2017–18 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Southern Utah Thunderbirds basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds were led by second-year head coach Todd Simon and played their home games at the America First Events Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 5–13 in Big Sky play to finish in tenth place. In the Big Sky Tournament they defeated Idaho State and Idaho to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Eastern Washington.

2017–18 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
2017–18 record13–19 (5–13 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • John Wardenburg
  • Chris Pompey
  • Trent Angelucci
Home arenaAmerica First Events Center
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Montana †16–2 .889  26–8  .765
Idaho14–4 .778  22–9  .710
Weber State13–5 .722  20–11  .645
Eastern Washington13–5 .722  20–15  .571
Northern Colorado11–7 .611  26–12  .684
Idaho State9–9 .500  14–16  .467
Portland State9–9 .500  20–14  .588
Montana State6–12 .333  13–19  .406
North Dakota6–12 .333  12–20  .375
Southern Utah5–13 .278  13–19  .406
Sacramento State4–14 .222  7–25  .219
Northern Arizona2–16 .111  5–27  .156
† Big Sky Tournament winner

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2016–17 season 6–27, 3–15 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for 11th. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Sky Tournament, they defeated Montana State in the first round before losing to Weber State in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Randy Onwausor2G6'3"210RS JuniorInglewood, CAGraduate transferred to LSU
Decardo Day3G6'4"170FreshmanJackson, MSTransferred
Neema Namdar4G6'1"170FreshmanSandy, UTTransferred to Utah State University Eastern
John Marshall5G6'1"180SeniorPhoenix, AZGraduated
Will Joyce11F6'5"205SeniorNewark, NJGraduated
Race Parsons13G6'4"185SeniorMonroe, UTGraduated
Adonis Saltes24G6'2"180SophomorePine Ridge, SDWalk-on; left the team due to personal reasons
Brayden Holker35F6'9"225RS FreshmanSaratoga Springs, UTWalk-on; left the team due to personal reasons

Incoming transfers
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jamil Jackson1G6'6"190SophomoreMinneapolis, MNJunior college transferred from Williston State College
Brandon Better2G6'2"180JuniorSuitland, MDJunior college transferred from Moberly Area CC
Jamal Aytes15F6'6"235RS SeniorSan Diego, CATransferred from Southern Utah. Will be eligible to play immediately since Aytes graduated from BYU.
Cameron Oluyitan23G6'6"183JuniorHouston, TXTransferred from Boise State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Oluyitan will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Andre Adams32F6'9"225RS SophomoreAvondale, AZTransferred from Arizona State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Adams will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dre Marin
PG		 Glendale, AZ Apollo High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oct 14, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jordan Lyons
SF		 Brampton, ON Athlete Institute Prep 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jan 5, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.

    Roster
    2017–18 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G/F 1 Jamil Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoNorth HS
    Willison State College    		 Minneapolis, MN
    G 2 Brandon Better 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrCrossland HS
    Moberly Area CC    		 Suitland, MD
    G 4 Dre Marin 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrApollo HS Glendale, AZ
    G/F 5 Jordan Lyons 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrAthlete Institute Prep Brampton, ON
    F 10 Jacob Calloway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoOn Point Academy Juneau, AK
    G 12 Jadon Cohee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS JrWalnut Grove Secondary
    Seattle    		 Langley, BC
    G 13 Taelin Webb (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrRoosevelt HS
    South Plains College    		 Fresno, CA
    G 14 James McGee (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SrMater Dei HS San Clemente, CA
    F 15 Jamal Aytes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)240 lb (109 kg) RS SrJSerra
    BYU    		 San Diego, CA
    F 22 Ivan Madunic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)225 lb (102 kg) SoNone Split, Croatia
    G/F 23 Cameron Oluyitan  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrClements HS
    Boise State    		 Houston, TX
    G/F 30 Elijah Graves (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrLiberty HS Las Vegas, NV
    F 32 Andre Adams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS SoIMG Academy
    Arizona State    		 Avondale, AZ
    G 33 Matthew Johnson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrCoronado HS Las Vegas, NV
    F/C 34 Christian Musoko 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)245 lb (111 kg) SrLayton Christian HS
    Salt Lake CC    		 Kinshasa, Congo
    F 44 Joel Swallow (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS SoMillard HS Howell, UT
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule and results
    Date
    time, TV    		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    Nov 3, 2017*
    8:00 pm    		 Concordia (OR) W 101–84 
    		America First Events Center (1,200)
    Cedar City, UT
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 10, 2017*
    8:00 pm, P12N    		 at Oregon State L 82–99  0–1
    		 Gill Coliseum (4,588)
    Corvallis, OR
    Nov 12, 2017*
    3:00 pm    		 at Boise State L 69–90  0–2
    		 Taco Bell Arena (3,052)
    Boise, ID
    Nov 16, 2017*
    6:30 pm    		 San Jose State W 81–65  1–2
    		 America First Events Center (1,515)
    Cedar City, UT
    Nov 21, 2017*
    8:00 pm    		 Benedictine (Mesa) W 85–68  2–2
    		 America First Events Center (1,478)
    Cedar City, UT
    Nov 25, 2017*
    8:00 pm    		 at UNLV L 82–101  2–3
    		 Thomas & Mack Center (9,543)
    Paradise, NV
    Nov 29, 2017*
    8:00 pm    		 at Pepperdine W 88–82  3–3
    		 Firestone Fieldhouse (912)
    Malibu, CA
    Dec 2, 2017*
    6:00 pm    		 San Diego Christian W 87–68  4–3
    		 America First Events Center (1,195)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 6, 2017*
    6:00 pm    		 Long Beach State W 94–89  5–3
    		 America First Events Center (2,487)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 9, 2017*
    4:00 pm, BTN    		 at No. 3 Michigan State L 63–88  5–4
    		 Breslin Center (14,797)
    East Lansing, MI
    Dec 16, 2017*
    12:00 pm    		 Central Michigan W 86–80  6–4
    		 America First Events Center (1,406)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 19, 2017*
    7:00 pm, BTN    		 at Iowa L 64–92  6–5
    		 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,220)
    Iowa City, IA
    Big Sky regular season
    Dec 28, 2017
    6:30 pm    		 Montana State L 99–104  6–6
    (0–1)    		 America First Events Center (1,472)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 30, 2017
    12:30 pm    		 Montana L 49–79  6–7
    (0–2)    		 America First Events Center (1,263)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 4, 2018
    7:00 pm    		 at Idaho State L 78–93  6–8
    (0–3)    		 Holt Arena (1,567)
    Pocatello, ID
    Jan 6, 2018
    7:00 pm    		 at Weber State L 76–92  6–9
    (0–4)    		 Dee Events Center (6,831)
    Ogden, UT
    Jan 13, 2018
    7:00 pm, ELVN    		 Northern Arizona W 81–75  7–9
    (1–4)    		 America First Events Center (2,784)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 18, 2018
    6:30 pm    		 Idaho L 76–80  7–10
    (1–5)    		 America First Events Center (3,578)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 20, 2018
    12:30 pm    		 Eastern Washington W 66–62  8–10
    (2–5)    		 America First Events Center (2,229)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 25, 2018
    7:00 pm    		 at Montana L 47–71  8–11
    (2–6)    		 Dahlberg Arena (4,040)
    Missoula, MT
    Jan 27, 2018
    2:00 pm    		 at Montana State L 66–69  8–12
    (2–7)    		 Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,851)
    Bozeman, MT
    Feb 1, 2018
    6:30 pm    		 Weber State L 80–90  8–13
    (2–8)    		 America First Events Center (3,817)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 3, 2018
    12:30 pm    		 Idaho State W 84–80  9–13
    (3–8)    		 America First Events Center (2,259)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 10, 2018
    2:00 pm    		 at Northern Arizona W 63–54  10–13
    (4–8)    		 Walkup Skydome (405)
    Flagstaff, AZ
    Feb 15, 2018
    6:00 pm    		 at North Dakota L 57–61  10–14
    (4–9)    		 Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,456)
    Grand Forks, ND
    Feb 17, 2018
    7:00 pm    		 at Northern Colorado L 80–97  10–15
    (4–10)    		 Bank of Colorado Arena (1,683)
    Greeley, CO
    Feb 22, 2018
    6:30 pm    		 Portland State L 91–96 OT 10–16
    (4–11)    		 America First Events Center (3,245)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 24, 2018
    12:30 pm    		 Sacramento State W 77–74  11–16
    (5–11)    		 America First Events Center (2,740)
    Cedar City, UT
    Mar 1, 2018
    7:05 pm    		 at Eastern Washington L 51–74  11–17
    (5–12)    		 Reese Court (1,637)
    Cheney, WA
    Mar 3, 2018
    8:00 pm    		 at Idaho L 76–78  11–18
    (5–13)    		 Cowan Spectrum (3,219)
    Moscow, ID
    Big Sky Tournament
    Mar 6, 2018
    5:30 pm, Pluto TV    		 (10) vs. (7) Idaho State
    First round    		 W 76–68  12–18
    		 Reno Events Center (977)
    Reno, NV
    Mar 8, 2018
    5:30 pm, ELVN    		 (10) vs. (2) Idaho
    Quarterfinals    		 W 92–78  13–18
    		 Reno Events Center (1,078)
    Reno, NV
    Mar 9, 2018
    8:00 pm, ELVN    		 (10) vs. (3) Eastern Washington
    Semifinals    		 L 70–82  13–19
    		 Reno Events Center (1,236)
    Reno, NV
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Mountain Time.

    References
      This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.