UNLV forward Ben Carter is the lunch pail and hard hat kid. He’s that guy. He’s the one who doesn’t question orders, a coach’s son who not only can play, but more importantly, knows how to play. There is a big difference.
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Part of the message from the time practice began for UNLV this college basketball season was about reaction. How would the Rebels respond to success? How would they deal with adversity?
When the talent continued to sign on the dotted line and the depth became more than UNLV’s basketball team has enjoyed under fifth-year head coach Dave Rice, it wasn’t guaranteed the Rebels would immediately turn a corner back towards the NCAA Tournament.
He knew the matchup before it was announced and not because Dave Rice had some inside source feeding him information. It just made too much sense, is all.
The schedule for UNLV’s basketball team to begin this season allowed the Rebels a cushion for success if they didn’t fall into the trap of playing down to opponents, if they didn’t suffer the sort of lapse in focus that has already caught several heavily favored teams across the country.
UNLV has concluded both preseason contests and the reviews are more positive than not, a team with definite depth and skill and an ability to put on the floor the sort of combinations that will make preparing for the Rebels a challenge.
This is not meant to burst any bubbles, but prepare for a pretty massive bazooka-like blast: The move by college basketball to a 30-second shot clock this season has every chance to deliver the opposite of intended results.
We have heard a lot about the D word when it comes to UNLV basketball this season, about how the Rebels have more depth than at any time under fifth-year coach Dave Rice. That’s because Oregon transfer Ben Carter is now eligible and freshman Stephen Zimmerman chose to stay home; size and talent in the front court haven’t been this extensive in some time. There are others, of course.
When it comes to selling the idea that getting to the NBA would be best accomplished at a particular college, UNLV’s coaching staff ranks among the finest nationally in delivering such a message. Dave Rice and his assistants own the most important of factors in such recruiting wars: tangible evidence.
UNLV has arguably its deepest level of skill since Rice was hired as coach in 2011, and there had been some whispers over the summer that he might consider a platoon system if enough good players emerged from preseason drills.