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.

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!

Savon Goodman's commitment caps this season's roster

The newest member of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels - Savon Goodman

Update 6/18/12 - All rosters have been updated for the addition of Goodman.

Late Friday the local media notified the Runnin' Rebel faithful that Coach Rice had yet again stunned the critics, as well as surprised the believers by signing Savon Goodman as the final scholarship on the 2012-13 roster.

Goodman had in recent weeks focused his possible destinations to UNLV and SMU. The 6'6" power forward from Constitution High School in Philadelphia, PA has been described by Coach Rice in a nice article by Ryan Greene of RunRebs.com as able to score at will, good in the transition game, a bit raw on offense, but a fantastic defensive player that can guard four positions.

For the purpose of RebelReign's profile of Savon Goodman, a little research as well as footage should say a lot about what UNLV is getting in Goodman.

Prior Commitment: Savon Goodman was previously committed to Villanova. He withdrew his commitment in the summer of 2011. Two potential reasons have been named, 1) Villanova's academic approach was not in line with what he was thinking, and or 2) After the Boost Mobile Elite game that summer Goodman got a lot more interest nationally, so he wanted to reopen his options and see if he could do better. In seeking a new home many destinations were mentioned, besides UNLV and SMU, NC State, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Temple, West Virgina and UCLA were all named as potential places of interest.

Measurements: He is 6'6", 210 pounds, and has a 6'9" wingspan. He carries a full frame that is solid muscle.

Accolades: Goodman was a Parade Magazine All-American (as was Dantley Walker). He and classmate Daiquan Walker led Constitution to a 23-9 record, the Public League championship, and the program's first state title. Goodman's averages per game last season were 25.8 points, 14.2 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.Savon Goodman was named a top three rebounder/defender at the 2011 Kevin Durant Skills Camp. He is currently ranked as the 72nd best player overall in the 2012 class, and 18th best in his position by Rivals.com. He is currently ranked by ESPN as the 100th best player overall, 28th best in position. Both services rank him as a 4-star recruit. Member of the USA Elite National Team, helped lead USA to victory in France in FIBA competition in 2011.

Take away: From reading articles about Goodman, as well as watching plenty of tape I've come to a few conclusions that may have not already been mentioned out there.

Effort - Savon Goodman is a dunking machine, no doubt. Not the fancy type of dunking that we potentially lost when Reggie Smith transferred out, but blue-collar lunch lets go to work dunks. What hasn't been mentioned but is readily apparent, is he has an extremely quick second jump - and the intuition to properly use it. This is valuable because it leads to a lot of second chance points from his own original miss, or someone else s. With the amount of Runnin' Coach Rice will expect from this finely tuned machine, having fresh hops on the bench (bench for now) is an extremely valuable commodity.  What impresses me about his jumping is not only his dunks, but his ability to get to the open ball and provide the effort necessary to do the little things to win a game. Looking at what he was able to accomplish in High School, he is a legitimate double-double threat, similar to Mike Moser.But unlike Mike, they play entirely different styles of basketball.

Other attributes: Goodman has been noticed as well for two other attributes, passing and getting to the free-throw line. So, we can expect a man who will make smart decisions with the basketball, goat the opponent into foul trouble, and be able to capitalize from the charity stripe. Clearly, these are some things UNLV has been lacking in years past. He is fundamentally sound, physically strong, and mentally tough. Another excellent get by the coaching staff.

When will we see him play: Again, citing back to the article on RunRebs.com, the scenario is that if Roscoe Smith gets the waiver to play (and elects to play this season), then Goodman will redshirt this season. If Roscoe Smith is not granted a waiver (which is a likely scenario considering the love the NCAA has for UNLV and everything generally surrounding Smith's transfer from UCONN), then the picture becomes a bit more unclear. I'm not even going to begin to speculate on this because there are several contingencies that go into the ultimate answer. Just another fun thing to watch coming into the 2012-13 season.

A picture is worth a 1000 words...
So video is infinitely better. Do yourselves a favor and take a look at what Savon Goodman has done. You'll be impressed.