Busting Brackets
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Nevada Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for Wolf Pack

By Jacob Shames

RENO, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 19: Jalen Harris #1 of the Nevada Wolf Pack comes off the court during the game against the California Baptist Lancers at Lawlor Events Center on November 19, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
RENO, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 19: Jalen Harris #1 of the Nevada Wolf Pack comes off the court during the game against the California Baptist Lancers at Lawlor Events Center on November 19, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Jazz Johnson #22 of the Nevada Wolf Pack shoots against Sterling Taplin #4 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane during the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 22, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Jazz Johnson #22 of the Nevada Wolf Pack shoots against Sterling Taplin #4 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane during the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 22, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

Nevada basketball lost almost everyone from last season. Can Steve Alford and a talented, rebuilt backcourt guide the Pack back to the NCAA Tournament?

No team in college basketball did less with more quite like Nevada basketball did last season.

The Wolf Pack returned Mountain West Player of the Year Caleb Martin, his twin Cody, and Jordan Caroline — the nucleus of the squad that came within inches of the Elite Eight in 2018. On top of that, they brought in McDonald’s All-American forward Jordan Brown and in typical Eric Musselman fashion, three more instant-impact transfers: Portland’s Jazz Johnson, Omaha’s Tre’Shawn Thurman and Old Dominion’s Trey Porter. All told, Reno was home to maybe the most talent this side of Lexington.

Maybe that’s why it never quite came together. Musselman failed to do anything inventive with his glut of playmakers other than giving someone the ball and letting them cook, and too many cooks in the kitchen proved to be Nevada’s downfall.

Nevada ranked No. 6 to open the season and didn’t do anything to prove these expectations wrong, at least on paper. The Pack just never seemed to dominate quite as they should have. And despite a gaudy 29-4 record, they entered the NCAA Tournament as only a No. 7 seed due to their singular top-50 win in a weakened Mountain West.

Their first game, against Florida, saw all of their worst characteristics show up at once. Caleb Martin, Nevada’s leading scorer, shot just 6-of-22. Hyper-efficient sixth man Johnson barely touched the ball. The offense stagnated, recording a paltry four assists. A late comeback didn’t have enough juice and the Pack flamed out of the tournament.

This offseason, Nevada’s entire starting lineup graduated. Musselman accepted the head-coaching job at Arkansas. Brown transferred to Arizona. The last two years were the pinnacle of Wolf Pack basketball history, but now there’s barely a trace of them left. It will be up to new coach Steve Alford and a new-look backcourt to start from scratch.