Marshall out to continue evolution as UNLV seeks bounce-back effort against TCU

By Ryan Greene

Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 | 2:15 a.m.

The two days of practices at the Thomas & Mack Center for the UNLV men's basketball team were no different in terms of intensity or tempo than the sessions held in between games when the Rebels were at their hottest in late November and early December.

That's fine with the coaching staff, but everyone within the program knows that when it comes to the actual games, something will have to change soon.

In the 89-77 home loss to No. 15 BYU on Wednesday night to open up Mountain West Conference play, UNLV led by as many as 10 points in the first half but was ultimately taken apart by the Cougars' backcourt duo of Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery and run out of its own gym.

It was a humbling experience for a team that has been up and down for about a month.

"We have stretches where we look really good, then we have stretches where we don't look so good," said sophomore guard Anthony Marshall. "Watching film, the film doesn't lie. You can be in the game and feel like you're doing something, but once you watch the film, it shows that you're not.

"With this group, we're a pretty mature ball club. We're using it as a learning experience. There's a lot of little stuff that played a big part in that game."

The Rebels (12-3 overall, 0-1 MWC) get a chance to make up for a stumble out of the league gates on Saturday, as they'll host struggling TCU (9-7, 0-1).

The change needed might be involving Marshall some more.

If there's one positive that UNLV could actually build off of from Wednesday, it was the play of Marshall, who quietly had the best game of his young collegiate career in the loss.

He scored 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including going 2-of-3 from long range. The 6-foot-3 Mojave High product also had three rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals.

Despite the game turning into a blowout in a snap late in the first half, none of Marshall's offense came easy, as he was contested on every drive to the hole even as BYU's lead widened.

Marshall has shown significant growth in recent games in terms of his offensive approach.

Coming into the season, he wanted to become a more polished outside shooter after struggling to hit jumpers a year ago in his reserve role. He put in the time and work over the summer months but slowly began to settle more and more for perimeter looks rather than mixing them in slowly with the strongest part of his game — driving to the bucket and finishing in traffic.

On Wednesday, his few outside looks were open attempts and came within the flow of the offense.

"I've got to kind of pick and choose when to shoot," he said. "I'm trying to add something to my game every year. Last year, I didn't shoot it too well and I was a straight slasher.

"(Earlier in the year) I was shooting some contested shots. Now I'm just trying to get them in rhythm."

Next on Marshall's agenda is to become a more consistent distributor, which he hopes will also help cut down on his turnovers.

Intangibly, he wants to fill a role that the team is missing from a year ago.

"Last year, as a freshman, I really didn't want to say too much," he added. "You had the older guys, last year we had Steve Jones, who was very enthusiastic and doing all the talking."

Marshall said he now feels more comfortable making himself more vocal, and the fact that he's producing consistent offense likely gives him more credibility when he does so.

In the team's last four games, he's 21-of-32 from the floor, has only attempted four treys and is averaging 15 points per game. Marshall is also sporting a solid 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that stretch. It doesn't appear that Marshall will be getting his starting job back from senior Tre'Von Willis any time soon, but his role within the offense appears to be gradually increasing.

He's also noticing changes that the team can make as a whole to evolve some as conference play gets into full swing.

"We can't gamble as much (on defense) as we were, because teams are looking for that now," he said. "We've just got to get in the half-court set and just play good defense."

The opportunity to get some confidence back on the defensive end will definitely be there on Saturday night, as the Horned Frogs come to town having registered 208 turnovers in 16 games (13 per outing).

Believe it or not, though, TCU's offense is actually a bit less wild now with Las Vegas native and Virginia Tech transfer Hank Thorns Jr. running the point.

Thorns, who starred at Valley High before spending two seasons in Blacksburg, Va., is averaging 5.4 assists per game. At the same time, he's allowed junior Ronnie Moss to move to shooting guard. Moss still has a team-high 54 giveaways this season, but isn't handling the ball nearly as much as he did as a sophomore.

Thorns knows the UNLV roster well, too, as he spent a good chunk of last summer running pick-up games with the Rebels.

"It's a fun match-up," Marshall said of facing Thorns. "Playing summer ball is different from playing actual college games. He'll probably know us a little bit."

TCU just might be the perfect opponent for UNLV to catch on Saturday, as the Rebels are 14-2 all-time against the Horned Frogs, and not only need an emotional bounce-back off of Wednesday's loss but need a boost in preparation for what lies ahead.

UNLV hits the road for the first time in league play on Wednesday night and will have arguably its toughest challenge of the MWC season in facing No. 6 San Diego State at Viejas Arena.