LAS VEGAS — Cam Miles and freshman Kota Suttle Jr. will handle UNLV’s offense against No. 25 BYU on Saturday, with three injured perimeter players unavailable and the regular-season opener approaching.
Coach Josh Pastner said Friday that Tyler Harris and Issac Williamson would miss the exhibition and were unlikely to return for the opening week of the season. Terrance Ford Jr. remains out with a concussion. Pastner expects eight available players for the 1 p.m. game at the Thomas & Mack Center unless forward MJ Thomas can play through a thumb injury.
UNLV opens Nov. 3 against Northern Arizona. Pastner had hoped in September that Harris would be ready for that game, but his outlook has moved back. Harris injured his MCL on the second day of summer contact work in June. Pastner halted contact for the remainder of the summer while players continued conditioning and individual work. Pastner said official team practice began Sept. 21 after limited contact work in fall.
Williamson injured a hamstring in a fast-paced drill and later developed a foot problem. Pastner said he was improving and would not be rushed back. Both Williamson and Harris were expected to add outside shooting.
Harris is a 6-foot-8 forward, giving Pastner a different perimeter option from the smaller guards available Saturday. His shooting record also requires a distinction between seasons. He made 45 of 91 threes at Washington in 2024-25, then 23 of 80 at Vanderbilt last season. UNLV is waiting for a player with evidence of strong shooting, though the more recent season was less productive.
Williamson supplies familiarity as well as shooting. He made 43 of 129 threes as a UNLV freshman and started 15 of his 33 games. Jones and Williamson are the returning rotation players on a roster otherwise rebuilt around transfers and two freshmen. Their absences leave the available newcomers learning Pastner’s system without either sophomore beside them in a game.
Asked about the injuries, Pastner defended the conditioning work and strength coach Chris Zodda. He described basketball as a contact sport and distinguished running and training from the collisions that have interrupted UNLV’s preparation. Ford’s concussion came while two teammates pursued a loose ball, rather than during a conditioning drill.
Ford is still dealing with symptoms from a collision with Suttle. Both players dove for a loose ball, and Suttle’s hand struck Ford in the face. Pastner said Ford continued to feel nauseated on a stationary bike and had not progressed beyond the second stage of the team’s seven-stage concussion protocol.
“It’s been a pretty intense concussion for him,” Pastner said.
Ford’s last healthy college season provides a measure of the experience UNLV is missing. He had 170 assists at Arkansas State in 2024-25, averaging 4.9 per game while shooting 40.4% from three. He then missed last season at Tulsa with an injury. The concussion now interrupts his effort to establish himself with another new team.
Pastner could not guarantee Ford would return for the Oct. 29 exhibition against Missouri. With Ford unavailable, Miles and Suttle will have to improve the ball security UNLV showed against Utah. Miles scored 16 points in the 79-69 exhibition loss, but he and Ford combined for one assist and six turnovers. The Rebels had 18 turnovers as a team.
Miles played 36 minutes against Utah and did not record an assist. Ford played 33 minutes and had one. Each committed three turnovers. With Ford now out, Suttle moves closer to the center of the ballhandling work, and Miles has to create shots for teammates while carrying his own scoring responsibility.
Suttle played 26 minutes against Utah, with three assists and three turnovers before fouling out. His three assists led UNLV’s available point guards, but the fouls offer another concern with Ford unavailable. If Miles or Suttle has to leave the floor, the remaining players will have to share more of the work bringing the ball up.
BYU will make that assignment difficult. Pastner expects an aggressive defense that denies passing lanes, crowds drives and disrupts handoffs and screens. Miles and Suttle will face that defense without Ford beside them. Their supporting cast includes Williams, expected back from an ankle injury, and Mack, who scored 25 against Utah in the opener.
The same available guards have work at the other end. Pastner identified BYU’s Robert Wright III as a fast ballhandler who can get into the paint, draw a second defender and pass. The depleted perimeter group must handle Wright at one end while organizing UNLV at the other. Pastner has few substitutions to distribute that effort.
The injuries also limit UNLV inside. Forward Tyrin Jones continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Pastner hopes to have him for Northern Arizona and has left open the possibility of playing against Missouri. Jones averaged 11.9 points and five rebounds as a freshman while leading the Mountain West with 2.2 blocks per game.
Thomas collected 10 rebounds, five on offense, against Utah. Without him Saturday, UNLV would have seven scholarship players and walk-on Jalen Cunningham. AJ Storr is still ineligible after stays of the court orders that had temporarily allowed him another season.
Thomas’ status affects more than the number of players dressed. His offensive rebounds against Utah extended possessions for an offense that gave too many away. Without Jones, UNLV also lacks the returning player who blocked shots behind last season’s pressure. The healthy frontcourt players must contest without abandoning the rebounding work that ends a defensive possession.
Dontrez Williams expects to give that group some help. He sprained an ankle the day before the Utah exhibition, but said Friday it was close to full strength. He plans to wear a brace when he makes his UNLV debut.
