Paul Vernon / Associated Press
Morehead State guard DeVon Cooper, right, works against Ohio State forward Kyle Young during an NCAA college basketball game Dec. 2, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio.
Thursday, March 18, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Southern Nevada may not have a team playing in the NCAA Tournament, but it does have players in it. Here is a list of area high school players to track as their teams navigate the Big Dance.
March Madness 2021
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• Reggie Chaney: (Houston, junior) Chaney provides frontcourt depth off the bench for one of the nation’s best teams. He played at Arkansas for two seasons after coming out of Findlay Prep in Henderson before he transferred to Houston this year.
• DeVon Cooper (Morehead State, junior): The guard has gone from Findlay Prep role player to Morehead State star, earning second-team all-conference honors in the Ohio Valley after averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game this season.
• Isaiah Cottrell (West Virginia, freshman): The former Bishop Gorman big man won’t be playing for the Mountaineers in the tournament after going down with an injury midseason, but he was a key contributor before. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins says his absence “really hurts us.”
• Kyler Edwards (Texas Tech, junior): Edwards refined his game by playing his senior high school season at Findlay Prep, and he’s continued to get progressively better, averaging 10 points per game this season.
• Tadas Kararinas (Drexel, senior): The big man moved from Lithuania to Henderson to play for Findlay Prep and now provides depth for a Dragons’ team set to take on Illinois, one of the tournament favorites, in the first round.
• Nathan Mensah (San Diego State, junior): The former Findlay Prep center has elevated to a starting role with the Mountain West Conference champions.
• Julian Strawther (Gonzaga, freshman): In his first season in Spokane, Washington, Liberty High’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder is contributing off the bench with the tournament favorites.
• Connor Vanover (Arkansas, sophomore): The 7-foot-3 Vanover patrolled the paint and gobbled up rebounds for Findlay Prep before playing a similar role at Arkansas.
• Mwani Wilkinson (LSU, freshman): A late bloomer who starred in Bishop Gorman’s most recent state championship run, Wilkinson serves as the Tigers’ sixth man in his first season in Baton Rogue, Louisiana.
Women's tournament
• Rae Burrell (Tennessee, junior): The Liberty High product averaged 17 points per game during the regular season and made the All-SEC second team as a star for one of the most storied programs in women’s college hoops.
• Dre’una Edwards: (Kentucky, sophomore): Another former Liberty High forward, Edwards won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award at Utah two seasons ago before transferring to Kentucky and becoming a starter for one of the SEC’s top teams.
• Sam Thomas (Arizona, senior): A three-year captain at Arizona, the onetime Centennial High great has helped turn the Wildcats from perennial doormats to championship contenders as they make their first tournament appearance in 16 years.
This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
