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. 

Fun Meme

Reggie Smith headed back to the midwest

Transfer point guard Reggie Smith has asked for and been granted release from the Runnin' Rebels to transfer to a school closer to Chicago. The reason behind the sudden leaving has to do with being closer his ailing grandmother.

Reggie's time at UNLV was short, and due to the reliability of Oscar Bellfield, Rebels fans were waiting to see what Smtih could do with more minutes and more time in Coach Rice's system.

In a sudden dramatic change of events, the Rebels - once loaded with guards, has lost some great ones and will lose more after this coming season (Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins will graduate after the season). Fortunately, new guards are on the horizon. Daquan Cook and Katin Reinhardt are penciled into the lineup, and the Reggie Smtih transfer decision could easily have an effect on either one of their decisions to redshirt the coming year. Potent scoring guard Bryce Dejean-Jones will make waves at the shooting guard positon. Additionally, Dantley Walker will be added to the roster for the 2013-14 season, and the Rebels still have strong interest in Findlay Prep's Nigel Williams-Goss.

The Reggie Smtih loss also frees up another scholarship, making it two available for the 2012-13 campaign, which is shaping up to be epic. Reggie Smith will be missed, and hopefully he gets the chance to make the impact he is capable of at the college he attends. Good luck to you Reggie!

Maintenance day

Instead of a news story update, much needed maintenance has been going on on the website.


 I invite you to check out the new and improved roster pages, which are much easier on the eyes in format. All available schedule information has been updated. Additionally lots of clips have been added to the Old Games tab. The depth chart tab has been shelved until we see what Coach Rice's rotation will be. 


As a preview of what is still coming up in the next few weeks,  a article previewing the guards, and an article with updated information on season tickets. Some interviews are in the cards as well, more to come soon. 


In the meanwhile, make yourself at home - and stay awhile!

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)

Roster Preview: 2012-13 Forwards

The Forward spot has been a place where the Rebels had limited depth, and now still have limited depth. Looking at 2011-12, the primary forwards were obviously Chace Stanback and Mike Moser. With Stanback graduating and Moser thankfully returning for what will likely be his final UNLV season (barring injury), the question is who will run alongside Moser? Several of the 'forwards' have previosly been penciled into the center spot by virtue of someone is needed there (Carlos Lopez, Quintrell Thomas and possibly Khem Birch) and have been previewed several weeks ago - but who is left to be the next Chace Stanback? Who will give some relief so that the guard heavy roster isn't outmatched by taller more physical forwards? Let's take a peek.

Mike Moser

Mike is a wildly talented and driven player who had much more ups than downs last year, but the teams success and demise rose and fell with his performance, by and large. Was there a game that was lost when Mike Moser played very well? Yes - that aborition at TCU where we lost 102-97 (Moser had 22 pts, 8 rebs) but by and large in the vast majority of the losses Moser was underperforming, as was the rest of the team. 

In his first season with the Rebels, he had to deal with sudden extreme expectations having been named as a Naismith Player of  the Year Candidate very early on, having to deal with injuries, and then having his shot fall off as the season progressed. This is a lot for anyone to deal with, especially someone who is new to the system, and playing for a coach who wasn't the one who recruited you. All in all, Mike Moser's Junior year should be one of high expectations - as he's all but a lock to play in the NBA provided he shores up a few shortcomings, and the Rebels perform well. 

What Moser does well - He is tall, athletic, and hard to guard. He has an interesting set of tools in his toolbox, being that he can block shots, he can easily dunk or catch the lob for the ally opp. He can also steal and defend as well as anyone - and of course, we have the rebounding. As a solid double digit scorer as well as rebounder, he is the heart and soul of the Rebels. Coach Rice had said that the Runnin' offense is successful when there's high pressure defense, and rebounding so that a fast break can take place off of a missed shot. That's Moser's bread and butter. Ken Pomeroy made an interesting observation mid-season, stating essentially that Moser was a statistical anomaly given his offensive rebounding prowess and three point shooting percentage. Link This could be chalked up as a good thing or bad thing. As a good - to make an easy, popular reference, Dirk Nowitski is 6'11", is often the tallest guy on the court, yet he can shoot the three like a guard. For the same reason that Nowitski is a rare player, a guy like Moser who can pull down boards like nobody's business isn't presumed to normally have the ability to shoot a three pointer with much consistancy. Why? Because great rebounders are normally taller players, and taller players (like Dirk) don't normally shoot the three well (or free throws for that matter). Moser is a great player, and what's great about the Rebels is even though Moser is this, that and the other kind of awesome - you don't expect him to be the Rebels leading scorer that frequently. That's because our roster is still stockplied with great players, even more so than last year. 

What Moser doesn't do well - he's still not as bulky as other dominant power forwards who project well to rebound well in the NBA. Easy example - Drew Gordon (UNM) has the body necessary to occupy space, and not give ground to other forwards. Mike Moser has upper body muscle, but he lacks bulk in the hips and legs especially that may have contributed to his fatigue later in the season. Getting back to the statistical anomoly that Ken Pomeroy pointed out, the bad side of that is it shows that Moser may have been too comfortable shooting the three pointer. No secret, UNLV over Coach Krueger's tenure has been a team in love with the long ball, and the 'streak' has been somewhat of a constant reminder of the importance of shooting the three - but the team's leading rebounder should maybe shoot a whole lot more layups and short range higher percentage jumpers. Example, Mike Moser's three point percentage was 33%, he made 44 of 133 attempts. Total field goal percentage was 45% he made 184 of 409 attempts. Subtract out his three point shooting, and we get a 2 point percentage of nearly 51% . His three point attempts accounted for 32.5% of his shot selection. Clearly, three pointers are worth more than two pointers, but making only 1 of 3  from deep versus 1 of 2 from within the line potentially means he could have been a more effective player - less reliant on the three. My evaluation of what Mike needs to do to get better and become more complete, is to hit the weight room and build more lower body muscle, still maintain his quickness, and build on his short to mid range game. If Mike does improve like he's capable of, he is a lottery pick. 

Demetris Morant

The Bishop Gorman incoming freshman has a daunting decision ahead of him - burn a redshirt year or try to crack the rotation. The general evaluation of Morant is that he is a hyper athletic player who has tons of above-the-rim ability, is a one man block party, but who's offensive game is under developed. This carries slight risk for the Rebels, as improving under the tutelage of Dave Rice means building an offensive repertoire. Weighing heavily on whether to take a red shirt year depends largely on minutes available now, and whether dipping his toe in the water right away and potentially not being as successful as possible could mess with his confidence. Time and circumstance will tell on that point. The other similarly tall players who he may compete for minutes with, are the aforementioned Mike Moser, Quintrell Thomas, Khem Birch, Carlos Lopez, and Bryce Jones - who is a tallish tweener guard at 6'5" (Michael Jordan was also a guard, and 6'5"). The other big question is whether he'll be playing the 4 or 5? Throughout his stay at Bishop Gorman Morant was put in the center position. As a center, he's undersized - but UNLV has a history of success with undersized centers (Lou Amundson, Joel Anthony). My gut reaction is that he will take the redshirt, and then breakthrough better when Quintrell Thomas has graduated and Mike Moser has left for the NBA. 

Bryce Jones

Mr. Competetive, but also Mr. Misunderstood - he's the USC transfer who has waited out his redshirt year and is poised to make a big spash on the court this year. I'm mentioning him in the 'forwards' category because my take on the rotation (guard heavy) would likely having him match-up with a forward, and at his height he would be capable of guarding a forward up to perhaps 6'8". The line on Bryce is that he sometimes has been the best player on the court in many practices last year - no small feat given how good the team was through the majority of last year. The same complement was paid to a man by the name of Mike Moser - and look how good that turned out. Bryce Jones left USC because of playing time, and an altercation with another teammate. With some temperance on his live or die playing attitude, he will either push others to succeed, or be toxic to the chemistry of  the team. My thoughts are that the coaching staff assembled have enough experience and knowledge to be able to gauge his + or - , and will adjust based on that. Yes, we have a history of transfers, but we also kick malcontents to the curb - see Emmanuel Adeife. 

For Bryce to be a successful player, everyone needs to wipe the slate clean, recognize who he is, what he's been through, and what occurred and brings him to the Rebels. Then, purely evaluate him based on what occurs while he wears the Scarlet and Gray. Bryce Jones has the ability to be a special player, a scoring powerhouse, and a confident give-it-all-you got baller, a complete player. He just needs to have the maturity to work within Coach Rice's offense, be unselfish when someone has a better shot than he does, and to celebrate his teammates as much as he can. The offensive load left by Chace Stanback must be picked up by someone - and Bryce and Khem Birch are the most likely candidates to handle the task. 

(Want to know where Carlos Lopez, Quintell Thomas, and Khem Birch were discussed? Click here)

Becoming known as a pro-prospect: Stanback and Bellfield compete at Portsmouth Invitational

Yet another diversion from analysing the roster, but the opportunity to report on an event that involves two recent Rebels and hasn’t been reported hardly anywhere else is worth talking about.

The Portsmouth Invitational is a tournament which has existed for 60 years, and invites graduating seniors to play in a round-robin style tournament which spans 4 days and fields 8 teams of players. Invited to the tournament this year from our 2011-12 Rebels is Chase Stanback and Oscar Bellfield.

Chace, who was among  the leaders in the NCAA in 3 point percentage, was also invited to the 3-point contest at the NCAA final, and played in the all-star game as well. Oscar has been a fixture in the Rebels lineup over the past four years, and has regularly logged more minutes on the court than any other Rebel. The Portsmouth Invitational, as well as assumedly tryouts for NBA D-League teams (should the draft not quite work out) will be a major stepping stone for both Stanback and Bellfield .

Now, let’s get to what actually occurred at the tournament. Chace Stanabck was put on a team named Cherry, Bekaert & Holland – an accounting firm who likes to put their name on things, obviously. Oscar Bellfield was placed on a team named Portsmouth Partnership, named after a non-profit dedicated to promoting economic growth, leadership and education within the city of Portsmouth. What’s in a name – nothing.

Chace Stanback


The initial game for Chace came against a team named K&D Rounds Landscaping. Chace took the bull by the horns and capitalized well from the field. He shot poorly from three, but still made 50% of his shots. Not sure how closely the refees were calling this one (likely not much because it was an exhibition for scouts), but Chace didn’t get to the foul like to attempt any baskets – meaning his stat line had no padding.

Here's what Ryan Maddox of NBADraft.net had to say about Stanback's performance:

"6’8” Chace Stanbeck (UNLV) stood out immediately. His final numbers won’t wow you (11 points, 2 boards, 1 block), but I’d be shocked if this kid doesn’t at least have a cup of coffee in the league sooner than later. Going 5-10 from the field, he simply would not be sped up and played a consistent, effective pace all night. Hit a catch and shoot three on a kickout in the early going. Drove hard to a kill spot from the FT line extended off two dribbles and rose up over his defender and buried a jumper. Not a lot of wasted motion/energy with this guy. Could be more vocal/demonstrative – especially in a setting like this. Went 1-5 from deep tonight but mechanics/shot selection both check out. Shot over 45% from distance during the season. Want to see him matchup with Kevin Murphy tomorrow. Has the size to guard 2s/3s at the next level – could be a huge mismatch for opposing 2s with his length/range."

Here are his stats for game one:

Game two:

In the second game, which his team lost by two points to Portsmouth Sports Club (not Oscar's team) Chace shot pretty well from the field, and all of his stats were respectable. He had the same amount of points as in the first game, but took two additional attempts. Given that Chace's team lost, they then went to the consolation game for third place. Low and behold, they were to compete against Oscar Bellfield's team. Here's the stat line:

Oscar Bellfield

Oscar started the tournament off with a rocky overall performance. Fortunately for his team, they won the game despite it. Oscar was in a funk shooting-wise, and only hit one shot all game despite seven attempts. Disappointingly, his assist to turnover ratio was 1. These were very un-oscarlike numbers, maybe he was just a little too used to runnin Coach Rice's offense to play the generic ball dished out by the 'Portsmouth Partnership'. On to game two, here is the statline:

Game two

Having basically mulliganed the first outing, expectations were 'no where to go but up' right? Well, sort of. Oscar again only made one basket in the outing, but at least he didn't have any turnovers. So, three assists to 0 turnovers makes for a good average. Bellfield's team would not get another shot to make it to the tournament game because they were blown out by 'Roger Browns' by 20 points. BUT, this set up an intriguing matuchp Oscar Bellfield's team would face Chace Stanback! Intriguing! Here is the statline:

Trading Places - Oscar plays against Chace

In the name of making a name for yourself in front of Mitch Kupchak (L.A. Lakers), Daryl Morey (Houston Rockets) and Rick Sund (Atlanta Hawks) to name a few, a match up between two UNLV players occurred, and although it wasn't Shawn Marion vs. Joel Anthony in the NBA finals, it is still a noteworthy occurrence. 

Leading up to the game, we had Chace Stanback playing good basketball, and Oscar not-so-much. Would anything change? Would Oscar tell his players how to throw Chace off his game, or vice versa? Clearly, because they play different positions they wouldn't go head to head. The take away from this game was that things changed for both Chace and Oscar, a dramatic change for both. 

Looking at the statline, Chace - who had been having fantastic performances totally fell off. He jacked up way to many shots, and connected on about a quarter of those  tries. In contrast, Oscar was measured, and shot the ball much better than he did in the first two games. Bellfield couldn't shake the turnover bug, and again had 3 giveaways - but so did Chace. The better team on this particular day ended up being Oscar's, which resulted in an overall third place finish for his team. Here's the box score:

Conclusion

Chace had 2 of 3 good games, and performed as a reliable scorer in those games. He wasn't dominant, but for a GM who is looking at the Portsmouth Invitational to potentially pick up players in the draft or free agency - dominance is really going to be overstated at this level anyhow. The last impact player to come out of the Portsmouth Invitational was Jeremy Lin - but the reason that he is a phenomena is partly because of the challenges of being branded 'lesser' from the gate - Oscar and Chace will face similar difficulties moving forward. Chace likely maintained his value in this tournament and may inspire a GM to take a chance on a hard to guard player who can shoot the three, all be it in a streaky manner. Oscar had one lackluster performance after another, and likely didn't make much of a mark on the radar. Over the years, Oscar has single handedly won games for the Rebels, and done some pretty amazing things. Hopefully the scouts may take a chance on him in the D-league,and he gets the chance to run the point for a new team sometime soon. Although you cannot find a very good recap of the Portsmouth invitational, hardly any photos, or video of it -  it sill mattered, and it featured two of our favored sons. So, to Chace and Oscar - best of luck to you moving forward. 

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!

Roster preview: 2012-13 Centers

This is the first in a three part series about next year’s roster.

This past season the center spot has evolved with the three returning guys, Brice Massamba, Carlos Lopez, and Quintrell Thomas assuming different roles.

Massamba earned the well deserved trust of Coach Rice, playing harder, smarter, and scoring more than he had under any of  his previous years with Coach Kruger.
Carlos Lopez had a decent season, but the breakout that everyone was anticipating given his flashy moves and universal fan-favorite status among the faithful didn’t materialize due to injuries and illnesses.
Quintrell Thomas was used more sporadically than in the previous years, and was at times very good, and at times a DNP on the stat sheet.

In the coming year, we say goodbye to Brice, and hello Khem Birch, and possibly and Matt Willms. Lets breakdown who’s returning, who may be here, and what to expect.


Carlos Lopez
6’11” 215 pounds and a lot of talent, as well as heart. Carlos Lopez has been an effective big man for the Rebels since he finished his freshman redshirt year. Regarding talent, he has a repertoire that includes fake passes, fancy footwork, a short-to-mid range game - and he brings instant energy when inserted. Nearly a 7 footer, Carlos is also listed as a forward, and throughout the season was played as such by Coach Rice. Not sure whether the change was inspired by the Coach, or by Carlos, but due to the illness and injuries we didn’t get to see enough Carlos to judge whether a move to forward to play along-side another big man was a good strategy, especially in the uptempo Runnin' offense.

Next year I see Carlos either sticking with the center position due to the lack of  experienced alternatives, or Coach Rice playing a modified lineup where the best matched player will defend the opposing team’s center, while offensively the team runs a 3 forward 2 guard lineup, or perhaps at times a 2 forward 3 guard lineup. Regardless of Carlos’s position, I do see it as a breakout season for him. There will be a lot of slack to pick up regarding losing Brice’s numbers, and areas that Carlos can show improvement. For example, Carlos can be a great playmaker for the Rebels – especially since several other players on the floor are likely to draw the double team because of the reputation for offensive potency. Carlos is a good shooter, and for a big man 63% from the field is respectable. But, last season he only had 95 field goal attempts. In contrast, Massamba had 135, and Mike Moser had 409. With his talent, heart, and creativity he has to have some first option plays drawn up for him. His other area of improvement has to be free throw shooting – a traditional sore spot for big men, but 61% isn’t cutting it. Closer to 75% should be his goal this year. As for positives, he’s already a very effective shot blocker, as well as a ball thief. Dependant on the role Khem Birch assumes, I see Carlos Lopez as a very good option for starting center. If not a starter, bringing him off the bench with other energy people makes for a great pace-changer.


Quintrell Thomas
6’8” 245 pounds, he feels the game, and is sometimes the difference maker for the Rebels. The difference from his role with Coach Kruger, is under Coach Kruger he was used in rotating fashion with Brice and Carlos, basically someone would occupy the space until they racked up 1 foul, then the next guy would go in, and so on. This was extremely frustrating to watch, and must have been excruciating to be a part of. The question is, was it better to play in a way where it was difficult to get into the rhythm of the game because of constantly rotating in and out, or playing a bunch in some games and barely at all in others. Coach Rice saw Quintrell as someone who would have match-up problems with the opposing team’s centers, and for that reason he was not played in several games. No doubt about it, Thomas is small to be playing center at 6’8”, but I assume he knew that in transferring from Kansas. Although the roster lists him as a ‘forward’ he really hasn’t occupied that position for the Rebels.  His main physical attribute for playing the position is his physical size – he can take up space, and has the mass not to be pushed off the block. In the last two seasons we’ve seen flashes of great play by Quintrell Thomas, but this past season really calls into question the role Coach Rice has in mind for him in his final season.

Because of the size issue, unless Thomas is clearly besting all of the other candidates in practice and in Canada, I don’t see him being the starter. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that he’ll be at his most effective against an opposing player who is 6’10” and shorter.  Both his shooting percentage and free throw percentage ranked among worst at the center position, but he was a more effective shot blocker than Lopez and Massamba (had double what Massamba had, and played half the minutes. Unfortunately for him with all the issues with his foul trouble last season – that problem has been solved, but his effectiveness has diminished, 6.7 ppg in 2010-11, now 4.4 in 2011-12. In the off season, his hands need to improve – if that’s possible. He has had struggles with shooting and rebounding because the basketball does not hold tight in his hands, and sometimes falls out or gets shot poorly. This may be an issue that may never be remedied, but this is his last collegiate season and if he wants to keep playing basketball professionally, these issues need to be overcome. I really want to see Quintrell Thomas have a breakout senior year – much like Brice Massamba did.


Khem Birch
6’9” 220 pounds, Khem Birch is a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, and a former McDonald's All-American. He will not be eligible to play until after the fall semester, the same way that Reggie Smith was not eligible until this past spring term (or until fall grades were posted). It will be interesting to see how things change once he is inserted into the lineup and ready to play. Clearly, with his basketball pedigree and accolades – he can play. Luckily, if he is as good as his reputations predicts him to be, by virtue of his transfer situation we’ll have at least a year and a half of him playing for us (nobody is going to draft a guy based upon a semesters worth of college ball – unless we go final four and he’s the reason why).

Khem is another guy who would be slightly undersized at the center position. One of the reasons Khem transferred away from Pitt among other issues, was that he did not want to play center. Likely reason behind that – he knows he would not translate as a NBA center, he would be a power forward – which is a well founded conclusion. With someone who specifically did not want to do something, it will be extremely important for Coach Rice not to play him at center, and cause him to disengage because of it. If Birch’s presence in the spring lineup changes anything dramatically, it will likely be the 3F2G, or 2F3G lineup alluded to earlier. What will also be interesting to watch is whether he becomes a starter, even though he hasn’t  played in the fall. I highly doubt it, unless the Rebels have an uncharacteristically poor season up to that point. Great things are expected from this unexpected player, and he may be the gift that keeps on giving if he is able to solidify Anthony Bennett’s presence on the Rebels’ roster.

What’s exciting about Birch, is that he’s shown himself to be a player capable of double-doubles, as well as averaging nearly 2 blocks a game. With an inside presence like that, our rebounding woes should be cured, as well as the paint held much more sacred. Hopefully, no more guards running through the lane like a hot knife through butter. It will be as interesting as anything to see how Khem Birch changes the Rebels midway through next season.


Bryan Glenn
6’11 215 pounds – a lucky find to get a local player who in a non-scholarship capacity fit the bill as a tall center on the scout team. Chances are, unless you’ve been to practices you’ve not seen him play. I’ve not been – so I haven’t seen him play. The fact that Coach Rice hasn’t seen his way to play Bryan Glenn, even in garbage time, shows he has a lot of way to go to crack the lineup. But, one can always hope that he somehow someway becomes a viable center candidate because of his sheer size and all of  the great experience he’s getting playing as the opposing team against the nationally ranked Runnin' Rebels. Even if  that’s a pipe dream, we are still more than happy to have the services of Mr. Glenn helping the Rebels to be great. Thank you Bryan Glenn.


Matt Willms
6’11” 210 pounds, it seems fitting to get another big man from Findlay Prep to replace the outgoing Brice Massamba. According to information online, UNLV is in the running, as well as Providence, Long Beach State, and Marquette. He’s a true center, but has a nice complementary skill set that can cause the defense to respect him outside of the restricted area. From what I’ve seen on mix-tapes, he can follow the action and swoop in to dunk the ball, but he can also stoke a three, at least from high school distance. The biggest knock on Willms, is that he’s rail thin at only 210 (up 10 pounds from the previous season). The facts are that he’s a legit prospect to be a very good center, and UNLV will someday soon be devoid of true centers. Provided everything works out and there are no better alternatives, this should work out. Should the Rebels take Matt Willms, I fully expect him to redshirt his first year due to the current depth at the center position, plus time to mature and get better. Go get Willms!

Last season's predictions - Revisited

UNLV predictions, revisited

On October 23, 2011, Jason Taylor and myself kicked around out predictions about what this season would be like. Let’s find out how we did, and what we didn’t account for happening that created deviations in those predictions. For clarity, the black is Jason's (his comes first too), the dark red is mine (after Jason's).

Given that the Rebels will win 20+ games again, what match-ups are toss-ups or losses?


Shortened up, here are the teams I mentioned.
Toss up – New Mexico    Wins – USC, and Cal    Losses – UNC, Wisconsin, Illinois
Worried about – UCSB    Overall guess at our record… 28-5

So, for what I mentioned... not too terrible.  We won and lost to New Mexico (toss up).  We beat USC and Cal, as predicted, and we lost to Wisconsin as predicted.  I was worried about UCSB… fortunately we squeaked out an overtime win where we held a 10 point lead with 2 minutes to go in regulation.  The two I got wrong… UNC and Illinois.  It was so nice to be so wrong on those!  UNC was #1 at the time, and Illinois was ranked #19, undefeated (if I remember correctly), and we played the Illini “away”.

My biggest blunders came in failing to mention so many other teams that, not only should I have been worried about, but I TOTALLY underestimated.  I thought the conference was going to be weaker, where I predicted only losing 2-3 games.  We lost 5.  SDSU… wow.  Great job Steve Fisher.  CSU… I thought losing Andy Ogide would put them at a huge disadvantage.  WRONG!  How about Wyoming?  Phenomenal season considering the preceding year and the loss of Amath M’Baye to Lon Kruger’s Sooners!  TCU, too.  They had a really strong home performance this year, even though we blew… what, a 20 pt lead or so?  MAN, that one got me.

We went 26-9 through all games.  In all fairness, I wasn’t including D II games, so apples to apples the “Actual” record was 24-9, and I had us at 28-5.  That’s four full games the “wrong” way.  It felt worse than 4, though.

Here’s how I called it

UNC – loss (they’re just too good and we’ve not had good luck at the Orleans) -Wrong

USC – win

UCSB – win

Wichita State – toss-up (loss)

Wisconsin – toss-up (loss)

Illinois – win (revenge)

Cal – toss-up, win

UNR – toss-up, win

SDSU – win, both times Wrong, only once

CSU – win, both times Wrong, only once

New Mexico – split series (home win, road loss)

Not too shabby on my part, what I didn’t count on (and nobody else did) was the extreme fortune and whatever the team was drinking the night we beat UNC at the Orleans. Amazing. But, on the negative, who would have guessed losing to Wyoming and TCU? Head scratchers, games that I chalked up as ‘given’. The big surprise to many was that San Diego State would be a formidable opponent, spending some time ahead of UNLV in the national rankings. Clearly, SDSU can recruit and Coach Fisher is one of the best out there.

UNLV finished conference play with a record of 26-7, not quite the 28-4 I had predicted, but still good enough for Coach Rice to be among the best new coaches in college basketball, not to mention one of the best regardless. The Rebels spent more time being nationally ranked than they had since 1992, at one point #11 in the nation. The major hurdle for the Rebels was the MWC, as a whole, was completely legit and brought effort, intensity, and a lot of luck when they played the Rebels. 

Will the Rebels actually run?

I said:  We'll be playing bigger and faster.  Coach Rice has stressed style of play since day 1, and his style "Runs"!

The reality, in my opinion:  Yes, we Ran… Right out of steam!  I think the reason we did so well early in the season truly had a lot to do with “legs”.  I think we lost our legs late in the season because we were tired, and I think the biggest mistake Rice made was leaving fresh legs, much too often, on the bench.  Kruger used more subs on the average, and he wasn’t trying to run a high-octane offense.  I hope Rice and staff will consider this over the summer.  Lopez, Thomas, Smith, and even Wallace could have added much more depth and helped preserve the starters.  I think some of those huge leads we gave up are indicators of this notion.

I said they would, that losing Willis and Jasper, and gaining Moser and Smith would make the team more athletic, and could better execute the Runnin’ offense. 

I was half right. The Rebels did run, but Smith was not the factor he was envisoned to be, not totally his fault – he was inserted into a high-octane team midway through the season and was unable to match what Oscar Bellfield brought to the table. Mike Moser on the other hand, was half-man half amazing for the first 75% of the season, and then a mere mortal the rest of the way. Changing systems takes time, Coach Rice increased the PPG dramatically in his first season, and he will continue to implement both his offense and defense more effectively when he has his handpicked guys running it, and more time to work it. 

Will this year's schedule be the RPI builder of years past?

I said:  The first half of the year will be an RPI builder, but the second half would be “fragile”.  

RPI of 20 most of the conference season.  I greatly underestimated the strength of the conference.

I said it was a mixed bag, and there was a serious gap between the quality opponents we faced and non-quality opponents in the nonconference schedule.

Mostly right on this – but I didn’t properly value the RPI. The opponents were either high quality or terrible, with no middle ground. The RPI, and the way the Rebels capitalized sent our RPI soaring and certainly helped with the consistant national ranking (that and beating UNC). This was Coach Kruger's schedule, 95% of it. Coach Kruger’s most genius move is putting together a schedule that creates 20+ win seasons and also boasts a great RPI at the end of the day. The man is most genius in this respect. Hopefully Coach Rice will keep a little of Coach Kruger’s magical RPI schedule building. 

Last year the average attendance at the T&M was one of the best on the west coast at 13253.  What will the average attendance be this year?

Due to a lack of Saturday games, I said:  We'll still be one of the best-attended basketball arenas on the west coast, but I think we'll maintain attendance numbers - until next year.  

Home attendance ended up at 13867.  I’d say that was a reasonably good prediction???  However, had I known that ticket prices for the Plaza level would increase so much, I may have been more skeptical.  Overall, the fan turnout was great.  We took some major strides in creating a better atmosphere this year, even coming up with a cool name for the student section:  The Rebellion.  The 20 ft “Mike Moser” was awesome!

I predicted 15,000, the real number was 13867. I totally agree with Jason Taylor’s assessment on why there was no boost. Frankly, he should be running their ticket sales / marketing department, he accurately predicted their failure, and the reasons why that failure occurred. 

Will Marshall be a better PG than Bellfield?

I said:  If Marshall can build his way into the NBA, the Point is the perfect position for him to do it from.  Try guarding him one-on-one and he'll end up cramming it down your throat with his speed, strength, and explosiveness.  Apply "help D", and he'll dish or kick.  

Bellfield is a very good "face-up" jump shooter, so I believe he'll actually benefit as well.

With that said, I don't think the switch means as much under Rice as it would have under Kruger.  Rice's offense will rely on multiple transition ball handlers, all the way up through the power forward position.  Guards, including Wallace, will immediately turn up court as they rebound, so Marshall will bring the ball up less often under Rice, I believe, than Bellfield brought it up under Kruger.

If I were asked the same question now, I’d say it depends on how you view the role of the point guard.  If it is to control pace, conserve a good assist to turnover ratio, and distribute the ball, I’d say Bellfield.  However, if you need a point that can force his will, then Marshall is the obvious choice.  I like them both, for different reasons.  I think having the power to use either style was a big plus for Rice.

Marshall would greatly increase his stock with a more consistent outside shot and better free throw shooting.  Bellfield was a very reliable guard, and played MUCH better than his high school recruiting assessment valued him at.  He will be missed.

I had predicted that he would be the same, but do it in a different way. Marshall is not a better point guard than Bellfield, main reason is turnovers. Offensively, Marshall was ahead of Bellfield, but that’s fine and good and they have a name for that – shooting guard. I don’t think that Marshall has the mentality to be a great point guard, but he is fantastic as a shooting guard, or in limited minutes as a point guard. I was wrong on this one. 

Which assistant coach are we likely to see standing up and being the most vocal during games?

I said:  My only guess is a long shot - Heath Schroyer.  He was a bit of a foot stomper as head coach at Wyoming, but who knows how he'll be as a non-alpha dog?  

I think this was right.  There were several times Schroyer was standing behind rice yelling out calls.  I think he was well behaved, but I’d say he was the most vocal.  Augmon – sometimes I wondered if his lips were glued shut!  Hutson – Reserved, but not bashful.  

I had predicted Hutson, but it turned out to be Jason’s pick – Heath Schroyer. The guy couldn’t help himself, and the way the Rebels sometimes played – I don’t blame him in the least. 

Whose game will improve the most over last season?

I said:  I'm going to cheat on this one a little bit and look at a transfer.  For comparison, since he sat out last year, I'm borrowing UCLA's stats from 2009-10.  My prediction:  Mike Moser WILL WIN this category, assuming he stays healthy.  He didn't get much playing time at UCLA... only 4 minutes per game.  He shot 20% from the field and made less than 10% of his 3's.  My prediction:  Moser will go from averaging less than 1 point per game for the Bruins, to leading the Rebels in rebounding and scoring for UNLV this year, and will compete for "MWC Newcomer of the Year" honors.

Crazy?  Maybe, but I'm stickin' with it!

Uh-hem…

Leading scorer for the Rebels?  Mike Moser.

Leading rebounder for the Rebels?  Mike Moser.

MWC Newcomer of the Year?  Mike Moser.

Ya Baby!  Cheater or not, I’m braggin’ about that one!  Nobody around the conference called Moser a pre-season MWC Award winner, or likely to be the best overall player for UNLV.  

As John Sandler would say:  SLAAAM, DUNK!

During the fan scrimmage, I saw a good 10-12 pts per game that you can’t take away from him.  He’s too long, energetic, and can hit free throws.  Rebounds… that was obvious.  After the scrimmage I told him I was looking at the MWC Newcomer of The Year.  He smiled and said, “I wish.”  Cool kid.

I picked Mashour, but he was never given the playing time to improve and has essentially been removed from garbage time duty due to to an incident mid-season. 


The clear most-improved candidate was Brice Massamba – he was everything we wanted him to be this season. I am really, truly, sorry to see the big man leaving.  I think Justin Hawkins also raised his game considerably, and had Massamba not done it as a starter, I might named Hawkins instead. 

Is bringing back ‘the shark’ the right thing to do moving forward? 

Is there any greater respect we could give to Tark?  Loved it!

I was cautiously optimistic about the shark. Now, I’ve totally jumped on the bandwagon. It makes us unique, it a a very good thing, and it pays homage. I love the shark, even more than I love Mozilla. Long live the shark. 

Congrats to Chace Stanback

Chace had 16 points in a great effort in the Reese's College all-star game. I'm fairly certain (coverage is spotty) that he was the third leading scorer in the game, and second on the West team. 


I watched a good amount of it, and Chace looked like he was healthy and playing well, stroking the three, rebounding, and the occasional 2 point jumper. His team, the West, lost 103-99. 


Chace's performance should increase his stock. Way to represent UNLV, thanks Chace!

 http://www.nola.com/ncaa/index.ssf/2012/03/east_team_defeats_west_in_rees.html

Off-season format

Another exciting season has come and gone, but this off-season is shaping up to be plenty entertaining - hopefully not as intriguing as last off season, but positive expectations, growing, and preparing for dominance in Coach Rice's second season. 


There will be a lot of exciting things to look forward to in the off-season at Rebel Reign. We will be looking back at the regular season, recruiting, conference merger, more interviews, and generally getting better - like the Runnin' Rebels. We will try to have a new article posted each Sunday, but obviously if recruiting news or movement otherwise occurs, that story will break as it happens. 


Keep coming, and we will keep delivering the goods, as always membership and advertisement free. 


RebelReign

All the stats from the UNLV v. Colorado game

Here's the numbers - now you can draw your own conclusions!

NCAA Basketball

NCAA Basketball

College Basketball Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

College Basketball

NCAA Basketball Stats

The little engine that couldn’t: UNLV played like the underdog and couldn’t overcome deficiencies, lost 68-64 to Colorado

The wheels have been loose all conference schedule, oh the humanity!

The perfect opportunity to advance in the NCAA tournament was squandered by the Rebels tonight. So many stars had aligned to make the path easier – matching us up with a Pac 12 opponent, putting us in a very familiar and close venue, giving us a not well deserved 6 seeding. The problem is when the Rebels play the way they played as of recent, they lose basketball games. Tonight the Buffalos bested the Rebels, and our season is over.

Looking at the faces of the Rebels at the start of the game, nobody really looked excited. The only player I saw even look at ease, was Anthony Marshall. After the Rebels by Massamba won the tip-off, the only offense to come for the longest time was from Brice, with two layups to give the Rebels 4 points. In the meantime, the Buffalos had the hot hand and simply tore through the Rebels defense. The early part of the game essentially went like this, Rebel player shoots a three – misses, Colorado rebounds the ball and scores. The biggest early lead by the Buffalos was 19-7 with 9:51 to go in the first half. The Rebels got it down to 4 with about five minutes left, but then Colorado pushed the lead out to 11 to finish the half.

The problems UNLV encountered were numerous and not at all unfamiliar. A large part of the Rebels offense was run by way of kick out threes. These attempts remained only attempts. The Rebels couldn’t buy a rebound, no rebounds means two things – no second chance points, more opportunities for the other team to score the basket. Coach Rice’s ‘Runnin’ Rebels’ looked more like Coach Kruger’s half court Rebels, minus the efficient defense. When these Rebels don’t run, only one guy can create his own shot – Anthony Marshall. Everyone else looks quite uncomfortable shooting in that style of offense. For the half, the Rebels shot 27% versus the Buffalos 50%, over half of the shot attempts were three point attempts (16 of 29), and the Rebels were out rebounded 27 to 12. With numbers like these, the Rebels were lucky only to be down 11 points at the half, you would expect 20.

Coach Rice was interviewed after coming back from halftime, and said the Rebels would come back – a seemingly unbelievable statement given the state of play earlier in the game. But, the Rebels eventually did make a run and closed the gap considerably. But, it would have to get worse before it got better.

The Rebels further squandered their 11 point hole by posting only 2 points in the first five minutes of the second half. Looking very much like a continuation of the first half, Colorado pushed the lead to 20 points, 49-29. Many likely called it a day when they saw what was happening – hell I was tempted to try and watch Tower Heist to cleanse my eyes of this horror. But I didn’t, I couldn’t – I watch every game including garbage time, and this may have been the last garbage time of the season. But it was not.

With about 10 minutes left, the lackadaisical Rebels did what the announcing crew said they should be doing from the beginning of the second half – play full court trapping defense. Once the Rebels did it, turnovers came in bunches. Once the turnovers came, the Rebels scored. They scored so much that they had a 14-1 run and brought the score to within 2 points, 57-55 on a Justin Hawkins 3 pointer.

So 2 point game, 5 minutes to go, momentum on the Rebels side – completely doable. Incorrect assumption. From this point out the Rebels for whatever reason abandoned all that worked for them during the 14-1 run and again played man-to-man half court defense. The result, while it was close and within reach for the rest of the game, it would take epic failures the likes of what was seen in the First Four to get us to the promised land. Most everything that was working during the 14-1 run vanished, and we were stuck in a 1-2 possession game  for the remainder of the game.

As for final statistics;
Shooting UNLV - 32%, Colorado 45% (UNLV jacked up 23 more shot attempts than Colorado!);
Rebounding: UNLV 33, Colorado 46
Assists: UNLV 13, Colorado 12
Blocks: UNLV 8, Colorado 3
Steals: UNLV 14, Colorado 4
Turnovers: UNLV 8, Colorado 23

Along the way in this aggravating game were some good things. Various Rebels, Justin Hawkins, Anthony Marshall, and Carlos Lopez all were successful in goating fouls or giving up their bodies in the name of drawing offensive fouls. Anthony Marshall had a dominant block and a circus shot layup near the end of the game. Mike Moser intercepted an inbounds pass and nearly pulled off a sweet pass back on a steal to Bellfield, but Bellfield was poked in the eye and not ready to receive said pass, resulting in a giveback.
This is essentially how we lost 68-64 to the Colorado Buffalos in the struggling Pac-12. In the coming days lots of data will be up about this game, and various aspects will be highlighted as areas for improvement. Too fed up right now to name Reign Men, that will come later when a little time has passed.

While the Rebels made it again to the dance, and won 26 games in the process, it is a bitter sweet day when you lose in the first round of the tournament as the 6 seed to an 11 seed. The little engine that couldn’t showed up today, hopefully it will retire and leave far more exiciting times ahead. Congrats to the Rebels for a great season, and for putting together a run in this game and at least making it interesting,