Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. Morehead State

BACKCOURT: B+

UNLV fans have a new hero. The team may have also found a new superstar and it’s not even the same player. Point guard Cody Doolin is already the unquestioned fan-favorite on this year’s team. He plays hard on both ends of the floor, makes great decisions and clearly has the respect of his teammates. After struggling a bit to find himself in the first half, Doolin had six assists and just one turnover after the break and hit the only shot he attempted at a key moment down the stretch. He even had Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper tweeting about him from the front row. “Gotta give another shout out to Doolin..Guy is a complete competitor and just a flat out stud! #SpecialAgentDoolin,” Harper posted on the social media site. He was echoing the comments on many other Rebel fans across social media and in the arena, where the “Cody” chant was clearly heard down the stretch. He may have emerged as the darling of the fans, but it was Rashad Vaughn who was truly special. The highly-touted freshman had 26 points and seven rebounds in his debut, including a 3-pointer from the corner that proved to be the game-winner. Jelan Kendrick was also solid in 22 minutes of action.

FRONTCOURT: B-

There was plenty of good from the tandem of Chris Wood and Goodluck Okonoboh, mostly on the defensive end. Okonoboh blocked seven shots in his debut and Wood swatted away four more. They were a force in the paint and provided a solid back line for the effective UNLV zone defense. Wood also scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Okonoboh wasn’t much of a factor on the offensive end, but did go 2-for-3 from the field. He needs to be more of an offensive threat and that will come with experience. Wood wasn’t shy with the ball at all as evidenced by his 12 shot attempts. He made just four of them and was errant on all three of his 3-point tries.

BENCH: C+

UNLV played just eight players on Friday night, using just three players off the bench. Freshman Patrick McCaw was the most effective by far. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half to finally draw the Rebels even with the Eagles. McCaw was 0-for-4 otherwise in the game, but those two shots were extremely important to the comeback win and saved what otherwise may have been a very poor grade for the group. Kendall Smith, who had a great offseason and seemed primed for a breakout this year, played just 11 minutes and scored one point. He also turned the ball over three times. Freshman Dwayne Morgan was solid in the zone, but failed to make much of an impact on the stat sheet. He went 0-for-3 from the field and had one point and three rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

COACHING: B

It was a good start to the season for Dave Rice and his staff. While skeptics may look at a one-point home win over an Ohio Valley Conference opponent as unimpressive, Morehead State is a good, veteran team. Rice shortened the bench and went mostly with the starters much of the way. The deciding factor in the game was the implementation of a zone defense and Rice has to be given credit for that decision. The Rebels have spent time working on the zone every day in practice and it worked on Friday night. There’s plenty of room for improvement from the team, but for one night Rice and his staff pushed the right buttons to find a way to earn a tough win in a game the Rebels trailed by double-digits in the second half.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.