It’s never easy to be the guy to replace the guy. Still, Nevada head coach Steve Alford has done a respectable job replacing former Wolf Pack head coach Eric Musselman, arguably the best coach in the program’s history.
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However, coming off a 26-8 surge in 2023-24, his best season since joining Nevada, last year’s Wolf Pack squad put was very underwhelming after racing to a 6-1 start, going 17-16. Their back tires popped out of nowhere, and the vehicle skidded out of control, losing six of their last eight and nine of their last 15 games.
By virtue of being a Mountain West program, yes, Nevada — like practically every other team in the conference — lost a bevy of production this summer, including each of its top-5 scorers. They did a decent job in the transfer portal, but one of the team’s fatal flaws — 3-point shooting — leaves plenty to be desired heading into the 2025-26 season, on paper.
The Wolf Pack is bereft of 3-point shooting entering 2025-26:
In modern basketball, high-quality spacing is not only beneficial — it’s required. That doesn’t mean you have to live-and-die by the 3-point shot, but being able to properly space the floor consistently allows for an offense to execute effectively with purpose more frequently than one who doesn’t; basketball can be quite simple if you can generate opportune looks fluidly, whether you’re in the halfcourt or in transition.
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From Jazz Johnson to Grant Sherfield to Desmond Cambridge to Jarod Lucas, the Wolf Pack have possessed multiple high-octane long-range threats in the Alford era. To effectively run his 2-out, 3-in-motion offense, you need effective spacing.
Well, Nevada was a poorly spaced unit last year, leading them to shoot just 34.1 percent from 3-point range — including a MW-worst 31.1 percent from distance in conference play.
A lot can change from season-to-season, but Nevada didn’t address is need for 3-point shooting in the portal nearly as much as it should’ve.
Among their top transfers were former Fresno State big man Elijah Price (not a 3-point shooter) — who I think will benefit far more under Alford than Fresno’s disastrous roster — Evansville’s Tayshawn Comer (career 30.4 3P% on 3.6 3PA) and UTEP’s Corey Camper (career 32.1 3P% on 2.9 3PA). Their best 3-point shooters from the portal are Vaughn Weems and Kaleb Lowery, both respectable 3-point shooters at 35.7 and 37.6 percent at the JUCO and NAIA levels, respectively.
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Perhaps both players will be requisite sparks that will be trusted throughout the season. But it’s fair to be concerned about Nevada’s shooting — or lack thereof — even though there are ways to mitigate that. Alford’s group will have to be even more disruptive defensively while pushing the pace and generating easy looks in transition/semi-transition, which it did not do nearly enough last season.
Nevada will also have to not only get to the free throw line — an area Alford consistently emphasizes — but make them. It show below 70 percent in conference play, an unacceptable mark if this team has any aspirations of making an NCAA Tournament this season, given how deep this conference is capable of being (even with plenty of unknown).
