Rebels appear to be stuck where they were a year ago

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1999 | 10:27 a.m.

A year ago at this time, UNLV was a 7-5 ballclub still trying to put the pieces together. It wasn't until sometime in late February that the Rebels played the way everyone expected them to.

Here it is a year later and Bill Bayno's club is sporting a hauntingly similar 7-6 mark. And while the results have come under a different set of circumstances than last year, this isn't what anyone was expecting.

The team has played underachieving, and at times, uninspired basketball. There has been bickering as players struggled to understand and accept their roles while trying to get on the same page with their coach.

You look at the state of affairs and one image comes to mind: Yogi Berra. That's right, Yogi Berra. As in "Deja vu all over again" Yogi Berra.

Bayno claims this is a better team than last year's. He believes the team has played harder and competed better. But he admits the results so far, which failed to include a victory over a ranked team and include a couple of unexpected losses to Southern California and Arizona State, have placed a higher emphasis on the goal of winning the Western Athletic Conference title, and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which goes to the champion.

"We're all disappointed with 7-6," Bayno said after Monday's practice at the Thomas & Mack Center. "But the reality is we've got to take care of business and we've got to keep moving forward."

UNLV has some momentum heading into Saturday's WAC opener against Air Force. The Rebels have a three-game winning streak after dropping four in a row in December to Arizona State, UCLA, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State, the latter three ranked in the top 25.

"I'm happy where we're headed," Bayno said. "I think we solved some early-season problems with chemistry. The tough thing about chemistry is we had it early, then we lost it. Now, we're starting to get it back."

Bayno is starting to give his bench more minutes. While freshmen Chris Richardson and Desmond Herod aren't playing for long stretches, they are seeing the court. Sophomores Greedy Daniels and Donovan Stewart now have defined roles -- Daniels is backing up both backcourt spots and Stewart is supporting Shawn Marion at small forward and in certain cases, power forward Kevin Simmons.

Both have played well of late. If they continue to contribute, it will take a lot of the pressure off Marion, who has been everything he was hyped to be as the top junior college player in the nation.

"Donovan's had three strong games in a row," Bayno said of Stewart, who had 12 points in last Saturday's 79-67 win over Cal Poly. "When he plays well, we seem to play well."

As for Daniels, the plan to play him strictly at the point fizzled as junior Mark Dickel clearly has displayed the skill to run the ballclub with an outstanding 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. But Daniels' defensive abilities have been put to use as UNLV has resorted to more pressing and trapping when he is on the floor.

Daniels also has seen his offensive output grow as he is gaining confidence with his shooting. He had 16 against Cal Poly and is averaging just under eight points a game.

While the team is showing signs of getting it together, it can't undo the damage that already has been done.

UNLV had a chance to beat Kansas after being down just one at halftime. The Rebels were up by 13 with 13 minutes to go against UCLA. They were nip-and-tuck with Cincinnati and Oklahoma State in the second half but were unable to finish either team off.

Last year, UNLV couldn't beat the likes of Michigan, Rhode Island and Syracuse, along with Kansas and UCLA. And by failing to do so, their path to the NCAAs was defined. Win the WAC or stay home.

It appears the same is true in 1999. The early-season losses to USC and Arizona State could prove fatal to any hopes of an at-large bid come March.

"Arizona State was definitely the low point of the season so far," Bayno said of the 79-70 loss to the Sun Devils Dec. 5 in Phoenix. "Right now, my only concern is the WAC."

After Saturday's opener with Air Force, the Rebels host Rice and Tulsa Jan. 14 and 16 before heading to Dallas Jan. 21 to face Southern Methodist. If they keep the current momentum going, they would be 11-6 going into the Jan. 23 game at No. 24 Texas Christian, which arguably is the best team in the 16-team WAC.

Bayno's not looking beyond Saturday's game with the 7-3 Falcons. But he said the goal's the same as last year -- win the WAC. His team may be taking a familiar path to get there.

Hoop du jour

Chris Richardson left Monday's practice early after twisting his ankle. He'll get a couple of days off to receive treatment but is expected to be available for Saturday's game. Center Issiah Epps also missed practice Monday, leaving the team in the wake of his grandfather's death. He is expected back in town later in the week. ... The entire team will take today off and resume practice Wednesday. ... Air Force, which played just four games during December, plays Denver on Wednesday in Colorado Springs in its final WAC tuneup. ... UNLV finished December 3-4.