Funny thing was - that was not a very good UNLV team, at all.
Basnight was a senior …. Booby James was point, he had balls but a seriously low basketball IQ … Paddio was probably the best scorer and I think he got hurt for a portion of the year, an abdominal strain if I’m mistaken, anyone who’s experienced that knows the pain and limitations. Todd was a mediocre center (big shot vs temple), Rossum was a senior guard, serviceable but not great … promising freshman in Stacy A. Keith James was an ok player … Willard was ok, Richard Robinson wasn’t good at all … it just wasn’t a good team. I know they were 28-6 and made it to the second round of the NCAAT … but really, comparatively speaking, they were tough to watch sometimes. I know they were top 20 all year, but they were missing a lot. I think they way overachieved. I think it really does speak to how good of a coach Tark actually was.
Ooops, just remembered, discard. That was the 87-88 team after our FF loss to Indiana.
The 88-89 was a growing team. Greg was young and didn’t learn the nuances of PG that well at that point … Anderson was a hot shot from Detroit, had a lot of mistakes (atoned with his shot vs Arizona). Stacey a sophomore. Butler and Scurry at end of semester break. They had the makings of a really good team but struggled a bit. Obviously LJ put them over the top the next year.
The loss at home, I think Stacey King went for 48. Mookie Blaylock was the PG. Late in the game, UNLV ball, down 2 … Rebels in the halfcourt offense. Hunt with a really bad pass, easily picked by Blaylock, almost looked like he mistakenly passed it to him … we drop the game. Oklahoma was very good that year, they did lose to Danny Manning and the Miracles in the NCAA championship game.