Injury could alter Moser’s NBA plan

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Justin Hutson remembers the feeling. He was about to enter his senior year of college basketball at Cal State Bakersfield, about to enjoy what he believed would be a season defined by good health and productive results. Then he injured a thigh before the opener.

"You lift all those weights and do all that work in the summer, and put in all those extra hours and practice your butt off," Hutson said. "You're out there competing and you have been around and you know what it takes and, all of a sudden, something happens that is out of your control.

"It's very frustrating. Mike is going to need all of his family, all of us in the program, to support him."

Hutson, UNLV's second-year associate head coach, responded to that injury in 1994 by being part of a second straight Division II national championship.

I'm guessing Mike Moser today would take a healthy February and beyond, that he would find it difficult embracing the thought that with every adversity comes a seed of equal or greater benefit.

Things have gone from bad to worse for him.

UNLV departed Haas Pavilion with a well-earned 76-75 victory against Cal on Sunday, and yet in the process lost its second-leading scorer and best rebounder for what will likely prove a significant amount of time.

Moser dislocated his right elbow while diving for a loose ball in the first half, was helped from the court, returned to the bench wearing a sling and declined to comment afterward.

An early guess: At best, Moser misses a month. At worst, he is done for the season.

Translation: Either way, it's not good.

"Specifically, what that means, I don't know," Rebels coach Dave Rice said. "I suspect we will be playing without him for some time, but for how long, I don't know exactly. I feel terrible for him."

It is an injury that affects UNLV in the present and could alter Moser's plans for the future.

He decided against leaving school after last season and entering the NBA Draft, but from that moment on, he and Rice and anyone associated with the Rebels have spoken and acted as if Moser's junior season would be his last. They have treated him like a senior in every way.

You wonder if that changes now.

Moser is a hustle guy in the NBA if he is drafted and makes a team. He would earn a living chasing down loose balls and rebounding from a small forward position and bringing energy off someone's bench. He isn't a sure thing to make it, so if this latest injury needs surgery or lasts deep into the season before healing enough to get him back on the court, you have to think he would re-evaluate those plans to leave school early.

"Could be, absolutely," Rice said. "We will always do what's best for Mike. The first thing is to get a prognosis from the doctor and figure out what the recovery time is. It's all speculation right now but, certainly, (rethinking his plans) could be an option."

It hurts the Rebels, because Moser is their best high-post player against the zone, and any opposing coach who doesn't zone UNLV a significant amount of minutes should be immediately fired.

The Rebels lack a true point guard, a player capable of making the best decisions when attacking a zone. Moser was a nice option for guards to play off.

Khem Birch will help inside once the Pittsburgh transfer center becomes eligible Dec. 17, and the more freshman Anthony Bennett plays as he did Sunday (season highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds), the more it becomes apparent he will spend the NBA Draft wearing a suit while preparing to shake David Stern's hand.

The Rebels are still capable inside, but you're talking about a team that doesn't rebound well at the defensive end and that just lost the one guy who has been consistent at grabbing boards.

Moser's absence will show.

It's a shame. He was coming off an injured hip, felt good enough to play Sunday, and then a ball bounced loose on Cal's end not five minutes into things. Moser got caught up in a pile, dove forward and in the process his elbow bent a way elbows aren't meant to bend.

"Just unlucky," Rice said.

It was a big win that came with a costly injury.

Time will tell if that seed of equal or greater benefit exists for Mike Moser.

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.