UNLV Rebels: Team breakdown

Steve Addy

Thursday, March 16, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

By closing with a flourish. The Rebels' 96-52 blowout loss at Utah on Feb. 21 could have been a season-killer, but they gained their balance and finished strong. They've won seven in a row, including an impressive sweep of San Diego State, Wyoming and Brigham Young in the Mountain West tournament. Playing on their home court helped a lot, too.

PG Mark Dickel (6-2, 175, Sr.): The Rebels are at their best when he's penetrating off the dribble for layups and dish-offs. You don't lead the NCAA in assists (9.1) without knowing a little something about running an offense. He's the Rebels' emotional touchstone.

SG Trevor Diggs (6-3, 185, Jr.): His shooting touch can go south for no apparent reason, but when he's playing like he did in the MWC tournament, the Rebels are hard to beat. He's learning to control his emotions and play good defense.

C Kaspars Kambala (6-9, 250, Jr.): A motivated Kambala is awfully difficult to stop around the basket, as he showed against BYU in the MWC championship. He scored at will and went after every rebound. But if Tulsa double-teams him, he must make good passes out to the perimeter.

PF Dalron Johnson (6-9, 210, Fr.): NBA scouts were impressed with him at the MWC tournament, and why not? He averaged 17.3 points and could have been MVP if not for Dickel. The Rebels have put him at the high post and defenders now have no idea how to guard him.

SF Danny Brotherson (6-4, 200, Jr.): A likely starter in place of Donovan Stewart, Brotherson lends defensive grit, steady rebounding and opportunistic offense. He doesn't do anything great, but he's solid.

Making Brotherson a starter weakened this unit slightly, but only because Brotherson provided an energy boost off the bench. To Stewart's credit, he hasn't complained about being demoted by a sore back; he continues to dive for loose balls. Big man Sylvester Dotson is playing his best ball of the season, Chris Richardson's athleticism is an asset and Ike Epps has occasional moments of brilliance.

Bill Bayno's fifth season with the Rebels is his winningest (23-7), giving him a 91-59 record, and he has shown growth as a coach. Bringing in fiery assistant Max Good was smart, allowing Bayno to be the good cop in practice. That reduces the chances of tension between him and the players. Though he probably plays Dickel too many minutes, Bayno has shown a deft touch with substitutions in the second half of the season.

The Rebels' offense operates best in transition, but that all starts with perimeter defense. When they're slapping away passes and getting out on the break with a manpower advantage, there aren't many teams that can run with them. (Though Tulsa wouldn't mind a good track meet as well).

Most observers still regard the Rebels as a two-man team -- Kambala and Dickel -- but they are not looking closely enough. Johnson's growth curve has been amazing, particularly in the past month. Now he has the confidence to shoot the 20-footer or take a defender off the dribble.

It is vital that Kambala and Dickel play well, too, because the Rebels' underclassmen take their emotional cues from them. If Kambala is fired up and Dickel is playing under control, they pull everyone else along with them. If they're struggling, the Rebels are in trouble.

Regardless of all of that, Diggs might be the determining factor. He's confident after a fine MWC tournament in which he averaged 17.3 points. Compiled by Steve Addy