Grad transfers expected to help lead UNLV in Bahamas and beyond

By Taylor Bern

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Whether Rebel senior guard Uche Ofoegbu came to UNLV or stayed at San Francisco, he’d be heading to an international destination this August.

The Dons, who also have a first-year coach after firing Rex Walters, are currently in Belgium as part of a three-stop European trip that includes Germany and France. So, would Ofoegbu rather be in Europe right now or preparing to leave Saturday for three games in the Bahamas?

“I’d rather be a Rebel,” Ofoegbu said.

UNLV coach Marvin Menzies is very glad for that, because one of the main things he and his staff wanted to do when they had to put together a roster at the 11th hour was bring in experienced players. Menzies actually wanted three graduate transfers — the Rebels currently have one open scholarship — but he lost a recruiting battle.

“The two that we have are big time,” Menzies said.

Those two are Ofoegbu and Christian Jones, a senior transfer from St. John’s. They will be relied upon as leaders throughout the season but especially now as the new group finishes up its practices before the first Bahamas exhibition game on Sunday.

“The older you get, the wiser you get, so there’s a lot of information you give to these younger players,” Jones said.

Last season, Jones, who’s listed at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, averaged 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.2 minutes per game for a St. John’s team that went 8-24. He shot 47.8 percent from the floor while bringing a defensive intensity that he and Menzies cited as a strength.

Ofoegbu, who’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, spent one year at SMU before transferring to San Francisco, where last season he averaged 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. He was one of the best shooters in the West Coast Conference, posting a 59.1 effective field-goal percentage that would have ranked second on UNLV’s roster last year.

“I’ve always been a leader. I always felt like that was going to come,” Ofoegbu said. “There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from bringing my leadership on the court, put my imprint on the team.”

That’s exactly what Menzies wants out of the duo, and it’s been part of their conversations ever since the first-year Rebels coach first reached out this summer. Both Jones and Ofoegbu said their connection with Menzies was immediate and it was a big part of the reason they came to finish their careers at UNLV.

“The first day we talked, I thought I’ve got to be a part of that,” Ofoegbu said. “It’s just to the point where I could call him at any point and just talk about life. As a coach, that’s bigger than basketball and that’s what I wanted.”

UNLV’s scholarship roster has four true freshmen and half of the 12 players have never played Division I before. While this trip won’t reveal a lot about the level of competition UNLV will face this season, it’s an opportunity to figure out how some of the pieces fit while learning to travel together.

“There’s no definite role yet but it’s starting to get there,” Ofoegbu said. “Bahamas, I feel like after the trip we’ll get to know more.”

UNLV will play the University of Toronto on Sunday, the CTG Knights on Tuesday and the Providence Storm on Thursday. The latter two are teams put together by the Bahamas Basketball Federation, and the Rebels don’t figure they’ll know much about any of the teams until they’re on the court.

“We’ve got absolutely nothing on them right now, and I don’t think we will,” Menzies said. “… That’s the furthest thing from my mind, who we play. We’re just going to concentrate on us.”

Menzies said the Rebels would scrimmage with referees at the Mendenhall Center today and Thursday. Those workouts could be more important than the exhibition games, Menzies said, but all of it is valuable to a roster that’s still getting to know each other.

Bringing in Division I experience helps, but the Rebels are looking forward to creating their own experiences.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.