Nevada Basketball: Previewing its 2020 recruiting class

With Jalen Harris’ departure, Nevada currently has 12 scholarship players on its current roster, one short of the NCAA maximum of 13 scholarship players.

The roster does not display much experience roster, either. The scholarship players consists of zero seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and five freshman. This entails that multiple players with little experience will see the floor and be expected to produce next season.

Nevada head coach Steve Alford was not afraid of letting his freshmen see the floor. Three freshman — Zane Meeks (16.6 mpg), K.J. Hymes (13.8 mpg) and Kane Milling (11.8) — all 10-plus minutes while appearing in 30-plus games.

With the Pack departing all five players that tallied the most total minutes, the incoming freshmen could potentially see more playing time than last year’s class.

The Wolf Pack 2020 recruiting class ranked as the 8th-best in the Mountain West and No. 136 nationally per 247Sports. Let’s look at each member in this 2020 class:

Tre Coleman

Position: Forward

Height: 6-foot-7

Weight: 185

Coleman is the top recruit in Nevada’s 2020 class and the seventh-highest player in school history according to 247sports’ all-time rating tracker. He is rated as a three-star recruit per 247Sports, rivals.com and espn.com. According to all three sites, he was Nevada’s only player that was given a star ranking. Coleman joined Nevada over offers from Nebraska, Murray State, Monmouth, Mercer and Ball State, among others. As a senior at Jeffersonville High School in Jeffersonville, Ind., Coleman averaged 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, leading Jeffersonville to an 18-6 record. He shot 65 percent from the floor and 43 percent from 3-point range.

“Tre is a big athletic wing who can defend all over the court,” Alford said about Coleman last November. “He gives us a ton of versatility. A high level athlete who will bring energy on both sides of the ball.”

Coleman was named an Indiana All-Star, a feat also accomplished by both Alford and assistant coach Craig Neal in 1983. The 6-foot-7 forward led Jeffersonville to a sectional championship as a junior, averaging 16.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game on 59 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from deep. The Indianapolis Star ranked him as the fourth best recruit in the state of Indiana.

Je’Lani Clark

Position: Guard

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 180

Clark, who was named San Francisco’s Player of the Year in April, averaged 15.8 points, five rebounds, three assists and 1.7 steals per game as a senior. He led Archbishop Riordan to a 23-5 record and a share at the WCAL Title, its first title in any sport since 2007. In the game that earned them the share for that title, Clark scored 36 points with eight rebounds.

“Je’Lani is a high energy, high motor player,” Alford said. “He has a very high basketball IQ and is committed to being a great player. He has the ability to lead a team and program.”

The 6-foot-3 guard was a four-time all-conference selection, including an all first-team honor as a senior with a second-team honor as a junior. In his junior campaign, Clark averaged 15.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and two steals, shooting 51 percent from the floor and 35 percent from beyond the arc. He chose Nevada over Saint Mary’s, San Jose State, San Francisco, Montana and Hampton, among others.

Alem Huseinovic

Position: Guard

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 190

Huseinovic was Alford’s first recruit of its 2020 class. Huseinovic, originally from Bosnia & Herzegovina, teamed up with another Pack 2020 signee DeAndre Henry (more on him later) at Phoenix Prep in Phoenix, Ariz. last year. As a senior, he averaged 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 43 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 91 percent from the free throw line.

“Alem is a tough, heady shooting guard. He really knows how to create and make shots. A fierce competitor who really knows how to play.”

Prior to playing at Phoenix Prep, Huseinovic played his previous two seasons at Chaparral High School in Phoenix. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 14.2 points and 2.9 rebounds on 39 percent from beyond the arc as a junior. He helped lead them to the 6A Arizona state championship game, where he scored 18 points.

Daniel Foster

Position: Guard

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 185

Foster, from Australia, joins Kane Milling (France) and Huseinovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) as the third player from overseas in Alford’s first two recruiting classes. He represented Australia in the FIBA 3x3 U18 Asia Cup and earned all-tournament honors — averaging six points per game across five contests. His 30 total points were the second-most in the tournament. He played his senior year at Golden State Preparatory School in Napa, Cal.

“Daniel is a versatile guard who can play a variety of positions,” Alford said. “A tough minded competitor who knows how to play the game. We’ve had tremendous success with Australian born players.”

Foster was a member of the Victoria State Championship team, the Hume City Broncos. He was given the Youth Player of the Year Award. and was nominated as the Youth Player of the Year. While representing Victoria in the Australian U20 National Tournament, Foster showed he could be a terrific facilitator, averaging 4.9 assists in the tournament. The 6-foot-3 guard also averaged 3.6 steals and was named to the all-state team.

De’Andre Henry

Position: Forward

Height: 6-foot-7

Weight: 225

Henry played with Huseinovic at Phoenix Prep as a senior, helped leading them to a 35-15 record in the Grind Session. Henry, who earned first-team All-Grind Session honoree, averaged 17.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the stripe.

“Dre has a tremendous ceiling as a basketball player,” Alford said. “He is a strong and athletic player who loves to compete at both ends of the floor. He will improve daily due to how hard he works.”

As a junior, Henry played at Mountain Point High School in Phoenix. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 12.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a junior. He shot 62 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the free throw line. He chose Nevada over Air Force, North Carolina A&T, Northern Arizona and Portland State, among others.