Calif. Star interested in UNLV

You know your program is headed in the right direction when players are recruiting you while you're recruiting them.

UNLV is headed down a two-way street with one of the nation's top small forwards as Artesia (Calif.) High School's Jason Kopono is very interested in playing for Bill Bayno and Bayno would love to have the 6-foot-7 senior in Las Vegas a year from now.

Kopono, a top-10 prospect according to several recruiting publications, can shoot, pass and rebound. He's also versatile, something Bayno covets in all his recruits. And he was the difference in Wednesday's 79-63 win by QBL Lakewood over Montana Hoops in the first day of play at the annual Big Time Tournament.

Kopono, who played four different positions in the win at Las Vegas High, scored 25 points, 20 in the first half. If he wasn't shooting it, he was delivering passes to his teammates from the point, or rebounding the ball from the small forward spot and even defending in the post on a few occasions.

"I want to be versatile," Kopono said. "I look at guys like Grant Hill and Scottie Pippen and they do so many things well. That's who I'm trying to pattern my game after."

The 1998-99 recruiting season is well under way and the Rebels, who have at least two spots to fill when they leave the WAC, want a guy who can score and rebound. They also want a guy who likes Las Vegas.

Kopono fits the Bayno prototype perfectly.

"I love this place," Kopono said of Las Vegas. "It's a great town. The city's big-time. Basketball's big here."

Kopono's family is in town to watch him play this week and they hope to take some time and make an unofficial visit to UNLV and check everything out.

"Right now, I'm totally wide open," he said about his choices for college. "But I can tell you UNLV's definitely in the picture. I was very impressed with Coach Bayno. He's very energetic and he has a lot of enthusiasm.

"I also like the way the program's going. they've got a lot of good, young players. they're winning. Everyone's excited about basketball (in Las Vegas)."

In addition to Kopono, UNLV's short list includes 6-10 center Leon Smith of Chicago's Martin L. King High and the Illinois Fire, 6-8 forward Carlos Boozer of Juneau, Alaska, who is playing for EBO Fresno this week, Doug Wrenn, a 6-5 swingman from Seattle who is playing for the Long Island (N.Y.) Panthers and Nick Vandert Laan, a 6-10 center from Sacramento who goes to St. Thomas More in Connecticut and is playing for the Los Angeles Rockfish at the Big Time along with Verbum Dei's 6-9 Dalron Johnson.

NCAA rules prohibit Bayno from discussing any potential student-athlete. But the Rebels are always looking for size and scoring. Any combination of the aforementioned players keeps UNLV in good shape when the Rebels begin play in their new league a year from now against the likes of Utah, New Mexico and Brigham Young.

But Kapono would be the big prize. He has already passed his SAT requirements, scoring 1,050. He already has good size on his 6-7 frame and could develop into a real physical specimen. Plus, he has exhibited a tremendous feel for the game. In many respects, he's a right-handed Chris Mullin, someone who can hit from outside with regularity, find open teammates anywhere on the floor, move well without the ball and make plays, both in the open court and in traffic.

Kapono made a good showing at last week's Nike camp in Indianapolis despite playing with a broken nose he had suffered prior to the camp. He is wearing a protective fiberglas mask but took a shot to the face in the second half of Wednesday's game which shook him up briefly. he returned to the floor a couple of minutes later.

"I thought I played well at Nike," he said. "I thought I shot the ball well."

So far, that has carried over to The Big Time. He had 20 points at halftime, including four 3-pointers. His only goal this week is to have fun and try and help his team go as far as it can.

"I'm not sweating it," he said of the recruiting battles. "I'm pretty much wide open. I'm talking to everyone and listening to everyone. I'll probably put a list together in a month or so."

Look for UNLV to be on that list. And what do the Rebels need to do to convince Kopono to come to the desert for the next four years?

"Nothing," he said. "I like what they have to offer here. I just want to check everything out."

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