Steve Alford embarks on his seventh season with the Nevada men’s basketball still in search of his first conference championship. While his tenure has included plenty of positives, including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths; two second-place finishes; some major facility improvements; and potentially a second player drafted into the NBA (that will be determined this week), he’s still trying to get Nevada over “the hump,” as he called it.
“We haven’t gotten over that hump,” Alford said. “That’s what we’re aspiring to do. That’s what we’re working to do. I think we’ve been competitive. We’ve had very good teams. But getting to that next level of conference title and NCAA advancement, that’s on our minds and that’s what were working every day for because ultimately that’s what we are in a profession for. We’re in a winning profession.”
The Wolf Pack began offseason practices one week ago, which will be capped by the program’s visit to the Bahamas in August, which marks the team’s first international summer tour since 2018.
Alford sat down with Nevada Sports Net on Monday to discuss his son, Bryce, winning an NBA title; Kobe Sanders’ draft stock; his first impressions of the 2025-26 team; adding nine players to this year’s roster; the trip to the Bahamas; NIL’s impact on last year’s team; the upcoming revenue sharing; potential NCAA Tournament expansion; GSR Arena moving forward; and trying to get Nevada to the championship level. You can watch that interview at the bottom of the page with timestamps of the discussions points below.
Offseason conversation with Steve Alford
0:15 — Alford’s son, Bryce, winning an NBA title with the Thunder
1:10 — Kobe Sanders’ draft stock
3:50 — First impressions of 2025-26 roster
5:35 — Offseason trip to the Bahamas
8:00 — What Nevada was looking for in the transfer portal
10:05 — Wolf Pack’s smaller cast of point guards
11:10 — Elijah Price’s addition to the roster
13:00 — Adding players from the NAIA and JuCo level
14:40 — The competition for starting jobs
18:15 — NCAA Tournament expansion
19:30 — Revenue sharing with athletes
20:55 — GSR Arena moving forward with groundbreaking
22:05 — Getting Nevada over the championship hump