Rebels hope to turn heads at tough Maui Invitational

Steve Addy

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

The Rebels wanted a tougher basketball schedule, and the Maui Invitational draw didn't let them down.

UNLV will open the three-day tournament on Nov. 20 against Illinois, a team widely regarded as top-five material. Traditional powers Maryland or Louisville will await the Rebels if they win, and then they could face Arizona for the championship.

Actually, the tournament could have been picked out of a hat and a tough draw was almost certain. Among the eight clubs, Division II host Chaminade is the only non-NCAA Tournament team from last season.

UNLV-Illinois will be at 8:30 p.m. locally on ESPN2, the last of four first-round games on Nov. 20. In the others, Arizona meets Chaminade (ESPN) at 11 a.m., Connecticut battles Dayton at 1 p.m. and Maryland plays Louisville (ESPN) at 6 p.m.

In a FoxSports preseason top-25 poll, Arizona is ranked No. 2, Illinois No. 4, Maryland No. 6, UConn 15th and Dayton 22nd. The Rebels are unranked.

"It might be the toughest field they've ever had (in 17 years). You can't say much more than that," UNLV coach Bill Bayno said after Wednesday's draw. "I don't think it matters what side of the bracket you're on. No matter what, it will be a great preseason test."

The Rebels don't open the season in Maui -- they host Northern Arizona, yet another NCAA qualifier, on Nov. 17 -- but a successful performance at Lahaina Civic Center could quickly boost them into the polls.

Playing (and beating) such rugged competition would improve their all-important RPI, a key factor in NCAA Tournament consideration.

"Our schedule is a lot tougher this year. It starts from the get-go," Rebels guard Danny Brotherson said. "The Maui tournament will be good for us. Right away we'll find out what we're made of. It's going to be part of the growing process."

But Bayno says he won't let the season hinge on what happens in Hawaii.

"It won't make or break us," he said. "We had a little easier schedule last season, out of necessity. We changed directions this year and we'll see how it goes. Maui will show us where we are and where we need to go."

The last time the Rebels suited up, they were pounded 89-62 by Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tulsa's coach was Bill Self, but now he's at Illinois, taking over a loaded team. The Illini return nine of their top 10 scorers from a 22-10 club that reached the second round of the East Regional.

"(Self) passed up a lot of offers before he took that job," Bayno said. "There was a reason he went there. They have a lot of talent. He'll bring his pressure defense to that team."

The candidates are: Charles Cunningham, formerly of Murray State and Minnesota; Mark Wade, the former UNLV point guard; Eric Skeeters, Youngstown State assistant; Chris Crutchfield, Tyler JC coach; and Isiah Anderson, coach at Crispus Attucks Charter School in York, Pa.

Isaiah Epps is back in Las Vegas after playing the summer pro season in Portugal. His next move could be to Mexico; he is negotiating this week with two teams there.