Jelan Kendrick on Saturday walked in a procession far more important than any half-court set he has been part of, graduating from UNLV with a degree in sociology. His journey to the reality of a cap and gown, more than anything else, is best described as complex.
Dantley Walker has departed UNLV for a land of mangoes and guava and cooling trade winds, for a Division II program in Chaminade whose history is defined by one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history.
The truth: UNLV forward Chris Wood made the correct choice, but there is a right way and wrong way to handle such matters, and Wood failed about as miserably as one can in the process of leaving after his sophomore season for the NBA.
While UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice has yet to prove March as a month that can define his program as either successful or relevant, he has this recruiting thing going like nobody’s business. He’s no April fool.
Roscoe Smith and Khem Birch are good enough to eventually find an NBA home. But it’s impossible to guarantee either will, because what the former UNLV players are discovering is that making it is as much about timing and opportunity as skill and upside.
Despite dwindling win totals, UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy is betting basketball coach Dave Rice can turn around the program in his fifth year and take the Rebels back to the NCAA Tournament. Anything less will be unacceptable.
Dave Rice just concluded his fourth season as UNLV’s coach, his second straight without a postseason appearance, and it is no secret that his job is in jeopardy after an 18-15 season. Rice and athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy are expected to meet this week.
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.
UNLV and San Diego State, who will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Mountain West basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, have played twice this season, with the Aztecs winning by six and two points. The Rebels had chances to win both games.
Mountain West basketball this season has neither been good enough from top to bottom or in possession of a dominating team to suggest anything is inconceivable as the conference tournament opens today at the Thomas & Mack Center.
