Take 5: Simon’s opportunity to impress with UNLV starts tonight

By Taylor Bern

Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 | 2 a.m.

The question is straightforward and the answer will come over the next two months, starting tonight: Who is Todd Simon, UNLV head basketball coach?

Simon, a third-year assistant, leads his first game as the interim coach against New Mexico (10-6, 3-0) in the Thomas & Mack Center at 7 p.m., a little more than two days after UNLV (9-7, 0-3) asked Dave Rice to leave.

“It’s been a little surreal,” Simon said. “It’s not something that even 48 hours ago was even a thought.”

Simon led a team three years ago in his lone season as Findlay Prep’s top coach. That summer he joined Rice’s staff, and a year later he was the top assistant. Now Simon is getting a trial run at the top job, and while results will be a better judge, here’s a look at what Simon the head coach might look like:

1. More Pressure

UNLV’s offseason was largely about a full-court pressure system that they now rarely use, and getting that ramped back up is at the top of Simon’s list.

“Sometimes you have to let them play a little bit,” Simon said.

Rice cited foul trouble in UNLV’s frontcourt as one of the reasons that pressure defense had mostly disappeared, and that’s something Simon will have to battle just the same. But it’s a challenge worth fighting because Simon sees an up-tempo pace as the cure for some of what has ailed the Rebels.

“We’re a better transition offensive team than the other team,” Simon said. “We may give up layups and we may give up a couple open 3s, but what you’re strategically doing is saying that in the midst of the tempo of the game we’re going to get more. That’s what we want to do.”

UNLV’s transition offense averages 1.173 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports, which is one of the top marks in the country. The Rebels are in transition less than 20 percent of the time, though, and on half-court possessions they’re averaging 0.823.

A goal throughout the season has been to increase the number of transition possessions, but for a few reasons that’s something that UNLV simply didn’t do against most opponents. Now that he’s got the top job, Simon is going to try to reach that same goal in his own way.

“We can use that as more of a weapon to score if we can get that tempo forced a little bit more by getting up into people like we did earlier in the year,” Simon said.

2. No Pressure

Whether at Findlay Prep or UNLV, Simon yells often but he rarely appears upset. He’s certainly confident in himself, but Simon’s demeanor also comes with a general feeling that he’s lucky to even be here.

So when asked by a crowd of cameras and microphones on his first full day of the job if he feels any pressure, Simon simply shook his head and said no.

“I’m maybe wired a little bit differently,” Simon said. “I just believe, this is the game of basketball; we’re prepared, we know who we are and we know what we need to do in order to achieve what we really want to achieve, and proceed from there. That probably comes from life experiences and stuff in the past that allows me to say, 'Hey, there are a lot bigger things than worrying about the next loose ball drill.'”

Three years ago, Simon was the head coach at Findlay Prep after six seasons as an assistant. For at least the next two months, he’s a Division I head coach with some potential NBA talent on the roster.

Put into that perspective, plus the fact that in previous years he has been offered high-major assistant positions, and it’s easier to see this as a win-win for Simon. Anything more than a disaster could be sold as a positive, and if it goes sideways, well, the expectations for an interim coach were not particularly high in the first place.

This is essentially a trial run for Simon’s next job, whether that’s at UNLV or elsewhere, so win or lose he wants to be comfortable and be himself. And as Simon told the Sun last season, “When you can do kid stuff as an adult, that’s not bad.”

3. All In, All Together?

The Rebels could have conceivably named four people their interim coach, and that situation alone sets up potential problems because it leaves three people who could have an issue.

Only time will tell how this coaching staff gels after one of its own was promoted, but the early signs are that Simon might not have total support. Special assistant to the head coach Max Good was absent from Monday’s practice, though he’s expected to return for tonight’s game while contemplating his future.

While their salaries are lower, assistants Stacey Augmon and Ryan Miller shared the same title (associate head coach) as Simon and could have each tried to make their case. Miller has more college experience than any of the trio, while Augmon won a national championship at UNLV and was the longest-tenured assistant on Rice’s staff.

UNLV Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said she picked Simon because of his skills, and not his connection to Findlay Prep and its founder, UNLV booster Cliff Findlay. Simon will get a chance to prove himself, and once things settle down he’ll get a chance to catch up on social media, where members of Augmon’s family were complaining about UNLV’s decision.

Asked about that and general concerns regarding staff cohesion, Simon said he hadn’t seen any negative comments but wouldn’t mind if he did.

“At times like this there’s no script or blueprint. Emotions run high and everyone was disappointed with the way things were going,” Simon said. “… I’d never take anything personal in times like these.”

4. Selling the Season

Starting tonight, UNLV has at least nine more games in the Mack this season. The Rebels are hoping those remain relevant events to local fans, especially those who were asking for change.

The decision on a full-time coach will include many factors, but few will be more important than: Who can put fans back in the stands? UNLV’s declining attendance has been an additional strain on an already tight budget, and fixing that has to be a big part of UNLV’s big picture.

For those remaining nine (or more) games, though, the program is just hoping that fans don’t view a coaching change as a white flag. The Mountain West is still a bad league, and the Rebels have last year’s Boise State team and its 0-3 start as a recent example of the turnaround that can happen.

“The fans who think this is a lost season obviously haven’t been in our meetings, haven’t been to our practices and don’t know the character of these kids,” Simon said. “These kids deserve every bit of faith that this community can give them, and I truly believe they’re going to reward this community for that faith.”

5. Leftovers

• Simon said that while one-and-done stars impact the overall landscape, the best college basketball teams are getting older.

“We haven’t mastered that art here yet,” he said.

This was Rice’s most balanced roster in terms of overall experience, but only one scholarship player (junior guard Daquan Cook) has spent at least two years in the program. That’s something Simon would presumably try to change if he got UNLV’s full-time job.

• Advice has poured in from every corner, and most of it has backed up what he already felt: Be yourself, don’t compromise, etc.

“You always know a lot of those things coming into it, but to hear and consistently get that message has been very good,” Simon said.

• While Rice figures out his next move, he might expect some calls from his former assistant. Simon said the line of communication is open between the two and he doesn’t mind using it.

“He’s a dear friend and he’s been great through this whole process,” Simon said.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.