Beyond what you might know about UNLV’s freshman basketball star Brandon McCoy exists a side unknown to most who cheer his every dunk. The 19-year old, who plays five instruments, embraces a love for music and its power to inspire far beyond a court and rim.
For long stretches, particularly in the second half, the Rebels didn’t play well at all in an 89-82 win Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Rebels and Arizona certainly didn’t disappoint Saturday night in delivering the type of tenor most hoped for, an overtime thriller won by the Wildcats 91-88 before 14,579.
While it’s impossible to directly connect Arizona being linked to arguably one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history with what has been surprisingly inconsistent results thus far, it’s hardly a stretch to suggest the two storylines share a common alliance.
Champions of the MGM Resorts Main Event, UNLV in an 85-58 win over Utah showed those at T-Mobile Arena and an ESPN2 audience how different things are from last year’s 11-win nightmare.
He wasn’t a guy who made headlines. He might have eaten at McDonald’s, but never wore an All-American jersey with a patch of the golden arches on it. He never played a second of varsity ball in high school.
The Rebels, who opened their season with a 108-66 rout of Florida A&M, are longer, deeper, more athletic, more savvy, far better suited to compete on a nightly basis this season.
UNLV began practice Saturday, and coach Marvin Menzies talked about the FBI investigation into college basketball, a scandal that involves colleagues Tony Bland and Rick Pitino.
The most difficult step for a university to make is admitting it fumbled an important decision, and yet for as much as social media unmercifully ripped the confusing new Hey Reb! mark, it appears those in charge are standing behind it.
The Warriors believe former UNLV player Patrick McCaw can be one of those two-way players teams continuously pursue, but his place on the league’s best team was born from this reality: He can really defend.
