Expect tougher schedule for next season

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, April 10, 2003 | 10:14 a.m.

UNLV director of basketball operations Dave Rice says he's still a few weeks away from putting the finishing touches on the 2003-04 basketball schedule. But barring any last minute surprises, it has all the makings of being the toughest schedule of the Charlie Spoonhour Era.

"We've got the teams for the most part," Rice said. "Now it's more finding the dates."

The Rebels' tentative non-conference schedule includes games at Stanford and Southern Cal as well as Big 12 power Missouri. UNLV also is expected to begin a home-and-home with another Pac-10 heavyweight, California.

If that isn't enough, UNLV will once again host what Rice terms "a high profile team" in the annual Las Vegas Showdown the weekend before Christmas. ESPN is involved in selecting the opponent for the nationally televised contest.

If the schedule sticks, UNLV will be playing two of the top nine teams in FoxSports Preseason 2004 Top 25 as selected by national basketball writer Frank Burleson. Burleson ranks Missouri, which likely returns two All-American candidates in swingman Rickey Paulding and center Arthur Johnson, eighth in his rankings and has Stanford, expected to challenge Arizona for the Pac-10 title, ninth.

Cal and USC, which hammered the Rebels on their home floor in February, also could creep into some Top 25 preseason polls.

Burleson lists UConn as his early preseason No. 1. Utah (No. 24), which returns all-conference players Tim Frost, Nick Jacobson and Marc Jackson, is the only Mountain West Conference team in the rankings.

The Rebels have only two paid recruiting visits left. One of those is expected to go next weekend to 6-foot-7 forward Romel Beck of Los Angeles City College.

Beck was one of the top players on Mike Miller's California J.C. championship squad. He scored 20 points in LACC's 90-82 victory against Fresno City College in the California state J.C. final.

"He's a good player," Burleson said. "He's very smooth and athletic."

Wyoming, Auburn and Alabama are also recruiting Beck, who took an unofficial trip to UNLV last month to watch the Rebels' NIT loss to Hawaii.

The tournament features college seniors who will play in games until Saturday with the idea of improving their NBA stock.

Johnson's Portsmouth Sports Club squad makes its debut tonight and includes Arizona forward Rick Anderson and Indiana guard Tom Coverdale.

Two other Mountain West Conference players, BYU's Travis Hansen and San Diego State guard Tony Bland, are also taking part. Former New Mexico guard Marlon Parmer, the player of the year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference for Kentucky Wesleyan, also is participating.

UNLV guard Marcus Banks and Wyoming center Uche Nsonwu-Amadi were listed on early rosters but declined to attend.

In its mock draft this week, NBADraft.net lists Banks as the 27th pick in the first round by the Sacramento Kings with Nsonwu-Amadi (40th, Golden State) and New Mexico sharpshooter Ruben Douglas (42nd, Houston) going in the second round.10Rice