That was the most fun game I've attended in quite some time. The game "didn't matter" for all intents and purposes; it meant very little on a large scale.
It wasn't always well played and in fact both teams made some really bonehead plays, but both teams went hard and were engaged for the 40 minutes. When Pat's buzzer beater dropped, game over really.
I was very proud of the effort and focus of the Rebels. Once it was announced DM was out, I honestly figured a double digit loss. Not because DM puts up huge numbers - he's minutes, he's size, he's depth. Without it, not a chance I thought.
Some players struggled badly tonight, but the deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Once the DM thing happened, the original game plan was tossed out the window. That only gives you a couple of hours to re-prep for the game with an ENTIRELY a different game plan. It wasn't as simple as plug in the backup big and use the same plan. And players had to adjust on the fly as well. That's not easy, especially for the younger kids. And they were absolutely exhausted. To be that close in the rebounding battle given our size and depth says a lot and Oliver is a load. They really did gut this one out. I'm happy for them. I'm guessing UNLV is about 2-7 in conference with "coin flip" games. The basketball Gods shined a rare light on UNLV tonight.
It was beating Reno in basketball, so it's no big deal and it's winning a game at home which isn't a big deal. It's beating a mediocre team as a mediocre team yourself in a poor conference, so it's no big deal. But that was one exciting game and it feels nice to just enjoy it for that. The fans needed it, the players needed it. And the fans that showed tonight deserved it. Decent crowd size, but they were loud and really got into it.
Fun night.
It wasn't always well played and in fact both teams made some really bonehead plays, but both teams went hard and were engaged for the 40 minutes. When Pat's buzzer beater dropped, game over really.
I was very proud of the effort and focus of the Rebels. Once it was announced DM was out, I honestly figured a double digit loss. Not because DM puts up huge numbers - he's minutes, he's size, he's depth. Without it, not a chance I thought.
Some players struggled badly tonight, but the deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Once the DM thing happened, the original game plan was tossed out the window. That only gives you a couple of hours to re-prep for the game with an ENTIRELY a different game plan. It wasn't as simple as plug in the backup big and use the same plan. And players had to adjust on the fly as well. That's not easy, especially for the younger kids. And they were absolutely exhausted. To be that close in the rebounding battle given our size and depth says a lot and Oliver is a load. They really did gut this one out. I'm happy for them. I'm guessing UNLV is about 2-7 in conference with "coin flip" games. The basketball Gods shined a rare light on UNLV tonight.
It was beating Reno in basketball, so it's no big deal and it's winning a game at home which isn't a big deal. It's beating a mediocre team as a mediocre team yourself in a poor conference, so it's no big deal. But that was one exciting game and it feels nice to just enjoy it for that. The fans needed it, the players needed it. And the fans that showed tonight deserved it. Decent crowd size, but they were loud and really got into it.
Fun night.
