Coaches ready to evaluate tourneys

Another basketball season officially kicks off Thursday, one which in some respects can have a bigger impact than the usual season which runs from November through March.

The summer evaluation period begins later this week and college coaches will be flying all over the country, trying to get a line on the latest talent pool. How well they evaluate and eventually recruit can spell success or failure for a program come fall. UNLV coach Bill Bayno and assistants Glynn Cyprien and Dave Rice will spend the next three weeks watching hours of games and workouts, trying to get a line on the talent that will be on display during the July evaluation period which runs through the end of the month.

But unlike most schools, the Rebels are not recruiting for next year. They're actually pointing toward the recruiting class of 2001. That's what they'll be looking at at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J., and the Nike All-American Camp at Indianapolis -- juniors-to-be.

With Mark Dickel and Issiah Epps the lone seniors on this year's squad, there's only going to be two scholarships available. One is likely to go to Caron Butler, a 6-foot-6 forward who played for UNLV assistant Max Good at Maine Central Institute.

Butler had verbally committed to Purdue but never signed with the Boilermakers. Though Butler did graduate from MCI this spring, he has yet to qualify by NCAA standards to be eligible for the upcoming season.

His options would be to return to MCI for another year or enroll at UNLV and redshirt, becoming eligible for the 2000-2001 season.

That's what Cimarron-Memorial's Marcus Banks is doing. Banks, who signed with the Rebels this spring but will not be eligible this season because he was unable to complete the necessary core of subjects required by the NCAA, will take Dickel's spot in the backcourt after he redshirts this season.

"We don't have a lot of spots to fill," Bayno said. "So, we're pointing ahead."

In the next week, there will be 24 separate events featuring potential recruits in camp and tournament environments. That does not include the Big Time tournament which gets under way July 15 and features a record 256 teams playing at six different sites in Las Vegas. More than 400 college coaches and NBA scouts are expected to take in the five-day event.

The UNLV staff will be keeping an eye on the junior colleges as well in the weeks and months ahead. The interest will lie with the freshmen this year rather than sophomores for the same reasons the high school focus is on the juniors rather than the seniors.

Meanwhile, several of the new Rebels are making their way to Las Vegas. Trevor Diggs and Sylvester Dotson are already here, as are Kenny Dye and Danny Brotherson.

Dalron Johnson and Chris Popoola are expected in town by the end of the month. As for Lou Kelly and Mike Garrett, they continue to toil in the classroom trying to get their junior college degrees and become eligible. Sources say both still have some work to do to make it.

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