Rebels Basketball:

UNLV duo could be latest additions to Rebels’ first-round draft club

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Ron Frehm, AP

Rebel pride: Former UNLV players (from left) Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and Larry Johnson, with then-coach Jerry Tarkanian.

By Taylor Bern

Wed, Jun 24, 2015 (2 a.m.)

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They aren't the first and with the way UNLV has been recruiting they probably won't be the last, but as former Rebels Rashad Vaughn and Christian Wood approach Thursday’s NBA Draft they’re still in rarefied air.

Fourteen UNLV players have previously been selected in the first round, but only once did teammates do it in the same year. That was, of course, 1991 when national champions Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony all were selected in the top 12.

Vaughn and Wood’s collective draft stock is far less certain than that trio, although it’s very likely that at least one of them will become the 15th member of UNLV’s NBA first round draft club. The latest mock draft projections from Draft Express, ESPN and NBADraft.net have Vaughn going 17-26 while Wood’s range is currently 36-46.

These things change overnight, though, and if Wood doesn’t go in the first, it’s hard to imagine him lasting very long in the second. And as long as both players are drafted it will still be the first time at UNLV that teammates have been selected in the same draft since 1991.

The draft starts at 4 p.m. Las Vegas time at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and it will air on ESPN. Here’s a look at the previous 14 Rebels who heard their name called in the first round in order of their selection:

    • NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, shakes hands with UNLV's Anthony Bennett, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York.

      Associated Press

      No. 1

      Larry Johnson, 1991, Charlotte Hornets

      • 10 seasons: Also played for the New York Knicks

      • Career numbers: 707 games (699 starts); 11,450 points; 48.4 fg%; 33.2 3fg%; 5,300 rebounds; 2,298 assists; 515 steals; 258 blocks

      • Honors: Rookie of the Year (1992), All-NBA second team (1993), two-time All-Star (1993 and 95)

      • Anthony Bennett, 2013, Cleveland Cavaliers

      • Two seasons: Currently plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves

      • Career numbers: 109 games (3 starts); 515 points; 39.3 fg%; 26.3 3fg%; 371 rebounds; 65 assists; 48 steals; 24 blocks

    • Armen Gilliam (right) accepts a commemorative ball from New Jersey Nets coach Butch Beard after Gilliam scored his 10,000th career NBA point on Feb. 21, 1996, in Milwaukee.

      Associated Press

      No. 2

      Armen* Gilliam, 1987, Phoenix Suns

      • 13 seasons: Also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz

      • Career numbers: 929 games (527 starts); 12,700 points; 48.9 fg%; 6,401 rebounds; 1,088 assists; 676 steals; 607 blocks

      • Honors: All-Rookie team (1988)

      *Gilliam, who died in 2011 while playing a pickup basketball game, changed the spelling of his first name from Armon to Armen near the end of his NBA career because he grew tired of it being mispronounced.

    • The Atlanta Hawks' JR Rider celebrates after a late-game basket against the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 23, 2000, in Sacramento, Calif. Rider scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Hawks to a 100-94 win.

      Associated Press

      No. 5

      Sidney Green, 1983, Chicago Bulls

      • 10 seasons: Also played for the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets

      • Career numbers: 679 games (242 starts); 5,080 points; 45.4 fg%; 4,128 rebounds; 635 assists; 369 assists; 223 blocks

      JR Rider, 1993, Minnesota Timberwolves

      • Nine seasons: Also played for the Portland Trailblazers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets

      • Career numbers: 563 games (424 starts); 9,405 points; 44.3 fg%; 2,166 rebounds; 1,535 assists; 367 steals; 136 blocks

      • Honors: All-Rookie team (1994)

    • No. 9

      Reggie Theus, 1978, Chicago Bulls

      • 13 seasons: Also played for the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets

      • Career numbers: 1,026 games (743 starts); 19,015 points; 47.1 fg%; 25.2 3fg%; 3,349 rebounds; 6,453 assists; 1,206 steals; 236 blocks

      • Honors: Two-time All-Star (1981, 83), All-Rookie team (1979)

      Stacey Augmon, 1991, Atlanta Hawks

      • 15 seasons: Also played for the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trailblazers, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic

      • Career numbers: 1,001 games (472 starts); 7,990 points; 46.9 fg%; 3,216 rebounds; 1,561 assists; 974 steals; 317 blocks

      • Honors: All-Rookie team (1992)

      Shawn Marion, 1999, Phoenix Suns

      • 14 seasons: Also played for the Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers

      • Career numbers: 1,163 games (1,062 starts); 17,700 points; 48.4 fg%; 10,101 rebounds; 2,198 assists; 1,759 steals; 1,233 blocks

      • Honors: Two-time All-NBA third team (2005, 06), four-time All-Star (2003, 05-07), All-Rookie second team (2000)

    • Former Rebels guard Greg Anthony takes part of an interview during a gala event Monday at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson celebrating the 20-year anniversary of UNLV's 1989-90 championship squad.

      Justin M. Bowen

      No. 12

      Greg Anthony, 1991, New York Knicks

      • 11 seasons: Also played for the Vancouver Grizzlies, Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trailblazers, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks

      • Career numbers: 757 games (227 starts); 5,497 points; 40.3 fg%; 34.9 3fg%; 1,417 rebounds; 2,997 assists; 887 steals

    • Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) and Miami Heat guard Marcus Banks (5) walk off the court following a Lakers 104-94 victory during a basketball game in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. Banks scored seven points in his debut with the Heat after a trade with the Phoenix Suns.

      Associated Press

      No. 13

      Keon Clark, 1998, Orlando Magic*

      • Six seasons: Played for the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz

      • Career numbers: 353 games (65 starts); 2,882 points; 50 fg%; 2,096 rebounds; 322 assists; 184 steals; 571 blocks

      *Though he was drafted by the Magic, Clark was traded in January of the 1998-99 season and didn’t make his NBA debut until Feb. 5, 1999, with the Nuggets.

      Marcus Banks, 2003, Memphis Grizzlies*

      • Eight seasons: Played for the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors

      • Career numbers: 348 games (37 starts); 2,061 points; 43.2 fg%; 32.7 3fg%; 519 rebounds; 728 assists; 266 steals; 57 blocks

      *Banks was part of a draft-night trade that sent he and Kendrick Perkins to the Celtics for Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones.

    • UNLV stars Robert Smith and Ricky Sobers. Smith helped lead UNLV to its first Final Four berth and Sobers was the first player taken in the first round in the NBA draft.

      UNLV Archives

      No. 16

      Ricky Sobers, 1975, Phoenix Suns

      • 11 seasons: Also played for the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, Washington Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics

      • Career numbers: 821 games (138 starts); 10,902 points; 45.9 fg%; 29.1 3fg%; 2,132 rebounds; 3,525 assists; 1,085 steals; 161 blocks

    • Anthony Jones, of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas goes up to make two points over Arthur Hayes, bottom, of Northeast Louisiana in the first half of the NCAA Basketball Championship, Friday, March 14, 1986, Long Beach, Calif.

      Douglas C. Pizac

      No. 21

      Anthony Jones, 1986, Washington Bullets

      • Three seasons: Also played for the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks

      • Career numbers: 164 games (four starts); 594 points; 39.3 fg%; 30.6 3fg%; 214 rebounds; 119 assists; 38 blocks

    • Seattle Supersonics' center Earvin Johnson (50) dunks the ball, Oct. 29, 1994 during the first quarter action at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. Four teams are playing tonight and on Saturday in Mexico City. In the background is Los Angeles Clipper's Elmore Spencer.

      Damian Dovarganes

      No. 21

      Elmore Spencer, 1992, Los Angeles Clippers

      • Five seasons: Also played for the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers and Seattle SuperSonics

      • Career numbers: 157 games (75 starts); 923 points; 51.6 fg%; 555 rebounds; 109 assists; 53 steals; 170 blocks

    Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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