UNLV could learn a lot from Villanova, have patience with Chris Beard

HOUSTON

For five days here, in front of media from the print and TV and radio and Internet worlds, Jay Wright talked about culture, about recruiting players that best fit the Villanova model, about not allowing one tournament or One Shining Moment or, as things magically occurred Monday night, one legendary shot to define the program’s existence.

“We don’t want this to be the greatest thing they do in their life, win a Final Four, win a national championship,” Wright said. “We want them to enjoy the hell out of it, the competitiveness, the commitment. And they love it.

“But our program is respected for what it is, no matter if we won the championship or not. Winning a title isn’t going to make these guys any more loved at Villanova than they already are. We’re not going to change anything we do.”

It’s this sense of consistency and cultivation that in large part led to Villanova beating North Carolina 77-74 in the national final, to junior forward Kris Jenkins making the biggest shot in the history of the NCAA title game years after he was thought too overweight and not committed enough to embrace the values and work ethic that has defined Wright’s program since he became the coach in 2001.

In this way, UNLV should take notice and learn today.

In a town where there is no patience for its basketball program struggling in the least, a large dose is needed now as Chris Beard is set to officially assume control of the Rebels on Friday. In a place coated with the need for instant gratification in all things — takes too long to pull that slot machine arm, we’ll just have you push a button — UNLV is looking at a makeover more detailed than any reality TV show.

Say what you want about the national whispers and giggles regarding UNLV’s search, one that coaches and administrators across the country privately questioned and belittled as erratic and sophomoric and totally unrealistic. In the end, the Rebels chose Beard, and he now deserves the time and support to build a program in his image and in the manner he believes can produce a consistent winner.

That more and more current players are deciding to depart the program isn’t a surprise and shouldn’t at all be taken personally. UNLV set this entire chaotic storyline in motion by unprecedentedly firing Dave Rice in January, something that never happens in college basketball to a coach who hasn’t committed violations or otherwise embarrassed the program.

The school wasn’t loyal to one of its own in not allowing Rice to finish his fifth season before deciding on his future, so why would anyone expect kids who signed to play for him exhibit loyalty now?

Beard will be UNLV’s third coach in four months. That’s on UNLV.

It’s not the only reason Stephen Zimmerman Jr. and Patrick McCaw have decided to enter the NBA Draft (Zimmerman was always going to do so), and Jordan Cornish and Dwayne Morgan plan to transfer, and that others probably will follow one of those two paths, but it’s a factor.

The idea that Zimmerman or McCaw or whoever (Derrick Jones?) isn’t ready for the NBA isn’t worth the breath it takes to make such a statement. The draft for years has been an exercise in potential rather than certainty, at which teams select players based on what they believe a young man can do two to three years down the road and how their skill set might eventually translate to the NBA.

The majority of underclassmen declaring aren’t ready, but that’s not the point in today’s NBA, and the last place a player should be is college if his heart and mind aren’t totally committed to the entire experience.

If UNLV basketball under Beard has to first resemble a little boy shaking his Etch A Sketch and offering a clean slate, then so be it. If he needs to clean house with his roster and coaching staff, then so be it again. If recruits who have committed to UNLV choose to play elsewhere, so be it a third time.

Beard is the coach now. It’s his team, his program. He has to be allowed to construct it the way he sees best.

None of this means Beard is assuredly the correct choice — it’s on him to prove his worth — or that UNLV will one day again come close to experiencing the exhilaration of winning a national title as Villanova did Monday. The Wildcats are a major program in every way regarding administration and finances and university support, and the Rebels aren’t.

But it does mean Beard deserves the benefit of patience as this makeover commences.

“Villanova, the administration, appreciates the way we do it, that we want to get guys that fit our culture,” Wright said. “I do think in college it is important that the program — not that they’re about the coaches, but the coaches are responsible for the culture. This team has fit our model the best.”

I don’t know what the Chris Beard model will resemble at UNLV, but he needs time to shape it.

In a town built on the concept of instant gratification, patience can be a tough reality for many to embrace.

But when it comes to UNLV basketball, it’s needed now more than ever.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney