Dickel comfortable in his role

He's still UNLV's leading man in the backcourt, even if it means sharing some of the lines with Greedy Daniels.

But Mark Dickel understands. By now, he's used to having someone take a run at him for playing time. But the 6-foot-1 junior from Dunedin, New Zealand has newfound confidence and he's ready to take on all comers, from whichever side they happen to be.

"As a player, all you want is an opportunity to play," Dickel said. "I'm a much more confident player. It just took me longer to adjust to the way we play."

He found that basketball at this level in the United States is much more structured than what he was used to back in New Zealand. Dickel also had to adjust to Bill Bayno's hands-on approach and change his mentality from a point guard who shoots to a distributor that is the last option on offense.

"We have a lot of sets," Dickel said of the Rebels. "It took me a year and a half to learn how to run the team the way he wanted.

"Back home, we ran mostly motion and I was asked to score. Here, I need to set up the other guys, which I don't mind. But I think my game picked up when I started looking for my shot."

Indeed. Dickel made some big baskets during the WAC postseason tournament and helped launch the Rebels back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

Bayno has no problem with Dickel contributing on offense. Where he wants him to improve is defensively.

"I think he will," Bayno said. "He worked hard all summer and he got stronger. I think that will help him (defensively)."

Bayno also will continue to spell Dickel at the point with Daniels. And yes, at times they will appear together in the backcourt, same as last year. Dickel said that's fine with him.

"As long as everyone stays on the same page and we win, no problem," he said.

Daniels is getting plenty of work this week in practice after Dickel sprained his left ankle a few days ago. He aggravated the injury trying to play through the pain. Now, he's sidelined until Monday.

"No one's playing 40 minutes and he has accepted that," Bayno said of Dickel. "They're both going to play and we want Mark to continue to be a leader and help Greedy."

Dickel said: "Initially, everyone wants to play. But you have to remember that not everything runs through you. I tried not to think about it too much."

The less he thought, the better he played. He averaged just under six assists a game last year and thanks to his work with assistant Dave Rice, his shooting improved to 43 percent from the floor compared to 33 percent as a freshman.

Dickel said his improved play boosted his confidence.

"I'd ask myself, 'What am I doing wrong?' instead of 'What can I do to make the other guys better?'" he said. "Once I stopped thinking of myself, that's when I got better."

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