Point of honor

Steve Addy

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000 | 10:33 a.m.

The boo-birds, critics and one memorably anonymous detractor have all had their say about UNLV senior point guard Mark Dickel.

But their barrels of venom and ink weren't enough to run him out of the Rebels program, and now he's having the kind of season that rightfully permits him to tell his naysayers to stuff it.

But Dickel is taking the high road, on and off the court. You will get no I-told-you-so's out of him. He feels the criticism only made him more resolute to finish the quest he began four years ago, and that determination has led the 6-foot-2 New Zealand native to his new status as one of the nation's leading point guards.

After a two-game Mountain West Conference road sweep in which he scored, passed and ran UNLV's offense with veteran savvy, Dickel ranks second in the NCAA in assists per game (8.8), third in total assists (132) and has a tidy 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Add his 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, plus career-best 52-percent shooting, and Dickel is providing exactly the kind of quarterbacking coach Bill Bayno wants from his point guard.

All of Dickel's skills were on display last Saturday at Air Force, when he had 11 assists in UNLV's 98-73 rout, and Monday at New Mexico, when he compiled 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the Rebels' convincing 85-73 victory.

"That Air Force-New Mexico trip showed what Mark Dickel is all about," Bayno said. "At Air Force, Trevor (Diggs) and Dalron (Johnson) were carrying us on offense, and Dickel didn't feel like he had to be an offensive force in terms of shooting the ball. He was just happy to win.

"But against New Mexico, we needed him to make shots, and he did. He has stepped up like that all season. He has been our heart and soul."

Though Kaspars Kambala keyed the win at New Mexico with 32 points and 18 rebounds, both career highs, Dickel made the whole operation run smoothly.

He pressed the issue on offense, hurrying the ball downcourt to catch New Mexico defenders flat-footed. If he had an alley, Dickel drove hard to the basket. A couple of times, he made stop-and-pop jumpers in transition that drained the life out of The Pit's raucous crowd.

Dickel seemed to play the whole game in high gear, except when he settled UNLV into halfcourt sets, with the ball usually ending in Kambala's hands.

"Personally, I think I've played better games," Dickel said. "But I think that was the best game I've had where everybody was playing well in an important game. When everybody is playing well, it makes the point guard look good."

That's about as far as Dickel's horn-blowing will take him, though he's willing to concede that he's playing the best ball of his 109-game UNLV career.

He began the season with a triple-double against Mississippi Valley State, dealt a career-high 14 assists against Nevada-Reno and has scored in double-figures in 12 of 15 games, having more than doubled last season's 6.5 scoring average.

Assists-wise, only Doug Gottlieb of Oklahoma State (9.9) is averaging more, and only North Carolina's Ed Cota (145) and Gottlieb (139) have higher totals.

"I'm feeling very comfortable out there, and my confidence is up. Basketball is a confidence game," Dickel said.

In short, Dickel has come miles from the uncertain point guard who was getting booed at the Thomas & Mack a couple of seasons ago. He was criticized for poor shooting -- he entered this year at 40 percent for his career -- after a freshman season in which he started 31 of 32 games. He even lost his starting job to Greedy Daniels for a spell the last two seasons.

After the benching, "A lot of guys would've given up or looked to place the blame on me or the system, but Mark never did that," Bayno said. "He just worked that much harder."

But the most negative episode of Dickel's career came as a sophomore. As the Rebels prepared to board a flight at McCarran Airport, Dickel found a mysterious envelope stuffed into his duffel bag. He opened it and found an anonymous note that said, in so many words, he was a lousy player and ought to leave UNLV.

Dickel still doesn't know who sent the note or who would have access to his bag, but disagrees with a suggestion that it came from a disgruntled teammate.

"I don't think it was a teammate. Since I have been here, we've had really good guys on the team," Dickel said. "I think it could've been someone at the airport. It was a weird thing. I just read it and then I showed it to the rest of the guys."

And then there were the boos.

"It definitely didn't feel good. I'm not going to lie," Dickel said. "You can't tune it out, but you try to handle it the best you can. (Fans) come to the game and they want to see a win, and I understand that. I needed to get better at certain things. I knew that. I just look at it as a learning experience. After that, there's nothing else that can rattle me."

But Bayno looks back on the boos with anger.

"This kid got booed on his home court. Yeah, it (ticked) me off," Bayno said. "I get booed a lot. That's fine. Boo me, but don't boo a kid who's playing hard every night and leaving it all on the court. It bothered me. Mark and I talked about it. He's going to be a better person for it, no matter what he does after basketball.

"On Senior Night, he'll be able to look back and know that he's done things that very few UNLV players have done. He'll be able to look at his career proudly."

And the I-told-you-so's will be left unspoken.

* REBEL NOTES: Further evaluation of Lou Kelly's fractured right foot has been put off until Monday, when it will likely be placed in a hard cast, Rebels trainer Dave Tomchek said. Kelly, the highly touted JUCO transfer from California, will miss 3-to-6 weeks after making only two appearances for the Rebels.

With four days between games this week, the Rebels (11-4, 2-1 MWC) didn't practice for a second straight day Wednesday. They'll prepare today and Friday for Saturday night's home game against San Diego State (5-9, 0-1).