Breanna Denney/Nevada Sagebrush

 

by Stone Harper

 

MediaDay_BreannaDenney03

Elijah Stewart

Forward

For Stewart, winning is not a new concept. The 6-foot-7 forward played high school basketball at Rainier Beach in the heart of Seattle, Washington. While playing for the Vikings, Foster won three state championships and, last season, participated in the high school national championship. It is part of the reason why Nevada basketball head coach David Carter recruited Foster.

“[Stewart] is a winner,” Carter said. “Winning three state championships, those are some of the things we look for in recruiting and I think he is going to bring that to recruiting.”

However, besides being a natural winner, Stewart is a great rebounder. Last year, he averaged 11 rebounds a game. Though he is a bit small for the power forward position, he will use his big 255-pound frame to box out the bigger man and grab plenty of boards for the Pack.

MediaDay_BreannaDenney05

Eric Cooper Jr.

Guard

Combo guard Cooper Jr. isn’t going to be looked to for rebounds ,but the 6-foot-3 guard will be looked to as the team’s sharpshooter. The combo guard shot 43 percent from the 3-point line last season. Like Foster, Cooper also comes from a winning background. Last season he spent his time at the IMG Academy in Orlando, Florida where he averaged 17.5 points per game and 3.4 assists.

Before that, Cooper Jr. spent his senior season at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California and his freshman, sophomore and junior years at Lutheran High School in La Verne, California. Now that he is in Reno, he has high expectations for the Wolf Pack.

“I really want to raise a banner here this year,” Cooper Jr. said. “We have been competing during practice, bonding off the court and listening to what coach says so we can achieve that goal.

MediaDay_BreannaDenney09

Robyn Missa

Forward

Missa,  the third of the new recruits, might be the most accomplished of the group. In his junior season, he was a member of Montverde Academy, who won the National High School Invitational National Championship.

The German native also spent time playing at Lutheran High School in Long Island, New York and even more impressively, spent time overseas playing for the German national team. After all was said and done, he decided to play collegiately at Nevada, declining offers from universities such as Providence, Niagara and Texas Tech.

“I really liked the school when I went on the visit,” Missa said. “I really liked the facilities and the people seemed nice and I decided this was the one for me.”

Missa will be looked for this season to provide quality minutes off the bench and his big frame will be a good component for Nevada’s backcourt.

Stone Harper can be reached at sharper@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @StoneHarperNVSB.