Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Rebels came up winners by just making NCAA Tournament

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 10:14 a.m.

How about those Rebels?

The NCAA Tournament has moved on to the Sweet Sixteen without UNLV's Runnin' Rebels. Years ago, that would have been a major disappointment and a reason to question the ability of the coaching staff, the players and the referees to do their jobs. But that isn't the case today.

What Las Vegans have witnessed through an incredibly difficult college basketball season is a group of young men who faced adversity, impossible challenges and no-win situations and came up winners. Even in their loss to a very good Princeton ball club, they showed the kind of heart and sheer will to win that carried them through a WAC Tournament that will forever be remembered when Rebel stories are recounted.

I know it sounds a bit odd to rejoice in defeat so I won't. What I will do is express what most Las Vegans feel about a young Rebel basketball team and a young Rebel coach who found the magic of college basketball at a time when most people might have been looking for the door.

I was not able to see the WAC tournament in person but I, like many others, watched on ESPN as the Rebels scraped and scrapped their way through seemingly unbeatable teams to win the tournament and defy the odds makers. In short, we weren't supposed to be in the championship game. We weren't even supposed to make it past our first match-up against Hawaii. And for darn sure, we weren't ever going to make it to the NCAA Tournament.

But we did. And when we got there it was as if we had never left seven years ago. Everyone knew we didn't have the kind of talent it would take to go too far up the tourney ladder yet no one gave it a second thought. Not the coaches, nor the players and certainly not the fans. After a long time in the desert of basketball oblivion, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels were back and people were paying attention.

So the tournament is over for the Rebels and so is a most memorable and forgetful season. But there is always next year. And this time we mean it. What Coach Bill Bayno has wrought in the wake of many seasons of disaster will not be denied in the coming years. The team is still young, as is the coach.

The same is true for the fans. Many of them were young when the Rebels won the National Championship. They are just now coming into their own. And for those of us who remember well the good old days, well, we are thrilled that we may be able to do it again.

Welcome back home, Runnin' Rebels. Thanks for some very good memories.

It is always nice to have people agree with you. I received a very thoughtful letter from an attorney friend named Bill Barker, a man whose judgment in legal circles has remained strong in Las Vegas for a number of years.

His letter is far too long to run in this space but some of what he said bears repeating, regardless of its length. He was questioning the ongoing investigation of the President by the special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, and, specifically, the Monica Lewinsky matter. His question is well put, "What does all of this have to do with the capability of someone to govern and, secondarily, would not the time and money spent on this by everyone concerned have better served the nation if it had been spent on moving forward with the many problems that are before our federal legislative bodies and, thirdly, how much does this reflect on the President and this country's ability to deal with other nations on international problems?"

Like any good lawyer, he attached a three-page brief on the subject, complete with points and authorities. In it, he tried to add some perspective to what is, obviously, an investigation that has gone well beyond the parameters of its original charge. He spoke about the personal lives of prior presidents and compared their known peccadilloes with what has been alleged about President Clinton.

He concludes that thought by saying "there is nothing to suggest that any of these incidents had any bearing on the individual's ability to govern. As a matter of fact, historians rate some of those listed as outstanding presidents; notably George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. A relentless press as we have today might well have adversely affected their ability to accomplish as much as they did."

Bill's letter reflects what I have heard from many Las Vegans and, I am certain, what millions of Americans are saying through the polls which show President Clinton with high approval ratings despite what people may believe about his personal life. It is about real life and real problems.

Thanks for writing, Bill. I am happy to agree with you.