Bears back in the den: Northern Colorado men’s basketball team assembles for first time ahead of 2024-25 season

University of Northern Colorado head basketball coach Steve Smiley talks with his team during a practice on the UNC campus June 5, 2024.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)

In preparation for next season, Northern Colorado men’s basketball coach Steve Smiley almost brought in two starting lineups worth of new players.

Player turnover in college basketball is more common and more difficult to track today in the era of the NCAA transfer portal.

Smiley had a busy and seemingly productive recruiting season this spring, adding nine new players to go with four key returning guys: guards Jaron Rillie, Zach Bloch and Langston Hughes and forward Brock Wisne.

Rillie, who earned a bachelor’s degree last month, was an all-Big Sky honorable mention selection last year.

“A great core,” Smiley said.

The Bears roster in 2024-25 will have 16 players this year. Of those players, 13 are scholarship players and three are preferred walk-ons. A preferred walk-on does not receive athletic aid but has a roster spot and could have a strong chance of competing for playing time, according to the NCSA College Recruiting website. A preferred walk-on is the highest status a recruit may earn outside of receiving a scholarship.

The new season began in many ways last week when players gathered for their first team meeting.

Teams are allowed eight weeks of workouts with coaches for a maximum of eight hours a week during the summer. UNC will use its time with four hours on the court and four hours in the weight room.

The players may set up pick-up games on their own through the summer when coaches aren’t around. They’ll also use their time to take classes.

“I’m impressed with the class we put together, and we feel good about it,” Smiley said. “We have a lot of proven guys coming in. It’s hard to get guys who are proven. To get guys who want to play for us, I think it’s because they see an opportunity.”

Four freshmen and three Division I transfers are among the new players, which include:

• Ariik Mawien, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard from Sioux Falls, Dakota and Link Year Prep Academy in Missouri;
• Luca Colceag, a 6-9 forward originally from Romania and a transfer from Eastern Florida State College whose collegiate career began as a reserve at Montana State in 2022-23;
• William Humer, a 6-8 forward from Sweden and transfer from San Jose State;
• Walker Asp, a 6-6 freshman wing from Palmer High School and Colorado Springs;
• Isaiah Hawthorne, a 6-8 forward from Tracy, California, and transfer from the University of San Francisco. Hawthorne played four seasons for the Dons of the West Coast Conference after redshirting in 2019-20;
• Quinn Denker, a 6-3 guard from San Jose, California, and transfer from Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho. Denker played one season for the Vandals in 2023-24, and scored a season-high 23 points against UNC in Greeley;
• Hunter Caldwell, a 6-10 freshman center from Lutheran High School in Parker;
• Viktor Lukic-Gavric, a 6-2 freshman guard from Sweden;
• Taeshaud Jackson II, a 6-6 guard from Denver and transfer from Virginia Military Institute.

Smiley said there were 2,080 Division I scholarship players in the portal during the spring. With 362 Division I teams, that’s an average of 5.6 per game. UNC had five go into the portal including a couple of players who were among the best in the Big Sky Conference.

Saint Thomas was the Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year and a unanimous first-team all-conference selection in his only season with the Bears. He transferred to the University of Southern California.

De’Jour Reaves was named the Big Sky’s Sixth Man of the Year and second-team all-conference. He transferred to Iona University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference based in the Northeast.

Reserve guard Connor Creech announced his transfer to the University of Texas on social media Friday.

Smiley builds around returning players because they help him with where he needs to focus recruiting. He said he’s thrilled about those players. Three other guys are also back: guard Marcell McCreary, center Egan Shields and guard Radek Homer. Shields and Homer redshirted last year as freshmen.

This year, Smiley might play 10 guys each game compared with the eight or nine of last year.

“With the incoming guys, we have 10 juniors and seniors and that’s what you need,” Smiley said. “The focus first is to get experience, and I think we did a great job of that.”

Reaves picks Iona

Reaves, a dynamic 6-0 guard with the Bears last season, settled on Iona after announcing his intention to transfer in March. He arrived at the school in New Rochelle, New York, outside of New York City last weekend — around the same time some of his former teammates at UNC reunited for summer workouts.

“I’m getting used to the guys already and we do a lot of team bonding,” Reaves said last week. “We’ve played softball as a team, and everything is coming together.”

Reaves played junior college basketball at Trinidad State before transferring to UNC for the 2023-24 season.

Reaves, who is from Syracuse, New York, was the second-leading scorer while primarily coming off the bench in his only season with the Bears. He averaged 14.9 points while shooting 40% from the field and 38% on 3-pointers. Reaves also grabbed 3.6 rebounds.

He picked Iona because of its proximity to Syracuse and a connection with Gaels coach Tobin Anderson. Iona is located about four hours from Syracuse.

“My big picture was getting close back to home my senior year, and my parents could come to the majority of my games,” Reaves said.

Reaves hasn’t had a problem changing schools in this era of the transfer portal.

“If you want to be great, you have to go through different changes,” he said.

His goal is to play overseas after college.

At Iona, Reaves liked the idea of playing in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), which is a well-known and quality mid-major conference. Reaves said it feels as if every time a MAAC team gets into the NCAA Tournament, it has a chance to be a Cinderella during March Madness.

St. Peter’s played the part as a No. 15 seed in 2022. The Peacocks made a run to the Elite Eight, beating Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue.

Iona was 10-10 in the MAAC last season and 16-17 overall in Anderson’s first year. Anderson knows something about being a Cinderella of the NCAA Tournament. He coached at Fairleigh Dickinson of the Northeast Conference for one year before arriving at Iona, where he replaced Rick Pitino.

Anderson’s Fairleigh Dickinson team in March 2023 became the second men’s tournament No. 16 seed and the first First Four team to beat a No. 1 seed with a 63-58 win over Purdue.

When Reaves announced his intention to transfer from UNC, he said the move was not made because of any problem with the Bears program. He said then he loved the UNC coaches, but he needed a fresh start.

Reaves reiterated his love for Greeley and being a part of the UNC program. He’ll remain a fan of the Bears and the Big Sky Conference.

“I cherish every moment I had in Greeley, and I’m thankful for the guys and the coaching staff,” he said. “I’ll definitely be tuned in and still supporting my guys.”