UNLV won’t lack manpower

Steve Addy

Friday, Oct. 13, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

(x-denotes walk-on)

POINT GUARDS

Jevon Banks, 6-0, jr. (x)

Vince Booker, 6-1, jr. (x)

Lafonte Johnson, 5-10, fr.

Steve Scoggin, 6-0, fr.

SHOOTING GUARDS

Danny Brotherson, 6-4, sr.

Trevor Diggs, 6-3, sr.

Jermaine Lewis, 6-4, jr.

Donovan Stewart, 6-4, sr.

SMALL FORWARDS

Gene Brennan, 6-5, jr. (x)

Lou Kelly, 6-5, jr.

Omari Pearson, 6-8, fr.

Chris Popoola, 6-5, sr.

Chris Richardson, 6-6, jr.

POWER FORWARDS

Noel Bloom, 6-7, jr. (x)

Dalron Johnson, 6-9, so.

CENTERS

Sylvester Dotson, 6-7, sr.

Kaspars Kambala, 6-9, sr.

When UNLV begins basketball practice Saturday, this much will be obvious right away:

There will not be enough minutes for everyone this season.

With a roster lengthened to 17 players and coach Bill Bayno hoping to play 10 of them on a regular basis, players will have to adjust to shorter stints and a quicker hook. Sacrifice is the theme Bayno is selling, because he knows grumbling about minutes can undo a team.

"We've got a lot of guys. Getting that many kids to sacrifice for the good of the team is the challenge every good team has to meet," Bayno said Thursday. "Guys are going to have to accept less minutes. Our challenge is to keep everybody together in the trenches.

"But I feel good because we have good kids. They care enough about each other to make the sacrifices and do whatever it takes."

Bayno's most crucial playing time decisions will be in the backcourt and on the wings. The Rebels must replace point guard Mark Dickel from last season's 23-8 club, and the job will likely to go freshman Lafonte Johnson, with walk-on transfer Jevon Banks backing him up.

The NCAA paperwork snag pertaining to Johnson's transfer has been settled and he is expected to participate Saturday. Bayno says he hopes to ease the pressure on Johnson about having to replace Dickel.

"All of the guys will have to take responsibility for helping the young guys and Jevon," Bayno said.

Dividing the minutes at shooting guard and small forward won't be as easy. Trevor Diggs is the incumbent at shooting guard, but JC transfer Jermaine Lewis will get every opportunity to win the job. A healthy Lou Kelly will start at small forward, but Danny Brotherson will merit a lot of playing time, too.

"It's tough to play four wings," Bayno said. "In a perfect world, it's 20 minutes each, but we'll have to see how it goes. If a guy's got it going, you obviously ride them out."

The addition of Lewis and Kelly (who played only two games last season) should give UNLV a stronger perimeter offense. Shooting should be the Rebels' area of greatest improvement.

"Lou has been away from the game for a year and a half because of his (foot) injury. He's trying to get his body and legs back, to a point where he can hit shots," Bayno said. "I hope that happens sooner than later. And Jermaine is just a tremendous shooter."

Up front, the Rebels are set with one of the leading twosomes in the Mountain West, senior center Kaspars Kambala and sophomore power forward Dalron Johnson. Kambala was the Rebels' top scorer (18.6) and rebounder (9.1) last season, while Johnson averaged 10.6 and 7.0.

At both spots, senior Sylvester Dotson will be the No. 1 backup, though 6-8 freshman Omari Pearson has shown rebounding promise in individual workouts and pickup games.

Many of the playing time decisions will be moot because the Rebels plan to boost the tempo on both ends of the court, so players will likely need more rest anyway.

"Of course we're going to run on offense, but we want to extend our defense up the floor. We want to press the issue and create turnovers, which might wear guys down," Bayno said. "I want to play 10 guys, but we're a long way from deciding which 10 they will be."

UNLV's season opener is Nov. 17 against Northern Arizona. The first of two preseason games is Nov. 7 against the Delta Jammers.