages 6.8 points per game.
The five starters combine to average 59.3 of Nevada 70.7 points per game. Of the 1,767 points scored this season 1,483 come from the Pack starters, 83.9 percent.
The Pack had a stretch of four games in a row with four players scoring in double figures at Montana, vs. UC?Riverside, vs. Portland and vs. Cedarville. Nine times in the last 16 games four Pack players has scored in double figures which includes the game at Hawai`i when five player scored in double digits.
Games with four Pack players scoring in double figures:
Pacific (11/17/11): Story (18), Czyz (17), Evans, Jr. (11) and Panzer (11).
Longwood (11/20/11): Story (28), Burton (14), Hunt (13) and Evans (10).
vs. BYU (11/25/11): Czyz (11), Evans (11), Story (11) and Hunt (10).
at Montana (12/10/11): Burton?(21), Czyz (17), Story (11) and Hunt (10).
UC?Riverside (12/17/11): Czyz (15), Story (15), Hunt (12) and Burton (10).
Portland?(12/22/11): Hunt (15), Czyz (15), Evans, Jr. (11) and Story (10).
Cedarville (12/28/11): Story (19), Hunt (13), Burton (13) and Czyz (10).
at Utah State (1/7/12): Burton (25), Czyz (14), Hunt (14) and Story (12).
San Jose State (1/12/12): Evans, Jr. (19), Burton (14), Story (11) and Czyz (10).
Fresno State (1/21/12): Burton (18), Story (17), Hunt (13) and Czyz (10).
at New Mexico State (1/26/12):??Burton (17), Hunt (14), Story (14) and Czyz (14).
Game with five Pack players scoring in double figures:
at Hawai`i (2/9/12): Burton (20), Story (19), Czyz (15), Hunt (15) and Evans (13)
PACK PERFECT IN JANUARY AND DECEMBER - Nevada was 6-0 in December and 8-0 in January. It is the only squad in school history to go undefeated in December and January. The last Wolf Pack men's basketball team to post a perfect December was the 1978-79 squad that went 8-0 on the way to a 21-7 record. The 1965-66 squad was the last team to have a perfect January going 7-0 and finished the year 21-6.
PACK TURNAROUND IN CLOSE GAMES - Another of the turnarounds for the 2011-12 squad from last season is success in close games. Nevada is 13-2 in games decided by 10 points or less this season with the two losses being four point setbacks at nationally ranked UNLV (71-67) and at home to Idaho (72-68). The Pack is 6-2 in games decided by five points or less.
Last season the Pack went 6-12 in games decided by 10 points or less. Nevada was 4-10 in games decided by six points or less last season.
HUNT LEADS PACK WITH NINE DOUBLE-DOUBLES - Senior forward Dario Hunt tops the Pack with nine doubles, all coming in the last 17 games. Hunt posted back-to-back double-doubles in the Pack's two road wins last week with 15 points and 17 rebounds at Hawai`i then followed that with 11 points and 12 rebounds at SJSU. The 15 points tied his season high and 17 rebounds is his season high.
He had a stretch of four consecutive double-doubles which is the first time in his career he has more than two in a row. The four game stretch came to an end in the Pack's, 71-61 victory over Cedarville when he finished the night with 13 points and eight rebounds.
In the last 17 games Hunt is averaging a double-double scoring 10.6 points and grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game. Over the same 17-game stretch he is shooting 50.7 (72-of-142) percent from the field.
On the season Hunt has 13 double figure rebounding games and all 13 are game highs. ?On the season he has grabbed a game high in rebounds 15 times. He has led the team in rebounding 18 times this season which included a stretch of six in a row from the Washington game on Dec. 2 through the Dec. 28 game with Cedarville. In his career Hunt has led the Pack in rebounding 55 times. In his career he has 30 career double figure rebound games.
Hunt made his 100th career start versus Washington (12/2) and now has 117 in the Silver &?Blue. The 6-8 forward, has started 117-of-125 games played in his career. He has started the last 61 games and 94 of the last 95.
CZYZ SCORING DOUBLE DIGITS - Senior forward Olek Czyz scored 23 of of his career-high 27 points in the second half at San Jose State on Saturday. Czyz scored 15 of Nevada's final 22 points of the game. He also had 10 rebounds to post his fourth double-double of the season and sixth of his career. At Hawai`i he just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Czyz has scored in double figures 19 times this season which is second to Malik Story's 21. He has scored in double digits in 10 of the last 11 games and 17-of-20. His longest stretch of double figure games was seven in a row that ended at home versus Utah State (2/2/12) when he totaled six points.
Czyz has increased his average to 12.6 points per game which is third on the team and 14th in the WAC. His 6.3 rebounds per contest are second on the team and sixth in the conference. He ranks fifth in the WAC?making 55.3 percent of his shots.
At Louisiana Tech he scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season. Czyz grabbed an offensive rebound, scored the basket, was fouled and made the free throw with 37 seconds to play against the Bulldogs to put the Pack up 65-62 as they went on to win 65-63. In the LA?Tech game he set career marks with 10 made free throws and tied his previous high with 12 attempted free throws.
Czyz posted back-to-back double-doubles at home with 24 points and 11 rebounds against Hawai`i then had 16 points and 10 rebounds versus Nebraska Omaha. At home against Hawai`i he set career-highs with 11 field goals made and 37 minutes played.
Three times he has tied teammates for team-high honors in scoring with 11 vs. BYU, 15 vs. UC?Riverside and 15 vs. Portland. The UCR and Portland games along with 24 points at LA?Tech were game highs.
The 11 rebounds are the fifth time this season he has posted a game-high. In three consecutive he games he led the team in rebounds with nine vs. Longwood, nine vs. BYU and seven vs. Bradley.
In conference play he averages 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and shoots 58.4 percent.
EVANS DEADLY NIGHT FROM THREE - Sophomore guard Jerry Evans, Jr. had his best offensive night for the Wolf Pack in Nevada's 81-57 victory over San Jose State on Jan. 12, 2012. Evan's scored a career and game-high 19 points making six-of-seven shots from the field. He made his first six shots of the game which included five in a row from behind the three-point line. His only miss was a three-pointer with 4:08 to play. At the free throw line he made two of his three attempts. The 6-8 guard also grabbed seven rebounds which tied for game-high honors.
On the season he is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. He is 15th in the WAC?in rebounding at 4.8 per game and is 11th in blocks averaging .64 per game. In WAC?play his 42.3 percent shooting from behind the arc is third.
BURTON ON POINT(S) - Sophomore point guard Deonte Burton has put up some impressive numbers in his second season in the Silver &?Blue averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game which is fifth in the WAC. In WAC?play his 17.7 points is fourth in the conference. He tops conference and ranks 16th nationally with his 2.58 assist-to-turnover ratio. In 15 of the last 18 games he has scored in double figures. In the last 13 games he has 59 assists and 21 turnovers, 44 and 17 in 10 WAC?games.
For the first time this season he did not score in double figures in a true road game finishing with six points at San Jose State on Saturday. He did tie his season-high with eight assists and did not commit a turnover.
Burton has been deadly on the road averaging 20.3 points in Nevada's nine true away contests. In addition he is averaging 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.8 rebounds with an assist-to-turnover-ratio of 3.5 away from Reno. ?From the field he has shot 49.5 (53-of-107)?percent and from three-point range 48 (24-of-50) percent. His high output on the road was 28 at UNLV and Arizona State with the low being six at SJSU. In six of Nevada's nine true road contests he has scored 20 or more points and reached double figures in eight.
At Hawai`i he scored a game-high for the 10th time finishing the night with 20 points. It was his seventh 20-point game of the season which is one more than all of last season. Of his 20 points, 14 came in the second half.
His latest heroics came with the Pack trailing Utah State 52-50, he made a 3-pointer falling down with 11.8 seconds to play to give Nevada the lead as they held on for the 53-52 victory. He finished with 13 points, all in the second half as Nevada won its school record tying 16th consecutive game.
At New Mexico State he scored a team-high 17 points to help the Nevada to its 14th consecutive victory. He made six-of-12 shots from the field including four-of-eight from behind the arc. It was the ninth time he has led the Pack in scoring which tops the squad. The NMSU game is the only time this season he has led the team in scoring and it was not also a game high.
His seven 20-point games lead the team and 17 double figure scoring games are third on the squad. Against Washington he recorded his first career 30-point game finishing with 31 which is tied for the third highest total in the WAC this season.
He ranks in seven categories in the WAC?and in conference games is ranked in eight.
In the 77-74 home victory over Hawai`i he scored 25 points, 20 in the second half to help the Pack rally from a seven-point deficit. With Nevada trailing 70-66 with 4:09 to play he scored nine consecutive points to put the Pack up 75-71. His only three-pointer of the game broke a 70-70 tie and the Pack did not trail the rest of the game. In total he scored nine of Nevada's final 11 points of the game.
In the Pack's first two WAC?road wins he scored game highs with 26 points at Idaho and followed that with 25 at Utah State. He also averaged 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals with an assist-to-turnover-ratio of 3.7. From the field he shot 59.4 (19-of-32) percent and from behind the arc 46.7 (7-of-15). For his play he earned WAC?Player of the Week honors for the third time this season.
For the first time in his career Burton played the entire game logging 40 minutes at Utah State. He also played 40 minutes versus Washington but that game went to overtime. The 10 field goals and 19 field goal attempts at USU were also career bests.
He had an outstanding three game stretch posting game-highs with 31 points versus Washington (12/2), 28 at Arizona State (12/7) and 21 at Montana (12/10) in three wins. He followed that with 10 in the UC?Riverside (12/17) game but after battling foul trouble tied his career low with two points against Portland (12/22). Burton had 13 points versus Cedarville then produced the back-to-back 20-point games in the two WAC?road victories at Idaho and Utah State.
The majority of Burton's points came after halftime in the four consecutive double figure games when he scored 66 of his 90 points, 73 percent. After the break he shot 67 (18-of-27) percent, 83 (10-of-12) percent from behind the three-point line and 87 (20-of-23) percent at the free throw line.
On the season 231 of Burton's 383 points have come after halftime, 60 percent an average of 9.2 per game.
At Montana, Burton made five-of-12 field goals, three-of-six three-pointers and eight-of-nine free throws. He also had five rebounds, five assists, blocked a shot and for the second game in a row did not have a turnover. He scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half.
At ASU he made six-of-11 field goals, three-of-five, three-pointers and 13-of-15 free throws. The 13 free throws made and 15 attempted are career highs. He scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half.
In the Washington game Burton scored 19-of-22 points at one stretch of the game from 5:54 to play in the second half with his final point coming at the free throw line with 1 minute to play in overtime. He scored 19 of Nevada's final 24 points in the game.
With 4.3 seconds to play he nailed a three-pointer to tie the score at 66 and send the game into overtime. ?In overtime he scored the Pack's first eight points and his assist on a Kevin Panzer basket closed out the scoring for Nevada. With 1:41 to play in overtime his fourth, three-pointer of the game put the Pack on top to stay 72-70. He made both of his free throw attempts with 1 minute to play to close out his scoring. Of his 31 points, 22 came after halftime.
Burton's first 20-point game of the season came at UNLV when he scored a then career-high 28 points versus the Rebels. He scored 20 of Nevada's 29 first half points at UNLV.
THREE-POINT RECORD SETTING EXPLOSION - Eight different Nevada players contributed to a record breaking night as the Wolf Pack set single game school records with 16 made three-pointers and 32 attempted, a 50 percent shooting clip against San Jose State on Jan. 12, 2012. The old record of 15 came versus Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 11, 1999. The previous record for attempts was 29 that occurred three times with the last being on Dec. 20, 2010 versus Portland State.
Jerry Evans, Jr. led the way with his career-high five, three-pointers on six attempts. Deonte Burton made three in his seven shots from behind the arc with Malik Story connecting on three-of-nine. The five players with one, three-pointer each were; Brice Crook (1-for-1), Keith Feutsch (1-for-2), Jordan Finn (1-for-2), Jordan Burris (1-for-3) and?Kevin Panzer (1-for-2).
CARTER NOTCHES 50TH WIN - Third-year head coach David Carter notched his 50th win at Nevada when the Pack defeated Fresno State 74-61. Carter is 55-36 leading the Wolf Pack basketball program. In his first season the Pack went 21-13 and advanced the second round on the NIT. Last year the young squad posted a 13-19 record.
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.
REMEMBERING MILTON - In remembrance of University of Nevada president Milton D. Glick who passed away of a stroke on April 16, 2011, the Wolf Pack men's basketball team will wear an MG patch on their shorts. Glick, 73, was the 15th president of the University of Nevada.
WOLF PACK BASKETBALL FANS ENCOURAGED TO ALLOW EXTRA TIME DUE TO VIRGINIA STREET CONSTRUCTION - Wolf Pack fans are encouraged to allow extra time and use alternate routes when coming to basketball games this season due to an ongoing construction project on Virginia Street.
For questions and concerns about the project, contact Reno Direct, the City of Reno's non-emergency information center, at 775-334-INFO (4636), 775-333-7701 (TTY) or renodirect@reno.gov. The City of Reno has created a website, http://Reno.gov/NorthVirginia, and fans are encouraged to check the website for updates to avoid delays.
For information on exiting campus following men's games check out this link http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/sports/m-baskbl/parking-exit.html
CARTER INKS FOUR 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, Raphael Carter and Cheikh (Ali) Fall 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.
Fall is a 6-9, 240-pound center who is in his sophomore year at Barstow Community College in Barstow, Calif. Last season, Fall helped BCC to a first place finish in the Foothill Conference posting, a 10-4 mark and the team went 22-7 overall. Originally from Senegal, he attended Meitoku Gijuku School in Kochi, Japan. He earned All-Japan honors and was the top scorer and rebounder in the Western Conference during the 2007-08 season.
