Freshman Smith has game that’s easy to love

And with the pain of another’s hamstring has arrived opportunity.

UNLV is not a complete basketball team yet, not with junior Bryce Dejean-Jones on the bench, not with one of the Mountain West’s best scorers nursing an injury, not with a guy expected to improve on his 10.4 average of last season worried more about treatment sessions with trainers than breaking down defenders.

But things won’t be different for Kendall Smith when Dejean-Jones is healthy enough to play.

His minutes probably won’t decrease.

His role likely won’t diminish.

This is why: UNLV coaches love Smith.

They believe he can be beyond good.

He is a freshman guard who would be smart to continue performing as he did Friday evening, when the Rebels opened their season against Portland State and Smith looked more than the part in his college debut.

The Rebels won 67-48 at the Thomas &Mack Center after leading the Vikings by just one at halftime, won because they have bigger and better and more athletic players who over 40 minutes will almost always rise above an inferior foe not named Dixie State.

Won because when you continue to shoot free throws as if they’re halfcourt shots (UNLV was a forgettable 13 of 28 from the line), it’s always preferable a team such as Portland State occupies the opposing bench.

Smith played an efficient 24 minutes, scoring 10 on 4-for-7 shooting and adding four assists and a steal. He also had three turnovers. Nerves find everyone new.

He committed to UNLV in January, shortly after working out in the Thomas &Mack, choosing not to pursue scholarship offers from the likes of UCLA and Connecticut and instead pledge his faith in the Rebels.

That day, Smith lauded the recruiting efforts of then-UNLV associate head coach Justin Hutson, who would eventually return to an assistant’s role at San Diego State.

Huston, Smith told reporters, played a major role in his decision to choose UNLV.

But in the end, something else won out.

“I understood it was a business and that sometimes, people move on,” Smith said. “With a lot of programs, you’re going to have new faces every year. It won’t always be the same people. I still felt (UNLV) was the right fit for me. Coach Hutson had a lot to do with my decision, but at the end of the day, I was coming here to play for (head coach) Dave Rice. He’s the one who determines who plays and who doesn’t play.

“I had a great relationship with Coach Rice throughout the entire process. I trust him.”

Point guard. Shooting guard. Combo this and that. Whatever. Smith can play. He isn’t near good enough defensively yet to excel at that end, meaning he’s very much like the majority of freshmen nationally, kids with all sorts of ability but little clue about executing the concepts of stopping others.

That comes in time. For now, if he can stretch defenses a bit as he did in making two 3-point attempts Friday, more chances to score will open up inside for players like forwards Khem Birch and Roscoe Smith.

Those two combined for 29 points and 27 rebounds, using most of the second half to impose their will against a Portland State team that was without two of its best players and has now lost 17 straight road games.

The Vikings were your typical season-opening gimme who hung around longer than Rice would have preferred, again a result of brick after brick from the free-throw line.

But there was nothing typical about how comfortable Kendall Smith appeared under the bright lights of a college setting.

“He just continues to play well early in his career,” Rice said. “If he continues to make progress and remains as coachable as he is now, he has a chance to be a special player for us in time.

“A lot of it is his confidence. He turned 18 in September and plays with confidence beyond his years. On his high school team, he was asked to score. On his AAU team, he was a distributor. Kendall is a winner. He does whatever the team needs to win.

“I think the relationship I was able to forge with Kendall and his father during the recruiting process was a positive one. He was firmly committed to UNLV and excited about it. I’ll always appreciate Coach Hutson and his role in helping us recruit Kendall, but I was absolutely confident he would remain committed to us all along.”

The coaches love him. The kid can play.

For openers, not bad.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.