Jelan Kendrick commits, and Scarlet and Gray is on Thursday

Breaking news today, former McDonalds All-American Jelan Kendrick has officially committed to be a UNLV Runnin' Rebel. Highlights and links to other story's will follow, but a little background first.

When Kendrick joins our UNLV squad, it will be next season (2013-14) with newcomers Christian Wood and Dantley Walker. Kendrick, originally from Wheeler High School in Georgia was named to the 2010 McDonalds All-American team, as well as the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic. His roster mates included familiar names such as Cory Joseph and Tristian Thompson (of Findlay Prep), Fab Melo (who landed at Syracuse), Harrison Barnes (UNC), Perry Jones III (Baylor) Kyrie Irving (Duke) Kendall Marshall (UNC) Josh Selby (Kansas) and Jared Sullinger (Ohio State). As a connection to a current UNLV Runnin' Rebel, he was teammates with Roscoe Smith on the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic team.

Kendrick is a 6'7" forward who has been known to rock the rim. It's hard to judge where his skill set is right now given that he has effectively removed himself from basketball for the past two years for numerous reasons: multiple problems during his limited tenure at both Memphis, and then Ole Miss. Judging Kendrick purely on where he was coming out of high school, he was one of the best 2010 prospects.

Concerning eligibility and where he'll be in the short-term, it appears that Kendrick will honor a commitment to play for Indian Hills Community College in Iowa this season, then immediately be eligible next season for the Runnin' Rebels.

The overall consensus is that UNLV and its new coaching staff are doing more than going back to the Runnin' ways of the past. They are now recruiting at a high level, and from a page from Tarkanian's book, giving troubled players another chance to prove and better themselves, while UNLV benefits. The irony of of rehabilitating troubled players is that it happens in Sin City :). Getting Kendrick is smart because he certainly has the talent, says he's matured (time will tell) and a replacement will be needed to fill the void created when Mike Moser is gone. Now, the roster has several capable guys who can step into that role and compete for those minutes.

Here are the videos of highlights of Jenan Kendrick, hopefully we'll see this much and more in the 2013-14 season.

Before you salivate -- please remember to attend the Scarlet and Gray scrimmage at the Thomas and Mack on Thursday, October 18. Its free, so financially its a better value than the dollar menu at your favorite fast food restaurant. See this post for all the details.

CBS Sports
Rant Sports
LV Sun

Welcome home, Roscoe Smith

Update - 5/27/12 7:00am - All current and future rosters have been updated 

Well, Las Vegas is about to become Mr. Smith's home for the next few years -- so why not welcome him!(obvious play on a popular movie title). Runnin' Rebels fans will get to see Roscoe Smith at the fan preview, but it is yet undetermined as to whether he plays on the 2012-13 roster. Here are the scenarios:

1) Roscoe Smith is not granted a waiver by the NCAA to play immediately, forcing him to redshirt like any other player transferring teams. If you were unaware, UCONN was hit with sanctions (for failure to meet academic goals) banning the team from conference or NCAA tournament play. It has also cost UCONN an appearance in this coming years Carrier Classic, previously hosted in San Diego and starring UNC and Michigan St. Many of Smith's UCONN teammates have transferred or declared for the NBA draft - given the futility of playing for UCONN this season, its hard to argue against it. The gist - forced redshirt, we welcome him to the court on the 2013-14 squad when Mike Moser and possibly Anthony Bennett have gone on to the NBA.

2) Roscoe Smith is granted a waiver by the NCAA. He becomes eligible to play this year for the Rebels, adding even more depth at the small forward spot behind Anthony Bennett.

3) Roscoe Smith is granted a waiver by the NCAA, yet decides to redshirt to improve his offensive game and wait until there is more room at the small forward position to get a lot of minutes.

Regardless of scenario, the prevailing logic right now is that several people will redshirt this coming season, most likely would be Demertris Morant, then Roscoe Smith (voluntarily or not), and possibly Daquan Cook (less likely with the leaving of Reggie Smith).

But putting all of this aside, who is Roscoe Smith and what can the Rebels expect? I've scoured the Internet to find that answer.

Coach Rice was quoted as saying of Smith “He is a terrific player, a proven winner and has a tremendous work ethic. He is a versatile wing that can play and guard multiple positions.”

All true. Here's what the UCONN media and fans say about Roscoe Smith on those points:

Hardcore UCONN Blogger David Gillett profiled Roscoe Smith after his freshman (championship) year, and had this to say:

Looking Back: Roscoe Smith had a rough freshman campaign. He struggled with consistency on the offensive end and saw his playing time fluctuate. His jumpers were all over the rim and he lacked a way to put the ball on the floor to create a shot. He turned into a defensive and rebounding specialist and did the dirty work that the team needed from him to ultimately win the championship. Unfortunately he will be most remembered for his flub at the end of regulation against Texas where he tossed a half court shot with eleven seconds remaining on the clock.
The Good: He plays hard on the defensive end and was tasked with covering the opponents most offensively talented players. He has great length and athleticism. His shot isn’t horrible, he just needs confidence in it. If he can find ways to get to the line and see the ball drop in the basket a few times, it would help his shot drastically. He is a tough nosed player and doesn’t mind banging bodies inside and is the type of player Jim Calhoun loves.
The Bad: He has no go-to-move and needs to work on getting points in the paint. He settled for quick jumpers and that isn’t his game right now. He needs to develop a post game and a way to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. He also needs to do a better job of blocking out. He had a hard time adjusting to college and tried to use his athleticism to get rebounds instead of putting a body on his man.
Looking Ahead: With a whole year under his belt and a taste of success, Roscoe should take the next step in his development and contribute more on the offensive end. If he can flirt with ten points and ten boards a game, then he will warrant a major role because of his outstanding defensive ability. The wing position takes the most time to develop and Roscoe has all the tools to be successful, fans just need to be patient. Link

Connecticut Post writer/blogger for UCONN Kevin Duffy wrote of Smith's leaving for UNLV

Sources indicate that Smith transferred because he wanted to play on the perimeter. Though he would have been guaranteed a starting spot and quality minutes at UConn, he would have primarily played power forward. 

Smith, a starter in 33 of 41 games during UConn’s run to the 2011 national title, struggled to crack the rotation on a regular basis this past year. He averaged just 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game. He did, however, thrive in a critical five-game stretch that helped UConn clinch its NCAA berth. Link

And then we have the UCONN fans. The author of this particular post (champs99and04) seems well versed in UCONN basketball (1255 posts) and expressed this sentiment on the loss of Roscoe Smith:

I too, thought Roscoe should have stuck it out at UConn because I think that would have been best for his career. But I think calling him a "glue guy" is selling him short. No, he wasn't a star, but basketball is a team sport, and without the hard nosed role players like Smith and Oriakhi, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb wouldn't have gotten the chance to do their thing. Forget winning a national championship, because I'm not even sure the 2010-11 Huskies make the tournament without Roscoe. They were thin up front, Roscoe came in under the assumption that he was going to play the three, but yet he played the four nearly the entire season. Over his two years he was as selfless a player as anybody could have hoped for, which is why it surprised me that he decided to leave.  

The bottom line is that although Roscoe and Oriakhi won't be held in the same regard as guys like Adrien, Khalid, etc., they still contributed massively to this program during their stints here, never got into trouble off the court, and kept their grades up. I have a lot of respect for Roscoe and Oriakhi, even if I disagree with their decisions to leave. Link

Speaking to the decision to leave and nicely summarizing Roscoe Smith's career, Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant wrote this:

Smith, a sophomore from Baltimore, started 33 games as a freshman in 2010-11, averaged 25.4 minutes, 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. In the NCAA final against Butler, Smith blocked four shots. This past season, Smith started 18 games and averaged 18.2 minutes. He began playing a bigger role in late February, when the Huskies (20-14) began playing better as a team. 

Calhoun would not comment on his discussions with Smith. A team source, requesting anonymity, said Smith's decision stemmed from his desire to play small forward rather than power forward. With Oriakhi, who has since committed to Missouri, gone, and small forward types Omar Calhoun and R.J. Evans coming in, Smith was most likely to play power forward. Smith, unless he can obtain some sort of waiver from the NCAA, will have to sit out a year before resuming at a new school. Link

This is Smith's statline:

Season gp gs min         minavg tp ptsavg fgm fga fgpct  fg3pct

2010-11 41 33 1040 25.4        258 6.3           87 227 .383 .301

2011-12 33 14 602     18.2        146 4.4           53 125 .424 .241

TOTAL 74 47 1642 22.2        404 5.5          140 352 .398 .286

Season ftm fta ftpct oreb   dreb treb rebavg a to blk     stl

2010-11 59 75 .787 78 135 213   5.20         19 36 51        21

2011-12 33 51 .647 39 73 112 3.39          7   28 19            7

TOTAL 92 126 .730 117 208 325 4.39        26 64 70         28

Conclusion: 

Coach Rice's words are accurate. Roscoe Smith is a champion. He's a valuable player who is a tough defender who is often tasked to defend the opposing teams best player, and can defend from the 2 spot to the 5. His offensive game needs a bit of work, and shot is inconsistent. He does a lot of invaluable things other than defend, he brings intensity and heart, and does things that don't show up in statlines. My theory besides other obvious factors (style of play, friends on the team, region, etc), is UNLV has become a treasured spot for forwards because they will have the opportunity to work 1-on-1 with Stacey Augmon, who was a hell of a player and was the former player development coach to the Denver Nuggets. The Runnin' Rebels have scored a major coup by recruiting Roscoe Smith, and he will provide some continuity when we do lose early Mike Moser and Anthony Bennett, and quite possibility Khem Birch. 

The addition of rosters, Preliminary observations about rosters, Update of Nevada HS records, Excellent video

Update Sunday noon - Added Christian Wood to 2013-14, Changed Bryce Jones' status (wrongly added a year to his eligibility)


This week’s update is more about changes to the website. This year's 'schedule' page has been fully updated and cleaned up, and all four interviews have archived links in the 'interviews' page. As far as the new pages, you’ll notice right above this there are now pages for the current year roster, as well as predicted rosters for 2012-13, and 2013-14. This is a way to keep track of who will be graduating, and the commitments the Rebels have been making for seasons beyond the current. I’ve found it gets tiring keeping all of the new recruits in your head, hence the ease of roster pages! 

The rosters are set up with hyperlinks to either the UNLV basketball website bio for each player, or in the case of a recruit, a link to information about that player.

Now that I’ve put in the work building the rosters, its time to make some preliminary observations.

#1 – If we don't sign a big-man in the 2012-13 class, we get smaller. UNLV loses interior size after this year with 6’10” Brice Massamba leaving due to graduation. Up to this point, UNLV hasn’t had any big men give verbal commitments for the entering class of 2012-13. Its been reported that the two big-man targets that UNLV has set its sights on are Matt Willms (6’10”)  and Robert Upshaw (6’11”). LV Sun  

It will be especially important to land a commitment from at least one true center to give Carlos Lopez some relief in the new running system. He can’t play the full 40 minutes (nobody can), and we don’t want to be without a true-center on the court for very long – teams with size could take advantage in the paint. 

A new big-man recruit who has a year with Thomas and two years with Lopez will learn a lot and improve his skill set, so the sooner the better. Besides the size issue, we’ll lose Oscar Bellfield and Chace Stanback, who are major pieces of the puzzle as well.

#2 – We lose three key pieces after 2012-13. The pieces are Anthony Marshall, Justin Hawkins, and Quintrell Thomas. Three key guys that will likely account for a decent chunk of the offense this and next season. Remember how happy everyone was that despite the coaching change UNLV only lost two primary players (Willis and Jasper)? This is likely to hurt a little more.

#3 – Major turnover after the 2013-14 season. UNLV will graduate 4 seniors after the season: Carlos Lopez, Karam Mashour, Mike Mosher, and Reggie Smith. All of the upcoming three seasons look highly promising, but anyone would have to concede it will be a little harder losing four players all-at-once.

This new ‘rosters’ feature  will continue to be updated, added to, and enhanced as news and information comes in. Any new commitments will be added as well so you can see what our rosters will look like in the future. Enjoy, and as always, if you have any suggestions please let me know or discuss in the forums.

Update on Nevada High School record books

The Nevada State High School Boys Basketball record books have been updated, and UNLV recruit Dantley Walker appears 27 times in the lists, topping many important categories. I'll not spoil the fun of which ones, please click the link, do a 'control-f' (find), and type Dantley Walker. 

NVHS Records

Watch this video – its fantastic!!

Christian Wood - Orally commits to UNLV

Christian Wood orally commits to the UNLV 2013-14 class

(Video fixed 10:30a.m.)

Points of emphasis about his recruitment

• Appreciates the reputation and tradition at UNLV
• Believes UNLV is young and on the rise
•  Looked at the Rebels due to AAU coach’s relationship with Stacey Augmon
• Says looks forward to having Augmon as a mentor, aspires to be similar type of swingman player, appreciates him having helped develop Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith
• Appreciates that Augmon was a NBA player, what he brings to the table
• Wanted to pick a school close to home (Palmdale, CA)
• May attend Finlay Prep this coming season
• Major point (hidden in plain sight): Looks at the UNLV coaching staff and sees the former coaches of both Jimmer Fredette and Kawai Leonard, both NBA lottery picks

Profile

Christian Wood is 6’8”, entering his junior year, and plays power forward currently at William J. Knight High School in Palmdale, CA. As exhibited in his game footage he has an excellent 3-point-shot and dunks with regularity and authority. He has been described as extremely athletic for his size, and has been compared with Kevin Durant for body type. Overall, he has been described as a cross between Austin Daye and Tracy McGrady. By his own admission, he needs to build strength so he can rebound and fight for loose balls. Missed all but three games of last year’s high school season with a broken wrist. At his age, growing taller is still within the realm of possibility, but even if he does not grow another inch, he is the correct size for a power-forward. His shooting range will draw the defense out, allowing better looks for his teammates. He has the potential to be a 1^st team all-MWC type of player, and a good shot at being selected and competing at the next level. This is excellent news for UNLV and for Christian Wood and his family, he figures to be a prominent key to the Rebel’s future.

Rankings

• Scout.com lists him as a 4-star prospect, 33^rd best player overall and 9^th best power forward
• Espn.com lists him as a 4-star prospect (94 points), 37^th best player overall and 11^th best power forward
• Rivals.com lists him as a 3-star prospect
• Neil Neves @ Coast 2 Coast recruiting believes by the time 2013 arrives Wood could be the #1 west coast prospect.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

Video

Interview done by West Coast Hoops – May 22, 2011 (Topic, recruiting, people who influence his decision)

http://www.ihigh.com/westcoasthoops/video_895653.html

Christian Wood and others at Pangos spring showcase:

http://blip.tv/ballislife/katin-reinhardt-stanley-johnson-zena-edosomwan-jordan-bell-christian-wood-showout-at-pangos-spring-showcase-5230769

Highlight mixtape

Highlights from 2011 Memorial Day tournament (he’s wearing #3)