Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- One grew up in Brooklyn. The other in The Bronx.
Both yearn to get back home and play in the world's most famous arena, located in midtown Manhattan.
But only one will get that opportunity. So if you see UNLV's Sunshine Smith and Arkansas' Kareem Reid diving on the floor for loose balls and doing whatever it takes to get the edge, understand the motivation.
The opportunity to perform at Madison Square Garden does that to a person. Especially one who grew up on the streets of New York playing basketball.
But this isn't just about two guys chasing a dream. Smith and Reid would like nothing better than to have their teammates accompany them home to the Big Apple and show them around the neighborhood. It's about playing ball next week when virtually the entire nation is stuck home watching television.
Such is the storyline to tonight's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game at Bud Walton Arena.
Reid, the Razorbacks' 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard who played his high school ball at St. Raymond's in The Bronx, desperately wants to get to the Garden.
"Coach promised me when he recruited me he would get me home," Reid said of Arkansas' Nolan Richardson. "I didn't make it in last year's preseason NIT. I want to make it now."
Smith, a 6-2 senior who played at Christ The King in Queens before moving on to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, has played once in the New York Metropolitan Area. But it was an experience he'd just as soon forget, as UNLV's 1994 trip to the Meadowlands resulted in a 20-point loss to Seton Hall and Smith was blanked by the Pirates.
"To me, that doesn't count," he said. "That was Jersey. This is the Garden we're talking about.
"When you're a kid growing up in New York and you're watching the Knicks play on TV, you dream about someday being out there. It's a big deal to someone from New York to play in the Garden."
Smith won't get a better chance than tonight. For the 22-9 Rebels to win, he said it's going to take the same kind of effort that got them to this point.
"We can't count on just Keon (Clark) or Tyrone (Nesby) or any one guy," he said. "We've got to get it from everybody."
Reid, who is averaging just under 10 points and 6 assists for the 17-12 Razorbacks, is the catalyst for Arkansas at both ends. He can force tempo offensively with his speed and he creates havoc defensively with his quickness.
Arkansas forced 25 turnovers in its 76-71 win over Pittsburgh Monday night. Reid had a key steal which led to a 3-point field goal by Pat Bradley, putting the Razorbacks ahead to stay late in the second half.
"We're going to have to handle their pressure if we're going to win," said UNLV coach Bill Bayno.
Hoop du jour
* HOME COOKING: After hosting the first two rounds, UNLV gets a taste of what life on the NIT road is like. And it's not pleasant. Of the 24 games played so far, only four teams (Florida State, West Virginia, Nevada-Reno and Nebraska) have won away from home during the first two rounds. How big will tonight's crowd be at Bud Walton Arena? According to Arkansas officials, not as big as the 17,068 that showed up Monday to watch the Razorbacks defeat Pittsburgh. Due to the short time between games to sell tickets, the late 8:30 local start, the fact it's spring break on the UA campus and that the game's being televised on ESPN, only 14,000 are expected. The sad thing is UNLV could have hosted this game had the Thomas & Mack been available. But the Disney On Ice show that occupies the building had been booked well in advance and the MGM Grand Garden wasn't available as an alternate site.
* ABOUT THE HOGS: Arkansas has won three of its last five and is averaging 88 points in its two NIT games while limiting the opposition to 73. Derek Hood, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, leads the Hogs in rebounding at 8 per game. Sophomore guard Pat Bradley is the leading scorer at 14.1 points. He is the lone Arkansas player averaging double figures, although Hood and freshman guard Glendon Alexander are just under 10 a game at 9.8. ... Arkansas' forte remains its defense. The Razorbacks have forced 601 turnovers and are plus-5.1 in turnover margin. ... This will be only the third meeting between UNLV and Arkansas. The Rebels won both previous encounters, 101-93 at the Thomas & Mack Center in 1989 and the famous Battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in 1991 at old Barnhill Arena, where UNLV prevailed 112-105. The lone holdovers from those games are Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, UNLV assistant Dave Rice, who was a member of the Rebels as a player, and UNLV trainer Jerry Koloskie.
* BACK HOME: Win or lose, UNLV will return to Las Vegas early Thursday morning and get a couple of days of classes in. Should the Rebels win, they would leave for New York Saturday. ... The last time UNLV still was playing basketball this late in the season was in 1991 when the Rebels were in Seattle preparing to win the West Regional en route to the Final Four at Indianapolis. ... Though they had to go OT Monday, Koloskie said the Rebels were in good shape physically. Guard Mark Dickel's wrist is fine after he landed on it in practice Sunday and Sunshine Smith's back was no problem after he crashed to the floor late in the second half against the Rainbows.
archive
