Reserved Stanback stepping into the limelight for UNLV

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

In front of cameras and reporters, Chace Stanback may be the least likely member of the UNLV basketball team to open even the smallest window for a glimpse at his personality.

He doesn't like to talk about himself, either, and even after hitting a dramatic game-winning 18-footer on Saturday afternoon to help knock off Wisconsin, when asked how it felt, the junior forward deflected the credit to his teammates for finding him on the play.

But he doesn't necessarily need to open up and show everything for observers to realize just how poised he is for a potential monster of a season.

Stanback will become more and more of a marked man for opposing defenses, especially this weekend when he leads the Rebels to Anaheim, Calif., for the 76 Classic. UNLV opens at 8:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving night against Tulsa.

Through three games, the Los Angeles native leads the team with 17.3 points per game — including a career-high 25 against the Badgers. He's shooting 56.2 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range.

"I'm happy with the way I'm playing, and I'm happy with the way my teammates are playing, but it's still a long season and we've got a lot to improve on," he humbly said.

While Stanback doesn't show much in the public eye, the truth is that, behind the scenes, he's one of the biggest reasons why the team is able to stay so loose.

"He's a little kid," teammate and roommate Todd Hanni said. "You can't say anything, because he'll mock you. I have a Southern twang, so he'll try to mock it if I say something.

"He really is, like, 11 years old."

Hanni said that Stanback's ribbing is hardly ever taken seriously, and attempts to fire back at him never have any impact.

You could assume that the lighthearted demeanor is what has made Stanback so calm in the clutch for the Rebels in his time on the floor since transferring from UCLA. Coach Lon Kruger thinks it goes a bit deeper than that.

"What helps more is the confidence he has," he said. "Chace, I thought, at the end of last year, came on as a guy making key shots and worked awfully hard this offseason. It's not a big surprise that he's continued to make progress."

Stanback averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds a game last season, but this season is playing healthier after spending much of the summer rehabbing a nagging ankle injury.

He's more explosive as a result, but he also is not starting the season working off the rust from not playing in a game in over a year, which was the case for a decent portion of the 2009-10 campaign.

Now, he's as reliable of a guy to get the ball to in crunch time as teammates Oscar Bellfield and Tre'Von Willis, who have both had their moments as Mr. Big Shot over the past two seasons.

The next step in Stanback's evolution, Kruger believes, will come as defenses gradually adjust to him.

With as tough of a match-up as Stanback already is at 6-foot-8 with a guard's skill-set and a rare mid-range game, combined with his escalating production, that time might not be too far off.

"I think he'll continue to improve his attacking in traffic, which he hasn't had to do that much," he said. "But as people crowd him more, he'll recognize a need for more attacking into a crowd and maybe kicking or finishing."

A look at Tulsa

In last year's Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu over Christmas, UNLV ended a three-games-in-four-days run with its toughest opponent — Southern Cal — coming last.

A year later, it's possible that the Rebels' toughest match-up in the eight-team field at the 76 Classic could come first.

Tulsa (2-1) enters Thursday's game off of back-to-back wins following a disappointing 89-86 loss to Appalachian State to open the season.

"They've got those three guards who all shoot it well," Kruger said. "Their big guy inside is the best scoring low-post man we've seen so far. He can go over either shoulder."

The toughest target will be senior guard Justin Hurtt, who at 6-foot-4 is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range this season, averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Sophomore Scottie Haralson and freshman Jordan Clarkson are the other two wings Kruger referred to, while 6-foot-11 junior Steven Idlet is the guy down low.

Unlike Wisconsin's 6-foot-10 standout Jon Leuer, who UNLV frustrated and held to only 10 points on Saturday, Idlet stays planted down low. He's made a big jump this season after last season's starting center — Jerome Jordan — was selected in the second round of this summer's NBA draft.

He's averaging 16 points per game while shooting at a 73.1 percent clip.

One thing to note with the Golden Hurricane is a lack of depth. Despite a starting rotation with length that can cause all kinds of problems for opponents, the bench is thin. It took a big hit in the season's second game, as the team's assist leader — junior guard Glenn Andrews — was lost to a knee injury. He also missed much of last season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Still, Tulsa has the make of a team that can play at just about any pace, and Kruger feels his team is more prepared for that challenge now than it was a year ago.

"We're a little deeper this year, a little more experienced with depth," he said. "(Three games in four days) is a good conditioning test and depth test, and we feel pretty good about both of those areas."

The winner will face the winner between Stanford and Murray State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, while the losers will meet at 8:30 p.m.