Reno is called the ‘Biggest Little City in the World’ for a reason. It has had it’s fair share of craziness and folklore attached to this city high in the Sierras.  From that goofy Johnny Cash song to that even goofier group of police officers this town it is known and boy do NoCals like to stop in and hit the one armed bandits.  It is however not known for basketball, living in the shadow of their younger brother who gets all off the attention.  It’s not that the Wolfpack are not a good program.  It is!  And it is not that they do not play a fast paced, high energy style of basketball.  They do.  The problem is they are a Medium fish in a small pond and really don’t wander into deeper waters.  The Rebels are in a small pond themselves but they are the ‘Sharks’ and they are not afraid to take on the Whales of the Mighty Seas!  Playing major out of conference games is how you make your name in college basketball and the Rebels are the masters of scheduling big fish.  It’s not that the Wolfpack are not trying as they have scheduled Pac 10 team rival Cal plus a whole slew of teams they have played since their days in the West Coast Conference including the likes of Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Utah State.  But put this up against the UNLV out of conference schedule of  the likes of Arizona, Duke, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Kentucky and you see why the Rebels get to be on TV every other week.  And the kids are dying to come and play for Jerry Tarkanian and that great up and down style.  Nobody even knows who Trent Johnson is (that would be the Wolfpack Coach).  Johnson is convinced he can change the future of this program and has recruited perhaps the largest class of any team in the country!   Johnson has brought in a bunch of new faces to increase the level of talent in this program (not Vegas talent but talent) which includes more Juco players than some of the junior colleges have on their own rosters.  Johnson, who once played for one of the Wolf Pack’s biggest rival Boise State, is a fresh face who had made his name as an assistant who can recruit.  He has never been the head coach at any level but this Berkeley kid has developed some great recruiting contacts along his travels and is more than willing to give some kid’s a shot that might have some ‘issues’ as he is attempting to build this program.  It worked down in southern Nevada didn’t it?  After all what kind of kid do you think wants to come play at this out of the way place known for being a Mobster’s hideaway?  That being said there is talent coming to Reno this year and if Johnson can figure out a way to blend these kids into a cohesive unit who knows how far this team can jump up the Big Sky ranks?  As for now the returning players are not much to look at but there are a few gems in the upperclassmen.   

Leading the way for the Wolfpack is an extremely talented big man from the Jersey shore.  Junior Edgar Jones is a dominant big man who does everything well and does not get near the publicity he deserves.  Jones is a solid low post stud who is very athletic and loves to score and rebound.  At six ten 225 he can dominate the paint and he usually does.  Jones was highly recruited out of Newark and is the BMOC on the Reno campus.  He missed a few games his freshman year when there were some inquiries (a bit late) on his recruitment (this is NOT UNLV) but he was back with a vengeance and put some huge numbers.  Jones loves to dunk and is infamous for not dunking the same way twice.  Edgar will throw it down over anyone (ask Rich Kelley about that) but also has a nice touch.  He is by far the most athletic big man in this conference and has a bright future if he stays healthy.  He could get a bit tougher on the boards but is a tremendous shotblocker and the whole Wolfpack defense revolves around his ability to help teammates.  The Wolfpack love to run but you cannot run if you do not have a goalkeeper swatting shots away at the hoop.  He is no Bill Russell but as he showed in their January matchup at Lawler he is much closer than one might think.  He outscored Russell on that night 14 to 10 but the Dons won the game on a late tip by Bill Cartwright after Jones fouled out to a standing ovation. Every kid in Reno wants to be Edgar Jones and if he continues to play like this he might just become a household name.  That is of course if the Wolfpack can actually get some games on TV this year that more than NoCal and Nevada see?  

Junior Pete Padgett will start next to Jones and is the perfect complement.  Padgett is a workman like power player who just loves to grab boards.  He would grab rebounds all day if you would let him but he can also score a little and is one of the best passing big men in the country.  That’s right I said the country.  Padgett at 6’8 220 is not overly athletic but he knows how to play this game.  After all, his father is a coach.  Yes, this San Jose product chose to travel over the pass to Reno primarily because his dad Jim was the coach.  That did not last long as he was replaced by Jim Carey after just one year.  This was not funny to Pete but he did stay and now has a third coach he will play under for the Wolf Pack.  Things move awfully quick in Reno so you might want to sit back and enjoy the ride once in a while and Padgett definitely enjoys this town. 

The third starter on the front line will be a senior.  Either Alex Boyd or Napoleon Montgomery will get the call with the other probably being the sixth man.  At least to begin the year!  Both of these guys are tremendous athletes but Boyd is a bit better offensively and should start.  At 6’5 195 from Rock Island Illinois Boyd led the team in scoring his first two years though he slipped to 2nd last year behind Jones.  A tremendous inside player this kid is made of bricks and knows how to muscle for easy baskets.  A decent mid-range game helps but he does have trouble guarding quicker wings.  Montgomery is similar except that he can flat jump out of the gym.  A track athlete as well Nap as he had been dubbed does not have much size but might be the only player on this team who could match up athletically with the studs the Rebels have accumulated (one way or another).  There is some depth and experience up front as well though not much size.  Fellow seniors Bill Nicholson, Dan Sullivan and Hal Fischer were here when this program was not yet D-1.  These guys are not to be confused with Sidney Green and were easily surpassed on the depth charts when Jones and Padgett came aboard.  They will probably be pushed either off the team or to the deep end of the bench depending on how good Johnsons’s recruits are?  Fischer probably has the best chance of retaining his position as he really understands the game.  At 6’5 he is tough and can helps but Johnson supposed has a 7 footer from Chicago (Boyd referred him) with the wing span of a large bird of prey.  He also has 6’11 and 6’10 kids so the clock is ticking on those veterans as we know Johnson is on a mission to compete with the Rebels in recruiting.  And there is only one way to do that! 

The backcourt for the Wolf Pack is nowhere near the level of the front court and not even close to talent that Johnson wants.  Sophomore Darryl Owens and senior Larry Moore are the returning starters and they do have a little something in their tanks.  Owens is a 6’0 point guard who can do a bit of everything and does it well.  He averaged over 10 a game with almost 5 assists in his first year here and took over the reins of the team.  He did miss the last few games of the year after being arrested after an incident with his girlfriend so we shall see how Johnson handles that situation.  He is by far the most talented returner on the perimeter but Johnson has loaded up on PG’s including another coaches son so he has options.  Moore is a good athlete who can score and helps on the boards.  He is not a great long range threat and this team needs some shooters to keep the paint free for those big guys down low.  A hodge-podge of ‘others’ will be competing with the newbies for minutes including seniors Jim Melarkey, Val York, Joe DeArietta and John Legarza.  It would be pure baloney if Johnson replaces all of these cats but stranger things have happened in the biggest little city in the world.  I sure don’t want to watch them die on the bench but with as many as 10 back court recruits coming to town the odds are not in these incumbents favor. 

The Nevada WolfPack had the fortune (or misfortune if you ask their admin) of playing in one of the smaller conferences in the country.  The Big Sky has a pecking order in place and this team would love to shake things up in their new home.  Of course that might not last too long with this program’s vagabond nature.  Reno might not be the getaway town it once for the Mob and others wanting to hideaway from the rest of the world but new Coach Trent Johnson hopes he can wrangle a few wayward kids out west.  With Lake Tahoe just over the mountain Reno has quite the reputation and there is a template on how to build a program from their Nevada brethren to the south.  Juco kids and kids passed over by other schools are welcome here as long as they have talent.  Now, let’s see if Johnson can turn this bunch of rebels into a pack.