COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL: NIC's Weems taking talents to Nevada

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

When Vaughn Weems was searching for his next stop in his basketball journey, it didn’t take long to find it.

It was almost instant.

Weems, named an NJCAA second-team All-American earlier this week after finishing second in scoring at 26.7 points per game, verbally committed to Nevada on Friday afternoon.

“It really just felt like home,” Weems said. “They welcomed me with open arms on my visit and it just instantly clicked with me that this was the place for me.”

Nevada, coached by Steve Alford, finished 17-16 this past season, losing in the Mountain West Conference Tournament against eventual champion Colorado State in the second round.

“They’re dedicated to winning,” said Weems, who did not have any Division I offers after graduating from Federal Way (Wash.) High. “Coach Alford has had multiple winning seasons and he’s been successful no matter where he goes. And I want to continue to help that.”

As a freshman, Weems played in 28 games for NIC, starting seven and averaged 14.4 points and six rebounds a game.

“I just spent a lot of time in the gym getting a lot of shots up during the summer,” the lefty shooting Weems said. “I took so many shots that everything just started to feel routine. I wasn’t second guessing myself or worried about what happened next. I felt like every time I took a shot, it was going in. I changed my mentality a lot, and if I missed, I just moved on to the next play.”

Weems credits NIC coaches Corey Symons and Fred Brown Jr. with helping him gain confidence.

“They really built me up a lot,” Weems said. “Corey told me after my freshman year that they were bringing me back to be the guy, and held me in high regard, both on and off the court.”

“He really just grew as a player,” Symons said. “He worked on shooting and you take that with having a nose for the ball, it just made him more of a threat when he’s shooting the ball as well.”

Nevada went 26-8 in the 2022-23 season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where the Wolfpack lost to Dayton 63-60 in an opening round game in Salt Lake City. Alford, who has 622 career wins as coach, has led his team to the NCAA Tournament in 13 different seasons in his time at Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and Nevada.

“I know Nevada is getting a player that is just trying to help them be as successful as they can,” Weems said. “We want to win the Mountain West Tournament and go to the NCAAs.”

Nevada, who recruited Weems as a shooting guard, averaged 72.3 points per game this past season.

“It’s a really good fit for him,” Symons said. “The style they play, they’ll be able to take advantage of him being able to score in the open court.”

Weems had narrowed his top four schools to New Mexico State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Ball State, but added that Nevada was his first and only visit.

“It just felt like home there,” Weems said. “I could really just see myself there.”

“We told him that if you like it, you don’t want to let it get away,” Symons said. “He’s committed and ready to go. Nevada has a great coaching staff with a lot of experience of being able to help guys reach their goals of getting to the next level.”