Alford announces first recruiting class as Nevada Wolf Pack basketball coach

RENO — First-year University of Nevada head men’s basketball coach Steve Alford has announced his first recruiting class that includes seven players.

Joining the Wolf Pack for 2019-20 are forward Robby Robinson, guard Desmond Cambridge, guard Kane Milling, forward Johncarlos Reyes, forward Zane Meeks, forward Warren Washington and guard Gabe Bansuelo.

Cambridge, a transfer from Brown, and Washington, a transfer from Oregon State, will sit out this season under NCAA transfer rules. The Pack will also welcome Eric Parrish, who signed with Nevada in November, and Jalen Harris who sat out last year after transferring from Louisiana Tech.

“We are extremely excited with the addition of these seven players in our first recruiting class. Along with the returning players, it gives us a solid nucleus to compete in the Mountain West this season and in the future,” Alford said in a media release. “These players are very important to helping build our culture at Nevada and we look forward to them representing the Wolf Pack.”

Robinson joins the Pack after one season at San Diego City College where the 6-8 forward averaged 15.3 points and 10.0 rebounds playing 29 games and averaging 28.9 minutes per contest. From the field he shot 45.3 percent and knocked down 39.4 percent of his 3-point attempts while connecting on 74.6 percent of his free throws. The San Diego native will have three seasons to play for the Pack.

The 6-4, 180-pound Cambridge played the past two seasons at Brown and will have two years to play for the Pack after sitting out this season under NCAA transfer rules. The Nashville, Tenn. native averaged 15.7 points per game as a sophomore which ranked fourth in the Ivy League and was named to the USBWA District I team. From the field he shot 37.2 percent and 31.8 percent from behind the arc. In addition, he grabbed 3.8 rebounds per game, blocked 1.7 shots per contest and averaged one steal per outing. His freshman year he averaged 17.3 points per game, was the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year and set the Brown freshman scoring record with 468 points.

Milling is a 6-4, 180-pound guard is from Paris, France where he played for Limoges and averaged 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals this past season. From the field he connected on 38 percent of his shots, made 32.9 percent of his 3-pointers and was good on 64.8 percent of his free throws.

A transfer from Boston College, Reyes is a 6-10, 225-pound forward that is immediately eligible to play for the Pack as a graduate transfer. Last season he averaged 1.9 points and one rebound for the Eagles while shooting 61.9 percent from the field. In 91 career games he averaged 2.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and shot 55.9 percent from the field for BC. Reyes is from Suwanee, Ga.

A 6-9, 210-pound forward originally from Prairie Village, Kan., Meeks played last season at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire where he averaged 9.8 points for a squad that captured the National Championship while posting a 34-7 record. From behind the arc he made 44.5 percent of his attempts and totaled 80 made 3-pointers. As a junior at Shawnee Mission East High School he averaged 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Washington is a 6-11, 210-pound forward who will sit out the 2019-20 season after transferring from Oregon State where appeared in 27 games as a freshman. He averaged 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. The San Marcos, Calif., product attended Mission Hills High School where he averaged 25.1 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a prep senior. ESPN, Rivals.com and 247 ranked him as a three-star recruit.

Bansuelo is a Reno product who played at Bishop Manogue High School and helped the Miners to a 26-4 record and a perfect 10-0 league mark. His senior year he averaged 16 points, 3.3 rebounds. 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. From the field he shot 46 percent, 34 percent from behind the arc and 63 percent at the free throw line.

Parrish originally signed with Nevada in November and chose to honor his commitment to the Wolf Pack after the coaching change. The Houston native attended Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana after playing his freshman year at Akron. He was named the Louisiana Junior College Player of the Year after averaging 18.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and one block per game this past season. From the field the 6-6 guard shot 53.8 percent and 32 percent on his 3-point attempts. From the free throw line he shot 86.6 percent.

The Pack also returns senior Jazz Johnson, who was the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 11 points per game as the Pack posted a 29-5 record and captured a third consecutive conference regular season title. Junior guard Jalen Harris, who sat out last season after transferring from Louisiana Tech where he averaged a team-high 15.3 points per game his sophomore year, is expected to also make an impact in 2019-20. Senior Lindsey Drew, a three-year starter for the Pack, is back after missing last season with an achilles injury. In 99 games at Nevada, Drew is averaging 6.4 points and 3.9 assists.

Another senior backcourt returner is Nisré Zouzoua who appeared in 21 games as a junior and averaged 1.3 points per game. Redshirt freshman K.J. Hymes is a 6-10 forward that will see his first time on the court this season after working hard last year in preparation for his second year in the program.