2016–17 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record6–27 (3–15 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • John Wardenburg
  • Andy Johnson
  • Drew Allen
Home arenaCentrum Arena
2016–17 Big Sky men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
North Dakota144 .7782210  .688
Eastern Washington135 .7222212  .647
Idaho126 .6671914  .576
Weber State126 .6672014  .588
Montana117 .6111616  .500
Montana State117 .6111616  .500
Sacramento State99 .5001318  .419
Portland State711 .3891516  .484
Northern Colorado*711 .3891118  .379
Northern Arizona612 .333923  .281
Southern Utah315 .167627  .182
Idaho State315 .167526  .161
Conference tournament winner

The 2016–17 Southern Utah Thunderbirds basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds were led by first-year head coach Todd Simon and played their home games at the Centrum Arena in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the 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.

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the season 5–24, 3–15 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the Big Sky tournament to North Dakota. On March 9, 2016, head coach Nick Robinson was fired.[1][2] On March 22, the school hired Todd Simon as head coach.[3]

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Travon Langston3G6'3"190SeniorLas Vegas, NVGraduated
Trey Kennedy4G6'3"195JuniorLas Vegas, NVTransferred to Midwestern State
Daniel Melifonwu12F6'9"220FreshmanSan Diego, CATransferred to Connors State College
Christian Thompson25G/F6'7"180SeniorPhoenix, AZGraduated
Casey Oliverson32F6'8"225SeniorLogan, UTGraduated
A. J. Hess35G/F6'6"210SeniorCarefree, AZGraduated

Incoming Transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jadon Cohee12G6'4"182JuniorLangley, BCTransferred from Seattle. Under NCAA transfer rules, Cohee will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Christian Musoko34F6'8"235JuniorKinshasa, CongoJunior college transferred from Salt Lake CC
Elliott SmithF6'6"185JuniorOakley, CAJunior college transferred from Harcum College
Hamdi KarouiF6'7"220JuniorParis, FranceJunior college transferred from College of Eastern Utah

2016 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kaijae Yee-Stephens
SG
Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oct 13, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Taylor Miller
SG
Las Vegas, NV Palo Verde High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Maizen Fausett
SG
Saratoga Springs, UT Westlake High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jacob Calloway
SG
Juneau, AK Thunder Mountain High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Decardo Day
PG
Jackson, MS Callaway High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 10, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Ivan Madunic
PF
Split, Croatia 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Apr 21, 2016 
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:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 27, 2015.

Roster

2016–17 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 2 Randy Onwausor 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS JrInglewood HS
Texas Tech
Inglewood, CA
G 3 Decardo Day 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrCallaway HS Jackson, MS
G 4 Neema Namdar (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrAlta HS Sandy, UT
G 5 John Marshall 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrWestwind Prep Phoenix, AZ
F 10 Jacob Calloway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrOn Point Academy Juneau, AK
F 11 Will Joyce 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrNewark East Side
New Mexico Military Institute
Newark, NJ
G 12 Jadon Cohee (I) Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrWalnut Grove Secondary
Seattle
Langley, BC
G 13 Race Parsons 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrSouth Sevier HS Monroe, UT
G 14 James McGee (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS JrMater Dei HS San Clemente, CA
F 22 Ivan Madunic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrNone Split, Croatia
G 24 Adonis Saltes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoValley HS Pine Ridge, SD
G 33 Matthew Johnson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoCoronado HS Las Vegas, NV
F/C 34 Christian Musoko 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) JrLayton Christian HS
Salt Lake CC
Kinshasa, Congo
F 35 Brayden Holker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS FrWestlake HS Saratoga Springs, UT
F 44 Joel Swallow (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) 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
10/29/2016*
6:30 pm
Master's W 110–86 
Centrum Arena (400)
Cedar City, UT
11/04/2016*
6:30 pm
La Verne W 103–89 
Centrum Arena (600)
Cedar City, UT
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
6:00 pm
at Valparaiso
Men Who Speak Up Main Event
L 65–79  0–1
Athletics–Recreation Center (3,560)
Valparaiso, IN
11/14/2016*
6:00 pm
at Saint Louis
Men Who Speak Up Main Event
L 76–88  0–2
Chaifetz Arena (4,725)
St. Louis, MO
11/18/2016*
6:30 pm
Bethesda W 108–92  1–2
Centrum Arena (600)
Cedar City, UT
11/21/2016*
4:00 pm
vs. Coastal Carolina
Men Who Speak Up Main Event Middleweight
L 68–83  1–3
MGM Grand Garden Arena 
Paradise, NV
11/23/2016*
1:30 pm
vs. Ball State
Men Who Speak Up Main Event Middleweight
L 83–94  1–4
MGM Grand Garden Arena 
Paradise, NV
11/26/2016*
4:30 pm
Life Pacific W 101–56  2–4
Centrum Arena (350)
Cedar City, UT
11/30/2016*
7:00 pm
UNLV L 81–89  2–5
Centrum Arena (4,249)
Cedar City, UT
12/03/2016*
1:00 pm
at Oakland L 68–78  2–6
Athletics Center O'rena (2,984)
Rochester Hills, MI
12/08/2016*
8:00 pm
at Loyola Marymount L 68–75  2–7
Gersten Pavilion (1,561)
Los Angeles, CA
12/10/2016*
7:00 pm
at Cal State Fullerton L 62–75  2–8
Titan Gym (520)
Fullerton, CA
12/17/2016*
4:00 pm
IUPUI L 81–101  2–9
Centrum Arena (1,012)
Cedar City, UT
12/19/2016*
8:00 pm
at Seattle L 75–89  2–10
KeyArena (1,235)
Seattle, WA
12/21/2016*
8:00 pm
at San Jose State L 82–92  2–11
Event Center (1,289)
San Jose, CA
Big Sky regular season
12/31/2016
12:00 pm
at Northern Arizona W 93–80  3–11
(1–0)
Walkup Skydome (581)
Flagstaff, AZ
01/05/2017
7:00 pm
at Northern Colorado T 76–76  4–11
(2–0)
Bank of Colorado Arena (833)
Greeley, CO
01/07/2017
2:00 pm
at North Dakota L 65–95  4–12
(2–1)
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,749)
Grand Forks, ND
01/12/2017
6:30 pm
Sacramento State L 83–88  4–13
(2–2)
Centrum Arena (1,668)
Cedar City, UT
01/14/2017
6:30 pm
Portland State L 77–88  4–14
(2–3)
Centrum Arena (2,658)
Cedar City, UT
01/19/2017
7:00 pm
at Idaho L 67–79  4–15
(2–4)
Cowan Spectrum (889)
Moscow, ID
01/21/2017
2:00 pm
at Eastern Washington L 68–83  4–16
(2–5)
Reese Court (1,621)
Cheney, WA
01/26/2017
6:30 pm
North Dakota L 89–91  4–17
(2–6)
Centrum Arena (2,069)
Cedar City, UT
01/28/2017
4:00 pm
Northern Colorado L 71–89  4–18
(2–7)
Centrum Arena (1,802)
Cedar City, UT
02/02/2017
7:00 pm
at Weber State W 74–70  4–19
(2–8)
Dee Events Center (6,436)
Ogden, UT
02/04/2017
7:05 pm
at Idaho State L 68–94  4–20
(2–9)
Holt Arena (1,721)
Pocatello, ID
02/09/2017
6:30 pm
Montana L 55–70  4–21
(2–10)
Centrum Arena (1,923)
Cedar City, UT
02/11/2017
2:00 pm
Montana State L 78–83  4–22
(2–11)
Centrum Arena (1,761)
Cedar City, UT
02/18/2017
2:00 pm
Northern Arizona W 84–68  5–22
(3–11)
Centrum Arena (1,738)
Cedar City, UT
02/23/2017
8:00 pm
at Portland State L 86–93  5–23
(3–12)
Peter Stott Center (592)
Portland, OR
02/25/2017
8:00 pm
at Sacramento State L 76–86  5–24
(3–13)
Hornets Nest (902)
Sacramento, CA
03/02/2017
6:30 pm
Eastern Washington L 75–91  5–25
(3–14)
Centrum Arena (2,159)
Cedar City, UT
03/04/2017
4:00 pm
Idaho L 75–84  5–26
(3–15)
Centrum Arena (2,010)
Cedar City, UT
Big Sky tournament
03/07/2017
8:05 pm
(11) vs. (6) Montana State
First Round
W 109–105 3OT 6–26
Reno Events Center (1,507)
Reno, NV
03/09/2017
8:05 pm
(11) vs. (3) Weber State
Quarterfinals
L 70–90  6–27
Reno Events Center (1,903)
Reno, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

References

  1. "SUU Coach Robinson Relieved of Head Coaching Duties - Southern Utah Thunderbirds Athletics". www.suutbirds.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016.
  2. "Southern Utah University fires basketball coach Nick Robinson". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  3. "Southern Utah hires UNLV interim coach Todd Simon". LasVegasSun.com. March 22, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
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