As the 2025 NBA draft approaches, we welcome a special guest to the show and conduct our own mock draft for the lottery. We offer our assessments of each draftee and clarify the reasons for our conviction that they will or will not be successful NBA players, as well as their potential contributions to their respective teams.…

Bryce Dejean-Jones, a former Runnin' Rebel and NBA player, was known for his exceptional talent and unwavering competitiveness. One early morning, on May 28, 2016, after breaking into an apartment, which he mistakenly thought was his girlfriend's, Dejean-Jones was shot and killed. This episode is the narrative of a young man who, despite possessing…

In this episode, I talk about Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster, a brand-new Netflix documentary, and what a crazy story it is. I then discuss UNLV's decision to remain in the MWC and the reasons I agree with it. I subsequently address the emergence of UNLV football and the enthusiasm surrounding the program's future. Lastly, I pose the que…

This episode features a special guest who joins the show to discuss the incoming Alabama transfer, Naas Cunningham. The discussion centers on his talent level, skillset, and ultimate potential as a recruit. Following this, TK and I engage in a conversation regarding the NBA playoffs. We share our opinions on our preferred teams (the Nuggets and Lak…

Parents today are crazier than ever when it comes to their behavior toward their children's sports of choice. Overzealous parent behavior can contribute to issues like performance anxiety and burnout in children, but positive parent involvement is crucial for the functioning of youth sports leagues. This episode dives deep into everything that dire…

This is the story of Dave Rice, from his unexpected appointment as head coach to the success and excitement that captivated the Las Vegas community to the underachieving results that ultimately resulted in the dismissal of a beloved former Rebel and the beginning of the downfall of a once historic basketball program.…

This episode of TRP covers a few different topics. As my excitement for football season grows, I wanted to briefly discuss Mullen's recruiting class, what life is like when you are tall, and a few other subjects. The following topics are covered in this episode: 117 More Days Till Football Season! Tweet of the day “Guys like Mullen and Pastner are …

To commemorate the 50th episode of TRP, I am conducting a player spotlight on Marcus Banks, one of the most talented and electrifying athletes to have ever played for UNLV basketball. The subject of this episode is Marcus's basketball career, which encompasses my personal favorite memories, statistics, awards and honors, and any narrative that is a…

In this episode, I address a variety of topics and provide my perspectives on each one, rather than concentrating on a single subject. The following subjects are addressed: Gorilla vs Grizzly Bear EvanMiya transfer class ranking has UNLV #1 New YouTube video about JP Pastner creating his own scouting service at 13 Jailen Bedforn transfers to V Tech…

This episode is somewhat brief; however, it serves as a summary of Josh's initial month at HC and his exceptional performance thus far. I elaborate on the reasons why Rebel fans should be enthusiastic about the program's future and how he differs from other coaches we have had in the past. Go Rebels!!…

Wow, what a past couple of weeks it has been for the Runnin Rebel basketball program and for their fans. Josh Pastner continues to impress as he is assembling a roster that will be ready to compete for a MWC title right away. In this episode I discuss the new additions to the team, why this roster is so impressive, and I attempt to put together my …

Simply stated, the episode description is the episode's title. I have chosen to rank the top 30 high school recruits who have ever selected a Mountain West Conference institution, from #30 to #1. These rankings are exclusively from 247 Sports and, regrettably, only back to 2010. Therefore, any high-profile recruits, such as Kawhi Leonard or Wink Ad…

In this episode of TRP, I discuss the following topics: -VGK win game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. -The latest players joining the UNLV MBB roster. - Strengths of the 2025-2026 roster and what ways the roster could improve -Expectations for next season -How typical fans don't have an understanding of roster construction -Reaction to the Nico Iama…

In this episode, I discuss the public's perception of Pastner and the manner in which his personality is influencing a significant number of Rebel fans to adopt his beliefs. After that, I address the new players of the Rebels and their integration into Josh's strategy for the upcoming season. Finally, I discuss my former enthusiasm for message boar…

This is a story about the UNLV Runnin’ Rebel basketball program. The narrative discusses the events of the past three decades that have resulted in the erosion of the national relevance of this once-dominant basketball program and the substantial decline of its fan base. It is the belief of UNLV basketball fans that the program has been cursed, as …

TK, my special guest, returns to the show to discuss some entertaining subjects. We begin by reviewing Pastner's current performance in terms of keeping players for the upcoming campaign. The bulk of the episode is then devoted to discussing the distinctions between collegiate basketball and the NBA, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of b…

Episode 41 of the Rebellion Podcast covers the following topics: DJ Thomas Jr. will be transferring to LSU My thoughts on this DJ Thomas Sr quote Fan reaction to the news My experience as a Division one athlete Never believed I would make it to this level Experience playing Juco ball (Most fun year of my life) Deciding between UC Irvine and New Ham…

Episode number 40 for the Rebellion Podcast covers the following topics: - Bear Cherry enters the transfer portal - four number 1 seeds reach final four - Why I don’t fill out brackets anymore - Pastner’s energy and personality compared to Kruger - Harper said that Pastner was his first choice for HC. Truth or BS? - UNM hires Eric Olen. Pastner vs …

I start off this episode by discussing something that annoys me (but shouldn't). Then I proceed to the important stuff and talk about our new head coach, Josh Pastner. I admit that at first, I was not crazy about this hire. In fact, I was quite depressed. However, after sleeping on it, I am a lot more optimistic, and I think Pasnter could potential…

In this episode I discuss the following topics: Thoughts on NCAA tourney so far GVR story March Madness McNeese student manager with NIL deal Kelvin Sampson rants about name pronunciation MWC scores: SDSU UNC 95-68, Utah State UCLA 72-47 Why I hate USU (my personal story) MWC scores: CSU beats Mem 78-70, UNM beats Marquette 75-66 (CSU story) Theory…

So much has happened in the last 24 hours that it is difficult to wrap my head around all of it; however, in this episode, I do my best. I begin by recapping the events that led us to where we are today. The MWC tournament ended for the Rebels by falling to Utah State in the quarterfinals, 58-70. Then on Saturday, March 15th, Kevin Kruger was fired…

In this episode, I share some crazy information I heard regarding the top HS basketball player and his NIL. Then I talk about how the rebel players keep getting injured and how ridiculous this is getting. Lastly, a special guest joins the show, and we discuss the NBA today vs the NBA in the 90s and 80s.…

Will Kevin Kruger be back next year? It is looking that way as of now based on an article in the RJ. I discuss this in the episode along with a way-too-early look at next year's team and potential starting lineup. However, before I get into all that, I talk about my starting lineup that I created among all the players in NBA history and why I belie…

After a brief absence, the Rebellion Podcast is back! In this episode I rank the top 10 basketball players in the world and give my reasoning for why I have them ranked in that spot. Then I transition over to UNLV basketball talk where I discuss the exciting sweep over the SDSU Aztecs and I talk about Kevin Kruger and how he seems to always have th…

In this episode I talk about delusional young athletes believing they will make it to the pros and I question why they have such unjustified confidence. Then I discuss annoying people believing the dumbest things. Lastly, I talk about UNLV basketball being at an all time low and where I see the program going in the future.…

Okay, yes, it is too soon to say I was right about this team. It is still highly unlikely we will be an at-large bid and it is still likely we will have a new coach in 2025-2026. That being said, the last two games the Runnin Rebels are finally playing to their potential. Finally looking like the team I predicted we'd have prior to the season start…

In this episode I talk about all the conflicting and contradicting information that is spread around regarding which foods are healthy and which one's are not. Then I talk about UNLV basketball and how difficult these times are as a diehard fan. Lastly, I talk about the Rebel football recruiting and the inaccurate 247 Sports Transfer Portal ranking…

From Dedan's buzzer beater against SDSU to the shellacking of Fresno following the Sluka drama.. To honor the new year, Laura and I talked about the top 10 moments in the year 2024 when it comes to UNLV football and basketball. The most memorable and exciting moments that include the outcome of games or unexpected breaking news. Hope you enjoy!…

First episode of the New Year! In this episode I talk about UNLV football's latest addition from the transfer portal, Var'Keyes Gumms and what his commitment means to the program. I follow that by talking about UNLV basketball and our 79-73 win over SJSU and I rant and vent about Kevin Kruger consistently blowing big leads.…

In this episode I start off by talking about the debate over how families should open presents on Christmas (one at a time and everyone watches or all at once chaos). Then I talk about UNLV basketball, the season so far, and my thoughts on the Fresno State game. Lastly, I talk about Dan Mullen's coaching staff additions as well as the players joini…

In this episode I talk about all the drama involved with Disney and the new live action Snow White movie. Then I talk about Dan Mullen and UNLV and give my thoughts on his coaching career as well as the public's perception of this hire.By Ryan Staker and Laura Rodriguez

The past seven days have been a roller coaster of emotions for Rebel fans. In this episode we give our thoughts from the MWC championship game against Boise State, then we discuss the Runnin' Rebels loss to Creighton while giving our thoughts on the general direction of the program. We follow this up by chatting about the bad news we received on Su…

This is a revamped version of a previous episode where I I talk about former UNLV coaches (Rice, Tark, Menzies, L. Kruger, Massimino, Bayno, K. Kruger, Spoonhour) and I create an all-time starting five from a pool of players that played for their respective coach during their tenure. I analyze each starting five and discuss how good I think they wo…

After a two week absence, I am back Rebel Fans! There was a lot to talk about in the last two weeks but in this episode I mainly cover the overall feeling surrounding both the UNLV football program as well as the Runnin' Rebel basketball team. I talk about the beautiful beatdown against Reno and the upcoming championship game against Boise State. I…

This is a quick episode where I start off by sharing my side job and some of the funny and ridiculous stuff I have to deal with. Then I give my thoughts on UNLV's 40-21 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night.By Ryan Staker and Laura Rodriguez

In the first 7 minutes of this episode I share some interesting stuff I learned about the Titanic. Then I talk about my ranking of the top 10 players who played for the UNLV men's basketball program since 2010. I created this ranking by analyzing how talented/gifted the players were combined with how valuable they were as a college player based on …

The first 10 minutes of this episode I talk about a bunch of different things that people do that annoy me (i.e. chewing loud, being a bad pet owner, etc). Follow those rants I get into UNLV men's basketball's 80-69 win against Nebraska Omaha. I definitely was not too happy with how we performed in this game but I do my best to stay positive in thi…

In this episode I start off by talking about how certain people are not good at having back-and-forth conversations as I pose the question to listeners: "do you listen, or just wait for your turn to talk?" I then proceed to share my story attending the Boise State UNR football game and how different the experience was from attending a football game…

Basketball season is officially among us and the Rebels are 1-0!!. I start this episode off by ranting about an unrelated subject (FF to about the 9 min mark if you don't care to listen ;-) Then I spend the rest of the episode talking about the win against Alabama State to start the season and give my thoughts on everything.…

In this episode I talk about my experience attending the UNLV Boise State football game in which the Rebels unfortunately were defeated 24-29. Then I follow that up with talking about Runnin' Rebel basketball and how we have yet another reason to believe we are cursed by the basketball Gods. I also briefly talk about our new commitment from local p…

In this episode I talk about UNLV football's historical season and the roller coaster of emotions of being a fan. I discuss my experience watching the Oregon State game as well as give my thoughts on the biggest game in UNLV football history as we prepare for a showdown with the Boise State Broncos. I also discuss the UNLV Runnin' Rebels scrimmage …

In this episode I review the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish and give my thoughts. I also talk about the perception of UNLV basketball and how most people do not realize that we will have a really good basketball team this upcoming season or how they are doubting us simply based off of past seasons.…

After 36 years of supporting my Runnin' Rebels to the fullest and going to hundreds of games I have had the fortunate opportunity to watch many great players. As difficult as this was to make, I decided to rank (10 through 1) my favorite UNLV basketball players ever. I created this list based off several factors such as personality, how good of a p…

In this episode my cohost and I go over all of the scholarship players on the 24-25 UNLV men's basketball roster. I talk about each player for 2-3 minutes on what their skillset is like and what you can expect from them this season. Jalen Hill (02:07) Dedan Thomas Jr (04:03) Rob Whaley (07:41) Isaiah Cottrell (09:49) Brooklyn Hicks (10:54) Jacob Ba…

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT WHO I THINK WILL OR NECESSARILY SHOULD START... Are analytics and stats everything when it comes to sports? Of course not. Though being a coach myself who likes to utilize an analytical style of coaching, I thought it would be fun to analyze the UNLV basketball roster and create a starting 5 based solely off of analytics. If…

This episode is a short one.. When I recorded my Predictions for the 2024-2025 Season: Runnin' Rebels Basketball episode, I went into all kinds of predictions, however, I did not specifically predict individual player statistics. So that is what this episode is about. How many points, rebounds, assists, etc. will each player average this upcoming s…

Stats, stats, stats, and more stats, That is what this episode is. If you're like me and you have followed the Runnin' Rebels closely for many years then you probably remember a zillion players. This episode will bring back memories of many of those players as I read off and break down individual player regular and advanced statistics that covers t…

In this episode I talk about my experience being a die hard Runnin' Rebel basketball fan for over three long decades. I riminess on memories growing up as kid going to games. I talk about the the different eras and the various coaches which was accompanied by a roller coaster of emotions between the exciting wins and the depressing losses. The main…

In this episode I get quite opinionated by discussing the top players who came into the UNLV basketball program and pleasantly exceeded expectations in addition to players who unfortunately did not live up to the hype. Regardless of what list the players are on they will always be a Rebel for life in my eyes.…

In this episode I talk about former UNLV coaches (Rice, Tark, Menzies, L. Kruger, Massimino, Bayno, K. Kruger, Spoonhour) and I create an all-time starting five from a pool of players that played for their respective coach during their tenure. I analyze each starting five and discuss how good I think they would be.…