2015–16 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team explained

Year:2015–16
Team:Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Sport:Basketball
Conference:Big Sky Conference
Short Conf:Big Sky
Record:5–24
Conf Record:3–15
Hc Year:4th
Asst Coach1:Chad Bell
Asst Coach2:Todd Okeson
Asst Coach3:Drew Allen

The 2015–16 Southern Utah Thunderbirds basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds were led by fourth-year head coach Nick Robinson and played their home games at the Centrum Arena in Cedar City, Utah. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. 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] He finished at SUU with a four-year record of 28–90. On March 22, the school hired Todd Simon as head coach.[3]

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the season 2014–15 season 10–19, 7–11 in Big Sky play to finish in ninth place. They failed to qualify for the Big Sky tournament.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Austin Waddoups 2 G 6'2" 160 Freshman Transferred to Salt Lake CC
Tyler Rawson 21 F 6'9" 220 Freshman Transferred to Salt Lake CC
Sherron Wilson 22 G/F 6'6" 220 Freshman Transferred to Paris JC
Eric Rippetoe 24 F 6'6" 215 Senior Graduated
Cal Hanks 34 C 6'11" 240 Senior Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Randy Onwuasor 2 G 6'3" 190 Junior Transferred from Texas Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Onwuasor will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Will Joyce 11 F 6'5" 220 Junior Junior college transferred from New Mexico Military Institute

Schedule

[4] |-! colspan="9" style="background:#f00; color:#fff;"| Exhibition|-! colspan="9" style="background:#f00; color:#fff;"| Non-conference regular season|-! colspan="9" style="background:#f00; color:#fff;"| Big Sky regular season|-! colspan="9" style="background:#f00; color:#fff;"| Big Sky tournament

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SUU Coach Robinson Relieved of Head Coaching Duties - Southern Utah Thunderbirds Athletics . www.suutbirds.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311012849/http://www.suutbirds.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=95898&SPID=11728&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210786791&DB_OEM_ID=20100 . 2016-03-11.
  2. News: Southern Utah University fires basketball coach Nick Robinson. USA TODAY. en. 2017-01-27.
  3. News: Southern Utah hires UNLV interim coach Todd Simon. 2016-03-22. LasVegasSun.com. 2017-01-27.
  4. Web site: Mike Needham . Men's Basketball – Schedule/Results – Southern Utah Thunderbirds Athletics . Suutbirds.com . 2015-09-26.