Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

UNLV Basketball:

Rebels’ freshmen looking for first 3-game conference winning streak

UNLV Basketball Team Versus Arizona

L.E. Baskow

UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn celebrates with teammates and fans after beating Arizona 71-67 at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014.

The Rebel Room

Another shot at Reno

Las Vegas Sun sports writers Ray Brewer and Taylor Bern get into the Rebels' chance for vengeance at UNR after the Rebels managed to finally win a close game. Also, Brewer breaks down some of UNLV football's commits.

The UNLV basketball team made it to 2015 without a losing streak, but once the calendar flipped it took more than three weeks for the return of a winning streak. Both games went down to the wire, but the Rebels have won two straight, and Saturday it will look to bump that to three in a row against struggling Air Force.

UNLV (12-9, 3-5) hosts the Falcons (9-11, 2-7) at 7 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will stream on ESPN3.

Without its two best players, Air Force has taken a nosedive. Senior Kamryn Williams played only one conference game because of a torn Achilles, while senior Max Yon has missed the past five games, first for an injury and then because of personal reasons.

Those are tough blows for a Falcons team whose only two league victories are both against San Jose State, which has yet to defeat a Division I opponent this season. UNLV coach Dave Rice knows what it’s like to have to turn toward inexperience.

Of course, a huge difference between the underclassmen at UNLV and a place like Air Force is the abilities the Rebels possessed when they walked in the door. UNLV’s current crop of true freshmen was ranked top 5 in the nation by anyone who bothers ranking these things. The team’s record hasn’t lived up to expectations, but nearing the midway point of conference play how have the individual players handled their roles?

Here’s a look at some numbers and breakdowns of a quintet that UNLV fans and coaches would like to keep together for at least one encore season:

    • Rashad Vaughn

      Overall stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      20-20	32.2	30.8	50.3	70.8	17.6	5	0.7

      Conference stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      8-8	33.9	28.6	52.3	84.8	17.8	5.4	1.2

      Better than advertised …

      This is a difficult one, because as a top 10 prospect Vaughn was expected to be able to come in and lead the Rebels in scoring, which he’s done. The possible surprise, depending on your expectations, is that he’s getting more efficient as the season goes along.

      All of Vaughn’s major numbers have gone up at least a little in league play — he’s UNLV’s second-leading rebounder in Mountain West games — and there have been flashes of incredible play-making on the offensive end.

      Needs work …

      Defense still lags behind his progress on the offensive end and his decision-making (see the end of the Boise State game) could get better. It will also be interesting to see if this trend continues: Vaughn is coming off one of his most ineffective performances of the season, and it came against the first Mountain West team the Rebels played twice (UNR).

      Will other teams have a better time shutting him down the second time around?

    • Pat McCaw

      Overall stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      21-5	28.4	18.8	49.7	72.2	8.4	3.4	1.3

      Conference stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      8-4	32.6	17.3	60	81.8	10.1	2.4	1.9

      Better than advertised …

      Pretty much everything. McCaw was considered the throw-in to the Rebels’ recruiting class, and he’s already gone from a jack-of-all-trades bench guy to an efficient starter who could probably use a little more selfishness on offense.

      McCaw also ranks sixth in the league in steals per game.

      Needs work …

      His game is still trending upward, so the focus has to be on consistency. On defense he needs to make sure he remembers his assignments, which was a problem at the end of the UNR loss, and maybe dial back the alley-oop attempts.

      Or at least practice them a little better so it’ll work one of these days.

    • Goodluck Okonoboh

      Overall stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      19-17	26.4	13.5	48.8	31.4	5.3	5.3	0.8

      Conference stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      7-5	26	12.6	60.7	21.4	5.3	4	1.2

      Better than advertised …

      The NBA Draft Bingo phrases Motor and Length come to mind, but overall it’s got to be Okonoboh’s ability to play to his strengths. He’s stopped taking as many jumpers, something he’s clearly not good at, and gotten better at running the pick-and-roll.

      As a rim protector his block numbers are great and he’s improving as an overall defender who can affect shots or guard one-on-one without fouling too much.

      Needs work …

      Hackonoboh is going to become a thing if he doesn’t get at least marginally better at the free-throw line. At this point his percentage is so low it might make sense for opponents to send him to the line even if UNLV is trailing.

    • Dwayne Morgan

      Overall stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      21-3	17	24	39.4	67.6	5.5	3.1	0.3

      Conference stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      8-2	14.8	27.6	41.3	63.6	5	1.9	0.1

      Better than advertised …

      There’s no denying Morgan has lagged behind the other freshmen. He came in as a prospect ranked in the top 40 who could be a high-energy guy off the bench, maybe even a starter. At the very least he figured to help with rebounding far better than he has this season.

      That he’s maintained a high usage rate despite some questionable shot selections and the worst offensive efficiency numbers in the rotation is a problem.

      Needs work …

      Perhaps his development hinges on more game experience, and no matter how he’s playing there’s only so much the coaches can help him with that when he’s committing fouls at such a high rate. Morgan leads the team at 6.4 fouls per 40 minutes, which is more than two more than the Rebels’ next most prolific fouler (Okonoboh, 4.1).

      Obviously there’s a lot Morgan needs to work on, but cutting down on the mental errors that lead to so many of his fouls would be a good place to start.

    • Jordan Cornish

      Overall stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      20-1	13.7	19	57.5	92	5	1.3	0.8

      Conference stats

      GP-GS	Min	Usg%	eFG%	FT%	Pts	Rbs	A/TO

      8-0	15.3	18.1	62	100	4.6	1	0.4

      Better than advertised …

      Cornish would have a quicker release if he got rid of the hitch in his shooting motion, but it’s also hard to argue with results. In limited minutes, he leads the team in 3-point shooting percentage and he’s only missed two free throws all season.

      Who knows if his production would hold up to a larger role but he’s earned that chance.

      Needs work …

      A good way to earn more minutes would be to grab more rebounds than he has this season. Also, if you’re going to attempt a dunk on a breakaway, you better come away with two points.

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

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