UNLV basketball goes all defense in first practice

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 | 2 a.m.

UNLV basketball held its first official practice of the season on Monday — actually, the Scarlet and Gray held two.

The first session, a morning workout at the Thomas & Mack Center, was successful in setting the kind of tone head coach Kevin Kruger is looking for in 2022-23: All defense.

After putting his players through nothing but defensive drills for two hours, Kruger came away believing his squad has the potential to stop opponents.

“The encouraging part of today is that as things went on, they grasped things more. They got better as it went on,” Kruger said.

Since taking over as head coach last year, Kruger has stated his desire to build UNLV into a program that wins with toughness. His 2021-22 team finished No. 97 in KenPom’s adjusted defense rating while allowing 66.3 points per game (76^th in the nation). That squad went 18-14 overall and 10-8 in Mountain West play.

Kruger imported a bundle of college transfers this offseason, and most of them were noted for their defensive ability. Players like seniors Eli Parquet, Luis Rodriguez and Elijah Harkless all can guard their man, giving UNLV a deep rotation of experienced defenders.

That blueprint didn’t quite come to fruition in UNLV’s exhibition tour of Canada last month, as the team committed a few too many defensive lapses and even dropped one contest to the University of British Columbia.

UNLV was without Harkless at that time, however, because the senior guard was still working his way back from a knee injury. The Oklahoma transfer was on the court on Monday as a limited participant, and he was on board with the overall defensive vibe.

“A lot of defense today, yes sir. That’s going to be our calling card this year,” Harkless said. “We’ve got to be able to stop guys.”

Harkless has played in 99 games in his college career, and Kruger said he expects him to log heavy minutes this season as a key contributor.

Kruger extolled Harkless for his attitude and experience as much as his scoring touch and defensive prowess.

“He brings a presence,” Kruger said. “Somebody with that much experience, they just have a presence about them. A security and a confidence, it’s really hard to have that if you haven’t been through what he’s been through.”

A California native, Harkless spent his first two years at Cal State Northridge before transferring to Oklahoma, where he played under Kruger’s father, Lon Kruger. His two-way, grind-it-out style made him a favorite of the Sooners coaches; as a senior in 2021-22 he started 23 games and averaged 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Now heading into his fifth year, Harkless wants to use his experience to help his younger teammates.

“I’ve been to a couple schools, been around a couple players, a couple coaches,” he said. “So just being able to help them out when they need it and just being somebody they can lean on to ask questions, because I’ve kind of been around a little bit.”

Speaking to reporters after the defense-focused morning practice, Harkless echoed his coach’s sentiments about UNLV’s team identity this season.

“When you’re unselfish, playing for each other, the offense will take care of itself,” Harkless said. “When we’re playing defense, the defense creates offense. It makes it easy. Everybody is happy at that point, so I think that’s going to be our biggest thing. That’s why we started off with defense.”

McCabe back for another year

UNLV is loaded with upperclassmen, but none have the college experience down to a science quite like veteran point guard Jordan McCabe. After starting 31 of 32 games as a senior in 2021-22, McCabe decided to take advantage of the Covid year exception and return for one more round at UNLV.

While he’s not an NBA prospect, the 6-foot Wisconsin native may have an opportunity to carve out a professional career overseas, should he decide to pursue it.

“I know what it is,” McCabe said. “I’m not delusional about my situation and what professional basketball means to me. It’s going to be a very blue-collar route for me.”

He weighed his options after last season and came to the conclusion that another year of college ball could only help his overseas stock, not hurt it. Now he’s back in Las Vegas, ready for a final campaign in Scarlet and Gray.

The only problem is, he’s running out of classes to take.

Asked what he’s studying this year, McCabe joked that his options are limited.

“I did my MBA certificate last year, now I’m in grad school classes,” he said before breaking into laughter. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m just doing filler classes right now. They’re like, ‘Jordan, you’ve been here for eight-plus years, so we don’t have a lot for you. You kind of did them all. Normally you’d become a doctor if you’re here this long, but you don’t have a Ph.D.’ So I’m just doing what they tell me to do.”

Ah, higher learning.

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