NCAA lets Dickel in

Steve Carp

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

After waiting a few months to learn his fate, Mark Dickel certainly wasn't going to quibble over a few minutes.

Neither was UNLV basketball coach Bill Bayno. Upon hearing the good news Tuesday afternoon that the NCAA had upheld UNLV's appeal to grant the 6-foot-1 freshman point guard from New Zealand his eligibility, Bayno pushed the opening day of fall practice back to 3:30 instead of the scheduled 3 p.m. start.

"We thought we wouldn't hear until Friday," Bayno said of Dickel's fate. "But this was a pleasant surprise."

Dickel found out just moments before practice was to start.

"I was shocked," he said. "I felt like my first day of practice would be next year. I wasn't sure I'd be playing with everything that's been going on.

"But it was great to be out there with the guys and even though I've got to get into shape, I'll be all right in a couple of days."

It had been a long and agonizing wait for Dickel and Bayno. Dickel had been recruited by the Rebels in January, signed in April and was admitted to school in August. The only hurdle was getting certified for eligibility by the NCAA.

It turned out to be a very high hurdle. Dickel had been turned down twice by the NCAA. First, the staff claimed he did not have enough core credits in mathematics and science to be eligible. Then, the NCAA Clearinghouse wouldn't grant him his eligibility because his core grade-point average was deficient.

UNLV argued that Dickel was being evaluated by a different formula than that of an American student-athlete. It provided numerous documents to support its case, that Dickel had been on a different track to graduate and that he wasn't recruited by UNLV until more than a year after he had graduated from Logan Park High School in Dunedin, N.Z.

"Our goal all along was to equate the New Zealand system with the American system," said UNLV associate athletic director David Chambers. "It was just a matter of patience and persistence.

"The issues involved were complicated. But we felt we needed to keep the information in front of them and make it as clear as possible."

Chambers said UNLV's ability to prove that Dickel's graduation was geared toward social science instead of natural science was enough to convince the NCAA.

"I felt good about our chances," Chambers said. "Good facts generally make for good decisions.

"It's gratifying to know the NCAA recognized Mark's academic achievements in New Zealand."

Dickel and Bayno expressed gratitude for Chambers, athletic director Charles Cavagnaro and Jaina Preston, UNLV's director of academic services. Together, the trio was able to build a convincing case for the NCAA to uphold the appeal.

"I'm thankful to Mr. Chambers for everything," Dickel said. "I always hoped I'd be able to play this year, but the longer it went on, the less sure I was. But he talked to me and told me to hang in there. He was very supportive."

Bayno said: "I just said a lot of prayers and hoped the NCAA would allow him to play.

"He had come halfway around the world to play and I recruited him to come here with the intention he would play. It was very frustrating at times waiting to get a decision, but everything worked out in the end."

Dickel started repaying his debt of gratitude Tuesday, pushing the ball up the court, hitting his new teammates with sharp passes and getting reacquainted with the game. His energy apparently rubbed off on the others.

"It gave us a big boost having him out there," said forward Tony Lane. "I think everyone was up because it was the first day of practice. But he energized everyone to another level."

Hoop du jour

* FIRST-DAY KINKS: Coach Bill Bayno said the first day of practice went about as expected. "It was a typical first day," he said. "There were a lot of rough edges and we had to teach the new guys some things. But all in all, it wasn't too bad." ... After delaying the start to accommodate Mark Dickel, the Rebels practiced for three-plus hours behind closed doors, ending around 6:45 p.m. ... The remainder of this week's practices will also be closed to the public and the media. However, an open scrimmage is being planned for the end of October.

* ODOM VISIT ON HOLD: Prep sensation Lamar Odom was going to visit UNLV last week. Then it appeared the trip would be this week. Now it looks like early November for the 6-foot-8 forward from Christ The King High School in Queens, N.Y. Word is there were some personal matters in New York Odom needed to attend to, thus delaying his trip to Las Vegas.