Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

UNLV women ranked fifth, but they have loftier goals

DENVER -- UNLV Lady Rebels basketball coach Regina Miller didn't exactly sound pleased when asked to comment about the Mountain West Conference's women's preseason poll.

"Fifth?" Miller said. "Hmmm. It's interesting. We finished tied for third last year and we were rebuilding."

So just how good can the Lady Rebels, who return just one starter, preseason all-conference forward Sherry McCracklin, from a squad that finished 17-12 and lost to Oregon State in the first round of the NIT, be in 2003-04?

"I really think we have a legitimate shot at finishing in first place," Miller said. "Really. I look at this and it really doesn't matter. Look at what our football team has done. I think they were picked to finish in seventh place in the preseason and look at what they've done."

McCracklin, who averaged 11.2 points and 8.6 rebounds last season as a sophomore, is being counted on to help pick up the void left by the graduation of all-conference guard Constance Jinks. Big things are also expected from two returning guards, sophomore Sheena Moore and senior InFini Robinson.

But Miller seems most excited by a talented group of newcomers led by forward RanDee Henry, a transfer from Detroit Mercy, guard Nikki Hutchins, a Las Vegas native who starred as a freshman two years ago at Texas-Pan American, and 6-foot-4 junior center Amy Loftus, a transfer from Missouri who should provide a much needed post presence.

The freshman class, led by 5-foot-10 guard Latosha Pace, a Nike All-American and top-100 recruit from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Mich., also is expected to make an impact.

"Our team is hungry," Miller said. "I think this team is as hungry as the 2001-02 team during Linda Frohlich's senior year (which went to the NCAA tournament). I felt like last year's team had the desire but we really didn't have the personnel. We were rebuilding.'

Miller believes the Mountain West Conference, ranked sixth out of 32 Division I-A conferences a year ago, will once again be a dogfight.

"I don't think anybody will go undefeated in our conference," she said. "I think each team will have at least two or three losses because this league is just so strong."

Defending champion Utah, which returns all five starters including reigning MWC player of the year Kim Smith, was picked to repeat as champions this season.

First, popular team captain Senque Carey was paralized briefly with a career-ending spinal injury suffered during a fall in a game. Then came the ongoing saga of ex-Lobo Patrick Dennehy, who allegedly was murdered by a Baylor teammate. About the same time top-100 recruit Sean Phaler was almost killed in an auto accident. And perhaps the most devastating event of all occurred on Aug. 28 when 6-foot-10 Portland transfer Billy Feeney, expected to be a key starter for the Lobos for the next three years, committed suicide.

"No class, no assistant coaching duty can prepare you for something like that," McKay said. "It's been difficult. ... We were a close group before it happened but we're certainly even closer now since Billy's death. I've been amazed at their resilency."

New Mexico got a head start on the Oct. 18 opening of practice because the Lobos are going on an exempt four-game tour in Canada starting Oct. 15. It couldn't have come at a better time according to McKay.

"The timing is a godsend," McKay said. "I think we're all looking forward to getting back on the floor on moving forward again."

McKay and the Lobos are expected to present Feeney's family with his jersey before a game this season.

A number of Mountain West coaches have complained that UNLV had an unfair advantage by playing in the tourney on their homecourt. The Pepsi Center, home of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, seats 19,309 for basketball and provides much more locker room and media space than the Thomas & Mack Center.

No one is happier about the move than Wyoming coach Steve McClain, who figures to benefit the most from the move. Laramie is only a little over a two-hour drive away.

"I think it's great for the league and I think it's great for the city of Denver," McClain said. "My gut feeling is the tournament will never move away from Denver again. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we have 10,000 fans ourselves here for our first game."

'We have only two seniors back and no juniors," Majerus said. "This is the youngest team I've ever coached here."

However, one of those youngsters, 6-foot-11, 220-pound freshman forward Andrew Bogut, was named the MVP of the FIBA Junior World Championships in July after leading Australia's 19-and-under team to the gold medal.

Bogut is already being projected as a potential lottery pick in some NBA mock drafts and the Utes had to sweat it out that he didn't go straight to the NBA following his impressive performance in Greece.

"I think he's definitely got NBA potential," Majerus told the Sydney Morning Herald recently. "He's got a ton of talent. I'm quite confident of his ability and his mental attitude. He has a love of the game, has great hands, an ability to get better and listens intently."

Majerus said he will not allow the Aussie star to do press interviews his first -- and maybe only -- year in Salt Lake City with the American press. However, Bogut will be allowed to speak to the Australian media.

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