Reinhardt’s dream has Rebels on rise

In the middle of the night, Katin Reinhardt started to imagine what it was like to be a UNLV basketball player during the glory days. Those were days before he was born, but he had heard stories from someone who was in the middle of it.

After applying that vision to the future, he became the first high-profile high school recruit to commit to coach Dave Rice's plan for the program.

"For me to say yes to him, he's always told me that was a huge thing," Reinhardt said.

Rice received Reinhardt's commitment last August, when the 6-foot-5-inch guard from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High turned down offers from Texas and several other top schools.

"I went to bed one night, and I had a dream what this is going to be like with certain players committing," Reinhardt said.

His decision got the ball rolling, and it was largely based on his relationship with Rice, a player on the Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team. Embarking on his first head coaching job, Rice had bright ideas, if not hundreds of career wins on his resume.

"It was the whole vision he had of what he wanted to do with the basketball program, to change it to what it used to be like in the '90s," Reinhardt said. "I was dreaming one night, from him talking to me, and the dream was winning a championship.

"I'm talking about a national championship. I felt like being a part of a program that's on the rise would be a better place for me to go."

After four days of practice in preparation for an exhibition tour to Canada, Rice's plans for the Rebels are coming together. Reinhardt, one of eight newcomers on the roster, has been a standout with his sharp 3-point shooting.

He will see extensive time when UNLV plays two exhibition games in Ottawa (Aug. 18 and 19) and two in Montreal (Aug. 20 and 21), and the freshman figures to play a lot at the point and shooting guard spots when the regular season opens in November.

"I know Reinhardt is going to be on the floor for sure, just because of the way he shoots the ball," said forward Mike Moser, the team's top returning scorer and rebounder. "Reinhardt has a lot of savvy to him. He gets things right away. He's a smart player."

Moser opted against entering the NBA Draft to come back for his junior year, setting up the Rebels to be a potential top-10 team this season. The addition of Anthony Bennett, a power forward from Findlay Prep and a top-10 prospect in the class of 2012, capped an impressive first recruiting class for Rice.

"It's just great to see the whole program start to build up," said Reinhardt, the nation's 38th-ranked recruit by Rivals.com. "I love it here. I'm just going to bust my butt every day in practice."

Reinhardt has been on the UNLV campus for only a month, but his connection with Rice has been strong for more than a year.

"We have an open relationship to where we can talk any time," Reinhardt said. "He's not like any other coach. A lot of coaches, you have to schedule meetings to see them. But we've talked almost every day. A good relationship with the coach means a lot when you're on the floor."

Last summer, they talked about Reinhardt eventually filling a Jimmer Fredette-type role in the Rebels' offense. Fredette, the nation's leading scorer at Brigham Young two seasons ago, flourished in Rice's up-tempo system when he was a Cougars assistant.

Reinhardt's role won't be featured like that this season, when seniors Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins and sophomore Bryce Dejean-Jones, a transfer from Southern California, also fill the backcourt.

"In the recruiting process, we always talk about showcasing great individual talent but doing it in the team concept," Rice said. "We're very fortunate to have Katin in our program.

"He can do so many things. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll play multiple positions this year and eventually will evolve into a full-time point guard."

Rice and Reinhardt have yet to win a game together, and the Rebels still need to prove they can win on the road and conquer the Mountain West Conference, but that's all part of their plan.

"I have faith in Coach Rice, and I trust him 100 percent," Reinhardt said. "I'm not used to losing. Our goal is to win a championship."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.