Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The only UNLV player on the current roster to play in the postseason doesn't remember his lone appearance.
But that was Damian Smith's choice. He chooses not to remember. He claims to have good reason for forgetting, because the circumstances surrounding what should have been an enjoyable experience were less than ideal.
Smith was a freshman when UNLV faced Southern Cal in the opening round of the 1993 National Invitation Tournament. He didn't do much that night of March 17. Neither did his teammates, as USC routed the Rebels 90-74 at the Thomas & Mack Center in what became known as "The St. Patrick's Day Massacre."
Four years later and now a fifth-year senior, Smith has a chance to obliterate that dark night from his memory. Wednesday, the Rebels return to the NIT when they host Memphis at 9 p.m.
This time, the circumstances are near opposite. The Rebels are looking forward to playing. The entire nation will be watching on ESPN and Smith will not allow himself and his teammates to go through the experience of '93 again.
"It's like night and day," he said. "This team's pumped up and ready to play. We're excited about getting the chance to play in the NIT.
"My freshman year, nobody even wanted to play. Mentally, we were gone."
The Rebels of Smith's freshman year couldn't have entered the postseason on more of a downward spiral. The team started strong, building a 13-1 record under first-year coach Rollie Massimino, and was in the Top 25.
But things began to unravel in February and the Rebels limped into the Big West tournament in Long Beach losers of two of their final three. Then the news broke about star forward J.R. Rider being involved in alleged academic fraud. The team was shaken by the reports, UNLV was eliminated in the second round of the Big West tourney and Rider was suspended.
When Selection Sunday came, UNLV was bypassed despite being ranked No. 25 in the nation and having a 21-7 record. The team was crushed.
"Everyone was still hoping we'd make the NCAAs," Smith said. "When we didn't hear our name called, it was like nobody wanted to play anymore.
"We took a vote and everyone voted not to go to the NIT. But Coach Mass overruled us and we had to play. Without J.R., nobody cared."
Rider didn't play against USC, the Rebels fell behind early and never recovered, suffering one of the worst home defeats in school history. Smith said as a freshman, there wasn't much he could say or do to alleviate the situation.
"It was tough for me," he said. "That was J.R.'s, Evric's (Gray) and Dexter's (Boney) team. I had never been through anything like that in high school and I certainly wasn't prepared for it."
But with his career winding down, Smith is prepared to finish strong. He has averaged 11 points in his last three games, and playing at least one more home game has him excited about Wednesday.
"Whether or not it's my last game, I want to go out with no regrets," he said. "I'm going to leave it all out on the court.
"I'm glad I came back this year. I knew we were going to have a good team and it has been a lot of fun for me."
Hoop du jour
* SUN SITS: There wasn't good news from the practice floor Monday as senior G Sunshine Smith missed the 90-minute workout at the Thomas & Mack Center with a cold and a slight fever. Despite the illness, Smith is expected to play Wednesday, though his status for practice today at the North Gym remains up in the air. ... As for practice itself, coach Bill Bayno was very pleased with Monday's workout. "It was a great practice. We had great intensity," he said. "I can see that they're enthused about playing."
* ON THE AIR: "The Bill Bayno Show" will air at 7 tonight on KXNT 840-AM live from Barley's in Green Valley. The show will be broadcast for the next three Tuesdays at 7 as the NCAA Tournament and NIT play out.
* KEON TOPS WAC: The final Western Athletic Conference statistics have junior C Keon Clark as the league leader in blocked shots with 101 and field-goal percentage at .566. Clark was fourth in rebounding, averaging 9.4. ... Other Rebels among the WAC leaders include Tyrone Nesby, 15th in scoring at 16.3 points a game, Warren Rosegreen, seventh in rebounding at 8.3, and Mark Dickel, eighth in assists at 4.0. ... In conference play, UNLV led the WAC in rebound margin at +7 and was second in the WAC in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 38 percent shooting. Only Tulsa's 37.9 was better. UNLV also was second to Tulsa in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 29.2 percent.
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