Negative incidents incense Mountain West commissioner

This hasn’t been the type of basketball season the Mountain West would want to showcase, and not all of it has to do with the disappointing play on the court.

Conference commissioner Craig Thompson was so upset by a series of negative incidents in men’s and women’s games, he sent a strong memo two weeks ago warning league members of serious repercussions for further offenses.

UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy also addressed sportsmanship in a head coaches’ meeting on Tuesday.

The UNLV women were among the reasons Thompson sent his missive. The Lady Rebels were involved in a brawl with Utah State at Cox Pavilion on Jan. 7 that resulted in eight ejections and three suspensions. UNLV coach Kathy Olivier apologized afterward.

“Our athletic department completely supported the commissioner’s position that he stated in the memo, and we’re committed to upholding the standards and the values of sportsmanship,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “As it related to our particular situation, I talked with our coaches, I talked with the individuals, and I talked with our entire team on our women’s side about what our expectations are.

“We’re in the business of educating young people, and our job is to help and prepare for life, and stuff like this happens. These situations come up that are regrettable, but I also believe that it’s a teachable moment. So we made it really, really clear this is not going to happen again. ”

On the men’s side, first-year coach Marvin Menzies hasn’t had to tackle such behavioral problems. But Menzies, whose Rebels (10-12, 3-6 MW) host New Mexico (13-9, 6-4) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center on the CBS Sports Network, knows how quickly circumstances can change.

“Good people make bad decisions all the time,” Menzies said. “I think sometimes it’s the luck of the draw.

“We’ve got a good group of guys and, knock on wood, we haven’t had anything happen as of yet, but we’ve got nine games left. So we’ll stay on top of them and keep the hammer down.”

The Rebels’ opponent knows something about living with negative attention.

New Mexico assistant coaches Terrence Rencher and Chris Harriman were ejected during a Jan. 14 game at Colorado State. Rencher and Rams forward Emmanuel Omogbo yelled at each other after the game, which the Albuquerque Journal caught on video.

The Journal also broke the story of Thompson’s memo, which read in part: “The behavior by our men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes and coaching staffs thus far this season has been nothing short of embarrassing.”

When asked by the Review-Journal about the memo, Thompson provided this statement: “It really speaks for itself. We need to conduct ourselves in a higher manner.”

Of all the issues Menzies has faced, player conduct hasn’t been one of them. He also noted the players haven’t pointed fingers at one another during this challenging rebuilding season.

“I think character’s something you need to recruit to,” Menzies said. “I think it’s harder to build it and mold it than it is to recruit to it, so I think we’ve done a pretty good job at least at this juncture to bring in kids that get the big picture and have come from good stock, so to speak.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.