Simmons quietly becomes winning force for Rebels

Steve Carp

Monday, Jan. 11, 1999 | 10:04 a.m.

While everyone wanted to talk to Mark Dickel about finding his lost jump shot and Shawn Marion about how it felt to literally run out of gas and not start for the first time since he could remember, Kevin Simmons prepared to leave the Thomas & Mack Center quickly and unobtrusively.

Those who love to indulge themselves with scoring statistics wouldn't have blamed Simmons for going quietly into the cold January night. After all, he was just 3 of 11 and had only nine points. And with five teammates going for double figures in UNLV's happy-action-fun-time 91-58 win over Air Force Saturday, there were plenty of heroes to go around.

But when you look at the Rebels' resurgence the past two weeks, which has produced a four-game winning streak and a quick start to their final season in the Western Athletic Conference, it doesn't point at point guard Dickel or center on leading scorer Marion.

Want a reason for UNLV's improvement? It's the unselfish, rugged play of the 6-foot-8 Simmons.

It may have taken Simmons a while to figure out that senior seasons aren't just for impressing NBA scouts, but he has gotten the gist of it. When you're in your last year, you're not playing for tomorrow. You're still playing for today. Right now, today is what counts to Simmons.

"I got caught thinking about the future instead of now," he said. "Before the season, coach (Bill Bayno) told me to lead this team and I think I may have gotten away from that."

Simmons was scoring earlier in the season, but UNLV wasn't necessarily reaping the benefits. The Rebels were losing more than they were winning. Fifteen points vs. UCLA? Loss. Eleven against Cincinnati? Loss. Sixteen against Oklahoma State? Loss.

Where Simmons was needed was on the boards and playing defense.

After that disappointing 81-69 loss to Oklahoma State, Simmons spent his Christmas thinking about where things were headed. He didn't like what the map was showing.

"One day, I sat down and started thinking," he said. "And I decided my main thing to help this team would be rebounding and defense. I don't need to score to help this team win. I don't worry about scoring. I can score when I need to."

Sounds a bit cocky. But understand where Simmons is coming from. UNLV wasn't winning with him scoring a lot. But the Rebels are winning when he's defending and rebounding.

Saturday, he had 14 boards and came up with three steals and a blocked shot. The rebound count was a UNLV high and one short of his career-best of 15 which took place at UC Irvine. Throw in six assists as well as nine points and that's a pretty good night, regardless of the competition.

While cynics will say UNLV's four most recent wins have come at the expense of cut-rate competition, you still have to produce. As a veteran, Simmons understands the importance of playing your best basketball during league play, especially at the end of the season.

Whatever struggles he may have had earlier in the year have disappeared. He is playing some of his best basketball, reminiscent of late last year, when he, Dickel and Tyrone Nesby carried this team into the NCAA Tournament.

"He's playing the way he did last season," Dickel said of Simmons. "He's not thinking about things. He's just going out and playing the way he can.

"His role is different this year.

"He needs to rebound more than score. But we still need his leadership if we're going to win."

Bayno's not concerned about the lack of scoring from his power forward when he's contributing in the other vital areas.

"We do need Kevin to score but when he's rebounding like that, I don't care if he misses seven, eight in a row," Bayno said. "You look at the shots he took and they were all good shots. The ball just didn't drop for him.

"I'm really proud of Kevin for what he has done the last four, five games. His shots aren't falling but he's playing great defense and he's rebounding better than I've ever seen him."

He may not realize it, but the way he is playing now may well, indeed, impact his future. Simmons is smart enough to know that scouts aren't looking for scorers. They're looking for basketball players, guys who can play the game at both ends of the floor.

And he also knows the NBA wants guys who come from winning programs, guys who have been battle-tested in the big games and in the NCAA Tournament.

At 8-6, UNLV still has plenty of work ahead if it is to get back to the Big Dance come March. But you can only take one step at a time. The team is starting to fall in step behind its senior co-captain and the Rebels appear to be heading in the right direction.

"This isn't a role," Simmons said. "It's something I want to do."

Hoop du jourFor being late to Saturday's shootaround, Bayno sat Marion down and started Donovan Stewart in his place. Marion was late because his car ran out of gas. Both played well as Marion had 18 points off the bench and played 25 minutes while Stewart scored scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Dickel, who got the Rebels going with 12 first-half points, finished with 13, matching his season high set Dec. 12 at UCLA. The other Rebels hitting double figures were Kaspars Kambala and Desmond Herod, each scoring 13. ... More discipline: Bayno suspended freshman Matt Siebrandt for the Air Force game for violating team policy. Siebrandt is supposed to be redshirting this year and it appeared odd to bench a guy who supposedly already is benched. ... When freshman Eugene Brennan drove to the basket and scored on a layup in the final seconds, it put every UNLV player in the scorebook for the season. Each player has at least two points this year. ... The Falcons, who have now lost two straight after a 7-3 start, s

truggled with their shooting. Air Force, which averages 66 field goal attempts a game, took just 62 shots. The Falcons, who average 28 3-point tries, managed just 22 and it also was a struggle at the foul line, as Air Force took a season-low 13 attempts. The Academy averages 31 tries a game. ... UNLV shut down Tyron Wright, the Falcons' leading scorer, holding him to just eight points. Jarvis Croff, the other top gun, managed 16 points, but shot just 5 of 18 from the floor.