Rebels ready, rested for BYU

Victoria Sun

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

With four days to prepare for tonight's Mountain West Conference season opener against BYU, the UNLV men's basketball coaches have had a chance to do a little tinkering with the team.

But UNLV associate head coach Glynn Cyprien wouldn't let on as to what will be in store for the visiting Cougars (11-2) at 7:35 tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Cyprien will be acting head coach for the game while head coach Bill Bayno serves a one-game suspension for missing the mandatory MWC coaches meeting on Oct. 21.

"It's nice because it's the first time in a while we get some practice days in between games," Cyprien said of the 9-3 Rebels. "We've been able to work on specific things offensively and defensively to get better.

"In four days, we broke down tapes from the first half of the season and we were able to make corrections where we felt were needed."

One difference will be that the coaches will be able to use junior college transfer Lou Kelly as they see fit.

Cyprien didn't rule out the possibility that Kelly will play, but if he does, his time will be limited.

"We haven't really discussed it yet," Cyprien said. "If he makes progress we will use him sparingly.

"It all depends on how he does during the practices. We're just expecting him to come in and add some depth to the team. We want him to adjust slowly and at his own pace.

"We don't want to set him up to fail. We want to help him succeed."

For the Rebels to be successful against BYU, they will need to shut down Mekeli Wesley and disrupt the Cougars' offense.

"They're playing really well right now; the best out of all the teams in the league," Cyprien said. "They shoot it well and run great half-court sets.

"It's the first conference game of the season so we want to start conference play with a good first game."

Kelly participated in his first full practice with the team last Thursday on one of the best and toughest days of his life.

Why the catch-22?

Kelly hasn't played in a team practice or an organized basketball game for months.

Being with the team and practicing was probably the best part of the day for Kelly, but the actual practice wasn't easy. Not surprisingly, Kelly showed up at the Thomas & Mack Center a few pounds overweight and broke a sweat after 10 minutes of practice.

"He's added some weight, but we realize he hasn't played competitively in a long time so he's going to be out of shape," Cyprien said.

"He's gonna work out a couple times a day. We're going to have him lifting weights, shooting a lot and doing extra running."

Because the Rebels took last Wednesday off, the same day Kelly was tying up loose ends so he would be cleared to join the team, Cyprien made sure the team had a rough-and-tumble three-hour practice that included a lot of conditioning while UNLV head coach Bill Bayno was out of town recruiting.

When Kelly got winded, he spent time absorbing information from all of the coaches and riding the exercise bike.

Kelly grimaced and shook his head playfully when asked about his first day of practice.

"It will take a while for me to get in shape," Kelly said. "It's a struggle to do two-a-days like football.

"I'm not really discouraged though. I'll wait. My body is just telling me to slow down."

Bayno and Kelly both agree that being patient is important.

"It's a slow process," Bayno said. "We are not in the position where we need him as a savior.

"His body is nowhere near where it needs to be to compete at this level. To try to get impatient and put him out there when he is not ready would be wrong of me as a coach. My job is to make his transition here easier."