Rebels know improvement a must for next season

Steve Addy

Monday, March 20, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Amid the wreckage, at least one positive came out of UNLV's season-ending humiliation by Tulsa in the NCAA Tournament.

On the outside chance the Rebels harbored stray illusions of being close to top 25 status, they were paddled out of them by one last blowout, Tulsa's 89-62 walkover Friday in the first round of the South Regional.

If their spirited drive to the Mountain West title had fooled the Rebels into excusing routs by Cincinnati, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Utah -- doesn't every team have a bad day, after all? -- their self-immolation on a neutral court surely snapped them back to reality.

For a program struggling mightily to return to national prominence, that's a good thing. Better to deal in hard reality than blissful delusion. Smarter to concede weaknesses and address them, rather than move ahead under false pretenses, as if wishing will make it so.

Among the grudging revelations:

* The Rebels weren't nearly strong or physical enough to compete consistently (or occasionally) against the best teams. Defensively, they got pushed around in the lane too often. They need to recruit bigger, tougher players -- yes, they're out there -- and beef up the ones they have.

* Their perimeter offense lacked quantity and quality, leaving them far too dependent on center Kaspars Kambala. If Kambala was overmatched or had a slow start, the offense usually ground to an immediate halt and rarely recovered.

* The Rebels also relied too heavily on Mark Dickel for ballhandling and leadership. When Tulsa extended its defense to shut him down, the Rebels couldn't get into their offense, and Dickel's fragile teammates seemed dazed at seeing their senior leader so thoroughly dominated.

* There was not enough depth. Moving Danny Brotherson into the lineup strengthened the starting five, but then there was little offense off the bench.

* The Rebels did not play well from behind. They played fast and loose with 20-point leads, and often let teams back in the game, but weren't a good comeback team against quality competition. If they fell behind by 10, it was probably going to become 20. Or 30. And then 40.

Give the Rebels this much: Making the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years is not clouding their outlook.

"I told our guys, 'Let's be honest with each other. We are not there yet,' " coach Bill Bayno said. "We won two championships and accomplished a lot, but we're not satisfied with that. The conference tournament shouldn't be where we want to be, and I think we all realize that.

"We are going to work this summer as if we went to the NIT this season. We're going to work as hard as we did when we were coming off 16 wins and the NIT last year. Everyone must get better. As good as year as (Kambala) had, he has to get better. We're all going back to work (today)."

Bayno and his staff will quickly hit the recruiting trail, hoping to bring in two point guards to replace Dickel. UNLV is regarded as the leader for combo guard Kevin Bradley of Compton (Calif.) JC and the Rebels are in on several other point guards. Though Dickel led the NCAA in assists and improved his shooting in his farewell season, the Rebels hope to bolster their scoring at the position.

The first order of business for the returning Rebels is a renewed commitment to summer strength training.

"(The players) might take a week off to rest their legs and get their minds right, then we are going to work," Bayno said. "Everybody's going to the weight room. We have to get stronger."

"We all need to get tougher and stronger so teams can't push us around," Kambala said.

"A lot of teams were stronger and more physical than we were," Donovan Stewart conceded.

Dickel and Trevor Diggs think the desired improvement will come with experience and maturity as well.

"We knew what it took to win our conference, but when you go outside of the conference, it's a different ball game," said Dickel, who exits third on UNLV's all-time assists list. "The guys need to grow up a little bit, and they will. It's just maturation. They've all been (in the NCAA Tournament) now, and everybody is coming back except me and Ike (Epps). They will be better for it next year."

"We also have to learn how to handle adversity," Diggs said. "Things are not always going to go your way, and you can't let down if you fall behind, especially against good teams."

Though the soul-searching began soon after Friday's loss, there was progress this season.

After replacing half of their roster, having added MWC freshman of the year Dalron Johnson, the Rebels went 23-8 -- the most wins of Bayno's five-year tenure -- and showed some fortitude with their closing kick. After losing by 44 at Utah on Feb. 21, the Rebels capped the regular season with four wins to tie the Utes at 10-4 for the Mountain West title.

Then they swept San Diego State, Wyoming and Brigham Young to win the MWC tournament on their own court, sending them into the NCAA Tournament with an unexpected 10th seed and apparent momemtum.

It just didn't last very long.

"Getting (to the tournament) was a step," Bayno said. "The next step is to get back to it."