Bayno looking for solution to seventh man in rotation

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998 | 10:02 a.m.

Six simply won't do. So Bill Bayno has to find a seventh person to fill out his UNLV basketball rotation, though eight would be more than enough.

Bayno is committed to playing Shawn Marion and Kevin Simmons up front while starting Mark Dickel and Brian Keefe in the backcourt, with Greedy Daniels backing up both guard spots. Provided he doesn't continue to fail to grab a defensive rebound (as he did Saturday at UCLA), Kaspars Kambala will remain the starting center.

That makes six. So who's the seventh?

Basically, it comes down to whether experience wins out over youth, or if size is more important than instant offense.

Bayno has four choices:

* He can play sophomore Donovan Stewart up front and give Simmons and/or Marion a breather.

* He can replace either of his starters with Chris Richardson, the athletic freshman who has seen limited time the past few games.

* He could play junior center Ike Epps more, either with Kambala or with Simmons.

* Or he could play three guards, with freshman Desmond Herod playing a wing spot alongside any combination of Dickel, Keefe and Daniels.

Stewart probably has the inside track. He has played well since adjusting his game a couple of weeks ago and attacking the basket rather than settling for jump shots from the perimeter.

However, he played sparingly in last Saturday's 72-67 loss to UCLA, in part because he had trouble matching up with the Bruins' bigger and more athletic front line.

That same dilemma exists for Saturday's game with No. 4 Cincinnati in the Las Vegas Shootout at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Bearcats are extremely athletic. They simply jump over people.

Richardson, who goes 6-foot-7 to Stewart's 6-4, may be better suited to compete against Bob Huggins' formidable frontcourt. But it may be tough for Bayno to throw Richardson into the deep end of the pool and ask him to swim safely, especially when he's still learning all the strokes.

"I want to get Chris minutes," Bayno said Monday. "He still has to get stronger. We'll see what happens (this week) in practice."

Using the 6-10 Epps is an intriguing possibility. The junior center played just five minutes against UCLA but managed to block two shots. He also was physical as evidenced by his four fouls.

"I've thought about it," Bayno said of playing Epps with Kambala, something he did for brief periods late last season. "Issiah competed while he was out there (against UCLA)."

But whoever plays in the pivot better start hitting the defensive boards. Neither center had a defensive rebound against the Bruins and that troubles Bayno.

"I talked to Kas about it and there's no question he's got to rebound the basketball," he said.

Bayno may opt to extend the bench depending on who the opponent is. He may be willing to play Richardson and Herod against the likes of a Columbia or a Southern Utah while opting for Stewart's experience or Epps' size against a Cincinnati or an Oklahoma State.

"I don't know," Bayno said when asked if he's made a firm decision on who gets the extra playing time.

"Donovan's the guy who has been in the rotation and I wanted to play him against UCLA. But the tough thing was when we got into a rhythm and we got back in the game, we couldn't get him in."

Hoop du jour

While the Rebels have only Cincinnati to prepare for this week, the Bearcats will be busy. They defeated Nicholls State Monday night at home. Today, they leave for Minneapolis and a big intersectional contest Wednesday against No. 17 Minnesota at Williams Arena (the game will be televised on ESPN). From there, UC heads to Las Vegas for Saturday's game with the Rebels. ... It's finals week at UNLV which means there will be something other than basketball for the players to think about. Bayno said practices will be at the usual time, in the afternoon, so it shouldn't play too much havoc with the study halls and tests that occupy the players' schedules. "It'll be a distraction," he said of finals. "But we only have one game this week, so that helps." ... Here's some more good news to come out of the UCLA game: UNLV managed to hit a season-high 82 percent from the foul line. The Rebels, who came into the game shooting 59 percent from the line, made 14 of their 17 attempts. They're up to 62 percent for the season.