Remember to cheer for Matt Shaw in his recovery

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

A positive test for marijuana at the NCAA Tournament in March was the best thing that could have happened to Matt Shaw.

Not Matt Shaw the UNLV basketball player. Matt Shaw the person.

Sure, being dismissed from the team Tuesday for the positive test is a fate no player wants. But it sure beats missing out on that first post-college job for not passing a drug test.

The 6-foot-8 forward/center was the Rebels' best three-point shooter. His careless act of doing drugs — and unthinkably doing them during the season — was selfish and irresponsible.

Playing college basketball is privilege he took for granted. Hundreds of Las Vegas-area children would have done anything to wear the Rebels' scarlet and gray, and Shaw ruined his chance as one of the lucky ones.

He deserves his punishment. He deserves to have his name associated with testing positive. Google the name "Matt Shaw" and guess what will come up? Today, tomorrow and 10 years from now.

But this shouldn't be the end of his life. It could, however, be the beginning.

Shaw needs to attack the dismissal with the same intensity he had when rehabbing from knee surgery during the 2008-09 season. He returned to average seven points and 2.8 rebounds per game this year, including a team-high 14 points against Northern Iowa in a first-round tournament loss.

He would have been a senior next winter, the lone holdover from the Rebels' Sweet 16 team in 2007.

Now, he gets a mulligan of sorts to get his life back on track. It a second chance that doesn't necessarily involve the game he loves, but it's a second opportunity not everyone gets following a drug-related problem.

Early indications point to Shaw accepting his fate with class. He plans on finishing his undergraduate degree this summer.

More importantly, he has taken the blame for his actions. Shaw could have pointed fingers or made excuses, but he took a step in the right direction by being classy and apologizing.

"I made a poor decision, but I take responsibility for it," he said in a statement issued by the university. "I apologize to my teammates, my coaches and the fans... I hope the fans will remember me for what I tried to give to this program and accept my apology."

Let's not forget about this young man. He violated your trust by not being loyal the program, but he is still a Rebel.

Remember to cheer for his recovery as you did his sweet stroke from three-point range.