Sticky Tar Heels - Observations from the loss

The basic plot of this game was whether the re-emergence of UNLV's place in college basketball could out muscle a under-performing UNC, who get a shot at revenge this time in their home arena. The end result was a 79-73 loss.

The oddsmakers kept it real, while UNLV is a fantastic basketball team most nights, and arguably loaded with as much talent as any team out west, the Runnin' Rebels were 4 point underdogs to the Tar Heels. Why? Home court advantage, they are UNC, and they were motivated. The Rebs lost the game by slightly more than the spread, but nonetheless it was a close game in the second half. Even though UNLV was the #20 team and UNC was unranked, this was in no way an "upset" as some media outlets have called it.

The statistics show that several players played well - starters, and the bench did not add enough to boost the Rebels to victory. Katin Reinhardt was particularly impressive with his 3 point shooting, as was Anthony Marshall. The ESPN commentators lauded Marshall considerably for his dominance over whatever guard matched up against him. Its tough to figure the Rebels losing a game where we had four players with double digit scoring, but Marshall, Reinhardt, Bennett, and Bryce Dejean-Jones all had production. They accounted for 59 of the Rebels 73 points (almost 81% of scoring). Anthony Bennett was not his normal self in the first half, and finished the game without hitting a signature three pointer. While the four that did score shared the load, very little else was contributed from the others whereas UNC didn't have that problem.

The other reason that the Rebels lost a game with four guys scoring in double digits, was a lack of effective defense. The Rebels played a passive lackadaisical defense in the first half, and when they did actually try UNC still managed to make their shoots look too easy. The Tar Heels shot 53% in the first half, compared to the Rebels 38%. Even with defensive adjustments in the second half, the Rebels were only able to drop the Tar Heels to 47.8% in the second half. Besides their free throw shooting, UNC just had a really good shooting night - whether or not the UNLV defense bothered them.

Telling stats in this one besides overall shooting, was the Rebels dominated rebounding (38-33) but turned the ball over far more than the Heels (17-12). While both teams shot poorly from the free throw line, UNC got themselves in the double bonus very early and had a lot more opportunities (at home) to make some. In all, they were 20 of 33, whereas the Rebels were 11 of 21. That's a nine point difference, enough to have swung the game into a Rebels victory.

Home advantage - The common notion is that playing in your home court gives you a ten point advantage, due to familiarity  lack of having to travel, and fan support. Putting that notion to work, that would explain our victory over then #1 UNC last year (by 10) and our loss this year. Clearly, had UNC played us at the Mack or even the Orleans this year, we likely would have won this game. On the subject of fan support, UNLV did have a robust fan contingent travel to Chapel Hill and watch the game - that speaks well of UNLV fans and how much they support the team. Bravo!

Splitting the series - While it still stings to lose a game when you've only had one previous loss, its is not a bad loss, its an explainable loss, and regard the 'legacy' that Anthony Marshall alluded to when referencing potentially beating UNC today - this still is a good legacy. The Rebs played UNC close today, and were not "dominated" in any way by them. Fact of the matter is nobody  has beaten UNC at home this year, and their overall home winning percentage is almost 90% over the last five years - and that's playing in the normally tough ACC. Beating UNC last year at a 'neutral' venue, and playing them close at home this year is an admirable accomplishment and is definitely improvement.

Mike Moser - It was nice to see Mike Moser back on the court, surprising since Coach Rice said it was unlikely and would be a game time decision, and Mike himself said  there was 'no way' that he would play in this game. But, having seen Mike in there you have to wonder whether it was the right decision. First, I don't believe Mike cost the Rebels the game. Had he not played we may have seen more of Savon Goodman, Quintrell Thomas, and Carlos Lopez-Sosa, but none of those guys had much going for them, so it was a wash. But, Mike was either not fully recovered, or likely a bit rusty. In just 12 minutes of playing time he picked up 5 fouls, and only contributed 3 points. That kind of fouling would make even Carlos Lopez-Sosa blush. Nobody is going to argue that having Mike Moser on your team is a bad thing, but it appears (hindsight 20-20) that it might have been better for Mike to bring him back against our next two cream-puff opponents (Chicago State and CSU Bakersfield).

Conclusion - In all likelihood just one of the players the Rebels normally count on to do big things (Justin Hawkins, Khem Birch, Quintrell Thomas, or Mike Moser) being productive would have won the game, or at least have made it a nail biter. The saying that you learn more from your mistakes then victories rings true, and the Rebels will benefit from this loss. I would say Katin Reinhardt should have confidence from his shooting, Bennett can be emboldened by his dunks on UNC, Marshall out played the Tar Heel guards, and Bryce Dejean-Jones made some difficult shots. Everyone else knows they can and have done better. The Rebels may fall a few spots in the rankings, or may fall out completely - not their fault. It all depends on who's popular among the voting group, and whether there are 25 better teams out there then the Rebels. Clearly, New Mexico has claim to one of  those spots, but it will take more from Texas and UCLA to lay claim to one given their records so far this year. UNC may have gotten back into the high 20's with this win, who knows.

College Basketball

Summarizing the week, and reflecting

The holidays have slowed my ability to write about and document the Runnin’ Rebels – but it also lends some greater perspective when summing up UNLV’s performance over the span of a week.

Since our last update, the Rebels have faced three foes, LaVerne, UTEP, and Northern Iowa.

What was encouraging about LaVerne, was Katin Reinhardt finding his range from outside the arc (4 for 6)– something he’s attempted to do quite frequently, and unfortunately nearly as frequently missed at. Another positive is that DaQuan Cook, who had planned to burn his redshirt and get some playing time, did that in this game. He played rather well, remember – he’s a pass first pure point guard, but he can score as well. Disappointing – Carlos Lopez-Sosa, who had a significant height advantage against LaVerne’s entire roster, managed limited offense and still was in foul trouble (4 fouls in 21 minutes). I love his skill set, size and attitude, but he really needs to figure out this foul trouble issue. I’m hopeful that Lopez-Sosa will enjoy the senior bump that other Rebel big men had (Brice Massamba, Quintrell Thomas) next season, and be able to play his game without fouling.

UTEP was a tough game. The Rebels strung together two average halves of basketball, playing great defense for the first half and not so much in the second. Although the Rebels scored exactly 31 points in both halves of play, the scoring came in bunches, and then trailed off late in the game for the Rebels. This allowed a UTEP team, who found some rhythm to score 38 points in the second half and put themselves in a position to steal the game on a last second three attempt by Konner Tucker.  The reason UNLV didn’t have a stellar outing perhaps revolved around UTEPS ability to contain Anthony Bennett, or perhaps AB just having an off night on his own (maybe a little of both). They say a win is a win, and that is surely undeniable, so we’ll take it and hopefully learn from it. Further proof that UTEP is a good team, is that several nights later (while we were playing UNI) UTEP took Oregon to triple overtime, and ended up beating them. Remember, Oregon is the lone opponent who beat us this year, and unfortunately snapped a 20 game home win streak. Another note was the first appearance of Khem Birch, although he didn’t get a whole lot going this game his potential to be great was definitely visible, and would show itself the following game at home.

Back at the Thomas and Mack, the Rebels faced the University of Northern Iowa on Wednesday the 19^th of Dec. We were familiar with this team from a tragic loss in the NCAA tournament a few years back. Although Northern Iowa was supposed to be a very good team, we treated them like LaVerne in the first half and destroyed them. Anthony Bennett shook off his previous funk from UTEP, and Khem Birch arrived at just the right time to challenge foes in  the paint, as well as having some good post-up moves to the basket. In the UTEP game, Coach Rice played Bennett and Birch separately – not this time. They played brilliantly together, and in the absence of Mike Moser Birch got plenty of minutes to acclimate himself to the court, and the crowd. While he officially only had 1 block, there were many a play that a foul was called where Khem clearly would have executed tremendous blocks. In addition to the block, he notched nearly a double double, and had 2 steals. 

Bennett was enjoying himself considerably out there, he was dunking, shooting the three, and even pretending to be a nimble guard. The only thing left would be for him to jump into the crowd, grab a box of popcorn, and applaud his own performance. UNI got a little close with about 7-8 minutes left, but then the Rebels put them back within a safe distance, and finished out the game strong. Anthony Marshall shot 50% from three point land (3 of 6) and was a steady leader. Noticed that Anthony’s hand was wrapped, asked him about it today and he said it was fine – so that’s good. Given the dominance of the Rebels in this game, would have liked to see DaQuan Cook play a little more, he only was in the game for 4 minutes.

Summary, and reflection:

Beating people by jaw dropping margins – One distinction between the teams that are ranked 1-10 and us in the back of the rankings, is the margin by which they beat other teams. If you look at the current #1 Duke, they’ve beaten the teams that have no chance at making the tournament by a margin of 20-50 points. Better teams, closer obviously. Same thing with #2 Michigan, and so on and so on… Nonetheless, we’ve beaten bad teams by close margins. The only blowout I can see in our schedule was against D-III LaVerne, which in all candor should be expected. Part of the problem is not being able to string two really productive halves of basketball together on the defensive and offensive end. I think that the people who contribute to the AP and Coaches’ polls look at the blowouts and see that this is a team that dominates and demoralizes an opponent rather than merely being satisfied with just beating them. Time will tell if the Rebels get the respect they deserve, if there aren’t teams ahead of us who put a whoopin’ on weak teams but have lost more difficult games than we have.

Another thing that can help our ranking, is only losing to ranked teams. Unfortunately, our lone loss was to Oregon. They looked like they could crack the top-25 before UTEP beat them. Nonetheless, they will likely make the tournament and may even get past the first round based upon the talent they have. They should also be squarely in the mix to compete with Arizona for the Pac-12 title. Oregon was one of the better teams we faced in the non-conference schedule, but they unfortunately were not a ranked team. Obviously, had we beaten Oregon and then lost to Cincinnati, we would be sitting 3-4 spots better.

Media attention / perception – The Rebels are being buoyed and held back by reality and perception.

#1 Reality – Anthony Bennett is a lottery pick. NBADraft.net, which finally got their act together, now has Bennett projected the #8^th pick to Phoenix. With many national media leaders, ESPN, CNNSI, etc proclaiming Anthony Bennett freshman of the year, and the same group putting him in the conversation for player of the year regardless of class – that brings a lot of attention to the Rebels. Unfortunately, that attention somehow has not translated into an increase in the rankings, whereas last year we were arguably ‘over-ranked’ when we hit #11 after beating #1UNC.

#2 Perception – Because a lot of casual national observers are only peripherially familiar with UNLV from last year, that group only knows about Mike Moser. Given that Mike Moser’s elbow dislocation was gruesome enough  to make the national news, many are under the impression that we are substantially hampered without Mike. This may be driving the diminished rankings as well.

UNLV pushes past CAL W76-75

It was a wild game up in Berkley, the fans were into it, and the commentators were into it – if you were watching I’m sure you were into it as well. The game was a tight one, with UNLV controlling the lead for a good majority of the game, then losing that lead in the final minutes and regaining the lead, and win by Quintrell Thomas capitalizing on an airball by Anthony Marshall.

The California Golden Bears were not the chumps we dominated last year at the Thomas and Mack. They were a competitive team who played neck and neck with the Rebels until we finished them off. The Runnin’ Rebels played very good defense against them, and freshman Anthony Bennett showed off on a regular basis during the game, dunking and showing a nice midrange game. The bulk of the scoring was taken up in this game by several players, Anthony Bennett (25 pts, 13 rebs), Bryce Dejean-Jones (22pts) and Anthony Marshall (13 pts, 4 assts, 2 stls).

Obviously, fortunate and unfortunate things happened to two players other than these stat grabbers. Mike Moser, five minutes into the game, dived for a loose ball and a Cal player landed right on his right arm, bending his elbow in a very unnatural way. Medical examination has concluded that the elbow was not fractured, but dislocated. Mike was in a tremendous amount of pain proximate to the time of injury. Preliminary indications are that he may be out 3-6 weeks, hopefully its shorter than longer, and hopefully his hip flexor issue is worked out by then as well. In the fortunate category, Quintrell Thomas was in the game largely due to Mike Mosers’ being on the bench, and perhaps also because Bryce Dejean-Jones fouled out. Quintrell made the game winning shot on a putback. Great moment for Quintrell and the Rebels to win that way on the road.

One thing that was obvious to the eye, was that the Rebels, as a team, seemed to want this victory much more than Cal did. They maybe had 1-2 players of a similar mindset willing to win by any means necessary. That doesn’t translate into the stats, but its as plain as day. Nice win against one of the better teams in the Pac-12. Certainly doesn’t make up for the home loss against Oregon, but Oregon is now on the verge of being in the top-25 (first team out). Today’s rankings have UNLV #20/17 (AP/Coaches), unfortunately see-sawed with MWC foes New Mexico (17/20) and behind San Diego State (18/15)

The next contest will be against D-III Laverne back in town, but in the Orleans. It should be a nice break and should get some of the bench players more minutes. Then, all indications are that Khem Birch will join the team for the road game at UTEP (Dec 17), with his first home game at the Mack on December 19^th (Northern Iowa).  

College Basketball

College Basketball

College Basketball

Updates- Canadians may not play in Canada, Players witness Team USA, Schedule

This weekly update features a quick recap and analysis of a few recent stories, including one that just broke over the last few days regarding Anthony Bennett.

Canadians may not play in Canada


Already known was the fact that Pittsburgh transfer Khem Birch, who still has one semester left to wait due to a transfer redshirt, unfortunately will be unable to participate in the exhibition games in Canada starting in August.

What is now breaking news in the last few days, is that the NCAA is dragging their feet on declaring fellow Canadian Anthony Bennett academically eligible. At least one news outlet, has cited the reason for Bennett's eligibility decision taking so long is because he attended multiple high schools - and that normally slows the process. So, the NCAA has to look over his academics from Findlay Prep, as well as the Canadian HS's. Coach Rice believes that determination may take up to a month, but it could potentially come after the Canadian exhibition - leaving Bennett unavailable to play in the games.

The terrible irony of both the Birch and Bennett situation, is that UNLV is as loaded as anyone with solid Canadian talent. The fact that Birch and Bennett cannot enjoy a homecoming of sorts is a terrible shame and shows the NCAA's rules and regulations, at least in this case, have gone to far and have cost a couple of young men some valuable and meaningful experience. To make matters worse, this is a once-every-four-years type of trip, so its not like provided either Bennett or Birch are still at UNLV next year (think NBA draft) they can experience it in the 2013-14 campaign. Tempering the blow, the last trip was to Australia and we had -0- Australian talent, and have gained -0- Australian talent from the experience.

The Canadian public will just have to enjoy the performance put on by what is still a terrific college basketball team, but what purpose did this solve? Couldn't the athletic department have fought to get these guys to be able to play in games that don't mean anything anyhow? Maybe they did, it just wasn't publicized... Regardless of the insignificance this has on the the part of the season that actually counts, you have to feel bad for these guys.

The above cited article also mentions the possibility for Bennett not being available this season -- slow your roll Sporting News, let's not plant those seeds of doubt.

UNLV Players witness USA National Team Practice in their diggs

It was hinted, they'd find a way to watch. Low and behold, the balcony from the Mendenhall Center provided ample views of what must have been entertaining basketball with Team USA tuning up their performance before hitting the court against the Dominican Republic on Thursday night, then taking the show to DC and then off to London to hopefully dominate the 2012 Olympic Games.

What's initially clear, is that UNLV - who has had a good relationship hosting the national team as well as the NBA summer league most years (except for the lockout shortened season this past year) has received tons of free publicity from hosting the event. That clearly benefits UNLV as a basketball program, and highlights not only our facilities but our arena to potential future UNLV talent. After all, if its good enough for the best NBA players, isn't it good enough for you?

Although I was in attendance at the USA v. Dominican Republic game, my seats were so far up I didn't get a chance  to see if any UNLV players were in attendance. That said - even if they were the best basketball played in Las Vegas likely was left on the practice floor of the Mendenhall center. Calling it a sloppy game would be too kind. The only fun takeaway is that the Mack was packed, I'd have to estimate at least 16k showed up. Lakers fans heavy - as evidenced by the overwhelming applause for Kobe Bryant in comparison to other players. In all honesty, I've been to three of these now including the FIBA, and for the money its the cheapest way to see the NBA's biggest stars play. The one criticism, an intra-squad practice would be far more entertaining and meaningful then beating up on a team who was just knocked out by Nigeria from even being able to compete in London.

Back to practice, in publicized photos Roscoe Smith, Anthony Marshall, and Justin Hawkins were seen taking in the activities. Anthony Marshall actually tweeted quite a few photos from practice. What can a forward and two guards learn from the elite crew? Obviously plenty of tricks. When top players, who are also friends with each other get together - they want to show off. Take the amazing Blake Griffin dunk off of the wall. Unfortunately, the torn meniscus moved him off the roster. For Justin Hawkins and Anthony Marshall, they got to view some great workouts from players such as Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Derron Williams, and of course - Chris Paul. But, as seen only in practice, they got to see these players compete against potential future Olympians in the form of the USA select team. This included Demar Derozen, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Jrue Holliday, Kyrie Erving, and John Wall at the guard spot. Roscoe Smith got to see Kawai Leonard, Lance Thomas, Gordon Hawyard, Taj Gibson, and Derrick Favors try their best to prepare Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Andre Iguodala, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Love for the games.

Time will tell whether the experience lent any takeaways to the UNLV players who watched the NBA's best and NBA's up-and-comers tear up the courts, but hopefully this pays dividends beyond the publicity.

Non-Conference Schedule Set

Here is the Non-Conference schedule, just recently released this past week (schedule page updated as well). In Rebel Reign style, the opponents will be looked at, predictions will be made, and comparisons to previous schedules will be mentioned. This all takes time, which is why no major media outlet has done the dirtywork either. We'll get it done, and there is plenty of time before the season starts to start thinking about how winning that winning record will be. Feast your eyes on our foes:


UNLV BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
The Rebels' non-conference opponents for the 2012-13 season:
Nov. 3 at UCLA (closed scrimmage)
Nov. 7 Dixie State (exhibition)
Nov. 12 Northern Arizona
Nov. 17 Jacksonville State
Nov. 23 Oregon
Nov. 24 Cincinnati or Iowa State
Nov. 28 UC Irvine
Dec. 1 Hawaii
Dec. 4 at Portland
Dec. 9 at California
Dec. 13 University of La Verne-z (D-III)
Dec. 17 at Texas-El Paso
Dec. 19 Northern Iowa
Dec. 22 Canisius
Dec. 29 at North Carolina
Jan. 3 Chicago State
Jan. 5 Cal State Bakersfield
z-at Orleans Arena; all other home games at Thomas & Mack Center    

Khem Birch Interview

Khem Birch spent some time answering some questions that were on my mind, and I'm sure a lot of Runnin' Rebels fans' minds and this interview is the finished result. Would like to sincerely thank Khem Birch, he's a real class-act and a major piece of UNLV's charge to the top of college basketball.

RR = RebelReign
KB = Khem Birch

RR: Since you transferred from Pittsburgh and sat out last half of  the season, this summer, and first half of next – what are you working on basketball skills wise?

KB: Me and Coach Augmon have been working on midrange shots, face up moves, and shooting on the run.

RR: And what would you say, of those areas, have you had the most improvement in so far?

KB: I would say midrange shot.

RR: So how far is your range right now?

KB: I’ve been able to hit threes I haven’t hit before, but I’m more streaky when it comes to the three. My midrange shot is much better.

RR: So you’re pretty good from 16-18 feet out?

KB: Yeah.

RR: Are you a better shooter catch and shoot, or from the dribble?

KB: I would say catching off the pass.

RR: Physically, obviously you’ve been working with Coach Kabo in the weight room?

KB: Yeah.

RR: Is there any particular things he has worked with you on that you weren’t working on at Pittsburgh?

KB: I’ve been able to lift and keep my balance. At Pittsburg I was able to gain weight, but not jump – here I’m able to gain the weight and still jump.

RR: So he’s been focused on your vertical?

KB: Yeah, I’m still getting better, I’ve gained 10 points of muscle.

RR: Is that upper body, or lower body, or evenly spread?

KB: Yeah, even.

RR: Are there any areas physically you need to improve, I know you just said you’ve put on the 10 pounds but are you looking to add more bulk, or are you good where you are at?

KB: Yeah, definitely my lower body, my legs are still skinny. So I’m trying to do more leg stuff.

RR: Obviously, that will help you playing the 4/5 position.

KB: Yeah.

RR: I want to talk a minute about Anthony Bennett, you met him a while back while both in Canada?

KB: I was 17. We were on Team Canada together.

RR: Were you also both on CIA together?

KB: No, I was on the older team.

RR: Throughout his recruitment, you guys being in the same city that must have had a profound effect – any every Rebel fan thanks you. How excited are you to play along side Anthony this coming year?

KB: I am really excited. The last time we played together we did really well. So hopefully we can do more. We can probably get to the final four and win a championship together.

RR: Did you play together at the same time on Team Canada?

KB: Yeah, that worked out really well.

RR: What do you think of the addition of Roscoe Smith?

KB: I feel its great because he knows what it takes to win a national championship. He’s a really good player so, my hopes were up that he would come. I told him I wanted him to come, and I’m very excited.

RR: Were you surprised at all that he did chose UNLV?

KB: Actually I was, because he told me he was going to look at other schools and I was like, dang. He might… once you go to another school you might get another opinion, but that wasn’t the case. But I guess he really liked the visit and I guess we did a good job of showing him around Las Vegas.

RR: Its been well reported that last season’s win over #1 at the time UNC Tarheels put UNLV on your radar as far as transfer destination, but what specifically about UNLV attracted you and players like yourself to UNLV? Is it the opportunity to work with Coach Augmon and develop you as a forward?

KB: It was Coach Rice actually, he lets you play more free form, and run and gun, and that’s the style of play I really wanted. Having Coach Augmon and the other coaches helps as well because they were really nice  when I visited.

RR: So it’s the run and gun style that attracts players?

KB: Yeah.

RR: What do you think of the Mendenhall Center?

KB: I’m in there everyday, working out in there, morning, noon, and nighttime.

RR: Obviously better than the gym you used to play in.

KB: Definitely.

RR: How is it working out and playing against Mike Moser, Carlos Lopez, and everyone?

KB: It helps a lot, especially Mike. He’s really good on defense, he has quick feet. Its tough to get past him. And Carlos is strong. Its really good.

RR: What did you think by the visit and talk by Mike Tyson before the tournament?

KB: I was in shock, I can’t believe I saw Mike Tyson. He’s a really nice guy. I loved when he said even thought you don’t want to practice every day, you just have to. I take what he said to heart, and I go to the gym.

RR: During practice time, who is your favorite player to battle?

KB: I would have to say Brice Massamba. He’s really physical. And Quintrell, he’s really strong and brings physicality to the game. I would say Brice.

RR: How do you see UNLV fitting into your future plans as far as getting drafted and playing in the NBA?

KB: People think that, but I don’t really sweat that. If I was looking to get drafted quicker I probably would have stayed at Pitt and not taken the redshirt year. I’m really trying to graduate, and hopefully make the NBA in a year and a half.

RR: Well that’s a very humble attitude, I guess the ultimate decision is out of your hands. So that’s a good perspective to have.

KB: Yeah, definitely.

RR: How do you like living in Las Vegas versus Pittsburg?

KB: I like it way better, there is a lot of sun – not gloomy. People are real friendly here, lots to do. And the coaching staff is great.

RR: What do you think about 24 hrs supermarkets and fast food, they don’t have that everywhere else?

KB: That’s actually true, yeah. Cause I really get hungry at night.

RR: So you can hit the jack in the box or Taco Bell.

KB: Yeah

RR: What’s your favorite basketball shoe?

KB: Nike Foamposite Penny Hardaway.

RR: Is that because of the way they handle, or how light they are?

KB: No, its because of the way they look.

RR: Favorite NBA team?

KB: I don’t really have one.

RR: Favorite NBA player?

KB: Kobe Bryant

RR: Since Kobe is more of a shooting guard, and you play forward are there any forwards you idolize and like their game?

KB: Serge Ibaka game’s actually.

RR: He’s tough, he’s a good athlete – I get that.

KB: Yeah

RR: Well, thank you for the interview.

KB: No problem, thank you very much.

Fun Meme

How sweet it is! - Anthony Bennett is a Runnin' Rebel

Anthony Bennett is the latest addition to a stellar Runnin' Rebels roster

With the dust that clouded up the Las Vegas sky clearing, Anthony Bennett cleared the air as well, and stole the collective breath of Runnin' Rebels fans this afternoon by selecting UNLV as his destination. Bennett, the highest ranked undeclared senior of the 2012 class (#7 regardless of position), and a prized member of Findlay Prep's powerhouse basketball team, picked the Runnin' Rebels after eliminating Florida and Kentucky in recent weeks, and then eliminating Oregon.

Bennett, who will play in the small forward spot along side Mike Moser, may get to start with longtime friend and fellow McDonald's All-American Khem Birch (when he become eligible after the fall semester) - who is likely as responsible as anyone in successfully recruiting Anthony Bennett to play at UNLV.

Expectations will be extremely high for the Runnin' Rebels, as many formidable weapons remain on the roster and when things click, the Rebels will be able to compete with and beat any team in the nation. What's impressive about Bennett, is that he uses his statute and leaping ability to efficiently dunk the ball. Staying away from being a one-trick-pony, he has considerable offensive skills in the form of a midrange jumper and even an effective three pointer, which makes his defender respect him not just underneath the basket.

It is clear that Coach Rice and the Assistant Coaches did a hell of a job in recruiting Anthony Bennett, and acknowledgement and thanks goes to the players who made him feel like UNLV was a good destination to further the very bright future he has in basketball. Much will be made of his addition, as well as the potent roster that is a mesh of experience and talent. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say, so videos must be worth exponentially more. Here are links to all prominent stories on UNLV landing Anthony Bennett, and video of Bennett in action.

To Anthony Bennett- Thank you for choosing UNLV. You had your pick of every top basketball school in the nation, and you recognized that you could do as much for UNLV as it could do for you. If every Runnin' Rebel fan could personally thank you, they would.

Bleacher Report
SB Nation
CBS Sports
ESPN
Las Vegas Sun
LVRJ

Half an update: Birch's disposition and Bennett's final three

Jimmy Kimmel tweets to Anthony Bennett

While this won't be the next preview (next and final is guards), there was two significant Runnin' Rebels news stories that came out this week and are worth noting as well as discussing.

A Good Khem Birch Interview

Those who miss Ryan Greene's take on the Runnin' Rebels look no further than Vegas Seven, the weekly which has a section and website under the moniker, www.RunRebs.com. Scooping the other news outlets, Mr. Greene interviewed Khem Birch, and bounced aspects of his game and worth ethic off of Coach Rice to complete the piece. The article in it's entirety can be found here: Link.

While the whole article is plenty interesting, the part I'd like to discuss is Birch's stance on playing center. As should be noted and is well established in news stories, Khem departed Pitt among other reasons, because he did not want to play Center. Clarifying his position on playing the five spot, Khem says he didn't want to play with his back to the basket, in the slow half-court offense that Pitt ran. He doesn't mind playing center in Coach Rice's transition offense because of potential mismatches.

Drawing my own conclusions from his words on the subject, he doesn't appear adverse per-se to the center position anymore, so likely much more emphasis in not liking his former teammates or the offensive sets the team was running. That's kind of a really bold reason why one would transfer, especially given the chronology of events that brought him to UNLV. Distilling that, Birch was unhappy early in the season at Pitt, he just so happens to see the UNLV-UNC game where UNLV runs and is dominant most of the game, and then after electing to transfer he picks UNLV over Florida.

Their loss is our gain for certain, and my roster preview albeit assumed that he would be playing the five spot rather than the four was part wishful thinking and logical conclusions - but the guess was on the money. So, to have another really legitimate center option after the fall semester, and one of his caliber is intriguing to say the least. It also shows the maturity of Khem, being willing to play the same position he supposedly despised for the Rebels. This should work out very well.

Bennett's Final Three


Not that long ago, teams were being cut and UNLV didn't make it into the dress cricle. That was the disappointment which became Shabazz Muhammad's ridiculous 'the decision' show. Rebels fans have reason to be hopeful, and its because we are in the final cut of destinations for the best unsigned high school senior in the nation. Anthony Bennett has reportedly narrowed his list to UNLV, Oregon, and Kentucky. Gone is Florida - which was considered a favorite after they had a similarly tall player transfer out, but their hopes diminished when Bradley Beal declared for the NBA Draft. According to this story, he and Bradley were close and he would have loved to play with him - hence Florida was in the running, but no more.

The downside is many have Kentucky as a strong front runner now to land Bennett. Any why not, Kentucky is essentially the Barbie's of the college basketball world - 'that bitch has to have everything'. The positive take away is that Bennett just finished an official visit to UNLV, and was thrilled with the staff. Clearly, there are several good things going for us -- a staff he likes, facilities everyone should love, and a long time friend - the aformentioned Khem Birch. If Bennett held high regard for Florida because he had a friend on the roster - then we are in a good position with Birch not going anywhere for at least a year.

I'm optimistic on this one. I think Bennett knows Kentucky's championship run was a rare event, largely enabled by consensus #1 draft pick Anthony Davis. It will be a very difficult feat to repeat, and being the team who follows a championship team and failing to bring a championship is an expectation and burden few would want to have to deal with. Anthony Bennett's hopefully not the type who believes he has to be on Kentucky's roster to be noticed by NBA scouts, and knows merely being associated won't help his draft position. He likely knows UNLV will be scary good next year, especially if he is a part of the magic. Come on Las Vegas, let's fly a Canadian flag for Mr. Bennett and land a top 10 prospect!

Update: Anthony Bennett has spurned Kentucky's scholarship and is down to between Oregon and UNLV.  Officially, Bennett had said his decision would come in two weeks (this was about a week ago), so his decision grows ever closer. LV SUN.

Another update: Anthony Bennett has tweeted Monday evening that his decision will come this weekend.

Final update: ANTHONY BENNETT CHOOSES UNLV! Full story coming Sunday (late night today)

Coming full circle on recruiting: Update on Dantley Walker, as well as the news of the past week

Taking a break from the three part series previewing the roster of 2012-13, there is much to talk about as well as summarize that occurred on the recruiting front. Before discussing that which many of you already know, let’s get an update on Dantley Walker, future member of the Rebels for the 2013-14 year.

Dantley Walker Update

Dantley Walker: Man on a mission

For those of you familiar, Dantley Walker – prolific scorer from Panaca, NV committed to the Rebels, but as a Mormon he elected to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This delays his arrival at UNLV as a freshman two years. I had the opportunity to interview his father/assistant coach Greg Walker last year, and get updates from time to time. The information we had previously, was that his mission was to be in Spokane, Washington – and he was fortunate to get an early start so that he didn’t have to begin his colligate career, then leave and come back to it two years later. He was clearly excited to go on the mission, and to be a Rebel.

Since we’ve last updated, Dantley Walker has been on his mission for nine months now, and is doing very well. He loves serving the call of the mission, but obviously misses competitive basketball very much. He served the first five months in Cordeau-d'lene, Idaho, and has been in Spokane, Washington since then. One of Dantley’s goals for his downtime was to keep in basketball shape and do all that he can to maintain readiness for the future. To that end, luck has smiled on him and one of his former AAU coaches from the Las Vegas Prospects, Rick Walter, now coaches at Spokane Falls Community College. Any morning that the two can find the time, he works out with Coach Walter and goes through some serious basketball workouts.

Elder Walker at the
training center

Elder Walker working on the
golf game

Elder Walker showing off the guns

According to Coach Walter, Dantley seems to be maintaining his basketball skills. As far as the hope that he might be playing pickup ball with formidable Gonzaga players – that hasn’t occurred just yet. So far, he plays with other missionaries and basketball players around Spokane. He does hope too hoop it up with Gonzaga players, or Spokane Falls players. As far as physical activity not on the court, he's lifting weights and jumping rope when he can and has added about 10 pounds to his frame since graduating from high school.

Dantley Walker and Coach Walter in Spokane, Washington

I inquired as to whether he’s been recognized (as a UNLV recruit) while out doing his mission work, and he really hasn’t because up there they’re more focused on Boise St, Washing St. U of Washington, Gonzaga, and Idaho St. But, they eventually all find out he’s going to be a Rebel, and think it’s really cool. For those that may not  straight off believe him, they check the internet – especially his YouTube mix tapes and find out quick enough. I also wondered if he regularly got heat (given what he’s doing) for not going to BYU – and Dantley normally appeases their question by pointing out that he is from Nevada, UNLV offered first, and as a matter of fact Coach Rice was very interested in Dantley as assistant coach of BYU. It a great situation he has with the Rebels, going on the mission and then coming back as a scholarship player, but he’s really interested in Coach Rice’s up-tempo system. He also sometimes mentions that the WCC isn’t as strong as the MWC, but has to be careful about saying that in front of the Gonzaga fans.

Yes, Dantley Walker has had some friendly suggestions  to just stay put after his mission and help the Gonzaga Bulldogs – to that his answer is “no way, gonna run and gun with Coach Rice and the Rebs.”

Dantley Walker will be back from his mission in July, 2013, and will begin practice at UNLV shortly thereafter. Best of luck to Dantley Walker and his family, he is perusing and admirable endeavor in the name of his faith, and that’s a quality trait to have. He’ll be more mature and focused, and hopefully will run point for the Rebels when he is ready to suit up.

Shabazz no more


Although there were many reasons that it would make sense for Shabazz Muhammad to join the Rebels, he cut UNLV from his list of five shortly before the McDonalds All-American game. Incidentally, he was MVP of that game, and won the dunk contest.

For whatever reason, Muhammad chose UCLA – a storied basketball program, that has become an embarrassment to its former glory, harbors a coach who nobody can say has any discipline over his players, hasn’t made the NCAA tournament in the past two years, and has been the jumping away point for numerous promising recruits – who go on to do great things elsewhere (Chace Stanback UNLV, Mike Moser UNLV, Drew Gordon UNM, Matt Carlino BYU). A lot has been said, straight out in the media that Muhammad, or rather his family, was essentially bought and sold under the guise of an Adidas shoe deal. For what it’s worth – I honestly hope not. While UNLV is not an Adidas team (Nike last time I checked), the choice of UCLA over the likes of national champion Kentucky, or Duke which is a perennial favorite and sucks up more TV time than anyone makes no sense whatsoever. UCLA holds no advantage over UNLV in terms of basketball prowess. On this subject, this is perhaps the only time I’ve ever agreed with that San Diego loving troll Ed Graney of the LVRJ on this point – we don’t need Shabazz Muhammad. No reason to be bitter towards him on this, for not choosing UNLV – but the angst I have (as well as many others) is about the stupidity of the choice of UCLA.

Mashour has left the building

Israel native Karam Mashour has declared his intention to leave the Rebels in search of a team that will give him the chance to crack the roster and play solid minutes. For a guy with the work ethic that he has, first to arrive and last to leave practice, as well as his unfettered support of his teammates throughout a season that allowed him less playing time than the season before – it’s sad that we couldn’t utilize him better.

His highlight of his career was the baseline dunk against the University of Central Arkansas. Less than a month later, came the lowlight – refusing to play garbage time minutes. It’s understandable why he’s frustrated, he played for the Israeli U19 national team, and supposedly was an athletic freak on the Las Vegas Prospects. Since arriving at UNLV, he’s not done anything but play garbage time for the most part. Mashour – a Kruger recruit and scholarship holder, showed more promise coming in, and was never given the chance to put that on the floor in front of the fans.

There certainly is a duality to this kind of problem – UNLV has largely been successful over the years, even back to the Tark days because of transfers. There is an ebb and flow of players who are constantly in search of playing time, or a system that better suits them or highlights their talent. Some people are searching for a challenge, others are looking to be a big fish in a little pond, instead of a little fish in a big pond. We get it, basketball is like life – sometimes things don’t work out as planned.

Karam Mashour, for certain, helped the Rebels the past two seasons, and surely improved his skills for practicing with and against a nationally ranked team. Hopefully, this experience serves him well wherever he plays next, and when he gets back to Israel and no doubt try his hand a pro-ball there. Good luck to Karam, and thank you.

In pursuit of Anthony Bennett

Numerous sources, LVRJ, LV Sun, Vegas Seven, have all noted that Anthony Bennett is the biggest prize left in the recruiting sphere, and the Rebels are hot on his trail trying to make his colors Scarlet and Gray.

I am cautiously optimistic that he will become a Rebel for several reasons 1) there is significant room now and in the future for a large power forward in our offense, 2) friendship with Khem Birch, 3) the Rebels are a damn good team worthy of his kind of talent, 4) excursion to his homeland, Canada this summer.

Hopefully Anthony Bennett does not feel any kind of distain that all the talk over the past year or two has been about Shabazz. Reality check – any town that has the consensus #1 pick will get a little crazy over him, especially so when we have a very good basketball team that could potentially land him.

Fact #2, Las Vegas is very high on Findlay Prep, and UNLV would love to land or retain as many Findlay Prep players as possible on the regular. The Runnin’ Rebels is the perfect landing spot for Anthony Bennett to spend 1-2 years bettering himself as well as the Rebels in pursuit of a championship and a pro-career. Anthony Bennett – WE WANT YOU TO BE A REBEL!