UNLV-62 Washburn-52: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugh!

Over the years, it's been said that there will never be another team quite like the 1989-90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels.  And on a night that Jerry Tarkanian's incomparable NCAA championship team was honored at the Thomas & Mack Center, the performance put on by the current UNLV basketball team certainly ran no risk of drawing comparisons to that Runnin' Rebel team of 20 years ago.  The Rebels struggled mightily with Division II Washburn on Tuesday night before a late run finally put the Ichabods...yes the Ichabods... away by the highly misleading final of 62-52.  It may have wound up a 10-point win, but make no mistake, folks, this was anything but your typical double digit victory.

Perhaps it was the jitters that comes with playing in your first real game of the season.  Perhaps it was the jitters that comes with playing in front of an actual crowd for the first time this year.  Perhaps, for redshirt players such as Derrick Jasper, Matt Shaw, Chace Stanback, and Steve "Chopper" Jones, it was the jitters that comes with playing in an actual game for the first time since the 2007-08 season.  Bottom line?  After that performance, let's just hope and pray it was merely the jitters!

The Good

Chace Stanback:  Clearly favoring a bum ankle that remains a week or two away from being fully healed, Stanback struggled badly in the first half, failing to score while looking uncomfortable in doing so.  In the second half, however, Stanback flipped a switch, seemingly putting his sore ankle on the back burner en route to a team high 15 points.  When the Rebels needed a bucket in the 2nd half, the transfer from UCLA emerged as Lon Kruger's go-to guy, scoring in the post, knocking down a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and throwing down a dunk off of a steal.  Stanback also showed off his rebounding prowess, grabbing 8 boards in only 18 minutes of action.     

The Freshmen Guards:  UNLV's backcourt of the future looked pretty good in the present, as Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins stuffed the stat sheet for a combined 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 28 total minutes.  Though the duo didn't shoot the ball particularly well (who did?), they were active on both ends of the court, and looked poised playing in their first game at the collegiate level.  Hawkins, in particular, did not seemed overwhelmed in the least playing in front of the 10,000+ fans at the T&M.  Clearly, playing in Los Angeles city championships and California state title games prepared J-Hawk well for the moment.  As for Marshall, his athleticism was on full display, ripping down 7 rebounds in only 9 minutes of action.  It shouldn't be long before Marshall claims some of the 16 minutes of playing time that walk-on Steve "Chopper" Jones ate up.    

The Bad

Shooting, Part I:  The Rebels were nothing less than dreadful from beyond the arc, knocking down only 4 of their 23 attempts from 3-point range.  It could have been opening night jitters, perhaps, but the Rebels simply cannot afford to have nights like this.  And when they do have nights like this, 23 attempts is entirely too many.  Fortunately for the Rebels, they now have a player who has shown an abilty to operate and score in the post.  If the 3 isn't dropping, fellas, get the ball to Chace Stanback!  Not only is he able to score down low, his abilty to pass out of the double team will create better, more open looks from deep.

Shooting, Part II:  Once again, free throw shooting reared its ugly head to the tune of 18 out of 30 from the stripe.  Last season, poor free throw shooting was responsible for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in a number of close games.  If the Rebels plan on winning those close games this season, they'll have to do a whole lot better than 60%.  Tre'Von Willis, in particular, must lead by example, and not go 2 out of 4.  80%, Tre'Von.  80%. 

The Ugh!

Rebounding by "the bigs":  After the Rebels defeated Long Beach State in a scrimmage this past Saturday, Coach Kruger expressed concern that rebounding remains the team's most pressing issue.  Uhhhh, yeah!  In a combined 52 minutes, Darris Santee, Brice Massamba, and Matt Shaw accounted for an anemic 7 rebounds.  Seven!  Against a small, Division II team!  And Santee didn't manage a single board!  The Rebel bigs must improve dramatically in this area, and quick, or we might be seeing a whole lot of Chace Stanback at the center position this season.