Seagears Reflects As Collegiate Career Comes To A Close
By Korey Blucas, UNLV Athletics Communications

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Jerome Seagears is one of two seniors seeing significant playing time on the 2015-16 UNLV men's basketball team. He has had a unique experience during his collegiate career in that he attended two different schools before coming to Las Vegas to play his final season of eligibility at UNLV.

The Maryland native chose to attend Rutgers out of high school. Seagears attended Rutgers for two years before deciding to transfer to Auburn, where current UNLV associate head coach Ryan Miller was an assistant at the time. After a month, Seagears decided to return to Rutgers. When his junior season ended, he decided to leave Rutgers again in hopes for a new environment and fresh start. UNLV was the place for him to finish his collegiate career.

"I really wanted to be a Runnin' Rebel," said Seagears. "I watched clips of the great UNLV teams of the 90s growing up, and that helped inspire me to come here."

Seagears had to sit out a season before being eligible to play because of NCAA transfer rules. So in 2014-15, he used the year away from playing in games to sit back, observe and improve his game. "It was tough to sit out a year from playing basketball, but I think it was worth it," said Seagears. "I think I improved my game. It was an opportunity for me to see the game from a different point of view. With that different perspective, I grew as a player."

Having faced a variety of experiences â€" both positive and also tough â€" the last five years, Seagears looks back on it all with pride. He's learned life lessons along the way and also has had a chance to experience living in different parts of the country.

"Attending three different schools is something I can say I experienced during my collegiate career," said Seagears. "I've gone to schools in the east, south and now west. I've definitely enjoyed my time in Las Vegas. Everything hasn't gotten exactly according to plan, but that's just how life is sometimes." Seagears has started every game played so far this season for UNLV at the point guard position. He has been one of the primary ball handlers that have pushed the ball aggressively in the up-tempo style deployed by the Runnin' Rebels. He is a big reason why the team is averaging over 77 points per contest this season, which is the most by a UNLV squad since 2001-02 (78.3).

Through the first 12 Mountain West games, Seagears ranks among the best in the conference at taking care of the ball. He averages 3.9 assists per game, sixth-best in the conference, and leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1). After an uncharacteristic five turnovers against Fresno State on December 30 in the league opener, he has racked up 36 assists and only 12 turnovers for a 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"The style of play here is much different than that what how we were playing at Rutgers," said Seagears. "There we pushed the ball some, but not nearly as much as we do here at UNLV. We run on both misses and makes, that's one of the biggest differences."

As part of the Runnin' Rebels fast-paced style on offense, Seagears has had to share the ball handling duties with fellow starting guard Patrick McCaw and the rest of a team where almost anyone can lead the break after a defensive stop.

"My whole career I've been a point guard, but whatever is best for the team," said Seagears. "I don't mind sharing the ball handling duties at all."

With his last season as a college player and only season on the floor as a Runnin' Rebel approaching an end, Seagears has the mantra of taking things one game at a time. He still strives to help his team reach the NCAA Tournament. One thing is for sure as he reflects on his career and time spent in Las Vegas - he will never forget the experience playing in front of the Runnin' Rebels' fans at Thomas and Mack Center.

"It's definitely been exciting playing in the Thomas and Mack Center," said Seagears. "We have a lot of fans that are passionate and care a lot. They show a lot of support, and it's always amazing to play in that type of environment."