UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice spoke from a hallway adjacent to the Mendenhall Center’s practice courts, several of his players gathering inside that doorway as the likes of James Harden and Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul competed in drills. They watched every dribble, soaked in every pass.
An issue that has tormented the Rebels for most of the Mountain West season did them in again Thursday, when UNLV emerged from its locker room at intermission and promptly gave up a six-point lead, watching helplessly as San Diego State opened the second half on a 12-0 run.
There is another slogan. It’s not about running this time.
The grave had been dug and the coffin prepared, but Rich Ryerson held one final hope that might preserve life. There probably wasn’t enough money in the budget for a headstone.
The conversation between the head coach (Tim Chambers) and a Sacramento (Calif.) City College transfer (Pat Armstrong) went something like this:
In the second game of a third season under its current coaching staff, with what has been lauded as the best basketball team Dave Rice has featured at UNLV, this is today’s reality: The Rebels on Tuesday night were dominated by UC Santa Barbara out of the Big West Conference.
My immediate reaction Friday: It’s a loss. It could prove to be a big one. There is a reason those who interviewed at UNLV for the head coaching position in basketball more than two years ago listed Justin Hutson as the assistant they would pursue hardest when forming a staff.
