UNLV basketball seeking more consistency

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 | 2 a.m.

One aspect of college basketball that has become a way of life over the last two years is an ever-evolving schedule. Due to COVID-19 postponements, cancelations and make-ups, coaches have to have their teams ready to play at a moment’s notice — or sometimes not at all.

In his first year at the helm for UNLV, Kevin Kruger has had to navigate a constantly shifting calendar.

For a while it seemed as though Kruger’s squad had adopted a football schedule, settling into a one-game-a-week routine that saw them suit up just seven times from Nov. 28 to Jan. 11. While the coach appreciated the extra practice time — as any coach would — he harbored concerns about his idle team losing their rhythm.

Now, thanks to COVID-19 rescheduling, UNLV finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum. When the Scarlet and Gray tip off at Air Force on Thursday it will be their fourth game in nine days, and the pace won’t let up for a while — they also have contests on Saturday (vs. San Jose State) and Monday (at San Diego State).

All in all, it’s a stretch of six games in 14 days, and Kruger is hoping the sudden abundance of live action will allow his players to microwave more on-court chemistry.

“Man, I sure hope so,” Kruger said. “There was a little bit of a ‘get dressed but nowhere to go’ type of feeling there for a little bit, and now it’s the opposite. We’ve got a bunch of games coming up, but that’s what the guys want to do. They want to play.”

There are two players in particular who could be well served by the upcoming busy schedule: guards Mike Nuga and Justin Webster. After lackluster first halves of the season, both had encouraging outings on Monday at San Jose State. Nuga made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while Webster hit 5-of-6 from the field and netted 12 points in 21 minutes.

Kruger said the key for Nuga and Webster was playing with verve.

“It was great to see them play confident and have fun,” Kruger said. “One of the things we’ve been talking about is going out and having fun and playing like we know they can play. Go out there, take open shots, try to make plays. They’re good players and sometimes I think they just might have been a little low on confidence, and instead of going in and playing loose and free they were a little too worried about making mistakes.”

Consistent contributions from the bench would obviously make UNLV a better team. The starting lineup has been pulling its weight; the current five of Jordan McCabe, Bryce Hamilton, Josh Baker, Donovan Williams and Royce Hamm has started the last six games, and during that span they’ve outscored opponents, 157-111, in their 84 minutes of court time.

If their positive play on Monday was a sign of things to come for Nuga and Webster — both of whom had track records as efficient scorers at their previous schools — perhaps this stretch of games will allow them to lock in and become dependable contributors.

Kruger thinks increased production from Nuga and Webster would be exponentially helpful.

“If those two guys step in and play the way they did at San Jose, it makes us that much more of a threat,” Kruger said. “It makes that many more guys you have to worry about on the scouting report. If we can do that, I think we can be pretty dangerous.”

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