by Stone Harper
AJ West: A
In a season marred with inconsistency and poor offensive play, West was the lone exception. The big man from Brooklyn, New York led Nevada in scoring at 12.2 points per game and was also tops in rebounds at 10.8 points per game. West was also great on rim protection, averaging 2.6 blocks per game. West was looked at to do everything for the Wolf Pack and, while he could not raise Nevada’s play overall, he himself had an incredible season.
Tyron Criswell: B
Criswell started this season as an unknown after transferring from a junior college in Nebraska, and did not experience much playing time at the beginning of the season. However, he was inserted into the starting lineup on Jan. 14 and has been great since. Criswell is an exceptional slasher and an impressive rebounder for a guard, being the only member of the Wolf Pack besides West to record a double-double.
Eric Cooper Jr.: C+
Cooper Jr. fell into the same boat as Criswell. He started out the season playing a spare role, but has also been in the starting line since Jan. 14. While he did not perform as well as Criswell he was still a quality addition. Cooper Jr. was a guy who could create his own shot and while he is not insanely accurate with the three-point shot he has the confidence to shoot at will, which is rare for a freshman.
Marqueze Coleman: C
Coleman’s season can be summed up in three words: hot and cold. Coleman went from hitting a game-winning shot against bitter rival UNLV to being suspended and out of the starting lineup in a matter of three months. Coleman was the most inconsistent player of the group; some nights he’d attack and score 20 points, other nights he’d be passive and would barely make a dent in the stat sheet.
Lucas Stivrins: C
Like Criswell and Cooper Jr., Stivrins was inserted into the starting lineup late into the season. While Stivrins is a big body, he is not a great rebounder. He would routinely have balls bounce out of his hands and out of bounds. Something he did do that the other big men could not was hit the jump shot. At the end of the day, Stivrins is not a phenomenal athlete but he has high energy and always works hard on the court.
Robyn Missa: C-
Missa had an interesting role; he started eight games this year but failed to do anything truly extraordinary. Toward the end of the year, he would not even play. Missa showed some promising traits including rebounding the ball well but overall he failed to make significant impact on this squad.
D.J. Fenner: C-
Fenner started out the season as one of the go-to guys. However, Fenner lost his starting spot late in the season due to his poor shooting. He redeemed himself by doing some great work as a reserve, including scoring a game-high 13 points against Boise State.
Ronnie Stevens: C-
Wolf Pack fans did not get to see as much as they expected of Stevens this season after a leg injury sidelined him in February. However, when Stevens was healthy he played decently. He was used mostly as a rebounder averaging three in his 13.9 minutes per game.
Michael Perez: C-
Perez was expected to be the main offensive threat this season after being the leading scorer among returning players from the season before. Perez’s season was a disappointment that saw him lose his starting spot and going on a four-game stretch where the senior only scored five points. After averaging over 10 points per game last season, Perez only managed to average 6.4 this season.
Elijah Foster: D
After coming to Nevada from high school powerhouse Rainier Beach in Seattle, Washington, Foster’s first season with the Wolf Pack was a dud. The power forward only averaged six minutes a game and only scored one point per game.
Stelios Papafloratos: D
The freshman from Greece only received such a low grade for this season due to the lack of playing time he had. Papafloratos only played 23 minutes all year and scored three points.
Patrick Conroy: D
Much like Papafloratos, Conroy did not receive much playing time. The sophomore only played 15 minutes this entire season due to the logjam Nevada has at guard and only scored three points this season.
Kaileb Rodriguez: D-
Rodriguez was, at one point this season, one of the first players off of the bench for the Wolf Pack. But by the end of the year he had fallen out of favor after a late season suspension. However, even when he was playing his game was poor. On the season he averaged 1.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game and shot an abysmal 25 percent from the field.
Stone Harper can be reached at sharper@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @StoneHarperNVSB.