Christian Wood’s development, especially on offense, vital to UNLV’s success

By Taylor Bern

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 | 2 a.m.

In his collegiate debut, Christian Wood played one minute at the end of UNLV’s 2013-14 season-opening victory against Portland State. He grabbed two rebounds, committed one foul and missed his lone shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Fast-forward a year and the true sophomore is a veteran and probable starter on a youthful roster that now more than ever needs Wood to play more like the 7-footer he is, whether that measurement is with or without counting the mini-fro.

“A big part of the potential success for our program this year is how well Chris is able to establish himself as a legitimate low-post threat,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said.

Wood’s role grew throughout last season. He appeared in all but three games and in 13 minutes per game flashed the kind of potential that has him in position to be one of the Mountain West’s breakout players this year. That is, if he can stay in the right position.

That initial appearance contained a couple of tendencies that showed up in Wood’s game the entire season and that, if not corrected, will limit both he and the Rebels’ potential this season. The first is all those 3-point attempts.

Wood’s first collegiate shot was a missed 3-pointer, something he would do 38 more times last season. He made 22 percent behind the 3-point line, including 19.2 percent in conference play, and 42.7 of his total shots were beyond the arc.

Defenses backed off Wood when he drifted out because it was in their best interest. Not only was it a shot he was unlikely to make, it ensured that Wood wouldn’t be attacking them in the post, where he can be deadly.

That’s the most important thing the coaching staff has tried to get through to Wood in stressing staying down on the block. It’s not that they want to stymie his progress as a stretch forward with shooting range, but that can’t keep coming at the expense of his strength right now.

“We have to have him in the low post, mid post,” Rice said.

Wood shot 55.2 percent on 2-point attempts last season, and his promising 18.6 defensive rebounding percentage, per kenpom.com, suggests that his offensive rebounding percentage of 7.3 could make a big jump if he’s closer to the basket more often on offense. Some added weight — Wood said he’s at 221 pounds, 11 more than his listed weight last year — should help him absorb the extra contact.

Then there’s that other thing that popped up in his debut and then throughout the season: all those fouls. For Wood, and especially freshman big man Goodluck Okonoboh, this could be the most important factor all season.

Wood never fouled out as a freshman in part because he was rarely on the court long enough for them to add up. He averaged 4.7 fouls called per 40 minutes, the second most on the team, but also had a very solid 6.8 block percentage.

Part of that foul rate can be blamed on youth because as they get older, players often get better at moving their feet, keeping their hands off in situations that are more likely to be called and avoiding dumb fouls. That’s part of the on-court maturation process.

The thing is, UNLV doesn’t have time to wait around.

“There’s a lot of pressure on me, Goodluck and Dwayne Morgan,” Wood said.

Not only does the lack of experience returning mean Wood’s suddenly one of the most experienced players, the shorter roster means he’s one of few big options. Morgan, listed at 6-8, will play power forward this season and Okonoboh, 6-10, is the man in the middle who’s going to have to figure out how to be a shot blocker without a lot of fouling.

“We’re going to need them to play smart,” said freshman guard Rashad Vaughn, “because if they get in foul trouble, we’re in trouble.”

Rice said the fourth primary option inside would likely be freshman Jordan Cornish, freshman Patrick McCaw or senior Jelan Kendrick. They’re all wings probably a little shy of their listed 6-6 with varying degrees of interior skills.

Okonoboh is the closest player to a traditional big man but his offensive game is more brute force than finesse right now, so the Rebels will need Wood to use his frame and go-go gadget arms to toss in a pile of close baskets. To do that Wood needs to avoid fouls to keep himself on the court, then more often plant himself near the hoop.

Because when he’s there, the Rebels believe, Wood’s abilities will take over and transform him into the inside offensive presence they so need.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.