Rebels rebuild a winner

Steve Addy

Wednesday, March 8, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

When a basketball team replaces more than half of its roster in one fell swoop, team chemistry can fly off in about 50 directions, almost all of them bad.

All it takes is one or two recruits to mesh poorly with the veterans and the whole team can go sour. If the new guys can't get along with the coach, creeping dissension can ruin the season. Personal agendas can compromise team goals, and pretty soon everyone is griping.

But even after bringing in seven new players this season, including the belatedly arriving Lou Kelly, UNLV coach Bill Bayno insists he never worried about the mix turning volatile.

"You don't have to worry if you recruit unselfish kids," he said. "I always felt good about this group."

Bayno's confidence has been rewarded by a roster that hung together despite a pair of 40-point losses and rallied to win a share of the Mountain West regular-season championship. The Rebels (20-7) hold the No. 1 seed in this week's conference tournament and their quest for that title begins at 9 p.m. Thursday when they host eight-seeded San Diego State (5-22, 0-14 MWC).

Only five Rebels remain from the team that was in the WAC tournament this time last year: Mark Dickel, Kaspars Kambala, Donovan Stewart, Issiah Epps and Chris Richardson. Also, Vince Booker was with the club as a redshirt.

Because of unusually high roster attrition -- eligibility completions, transfers, Shawn Marion leaving for the NBA -- Bayno had to replace half of his roster this season. He did so with six junior college recruits and MWC co-freshman of the year Dalron Johnson. The JC additions were: Trevor Diggs, Sylvester Dotson, Danny Brotherson, Chris Popoola, Kenny Dye and Kelly.

Each player brought his own expectations, but apparently no hidden agendas, and no matter what happens the rest of the way, Bayno says this has been one of his most enjoyable teams at UNLV.

"This team reminds me a lot of my second team (1996-97) the way they get along on and off the court," he said. "They all want to win and they're all willing to sacrifice. There are blips along the way, as always, but these guys have really stayed together. They won that battle."

UNLV's chemistry has been tested plenty. The Rebels began 2000 by getting humiliated 106-66 at Cincinnati, but they didn't let it crush them. They came back to win eight of their next 10.

Another embarrassing defeat occurred Feb. 21 at Utah, when they were pounded 96-52 on national TV, but the Rebels finished the season with five straight wins when any loss would have dashed their MWC hopes and likely ruined their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.

"Our chemistry definitely played a big part in us recovering from those games," Dickel said. "No one wanted to let anybody else down."

Dickel admitted that past UNLV teams might not have responded so harmoniously.

"I've been on teams that didn't have the same feel as this one," he said. "It makes me feel good about this season because the team gets along. It makes it easier to go to practice every day when you're playing with guys you like. So much of the season isn't spent on the court, so you have to get along well if your team is going to have a chance to succeed."

Johnson said getting along off the court has been a valuable asset on the court.

"It can't be strictly basketball. You've got to have personal relationships with teammates," Johnson said. "We get together for barbecues with each other and that's made us a tight team. It's a trust thing. The better you know a guy, the more confidence you'll have that he will do the right thing when you pass him the ball.

"I've been on a couple of teams where not everyone got along. There would be guys beefing. We still won, but there was no pleasure in the victories."

There have been no such complaints at UNLV this season.