UNLV freshmen Dembele and Baxter thrust into big roles

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 | 2 a.m.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast for UNLV’s young big men.

Sure, Cheickna Dembele and Troy Baxter are talented enough to envision them becoming impact players sooner rather than later. But the plan was to ease the freshmen into regular playing time — to let them get their feet wet at the college level before leaning on them for full-time production this year.

Twelve games into the season, however, injuries to junior forward Dwayne Morgan and senior Christian Jones have forced coach Marvin Menzies to throw that game plan out the window. Dembele has started the last three games at center, while Baxter has logged 25 minutes per game during that stretch as the primary backup at power forward and center. The Rebels at 6 p.m. host third-ranked Kansas.

The results have been surprisingly good. Both players are visibly raw in terms of their development, but they’ve helped the Rebels go 2-1 at a time when the only other active “big man” in the rotation is 6-foot-8 perimeter-oriented forward Tyrell Green.

In Monday’s home win over Southern Illinois, Dembele posted four points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes, while Baxter contributed eight points, four boards and a block in 23 minutes.

Both are still learning on the job, but Menzies believes they have acquitted themselves nicely so far.

“When you have talented players thrust into roles like that, there are some growing pains,” Menzies said. “But you also see some flashes of what’s to come. And more recently, they’ve had more positive flashes than not, so I feel optimistic about their ability to contribute as the season goes on.”

Both Dembele and Baxter appear to be cornerstone-type prospects for UNLV’s rebuilding effort. Baxter is a 6-foot-8 high flyer who was rated the No. 88 recruit in the high school Class of 2016, and Dembele likely would have cracked the Top 100 if he had played a full season of high school ball in the United States. A native of Mali, the 6-foot-11 shot blocker only played the second half of the 2015-16 season at a Pennsylvania high school, but that was enough to get schools like Syracuse, St. John's and North Carolina State interested before he committed to UNLV.

Menzies is the perfect coach to mold them into impact players. His 198-111 record at New Mexico State was largely the result of his ability to develop raw big men like Sim Bhullar and Pascal Siakam into double-double threats, and given time with Dembele and Baxter it’s reasonable to expect the coach to work his big-man magic again.

Development time has been in short supply so far, as the two have been pressed into action sooner than anticipated. But Menzies has already seen some intriguing qualities that hint at their long-term potential.

“One of the things I think is very important [in big men] is footwork,” Menzies said. “Footwork on the offensive and defensive sides is something that, as they progress, is going to serve them well. They will develop a better understanding of balance and footwork and positioning, and their natural abilities are going to shine.”

Menzies said Jones is likely to make his return on Thursday against Kansas, while Morgan will once again sit out due to his shoulder injury. If Jones is under any kind of minutes limit, the bulk of the responsibilities in the paint will once again fall on the Rebels’ freshmen.

Going up against the No. 3 Jayhawks will be a huge challenge, but it will also provide another chance to evaluate the young bigs, who have been getting better as they’ve gotten more acclimated to the college game. In the season’s first nine contests, Dembele and Baxter shared the floor for just more than 14 minutes, a span during which opponents outscored UNLV, 23-29. But over the past three games, they’ve played 25 minutes together and the Rebels have outscored the competition, 46-44.

Baxter has hit double figures three times on the season, while Dembele recorded a career-high 13 points in the Rebels’ Dec. 14 win over Incarnate Word.

When Jones and Morgan are back to full health, they’ll probably resume their roles above Dembele and Baxter on the depth chart. But for the future of the program, it will be important to continue giving Dembele and Baxter enough playing time to flourish. Menzies will be faced with a dilemma common to rebuilding efforts — weighing the value of individual development against trying to win now.

“That’s a delicate balancing act,” Menzies said. “It’s not necessarily one vs. the other. All things being equal, I would love to let guys play through mistakes, but you never want to emphasize individual development at the expense of team success.”

The rebuilding process is underway at UNLV, and with Dembele and Baxter patrolling the paint, the Rebels are off to a good start.

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