For UNLV basketball, Utah State provides blueprint

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020 | 2 a.m.

When UNLV hosts Utah State today, the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center will get to witness the kind of high-powered offense T.J. Otzelberger envisions, complete with a fast pace, quick ball movement and sharp outside shooting.

Of course, it will be the visiting Aggies who are employing that style of offense, not Otzelberger's Runnin' Rebels. But still, for the coach and the fans (the 3,000 or so who are in attendance), it can be an instructive experience.

At this point in UNLV's rebuilding process, Utah State is what the Rebels aspire to be, from their offensive identity to their success as a program coming off a year in which the Aggies split the Mountain West regular-season crown and won the league tournament.

After Tuesday's practice at the Mack, Otzelberger offered his take on what it will take to slow down the Utah State attack.

His admiration was obvious.

"Their ball movement is great because their skill level is high," Otzelberger said. "They've got multiple guys, even though [Sam] Merrill is the elite scorer/shooter, they've got multiple threats on the perimeter and they've got guys on the front line that can knock it down, too. It's that skill level. It's the passing, it's the IQ, it's the ball movement, and then that shooting ability that allows you to really space the floor and keep that pace on offense."

You get the feeling that's how Otzelberger would like to describe his own offense at UNLV someday in the near future, but for now the architect in question is second-year Utah State coach Craig Smith. While Smith inherited Merrill, the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year and one of the best shooters in the entire country, it has been Smith's quick-hitting system that has allowed Merrill to really flourish.

The senior shooting guard is lighting it up again this season, scoring 17.7 points per game while making a blistering 44.9 percent of his 3-point shots. And because opponents have to focus so much energy on containing Merrill, the rest of the Aggies are able to exploit over-committed defenses and feast on open shots.

Otzelberger said Merrill is the key to making the USU offense run.

"I think their pace is really good in the halfcourt," Otzelberger said. "[They] keep him moving and he's one of those guys that has a motor that he stays on the move. They don't dribble it much. The ball doesn't hit the floor very often. It stays on the move and they try to get your defense shifted, so you've got to do a great job of not only having awareness to him but matching his energy level as he stays on the move."

The results have been beautiful, as Utah State is not only winning (13-2, 2-0 MWC) but doing it in an entertaining way. The Aggies are scoring 0.967 points per possession in halfcourt situations, according to Synergy Sports data, which ranks No. 13 in the nation. This is the second straight year USU has fielded a top-50 offense in terms of efficiency.

That's where Otzelberger wants UNLV to be, and the good news is that the Rebels get a glimpse of it in practice every day. David Jenkins is a Merrill-caliber shooter and scorer, but the 6-foot-2 guard has to sit out this season as a redshirt after transferring in from South Dakota State. He'll be eligible to play next year as a junior and will add a dynamic offensive presence to Otzelberger's system, but for now the Rebels will have to settle for Jenkins imitating Merrill on the scout team (which he did in the practice sessions leading up to today's game).

Are the Rebels really that far away? Maybe not. With Jenkins in the Merrill role, it will be up to Otzelberger to surround him with ball-movers, shooters and high-IQ offensive players over the next two years, and then coach them up into an elite offense.

That's the blueprint. It's working at Utah State, and Otzelberger hopes it will work at UNLV over the next two years.

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