Rebels’ Goodman quickly getting up to speed

No matter how talented a basketball player might be, there's still a learning curve every freshman must navigate. But UNLV small forward Savon Goodman finds himself picking things up quickly.

The 6-foot-6-inch Goodman scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 24 efficient minutes Saturday to help the 24th-ranked Rebels improve to 5-1 with a 77-63 win over Hawaii at the Thomas & Mack Center. With each game, he appears to be more comfortable at both ends of the floor and has embraced his role of coming off the bench to spell Bryce Dejean-Jones.

"I'm enjoying it," said Goodman, who started at Constitution High School in Philadelphia and averaged 25.8 points and 14.2 rebounds as a senior. "I'm learning so much watching when the game starts, seeing what Bryce is doing to defend his guy and how they're defending him, so when I come in I know how to attack the guy who's guarding me."

Thanks to the team's quality depth, Rebels coach Dave Rice can afford to be patient with Goodman as he eases him into the transition to the college game. But Rice has been so impressed with how Goodman is progressing he is starting to accelerate the process.

"He's figuring out how to play at the offensive end," Rice said of Goodman, who was a post player in high school and is being converted to a wing in college. "He's such a student of the game. He watches film every day, and he's extremely coachable."

Goodman said he wants to learn, and trusts the UNLV staff to help him get better.

"It's so different than high school," Goodman said. "Just the atmosphere is different. At a high school game, you might get a couple hundred people. Here, there's 18,000 and it's really intense.

"But I'm just trying to keep within myself, not try to do too much, because I trust my teammates and I know I don't have to do everything for us to win."

Goodman is understanding the importance of a quality shot and the fact that in college, an open look is not necessarily the best shot.

"You've got to learn to be patient with the ball," he said. "The court opens up for you and you see guys open, and even though you're open, you can get the ball to someone who has a better look.

"It's actually a fun way to play. I love playing with these guys."

While Goodman is averaging 6.3 points, his 3.8 rebounds per game over the course of 13.8 minutes is solid.

"I want to get every loose ball - that's my mentality," he said. "It helps me get into the flow of the game faster when I'm on the boards battling."

Rice said with the team's pending trip to Portland on Tuesday and California on Dec. 9, the need for depth will be tested, and Goodman's continued improvement will be a key to the Rebels' attempt to have better results away from the Thomas & Mack than in the past.

"He was terrific for us (Saturday)," Rice said. "His coachability and his work on and off the court is going to make him a great Rebel."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.