UNLV’s Jalen Poyser embracing increased workload

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Last year, Jalen Poyser didn’t log his 226th minute until a Jan. 6 home game against Air Force. The then-freshman played 22 minutes in that contest, which was UNLV’s 18th game of the season.

This year, Poyser has already blown past the 226-minute mark in seven games. He’s logged more playing time than any other Rebel (231 minutes), and the minutes haven’t been leisurely, either — as the team’s point guard, Poyser covers a lot of ground during games and exerts a lot of energy at both ends of the court.

The results so far have been terrific — he’s leading the Rebels in scoring (17.1 points per game), assists (3.9) and field goal attempts (11.3) — but the dramatic increase in minutes raises the question of how long Poyser can continue producing at such a high level as the wear and tear of the long college season begins to catch up with him.

Poyser anticipated the increased role and worked throughout the offseason to prepare his body for the extra stress, crediting director of strength and conditioning Jason Kabo and assistant athletic trainer Bernard Chavies for helping him get out of the gate quickly while also prepping him for the long haul.

“I’m doing pretty well,” Poyser said. “It came from the offseason. We did a lot of stamina [work], fatigue, running. Kabo’s a great guy when it comes to conditioning. He prepared us early in the year.”

This is the first time the 6-foot-4, 180-pounder has been asked to carry such a heavy workload. As a freshman, Poyser played just 16.2 minutes per game, and he only surpassed the 30-minute threshold twice on the season. This year, he’s basically doubled that to 32.3 minutes, and he’s hit the 30-minute mark five times in seven games.

With Saturday’s date at Arizona State (4-3) looming as the Rebels’ second road game in four days, this is the first portion of the schedule that could be described as a grind. Poyser had his worst outing of the season on Wednesday at Southern Utah, as he labored through foul trouble while posting a season-low 11 points and a season-high six turnovers in UNLV’s 89-81 win. He also played just 24 minutes, tied for his lowest output of the season. The Rebels are going to need more from Poyser against ASU, and he knows it.

In order to bounce back quickly in between games, Poyser has to understand when to throttle down. That means prioritizing rest and recovery when the practice schedule allows.

“I’ve gotten a lot of treatment off the court, getting in with Bernie, resting my legs whenever I can,” Poyser said. “When we have our off days, I try to relax as much as possible. Get in the ice bath. The coaches always tell us we’ve got to maintain our bodies, because our bodies are like vehicles.”

Playing out Poyser’s analogy, he’s performing like a brand-new sports car at this point in the season. Come February, the Rebels don’t want him playing like a sports car with 250,000 miles on the odometer. He's already accumulated some minor dings and dents through the first quarter of the season — he's averaging a team-high 5.4 free-throw attempts per game, an indication of the pounding his body has to withstand on a nightly basis, and a cut above his eye forced him to wear a bandage for two games.

Poyser is not the first player to see his playing time and on-court responsibilities increase significantly from his freshman to sophomore years, however, so there’s no need to panic. He says he’s holding up fine physically and that he’s ready to play wire to wire if that’s what it takes for the 5-2 Rebels to keep winning.

“I don’t really look at it as a big workload, to be honest,” he said. “It’s just something I have to do. I’m willing to step up to the plate and take on any role that coach wants me to take.”