2024–25 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

2024–25 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	15–6 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Steve Smiley (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Dorian Green Houston Reed Brett Cloepfil Colin Gause Dondrale Campbell
Home arena	Bank of Colorado Arena

2024–25 Big Sky men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Colorado	7	–	1		.875			15	–	6		.714
Montana	6	–	2		.750			13	–	8		.619
Portland State	5	–	2		.714			13	–	7		.650
Northern Arizona	4	–	4		.500			13	–	8		.619
Idaho	4	–	4		.500			9	–	12		.429
Idaho State	3	–	4		.429			8	–	10		.444
Montana State	3	–	5		.375			8	–	13		.381
Weber State	2	–	5		.286			8	–	13		.381
Sacramento State	2	–	5		.286			6	–	14		.300
Eastern Washington	2	–	6		.250			6	–	15		.286
† 2025 Big Sky tournament winner As of January 25, 2025

The 2024–25 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represents the University of Northern Colorado during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by fifth-year head coach Steve Smiley, play their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference.

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2023–24 season 19–14, 12–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for second place.[1] They were upset by #8 seed Idaho State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament.[2] They received an invitation to the CBI, receiving the #8 seed,[3] where they would be defeated by Cleveland State in the first round.[4]

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Saint Thomas	0	F	6'7"	200	Junior	Omaha, Nebraska	Transferred to USC
Mekhi Cameron	1	G	6'4"	195	Junior	Atlanta, Georgia	Transferred to Tennessee Tech
Dejour Reaves	2	G	6'0"	170	Freshman	Syracuse, New York	Transferred to Iona
Connor Creech	12	G	6'6"	200	Junior	Hastings, Nebraska	Graduated
Juju Ramirez	15	F	6'9"	220	Sophomore	Lawrence, Kansas	Transferred to Saint Anselm
Riley Abercrombie	22	F	6'9"	220	Graduate Student	Wollongong, Australia	Graduated
Jalen Page	25	G	6'5"	215	Junior	Boulder, Colorado	Transferred to Regis
Theo Hughes	32	C	7'0"	260	Senior	Brentwood, England	Graduated

[5]

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Taeshaud Jackson	2	G	6'6"	215	Junior	Denver, Colorado	Virginia Military
Quinn Denker	5	G	6'3"	190	Senior	San Jose, California	Idaho
William Humer	21	F	6'10"	235	Junior	Sollentuna, Sweden	San Jose State
Isaiah Hawthorne	23	F	6'8"	---	Graduate Student	Tracy, California	San Francisco
Luca Colceag	32	F	6'9"	200	Junior	Bucharest, Romania	Eastern Florida State College

Recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Hunter Caldwell C	Parker, Colorado	Lutheran High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Mar 29, 2024
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Viktor Lukic-Gavric G	Stockholm, Sweden	Get Better Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A	Apr 18, 2024
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Walker Asp F	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Palmer High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	May 5, 2024
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Ariik Mawien G	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Link Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	May 17, 2024
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2024–25 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Walker Asp 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Palmer High School Colorado Springs, Colorado G 2 Taeshaud Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr VMI Denver, Colorado G 3 Ariik Mawien 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Link Year Prep Sioux Falls, South Dakota C 4 Hunter Caldwell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Lutheran High School Parker, Colorado G 5 Quinn Denker 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Idaho San Jose, California G 6 Langston Reynolds 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Colorado Prep Denver, Colorado G 8 Viktor Lukic-Gavric 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr Get Better Academy Stockholm, Sweden G 9 Jaron Rillie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Samford Sydney, Australia G 10 Radek Homer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Mountain Vista High School Highlands Ranch, Colorado G 11 Zach Bloch 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Colorado Prep Lawrence, Kansas F 14 Brock Wisne 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Colorado Prep Thornton, Colorado F 21 William Humer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr San Jose State Sollentuna, Sweden F 23 Isaiah Hawthorne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS San Francisco Tracy, California F 32 Luca Colceag 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Eastern Florida State College Bucharest, Romania C 33 Egan Shields 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Colorado Prep Ashland, Oregon G 42 Marcell McCreary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Jr Air Force Fort Worth, Texas	Head coach Steve Smiley (Northern State) Assistant coach(es) Dorian Green (Colorado State) Houston Reed (Northern State) Brett Cloepfil (CSU Pueblo) Colin Gause (Northern Colorado) Dondrale Campbell (Greenville) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 15, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		Colorado College	W 75–55	1–0	21 – Reynolds	10 – Rillie	5 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,120) Greeley, CO
November 8, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Colorado	L 88–90 ^2OT	1–1	19 – Hawthorne	8 – Rillie	7 – Rillie	CU Events Center (6,152) Boulder, CO
November 12, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Colorado Christian	W 113–56	2–1	24 – Hawthorne	7 – McCreary	6 – Reynolds	Bank of Colorado Arena (995) Greeley, CO
November 14, 2024* 8:00 pm, SLN		vs. South Dakota State	W 78–69	3–1	21 – Hawthorne	8 – Rillie	5 – Rillie	Summit Arena (4,887) Rapid City, SD
November 18, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Washington State	L 69–83	3–2	16 – Reynolds	10 – Hawthorne	4 – Rillie	Beasley Coliseum (3,066) Pullman, WA
November 20, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at California Baptist	W 79–68	4–2	18 – Reynolds	12 – Hawthorne	8 – Rillie	Fowler Events Center (2,737) Riverside, CA
November 23, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Prairie View A&M	W 114–98	5–2	31 – Reynolds	7 – Rillie	7 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,102) Greeley, CO
November 26, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern New Mexico	W 92–50	6–2	27 – Hawthorne	5 – Wisne	5 – Reynolds	Bank of Colorado Arena (901) Greeley, CO
November 29, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas Tech	L 64–89	6–3	16 – Denker	4 – Tied	4 – Reynolds	United Supermarkets Arena (13,274) Lubbock, TX
December 4, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		St. Thomas Big Sky-Summit Challenge	L 75–87	6–4	20 – Hawthorne	8 – Reynolds	4 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,020) Greeley, CO
December 7, 2024* 6:00 pm		at North Dakota State Big Sky-Summit Challenge	L 70–82	6–5	19 – Hawthorne	10 – Hawthorne	3 – Denker	Scheels Center (1,242) Fargo, ND
December 16, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Air Force	W 81–76	7–5	23 – Reynolds	11 – Reynolds	7 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,183) Greeley, CO
December 21, 2024* 1:00 pm, Altitude/MidcoS		at Denver	W 82–75	8–5	22 – Wisne	5 – Tied	5 – Tied	Hamilton Gymnasium (1,148) Denver, CO
Big Sky regular season
January 2, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Weber State	W 89–72	9–5 (1–0)	17 – Hawthorne	7 – Reynolds	5 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,006) Greeley, CO
January 4, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Idaho State	W 93–92 ^OT	10–5 (2–0)	27 – Reynolds	7 – Rillie	8 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,055) Greeley, CO
January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Montana State	W 83–82	11–5 (3–0)	21 – McCreary	9 – Hawthorne	7 – Rillie	Worthington Arena (2,367) Bozeman, MT
January 11, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Montana	W 81–57	12–5 (4–0)	19 – Wisne	15 – Reynolds	7 – Rillie	Dahlberg Arena (3,184) Missoula, MT
January 16, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Portland State	W 72–69	13–5 (5–0)	23 – Hawthorne	7 – Hawthorne	4 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,208) Greeley, CO
January 18, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Sacramento State	W 68–64	14–5 (6–0)	17 – Hawthorne	7 – Reynolds	3 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,521) Greeley, CO
January 23, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Idaho	L 76–77	14–6 (6–1)	22 – Reynolds	7 – Wisne	3 – Tied	ICCU Arena (1,716) Moscow, ID
January 25, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Washington	W 67–62	15–6 (7–1)	32 – Hawthorne	7 – Hawthorne	4 – Reynolds	Reese Court (1,600) Cheney, WA
February 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Arizona						Bank of Colorado Arena  Greeley, CO
February 3, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Idaho State						Reed Gym  Pocatello, ID
February 6, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Montana						Bank of Colorado Arena  Greeley, CO
February 8, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Montana State						Bank of Colorado Arena  Greeley, CO
February 13, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Sacramento State						Hornets Nest  Sacramento, CA
February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Portland State						Viking Pavilion  Portland, OR
February 20, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Washington						Bank of Colorado Arena  Greeley, CO
February 22, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Idaho						Bank of Colorado Arena  Greeley, CO
March 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Arizona						Findlay Toyota Court  Flagstaff, AZ
March 3, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Weber State						Dee Events Center  Ogden, UT
Big Sky tournament
March 8–12, 2025  ESPN+		vs.						Idaho Central Arena  Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain.

Sources:[6][7]

References

1. "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
2. "Idaho State still dancing after upsetting No. 2 Northern Colorado at Big Sky Tournament". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
3. "Teams". College Basketball Invitational. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
4. "Enaruna hits jumper at the buzzer to lead Cleveland State over Northern Colorado, 51-49, in CBI". The News-Herald. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
5. "2024-25 Men's Basketball Roster". uncbears.com. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
6. "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
7. "Northern Colorado Bears 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 15, 2024.