Columnist Ron Kantowski: Diggs should be praised, not punished

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

What is it with the UNLV basketball program? Most days, nobody's talking, then the one day somebody does say what's on his mind, he gets in trouble for doing it.

It's laughable that UNLV president Carol Harter has chastised the local media for staying abreast of and reporting the latest scuttlebutt in the Rick Pitino negotiations, when the scuttlebutt has been generated by the man himself.

Perhaps if Harter or Rebels athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro would respond to queries on the topic rather than dismiss them with "no comment," the rumor mill would grind to a halt.

And while I like much of what interim coach Max Good has done with the Rebels' players since taking over for the fired Bill Bayno -- like making them break a sweat in practice, for instance -- guard Trevor Diggs should not have been disciplined Monday night for suggesting the mercurial Kas Kambala quit on his teammates in a blowout loss at Brigham Young last week.

As if Diggs had to say it. Anybody watching on TV could see the petulant Kambala sulking in his chair every time the Rebels gathered for a timeout.

If anything, Diggs should be praised for getting Kambala's attitude problem out in the open. Perhaps now Good can deal with it posthaste, rather than hoping it will just go away.

Around the horn

According to sources, Utah coach Rick Majerus and Desert Inn owner Steve Wynn talked informally about the UNLV post when the roly-poly coach was rehabbing in Las Vegas following knee surgery.

With Majerus having all but climbed Everest -- or at least the Wasatch Mountains -- in Utah, many close to him say he might be looking to move on -- provided his health holds up. That's a big provision (literally), as Majerus' weight, according to observers, has ballooned to roughly 400 pounds.

Given he already has missed two seasons due to health problems, there's probably no way UNLV would be interested in Majerus now.

As for Pitino, there's speculation he may be souring on UNLV after talking to a colleague in the "coaching fraternity" (read: Bill Bayno) about the Rebels' situation.

Of course, if Pitino thought Bayno was going to tell him that coaching the UNLV basketball team was the best job since the Victoria Secret people advertised for a chaperone, he's not as sharp as he dresses.

Another coach of a higher-profile program who could be extremely interested in the Rebels' job is Southern Cal's Henry Bibby. Having put together a solid team in Troy and tired of playing second fiddle to the Trojans' football team, Bibby also may be looking for greener pastures.

But it was none other than Jim "Super Bowl" Fassel of the New York Giants, who was unceremoniously fired for, as one Salt Lake scribe put it, letting the Utes' program tumble to an "all-time low."

Fassel, it can be said, is this year's Chuck Fairbanks. Only in reverse.