Victor Iwuakor rounding out UNLV basketball rotation

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Heading into his first year as a head coach, Kevin Kruger was excited about UNLV being able to field one of the biggest teams — perhaps the biggest — in the Mountain West Conference. Then the injury bug struck in preseason and 7-foot-1 center James Hampshire was lost for the year and 6-foot-7 forward Victor Iwuakor was limited to two games and 15 minutes in nonconference play, both due to shoulder injuries.

Kruger did the best he could to work around those setbacks through the first 13 games, leaning on senior center Royce Hamm for big minutes and using raw forwards David Muoka and Reece Brown to patch the holes in the frontcourt. And according to the statistics, necessity may have led Kruger to discover a real weapon that could serve the scarlet and gray very well as they prepare to move into MWC play: small-ball.

Through the first half of the season, UNLV’s most efficient lineup has been a four-guard configuration with one forward — and that forward is 6-foot-7, 190-pound Donovan Williams.

In the nine minutes and 17 seconds Williams has played center surrounded by guards Jordan McCabe, Justin Webster, Bryce Hamilton and Josh Baker, UNLV has outscored its opponents 23-7, with a net points-per-game differential of +0.89.

It’s an admittedly small sample, as that five-man lineup has only been used in four games this season, and they’ve only logged more than a minute of court time in three of those contests. But that group has been consistently good in their given opportunities.

That doesn’t mean UNLV can simply shift small more often as a cure-all solution. The alchemy is tricky; while UNLV’s single best lineup features Williams at center, all other groups featuring Williams as the lone big have been outscored by 12 points in 37 minutes.

Fortunately for UNLV, injury luck may be turning for the better. Iwuakor played a season-high 10 minutes against San Diego on Dec. 22, and with 10 days between that contest and UNLV’s next scheduled game (the MWC opener against San Diego State on Jan. 1), there’s a chance the junior forward could be ready for more significant playing time.

Kruger would certainly welcome that (as opposed to the alternative, which might include a medical redshirt). Iwuakor was expected to be an impact defender this year, and he has certainly looked like it in his very short stints so far. Though he has only played 15 minutes across two games, UNLV has benefitted greatly from his presence, outscoring opponents by 14 points during that span.

Iwuakor probably won’t maintain that level of effectiveness — UNLV has been +37.3 points per 40 minutes with him on the floor — but his return to the rotation should have a positive ripple effect on the rest of the team. By having another true frontcourt option, Kruger can deploy his small lineups more judiciously, picking and choosing when it those particular matchups would favor UNLV the most.

With Iwuakor in the fold, Kruger will finally have a full rotation with which to work and 17 remaining games in which to figure out how to utilize all those chess pieces.

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