With adjustment to his role, UNLV’s Oscar Bellfield eager for senior season

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 | 2 a.m.

In three consistent, productive seasons at UNLV, there's never been a question about Oscar Bellfield's ability to handle point guard duties on both ends of the floor.

And even though he wasn't necessarily in need of a fresh start, with first-year coach Dave Rice implementing a new uptempo playing style, that's just what he'll get as a senior.

"Most people look forward to a new beginning and a chance to start off fresh," Bellfield said. "I like mixing it up, running the floor, trying to catch lobs, dunking the ball. I'm thinking with this system, we have bigs who can play like guards, can handle the ball. So when they get the rebound, I can run out, run the lanes while they push it.

"That's something different."

Once again healthy, Bellfield is spending his final summer at UNLV preparing for a new role. It's not a complete overhaul from what he's used to as the Rebels' floor general, but now he'll be looked at as more of a hybrid guard.

"He's started a lot of games and won a lot of games, plus there's the fact that he's a really good player, an all-conference caliber player," Rice said. "While he's done a good job at the point, we'd like to take him off the ball as well, so he can expand his game and help our team with all the things he brings."

The last thing Bellfield needs to do is sell anyone on his ability to adapt and stick.

After coming to UNLV three years ago from Westchester (Calif.) High with a chip on his shoulder right from go and a reputation as a scoring guard, he quickly took the reins at the point.

As a sophomore in 2009-10, he led the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). Last season, he was a tad more turnover prone, but despite a nagging injury to his right wrist that lasted for roughly two-thirds of the season, he was one of two Rebels to start all 33 games and led the team in minutes per game (33.7).

Still, at times, it's always been easy to see the natural scorer inside of Bellfield trying to free itself. He averaged 11.2 points per game as a junior, but at times struggled to find a true identity within the offense.

But now, everything is in place for Bellfield to have the type of breakthrough season he's capable of.

First is his health. Each of his last two seasons have been hampered somewhere in the middle by an injury.

As a sophomore, a banged knee against BYU mid-way through Mountain West play would lead to offseason arthroscopic surgery. Last year, that wrist on his shooting hand was jammed against Southern Utah on Dec. 18, and kept him from shooting consistently the rest of the way. Up to that point, he was averaging 12.3 points a game and shooting an unconscious 54.3 percent from 3-point range over the first 11 games. That percentage would dip to 37.9 by the end of the year.

And along with Rice's offensive philosophy, which involves several players being able to handle the ball in transition while pushing the pace, the Rebels have multiple guys who he believes can play the point guard role.

"Reggie Smith will practice with us the first semester, and provided everything goes well he will be eligible in December," Rice said. "Also, we're going to play Anthony Marshall at the point. The way we play in transition, we need guys who are versatile, guards who are interchangeable."

The diminutive Smith, a 6-foot- Marquette transfer, has wowed teammates this summer in open gym sessions with both his speed and his 44-inch vertical leap. Marshall has seen brief stretches at the point in his first two seasons at UNLV with mixed results, but the staff believes that he can do so effectively in a playing style that appears to be a perfect fit for him.

Marshall is also like Bellfield in that they can both guard either backcourt position.

Bellfield welcomes the minor adjustment.

"I'm getting to show off more of my athletic side," he said. "I look at it as us just having more ammo and more guys that we can throw at people. I can both attack and bring the ball up-court, move to (shooting guard) from time to time.

"I still want to distribute the ball. But I'll do whatever it takes for us to win and for our team to have that chemistry."

Added Rice: "He's a really athletic player, and I don't think you become as good a defender as he's become without having an athletic component. From a ball-handling standpoint, he can get to where he needs to get to on the floor to set others up. Plus, just his ability to shoot the basketball, we have a lot of confidence in his ability to do that."

The staff will also lean on Bellfield to be a leader in the efforts both before the season and during it to help UNLV's personnel transition to a style of play that involves running constantly and creating chaos rather than playing predominately a half-court game.

With a new role to look forward to, Bellfield appears eager for a change.

"This is an opportunity we have to take in," he said. "You're either in it or you're not, and I feel everyone is into it and excited about it."