UNLV’s first season under Josh Pastner ended at 18-17 with a roster problem the final game made plain. Missing its leading rebounder and starting center, the Rebels allowed Tulsa 18 offensive rebounds in a 77-66 NIT second-round loss.
With Howie Fleming Jr. and Jacob Bannarbie unavailable, UNLV could force a miss without securing the rebound that would let it run. The offseason work begins with more frontcourt depth and another guard who can organize the offense when a defensive stop does not produce an immediate scoring chance.
The final rebounding margin was 49-23, far wider than the season’s overall comparison of 35.2 rebounds per game for opponents and 34.7 for UNLV.
Pastner praised the players’ effort afterward while acknowledging the offseason needed corrections. I agree with keeping that distinction: the effort earned some wins, but the next roster has to reduce how often one player is left covering several jobs.
Tulsa was also missing its leading scorer, David Green. Romad Dean still collected 11 rebounds, Tyler Behrend eight and reserve Jaylen Lawal seven. Those players made the loss about more than the Rebels’ absences. The Golden Hurricane had other people available to extend possessions. UNLV’s frontcourt recruiting needs to produce that kind of usable alternative, not just a name below Tyrin Jones on a roster.
The Rebels went 11-9 in the Mountain West and carried a NET ranking of 111 into the postseason. Their NCAA Tournament drought, stretching to 2013, survived another coaching change and roster reset.
Thirteen newcomers arrived for Pastner’s first year. Injuries removed foundational pieces while the staff was still defining roles, and early losses to UT Martin, Montana and Tennessee State damaged the résumé before league play.
UNLV committed 22 turnovers in the 86-81 opener against UT Martin. In the 63-60 loss to Tennessee State, it committed 18 and made 19 of 32 free throws.
The rebounding concern also preceded Tulsa. Wyoming collected 21 offensive rebounds in the Mountain West tournament opener, though UNLV escaped 73-70 with Jones blocking the late shot and Kimani Hamilton finishing at the line. Surviving that game did not resolve the weakness. The next roster needs rebounding that does not depend on a late block rescuing the result.
The same team beat Utah State twice, including in Logan and 92-65 in Las Vegas, swept Boise State and won at Stanford and Memphis. Those results demonstrated its ability without establishing a dependable level of play. Turnovers, fouls and missed chances at the rim repeatedly undermined it.
Guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn carried much of the scoring and initiating after point guard Myles Che’s injury. He averaged 20.7 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range, creating offense even after possessions broke down.
UNLV averaged 78.9 points, shot 47.1% and had 14.2 assists against 12.1 turnovers per game. Another trusted ballhandler would reduce the need to return to Gibbs-Lawhorn whenever the first action stalls. Shooters around the drive would make a second defender choose between helping in the lane and leaving a teammate open outside.
Fleming led UNLV with 117 assists against 63 turnovers. Gibbs-Lawhorn had 89 assists and 88 turnovers across 35 starts. Another organizer would let the leading scorer move toward a catch while a teammate starts the possession.
The Utah State win in Las Vegas supplied a version worth pursuing. Gibbs-Lawhorn had no points at halftime, but Fleming finished with 12 assists, Kimani Hamilton scored 24 and Jones added 17. Issac Williamson made five 3-pointers. The Rebels did not have to abandon their leading scorer to use those alternatives. They made the attention he received turn into shots for somebody else.
The NIT win at UC Irvine did not remove that concern. UNLV made 11 3-pointers and shot 53.7% overall, but committed 20 turnovers and won by three. Good shooting carried possessions the Rebels had given away. A steadier ballhandler would help the offense survive when that percentage falls.
Gibbs-Lawhorn made 101 of UNLV’s 260 3-pointers. Subtracting his 101-for-244 line from the team’s totals leaves the other Rebels at 159-for-503, or 31.6%. Losing him would therefore change both the scoring and the space available for others to drive.
UNLV made 68% of its free throws while opponents made 72.6%. Opponents also attempted 78 more and finished with 94 more makes, putting both shooting and defensive foul discipline on the offseason list.
The Rebels allowed 78.3 points per game, but the final loss exposed a more specific failure. Tulsa scored 16 second-chance points with Fleming out because of an ankle injury and Bannarbie because of a back injury. Tyrin Jones played all 40 minutes. Even when UNLV forced the shot it wanted, the missing rebound kept the Rebels defending instead of running.
Jones emerged as an interior piece worth building around, averaging 11.9 points, five rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting nearly 60%. Forward Kimani Hamilton supplied frontcourt versatility, Fleming helped organize possessions with Gibbs-Lawhorn, freshman guard Issac Williamson added backcourt scoring and Bannarbie offered size and interior finishing.
At Tulsa, Jones scored 18 on seven made shots in nine attempts, delivered seven assists without a turnover and played all 40 minutes. He also had three blocks and three steals.
Jones finished 82-for-168 at the line, or 48.8%, while making 59.4% of his field-goal attempts. Better free-throw shooting would make it harder for defenses to concede a foul on his deep catches.
Retention will determine how much of that Pastner must replace. Hamilton, Fleming, Al Green and Walter Brown were seniors; any requests for further eligibility require individual resolution.
Che and Ladji Dembele also need decisions after injuries prevented their expected contributions. Their planned jobs map directly onto the failures in the final games: another organizer for the possessions that stalled and another big for the nights Jones cannot handle alone. I would not count either contribution before health and roster decisions are settled. Tulsa showed the cost of building the depth chart around help that is not available.
Bannarbie’s absence at Tulsa makes his frontcourt minutes more immediate than the other young-player projections. Williamson has backcourt scoring to develop; Mason Abittan remains another younger player to assess for a larger role. Wing Naas Cunningham averaged five points overall and just over three in league play, below his recruiting reputation. His future remains an offseason question, and I would not put a needed starting wing’s production on that projection alone.
Center Emmanuel Stephen averaged 3.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, with his role narrowing late. He still has room to develop, but the final game showed why that possibility cannot stand in for dependable reserve minutes. Pastner needs a center he can use when Jones rests and the other frontcourt choices are unavailable.
Bannarbie averaged 4.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes. Williamson made 43 3-pointers as a freshman and shot 33.3% from that distance, giving the staff two specific contributions to develop.
Stephen played four minutes at Tulsa and committed four fouls while Jones never left the floor. His development must include staying on the court long enough to provide relief.
Gibbs-Lawhorn and Jones would be the hardest production to replace. Neither had announced a departure as of this season review, leaving Pastner the opportunity to retain both while recruiting around them.
The transfer needs begin with a starting wing who can shoot and defend, a veteran guard capable of staying in front of elite scorers and a stretch four to replace Hamilton. If Gibbs-Lawhorn departs, a lead guard ready to run the offense for 30-plus minutes becomes essential.
Resources will affect who Pastner can retain and which transfers he can pursue. The choices still have to answer what this team showed in the final games: possessions without a second creator, defensive stops without a rebound and too few frontcourt players available when the season was on the line. Improving on 18-17 means giving the next roster a way through those problems.
