Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Analysis: Top offseason priorities for UNLV basketball

UNLV Rebels Fall to Boise State in Mountain West Tournament

Sam Morris / Las Vegas News Bureau

UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger talks with guard Marvin Coleman during their Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinal game against Boise State Thursday, March 5, 2020, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV’s season ended with Thursday’s ugly loss to Boise State in the Mountain West tournament, but despite the defeat there seems to be genuine optimism around the program moving forward. T.J. Otzelberger appears to be the right coach for this team, and with a handful of offseason fortifications, the Runnin’ Rebels could take an exponential leap forward in 2020-21.

The offseason begins now, and given Otzelberger’s work ethic, you know he’s already focused on getting UNLV to the big dance next March.

The biggest offseason priorities for the Rebels:

Sort out the roster

Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players. UNLV is set to bring in eight new recruits. There are three seniors on the current roster. The math obviously doesn’t add up.

There is going to be a lot of roster turnover in the next month or so, with players leaving the program via transfer, grad transfer, NBA draft, military draft or some other method. It will be up to Otzelberger and his staff to figure out which players they really want to retain and then go about re-recruiting them to stay.

It’s not an easy process and there are many factors at play. Rising senior forward Donnie Tillman went through the draft process last year, and after not getting off the bench in the MWC tourney loss it seems he’s likely to move on; rising senior guard Amauri Hardy will have to decide between being the third option at UNLV or more shot attempts at another school; rising senior center Mbacke Diong was phased out as the season went on. Up and down the roster, almost every returning player has a decision to make.

The only certainties for next year are junior guard David Jenkins, sophomore forward Moses Wood and junior guard Marvin Coleman. Beyond that, only two other returners can stay. And it could be fewer than that, depending on whether UNLV adds a grad transfer or another 2020 recruit over the summer.

The Rebels came together and were playing really well at the end of the 2019-20 season, but it’s assured that the 2020-21 team will look startlingly different.

Upgrade the shooting

The offense needs more space. The Rebels were at their best when they played four guards because it allowed them to put four decent shooters on the floor at the same time, which in turn opened up driving lanes. But for the season UNLV made just 31.9 percent from 3-point range, which was 255th in the country and not nearly up to Otzelberger’s standards.

Getting Jenkins and Wood eligible will help a lot, as both project as high-end shooters. Newly committed juco big man Edoardo Del Cadia could be pivotal as well, seeing as how he hit 37.7 percent from deep this season. The rest of the newcomers will mostly be true freshmen and therefore probably shouldn’t be relied on to be lights-out in 2020-21.

Then there are the returning players. From distance, Coleman and Hamilton were respectable at best (33.9 percent and 32.4 percent, respectively). Jonah Antonio came in with a sniper rep but hit just 31.5 percent. All could stand to improve over the offseason, so expect the Mendenhall Center to be a popular place for returning Rebels.

It looks like the Rebels will be a better shooting team next year, thanks mostly to Jenkins and Wood. The difference between good and excellent, however, will likely depend on the internal development of the returning players.

Add skill to the frontcourt

By the end of the year, the Rebels had resorted to starting lightly-regarded senior Vitaliy Shibel at center alongside four guards. It wasn’t ideal, but in order for Otzelberger’s system to operate at peak efficiency, all five players on the floor need to be capable offensive threats. Shibel wasn’t Mike Daum by any means, but the Ukrainian lefty could execute simple dribble handoffs and drop in an outside shot every couple of games. Because of the system, those modest skills made Shibel more valuable than Mbacke Diong, Cheickna Dembele, Jay Green and every other available big man at the end of the year.

With Shibel graduating and Diong, Dembele, Green and Tillman question marks to return, it is absolutely essential to replace the departing frontcourt players with more skilled forwards and centers. Del Cadia is a good start, as he’s a willing screener and good in the pick-and-pop game, and he can handle the ball at the top of the key without turning it over. Incoming freshman Devin Tillis is high-IQ small 4 who can pass and shoot, and he is comfortable with the ball in his hands. Jhaylon Martinez is a stretch 5 who can pick and pop.

That crew, even though they’ve never played a Division I college game between them, should make for a more effective frontcourt in 2020-21.

Upgrade the schedule

If Otzelberger is able to retain the players he wants to retain, UNLV should have a pretty talented roster next year. It’s time to raise expectations and make a serious push for the NCAA Tournament, which means scheduling to compete for an at-large berth.

The Rebels are okay on that front. The majority of the non-conference schedule is already locked in, highlighted by a trip to the Maui Invitational with a field that includes North Carolina, Davidson, Providence, Indiana, Alabama, Stanford and Texas. UNLV will also host UCLA and Cal and travel to play true road games at Kansas State, VCU and SMU.

That’s a pretty competitive non-con, but it can still be better. Though there may only be one or two open dates, Otzelberger and athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois should work to add another premier game to the slate.

Recruit Zaon

Bishop Gorman point guard Zaon Collins is UNLV’s top recruiting target, and though Collins is a member of the Class of 2021 and therefore wouldn’t make a difference on the court next season, he still belongs high on the priority list because of the long-term impact he could have on the program.

Collins is the No. 44 player in the country according to 247 Sports and his end-to-end speed and unselfish style would make him a perfect fit in Otzelberger’s system, so expect Otzelberger and the rest of the staff to be front and center at his AAU games this summer. In the meantime they should be showing Collins video of the Rebels’ postgame celebration after beating San Diego State as well as film of Jenkins and Hamilton — two players who could conceivably be running the wings for him when Collins is a freshman in 2021-22.

Improve attendance

When I asked my boss Ray Brewer what the offseason priorities should be, the UNLV diehard immediately shot back, “Attendance! Let’s get some people to these games.”

And he’s right. It has been years since the Thomas & Mack Center provided a homecourt advantage for the Rebels, and to be fair to the people, the program has had a lot to do with driving away fans. But a raucous home crowd can help swing a couple close games each year, and now that UNLV is ready to compete for the postseason again the Rebels are really going to want those couple extra wins.

What can UNLV do to create a tangible advantage at the Mack? Winning is the most important thing, but that has to happen in real time. And the home slate should be enticing, with UCLA and Cal coming to Vegas. But that’s not enough. In the offseason, the program should do everything it can to make sure fans understand who Jenkins is and what kind of difference-maker he can be. Promote Coleman, who became the runaway fan favorite this season. Make a big deal out of Hamilton’s decision to return (assuming he stays). Let the fans get to know these players.

The fan base was digging this team toward the end of the season. Keep that enthusiasm rolling through the summer and ramp it up at every opportunity.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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