Does what happened in Canada stay in Canada? Lessons learned

The Runnin' Rebels benefited by playing their once-every-four-year tour abroad - but it was without 3 key pieces, 2 of which we know know will suit up during the 2012-13 season. Those two, Khem Birch and Anthony Bennett also figure to be collecting major minutes if not starting. So, the trip was a good bonding experience, a good way to assess how far the team needs to go, and a good chance to see the new-comers. Can anything really be gleaned from the north-of-the-border trip, or should it all be discarded as merely practice?

Ready now: Savon Goodman and Katin Reinhardt are ready for prime time

These two true freshman, one from Philadelphia and the other from California, are ready to play staring roles in Las Vegas. Yes, there were inferior teams on the courts in Canada - but these players shined, where as some others did not. Based upon first impressions only, Goodman should back up Bennett or Moser, and Reinhardt should share minutes with Marshall and Hawkins, or Dejean-Jones.

System different? Where did the assists go?

UNLV was a force to be reckoned with last season, in large part because of the high number of assists regularly tallied. Naturally, trying to speed the tempo and play Runnin' Rebels basketball means quick outlet passes post-rebound, and not a lot of taking the ball and working 1-on-1 with the defense. Surprisingly, this statistic stood out - 43 total assists during the trip, the opponents notched 41. As a matter of comparison, remember that romp we had at home last season against the University of Central Arkansas? The Runnin' Rebels had 40 assists in that game alone. Link In fact, in the 35 games played last season the Rebels averaged 17.6 assists per game. In the Canada trip, the Rebels averaged slightly more than 10. Not really running, at least not yet. Again, this is really preliminary stuff and speculation, but I really hope to see games where we are back to nearly 20 assists per game, if not more.

Don't be alarmed about Mike Moser

So Moser was a freak of nature for at least one half of the season in 2011-12, and then above average to finish it out. In Canada, he finished tied for 4th leading scorer, tied for 4th in rebounds, and his turnovers we off the charts. Anyone who has watched Mike Moser would be disappointed, hell I'm sure Mike Moser is disappointed - but it will come together. All of the above stats can be explained because the point of the trip in large part was to incorporate and get newer players playing time. The only stat that causes a person to scratch their head is the turnovers.. hopefully that stays in Canada.

Who should redshirt?

Well, we already know Khem Birch is stuck with a fall redshirt, and have recently learned that Roscoe Smith will be out all year. Who should burn a year now and then make the most of next season and beyond? The easy choices are DaQuan Cook and Demetris Morant. While the Rebs aren't loaded with depth at the PG position, DaQuan could really benefit by sitting this year out and filling in for Anthony Marshall when he graduates after this season. If not, I'm afraid he'll be lucky to get Reggie Smith type of minutes -- which isn't particularly useful or confidence building. Demetris Morant is stuck at a loaded position, and he could benefit tremendously by being an understudy to the bigs we currently have. When that log jam recedes, he can join Roscoe Smith on the court next year and make big things happen.

The fans are back and more dedicated

This season has everything going for it to be a special one, and people want to buy into that. Season ticket sales are off the charts, and the Runnin' Rebels are going to run again if Coach Rice has his way. The way I know that basketball will be more on the front burner of most Las Vegan's minds this fall and spring, is in traffic. In the build up to the Canada trip, as well as throughout the trip Rebel Reign had quite a lot of visitors -- comparative type traffic as a regular season game would bring last year. Also, got quite a few emails from loyal fans throughout the exhibition games. Its always a good time to be a Rebel fan, just tune in, show up, and digest the wins.

Two down eh? Runnin' Rebels strong in beginning of Canada tour

With a pair of weekend games out of  the way, the Runnin' Rebels Canada tour is halfway over, and two more games remain. The first two games gave Coach Rice a way to test his team in an opponent's gym and with a raucous crowd. The first game, against Canada's best team, was close. The second, not so close. As a UNLV fan you have to be optimistic about this team and how good they can be when they've played together a bit more - and have added both Canadian bigs. Here's what we know so far.

Accounts of the games:

There's no point in me recapping the games for you, that's already been done well in several places. 

UNLV Athletics Recap of Game 1 vs. Carleton

LVRJ Recap of Game 1 vs. Carleton

LV Sun Recap of Game 1 vs. Carleton
Entire Game 1 Video

UNLV Athletics Recap of Game 2 vs. Ottawa

LVRJ Recap of Game 2 vs. Ottawa

LV Sun Recap of Game 2 vs. Ottawa

Entire game 2 video

What I would like to do is point out a few things that I think are important, or have not been fully pointed out elsewhere. I, as everyone should, take into full account that these are very premature preseason games and what can be gleaned from them must be taken with several grains of salt. 

• In the first non-scrimmage action for the Runnin' Rebels, they proved that they could tough out a win against a team that was hot from behind the line. They did so having traveled as far as they might at any part of the season, and facing a whole host of difficulties (late flight, late night fire alarm). 

• Its nice to see the Rebels finish out the game and grit out the win by-any-means-necessary, in contrast to how the season ended last year. That said, the 2011-12 season began in a similar fashion as can be seen in these exhibition games - different people stepping up on a given night and giving the other team headaches. 

• Everyone should be excited that the new additions of Brice Dejean-Jones and Katin Reinhardt have tempered the losses of Oscar Bellfield and Chace Stanback. Although the two newcomers - sophomore and freshman respectively are "new" to the Rebels, its an amazing feat to be able to step into the gap filled by such capable seniors as the ones we lost. 

• The leaned down Quintrell Thomas has a very good and smooth look about his game. I'm expecting at least early success from him in a similar way that Brice Massamba had a breakout senior season (ironic that both lost a ton of weight before their senior seasons?)

• Not the three point jacking team of years past - from the Lon Kruger days into Coach Rice's first season, the Runnin' Rebels jacked up a substantial amount of three pointers which when they went in got us past the likes of the Tarheels, but when they didn't made us look like a tired/lazy team who was afraid to drive to the hole. What's interesting in these two games is that UNLV attempted 126 field goals, with a make percentage of 48%. Of those 126 field goals, only 34 were 3 point attempts. On threes, the Rebels were 44%. So, 27% of shots are threes, and the Rebels are shooting a high percentage regardless of shot. Now, this means although the Rebels are making a substantial portion of the three point shots - they may be doing so because they are being more selective about it. i.e. haphazardly jacking up threes tends to lower the percentage. Bravo, this is a commendable change. 

• We're dominating our opponents in these categories: points per game, field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, free throw attempts, rebounds, steals, and blocks. Care to be greedy and want it all? It may suprise some because of the brand of basketball the Rebels have played that in the two exhibiton games the opponents have a slight edge in assists, as well as turnover ratio and actual turnovers. Nobody said you had to dominate all categories to win a game, but the opponent out assisting the Rebels is a bit of a change. 

• New guys setting the tone: In the first two games we've seen three new players dominate in scoring - Katin Reinhardt in the first game, and then in the second Brice Dejean-Jones and Savon Goodman. All new players, two of them freshman!

• Sloppy play - only Katin Reinhardt and Demetris Morant have more assists than turnovers. We get it, its way before the season and the guys haven't played together before. Still, was expecting slightly better from Dejean-Jones, Moser, and Marshall. 

• Most not in foul trouble - Only Bryce Dejean-Jones has been plagued with foul trouble, racking up 8 total fouls in two games. Bryce leads all players in total points, so its not like he's a tremendous liability out there. Still - moving forward he'll need to learn how to keep his hands to himself or be on the bench more than he would like. But great job to everyone else by not being foul prone. 

• Final point - we're winning, and UNLV athletics as well as the local media are doing their best to keep the fanbase engaged and updated. Nicely done. 

Northern Exposure: UNLV Ballin' in Canada - how to watch

Update 8/19/12 9am - Link to taped video of UNLV vs. Carlton from Saturday

Basketball has officially commenced, and this year it starts with an international trip to the homeland of two UNLV players, Khem Birch and Anthony Bennett. Instead of a late Saturday update, Rebel Reign will feature observations from the game vs. Ottawa on Sunday. Here is a link which you can stream the game on your computer, Sunday at 11am Pacific Time for FREE!

UNLV Athletics has said that they will try to record video of all the games that are played in Canada, and have them available on the UNLVREBELS.COM website as soon as they can after the games, likely later those evenings. For the most updated information from  UNLV Athletics, click here.

When those videos are available, we will link you to them, and share our own observations. Its an exciting week for Runnin' Rebel basketball. Come back Sunday night for thoughts on Sunday's game.

Updated game schedule:
Saturday, Aug. 18 vs. Carleton (7 p.m. ET) – at Carleton in Ottawa
Sunday, Aug. 19 vs. Ottawa (2 p.m. ET) – at Ottawa
Monday, Aug. 20 vs. Laval (7 p.m. ET) – at McGill in Montreal
Tuesday, Aug. 21 vs. McGill (7 p.m. ET) – at McGill in Montreal

Practice at Immaculata Catholic High School in Ottawa courtesy of @UNLVSid twitter

Video below courtesy of Steve Guiremand at MyLVSports.com

Video above courtesy of UNLV Athletics

The full schedule released: preliminary thoughts

At last - the schedule has arrived

Friday, August 10th UNLV finally released the conference portion of the schedule. Now we know what lies ahead for the Runnin' Rebels all season. Here are some preliminary thoughts:

Hectic November:

Here is a breakdown of where the games fall in each month.
6 in November (includes exhibition)
8 in December
8 in January
7 in February
3, then likely 4 MWC Tournament games + NCAAs in March

Even though November is a low month when totaling games, because of the Global Sports Classic, not counting the exhibition game, we play 5 games in the span of 16 days. Besides March, games do not come in  such frequency as they do during this stretch. In our favor, guys will be fresh and all of those games will be played at home. But, there are several formidable opponents, Oregon, Cincinnati, or Iowa State - any of them could pose a challenge.

Limited road exposure:

Last season, road woes (including against inferior opponents) made for a rocky road leading into the tournament. This season, road exposure is limited with one glaring omission - UNC. The Rebels will play 13* road games (one is at the Orleans against a garbage D-III opponent) and 18 home games (not including MWC Tournament, or the exhibition game). Given that we were perfect at home last year, not including post-season play, with what on-paper was a less talented team, it should not be much of a stretch to believe that we can again remain perfect at the Thomas and Mack. Last year, the Rebels played 17 home games (not including post-season or exhibition play) and 15 road games (2 at the Orleans).

The most "dangerous" part of the schedule (again not including the UNC game) occurs between January 9, 2013 and February 6th. This is where the highest frequency of road games occurs. Five of the eight games that take place during that stretch are on the road and many of those opponents are of high caliber. If explainable losses occur, it will likely occur during that stretch.

TV coverage

Coinciding with the release of the conference schedule, partial television coverage information was also disclosed. At this point, with the demise of The Mtn, what's left is a hodgepodge of NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPN family of channels, and maybe a local channel bringing a game to air. (See previous article on this topic).

Two observations: First, is ESPN in wait and see mode? Besides the UNC game, which they're likely already contracted with to televise games, they have not yet signed on for any Rebels games. Are they waiting to see how good this team really is, even though they may end up paying more for the gambit? Just sayin, a little surprised that no ESPN pickups as of yet.  Second, no release of any TV info (for the 11th time besides the UNC game) for the non-conference schedule is a little disheartening. That schedule has been out for over a month if not longer, and UNLV should likely have lined up the previously mentioned networks to air those games. There is no logical reason in my mind as to why it wasn't also publicized right now, other than those games have less confirmed suitors than the conference schedule - which would look bad to publish. For everyone's sake - I honestly hope I'm wrong, but cannot see another reason right now... As someone who plans on attending games, like the rest of you I'm hoping we can at least lock down television broadcast for road games. Alleviating all fears, tournaments are normally broadcasted - so the Global Sports Classic in November will most likely be on TV.

Early road tests (in-conference)

What's already been mentioned by the LVRJ and LV Sun is that when we hit the road the hardest in-conference tests will come early. This is true, as San Diego State, New Mexico, and Colorado State will all be tough foes. Got to face them some time, no better time than early.

Weak road ending (implications)

The Rebels don't have much road exposure coming into the home stretch, and that could potentially be a problem. The Rebels have only 3 road games from mid-February to post-season play. So, that means (taking that same time frame into consideration and provided we get to the MWC final) 8 games at the Thomas and Mack and 3 road games coming into the NCAAs, which is a road game albeit a neutral site road game. Many will say that our road weakness last season was an early indicator of what eventually occurred against Colorado. So, not having road challenges near the end is a bit of a problem, and the natural consequence of playing our tougher conference opponents on the road early. Hopefully, this isn't a hindrance come tournament time.

Conclusion
Just really glad they have finally released the schedule. Mark your calendars and plan accordingly, its going to be a hell of a season!

Desert Reign: Impressions of UNLV’s Talent - Part II

This is part II of Jason Taylor's impressions from the Desert Reign tournament held recently. The first part, released this past Wednesday, had impressions of Anthony Marshall, Justin Hawkins, and Daquan Cook. The article continues here:

Savon Goodman dunking ally-oop from Daquan Cook

Savon Goodman - The first impression of Goodman as he stepped on to the court, is that all competitors might need to spend time running back and forth between the dorm buffet line and the weight room.  Okay, maybe that is a stretch for my “first impression”, but the assertion is entirely safe having watched him play.  Let me just say this… UNLV fans are going to LOVE this kid.  You know, like, a few years ago, how much we complained about needing toughness - guys that could scrap, scuffle and rebound by sheer physical domination?  Remember, especially before getting Moser, how a high-in-the-air rebound almost always went to SDSU, or UNM?  Remember how much we’ve complained about big guys that can’t drive from 18 to 22 feet out and just cram it down somebody’s throat, or finish on the break?  Rebel fans - have no fear, Savon Goodman is here!  That’s right, I’m sayin’ it with confidence.  We’re gonna’ Love This Guy.  Not only can the thick-bodied 6’6” 210lb forward pound, he can fly!  You saw the dunk in the video.  He was easily a good foot over the rim.  Then, “Oh, ya.  I forgot to mention, he’s got a soft touch.”  He can bull his way in, get knocked in the air, and still balance out a nice touch to put the ball in the basket.  The down side?  He needs to work on form in his jumper, and he looks to me to be a less than 60% free throw shooter.  That’s okay, though.  I’ll take all the “and-nones” he can dish out.  If you remember J.J. O’Brien, who transferred from Utah and almost came here last year but went to SDSU after Bryce Jones committed, Goodman is his ultimate replacement.  He scored around 30 points in the game I watched, almost all of them coming at the rim.  Nice!

Moving on to Katin Reinhardt - Flash, ah-ah.  Katin is the guy, who whenever he has the ball, we’ll be drawing breath, anticipating - something.  We’re not always going to get exactly what we hope for, especially as he “freshmans” out of the gates, but this kid is a showman, he loves UNLV, and we’ll love him back.  He can seriously break ankles with his cross-overs, and he has great form on his pull-up jumpers, which he’s very confident in using - maybe overly so at times???  He can drive, dunk, pass, and shoot.  Consistency and balance will be his biggest questions.  Anything can happen, but I definitely see him as a shooting guard, vs. point guard, to start off as a Rebel.  I believe he’ll be an early season contributor.

Demetris Morant - I saw Morant play last year in the Addidas 64 tournament, and then, of course, in the Desert Reign game as well.  To give background, this kid just won state in the triple jump and the high jump.  He cleared 6’10” to win.  That’s insane!  To give perspective, according to my sports-expert friend, Pete, the great Wilt Chamberlin set a record way back in the day with a 6’11” jump.  The kid is athletic!  However, he’s the “quiet kid” on the court.  He does fine, retrieving rebounds for put-back dunks, and he gets a share of blocked shots, but as I’m sure he would admit, he’s a few years away from making an impact as a Rebel.  I hope he has a great work ethic, because he has all the potential in the world if he’s driven.

Bryce Jones - When I mentally insert him into a line-up, I think, “How big and athletic can we get?”  Marshall, Jones, Moser, Bennett and Birch…  6’3”, 6’6”, 6’8”, 6’7”, and 6’9 - average vertical, atmospheric.  I predict stretches of time - say 3-minute blocks - this season that the other team simply doesn’t get a rebound!  Jones will be difficult to defend.  He has supreme confidence, and can score from anywhere.  Turn-around 15-foot jumpers, 3-pointers, finishing dunks - he has the full repertoire.  However, he may have a switch.  He’ll change some games for us, much like Chase did last year, and then, he may go absent at times.  Overall, he’s a tremendous recruiting ‘get’; he’ll bring attitude and toughness, and he’ll be contributing right away, I believe.  Stylistically, he’s more Kobe/Jordan-esque than anybody else on the team.  Whether he can perform similarly… well, that’s almost impossible.  More than anything, though, this kid is a high-level competitor. 

And finally, Khem Birch - Khem is a game changer even if he never sees the offensive end of the court.  His defense is crazy good.  He has Joel Anthony’s timing, but can probably out jump him by a good 6 inches.  Like Joel, he doesn’t need time to get off the floor - for rebounds, or blocks.  I’ll make some early predictions: Khem is ineligible to play until December, but he’ll still lead the MWC in blocked shots on the year.  How’s that for steppin’ out?  Then, rebounds - He will outrebound Mike Moser on a per game basis.  So while he may not have more total rebounds at the end of the season than Mike, I’m predicting that he’ll have more rebounds per game than anybody on the team, and conference.  He has a similar style and ability to Mike, but he rebounds from the inside out, vs. Moser, who rebounds from the outside in.  In other words, he starts his efforts near the basket.  He looks like he can guard out to the perimeter as well.  These facts, assuming they hold true, definitely make him strong NBA material in my mind.  Then, yes, he has offense.  He can grab an offensive rebound six feet on the side, and put it right back up without needing the backboard.  He’s active and talented.  He may not be the leading overall point per game scorer on the team, but he’ll definitely have games where he’ll be the leading scorer.  Like Moser, he just has too much that can’t be taken away. 

So that’s it.  This all sounds pretty exciting as I write it.  Every position is stacked.  Thomas and Lopez, I believe will still be contributors.  They’ll have their chance to play some good minutes early in the season.  The rest of the season will depend on how well they establish themselves, because it’s entirely possible that one of them will get very few minutes once Birch comes on. 

Another exciting element is the fact that the supposed “best player on the court”, Anthony Bennett, isn’t even mentioned yet.  He didn’t play in the Desert Reign tournament, and I haven’t seen him play, other than highlights.  He has been nominated by some national media to be the second most NBA eligible player in the 2012 class next to Shabazz Mohammed.  I’m hoping that Bennett will finally fill the shoes of the great Larry Johnson.  They seem to have similar builds and styles.  Fingers crossed on that one too!

Speaking of Bazz, I’m actually glad he didn’t choose UNLV.  We needed a power forward so much more than a shooting guard, or small forward.  There are those that wonder if we can manage all our talent.  I believe we have a very good chance of doing that as the team stands right now.  This, however, would have been much more difficult had Bazz come.  We would have been lighter in the frontcourt, and doubled up in the backcourt, possibly giving rise to some unhappy bench minutes for top talent.  The balance just wouldn’t have been there.

I only watched a few games, but these impressions, based on limited viewing minutes, helped push me into the T & M last week to grab season tickets.  That’s another story.  See you there, I’m sure!

Desert Reign: Impressions of UNLV’s Talent - Part I

By Jason Taylor
7-29-2012

(Part 2 will be released Saturday night)

I had a bout of RWS - Rebel Withdraw Syndrome - and  was unable to attend games recently in person, so I searched the net and found videos of several Desert Reign Pro-city League games on Rebel-Net.com.

Several Rebels joined the league this summer, and Rebel fans turned out in numbers.  The air conditioning system was broken in one game, but red clad fans completely filled the stands regardless of the near 100-degree indoor temps, and hung in to gain measure and give support to the new arrivals, and a few seniors.  That was a nice sight.  DaQuan Cook made a comment about how all these people were cheering as he and Savon Goodman walked into the gym, even though the fans had never even seen them play before.

I was able to watch games that included Anthony Marshall, Justin Hawkins, Khem Birch, Bryce Jones, Katin Reinhardt, DaQuan Cook, Demetris Morant, and Savon Goodman.

There were never more than 2 current Rebels on each team.

The competition was stout enough to gain perspective, I believe.  Although, of course, it is only a few games of loosely run scrimmages, so we obviously have to take that for what its worth in my analysis.  Several players rooted in the Las Vegas area were in attendance, including Darrington Hobson (of UNM, and NBA Bucks), Jamaal Smith (UNM grad), Billy White (SDSU grad), Pierre Jackson (Baylor), Romel Beck (UNLV grad), Marcus Lawrence (former UNLV point guard), and several overseas pro players.  

Here’s what struck me with each Rebel:

Anthony Marshall at Desert Reign

One of the strongest impressions I had was that there was one player that stood out consistently.  His strength, poise, occasional flash and explosiveness were gravitational - people knew who “that guy” was.  He positioned well, backed players down at will, played great defense, and made very few mistakes.  He even nutmegged a guy at center court.  I don’t think there would be any doubt, that if teams could be picked by the players - captain-style - that he would have been called right at the top.  Anthony Marshall was masterful.  He had over 30 points in one of the games I watched.  I’m really excited about seeing whether this level of control will carry into, and throughout the season.  Fingers crossed!


Then, add Justin Hawkins - more very solid play.  Justin seems to have hardened and strengthened his frame, and showed no hesitation what-so-ever on his shot, most of which, he made.  Drives to the basket, mid-range jumpers, and three pointers - he looked Good.  I’ve always said that he is a good three-point shooter when he steps into his shot - otherwise, not so much.  Justin seems to have progressed - he was hitting three’s against in-his-face defense, even hitting a few fall-aways.  On one telling play regarding added strength; he was below the basket and suddenly exploded straight up, slamming the rim down with a two-handed dunk.  “Hold on,” I said, hitting ‘rewind’.  “Holy mackerel.  Yep, that was Justin!”

Now, for the new guys:

The first game I watched included Savon Goodman and DaQuan Cook.  If you don’t watch anything else, watch this.  DaQuan Cook is number 6, and Savon Goodman is number 12 on the green team.

How about that, Rebel fans?

DaQuan Cook with Carmelo Anthony

So, DaQuan Cook - The game I saw with him was his first in Las Vegas.  He had just arrived in town a few days before and was just barely getting oriented.  He and Goodman came in off the bench.  The first impression as he stepped on to the court, was that this kid is going to have to spend a good bunch of his time running back and forth between the dorm buffet and the weight room.  He’s listed at something around 6’1” and 165lbs.  I’d call that fairly accurate - maybe even a touch heavy.  It’s hard to tell on video.  I am a little worried he’ll get pushed around, especially on defense.  On offense, he’s fun to watch; simply by the fact that you don’t know which way the ball is headed.  He can thread the needle, and take advantage of opposite direction breakdowns with some nice no-look passing.  Since this was his first game, he may have been a bit shy offensively.  He rarely looked to take it all the way to the hole himself, and didn’t take many jumpers, especially if he was well defended.  This made him a bit predictable at times.  If the opposing team had receivers covered, they could possibly gain a turnover because he might force a bad pass before taking it strong himself.  The jury is out on him, in my book.  He’s young, so even if he needs growth, he has plenty of time to develop into a weapon for UNLV.  Given the supporting cast, it’s very possible this kid could flourish as a true, pass-first point guard. 

For the rest of the new guys, come back Saturday!