As we sit here about to embark on another season of Runnin' Rebel basketball, I can't shake this feeling after watching our 2 exhibition games: why was I -- and why are others -- so pessimistic about this season?
It's probably because we only have 3 returning players on this squad. But wait. Only recognizing 3 faces of players who wore UNLV jerseys the previous season is nothing new. Specifically, you have to go back to 2013 to find a season where we had more than 3 returning players.
2016: Green, Morgan, Poyser
2015: Cornish, McCaw, Morgan (Cook/Okonoboh)
2014: Kendrick, Wood (Cook/KSmith)
2013: Birch, Cook, Lopez-Sosa, BDJ
2012: Hawkins, Lopez-Sosa, Marshall, Moser, Thomas
Granted, many of these previous teams had a couple more semi-familiar faces, as we saw players like Seagears, Carter, Roscoe, or DeVille walking around in street clothes for a season as they sat out the 1-year transfer penalty. But still, none of these players were "returners".
So what was the difference between this season and the others where there were just as many unknown pieces trying to collect Ws for the Rebels? Dare I say the only difference is the amount of stars next to the newcomers' names? Well, maybe that, along with the number of letters in their names.
Instead of Zimmerman, we have Dembele. Rather than DJones: Clyburn or Baxter.
But if I learned anything over the last 5 years it is that you cannot rely on stars and hype to get you consistent results across a 33-game season. As much as I would like to say that I knew this principle before my Rebels stumbled to 8-10 MW records the past two years, it really never clicked: "This season is going to be different...look at the guys we have coming in this year..."
If you don't capitalize on the talent you have, what's the point of having it at all?
Frankly, I think we have talent. Plenty of it. We have guys that can make shots. Athletic guys. Long bodies. Quickness. But at the end of the day, none of that is going to determine what this team accomplishes for the 2016-2017 basketball season. Sure, the players have to play and make plays, but college basketball has always been about coaches. Whether you're talking about Izzo and Kruger or Beard and Underwood, it matters.
So here we are with Coach Menzies, along with his staff of LaFleur, Jeter, and Brown. How good are they, or how good can they be? Frankly, I was guilty of overreacting when the hiring process resulted in Coach Menzies coming to Las Vegas. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was so fast to dismiss 5 straight 23+ win seasons, and 5 NCAA births in the last 7 years. To do that out of a little school in Las Cruces, NM?
As I sat and watched CDR's diminishing returns for 5 years, I told myself: Never again will I take for granted what Kruger did for UNLV in getting us 2 MW Tourney championships and 4 NCAA tournaments in 5 years. Yet when UNLV hires a coach who accomplished all that and more (albeit in a lesser conference) I and many others called for protests and letters to officials, etc., etc.
Considering his past, along with our brief glimpses in two exhibition games, I have seen enough to know that Marvin Menzies is a good head basketball coach. I trust that he can take this new group of Rebels on an upward climb. Will we get to the top of Mountain (West) this year? Probably not. Will we beat any of the 3 top-5 teams on our schedule? It would take a miraculous effort and a lot of balls bouncing our way.
But one thing is for certain. I'm not throwing in the towel on these Rebels. And neither should you.
It's probably because we only have 3 returning players on this squad. But wait. Only recognizing 3 faces of players who wore UNLV jerseys the previous season is nothing new. Specifically, you have to go back to 2013 to find a season where we had more than 3 returning players.
2016: Green, Morgan, Poyser
2015: Cornish, McCaw, Morgan (Cook/Okonoboh)
2014: Kendrick, Wood (Cook/KSmith)
2013: Birch, Cook, Lopez-Sosa, BDJ
2012: Hawkins, Lopez-Sosa, Marshall, Moser, Thomas
Granted, many of these previous teams had a couple more semi-familiar faces, as we saw players like Seagears, Carter, Roscoe, or DeVille walking around in street clothes for a season as they sat out the 1-year transfer penalty. But still, none of these players were "returners".
So what was the difference between this season and the others where there were just as many unknown pieces trying to collect Ws for the Rebels? Dare I say the only difference is the amount of stars next to the newcomers' names? Well, maybe that, along with the number of letters in their names.
Instead of Zimmerman, we have Dembele. Rather than DJones: Clyburn or Baxter.
But if I learned anything over the last 5 years it is that you cannot rely on stars and hype to get you consistent results across a 33-game season. As much as I would like to say that I knew this principle before my Rebels stumbled to 8-10 MW records the past two years, it really never clicked: "This season is going to be different...look at the guys we have coming in this year..."
If you don't capitalize on the talent you have, what's the point of having it at all?
Frankly, I think we have talent. Plenty of it. We have guys that can make shots. Athletic guys. Long bodies. Quickness. But at the end of the day, none of that is going to determine what this team accomplishes for the 2016-2017 basketball season. Sure, the players have to play and make plays, but college basketball has always been about coaches. Whether you're talking about Izzo and Kruger or Beard and Underwood, it matters.
So here we are with Coach Menzies, along with his staff of LaFleur, Jeter, and Brown. How good are they, or how good can they be? Frankly, I was guilty of overreacting when the hiring process resulted in Coach Menzies coming to Las Vegas. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was so fast to dismiss 5 straight 23+ win seasons, and 5 NCAA births in the last 7 years. To do that out of a little school in Las Cruces, NM?
As I sat and watched CDR's diminishing returns for 5 years, I told myself: Never again will I take for granted what Kruger did for UNLV in getting us 2 MW Tourney championships and 4 NCAA tournaments in 5 years. Yet when UNLV hires a coach who accomplished all that and more (albeit in a lesser conference) I and many others called for protests and letters to officials, etc., etc.
Considering his past, along with our brief glimpses in two exhibition games, I have seen enough to know that Marvin Menzies is a good head basketball coach. I trust that he can take this new group of Rebels on an upward climb. Will we get to the top of Mountain (West) this year? Probably not. Will we beat any of the 3 top-5 teams on our schedule? It would take a miraculous effort and a lot of balls bouncing our way.
But one thing is for certain. I'm not throwing in the towel on these Rebels. And neither should you.
