Congrats on a good year so far. Kinda sucks that the one who get's through will likely face Kansas in round #2.
How bout some info on your team.
I'll give you a little lowdown on UNLV
The leader of the team is Junior Shooting guard Wink Adams. He's a playmaker in every way and was the MWC tourney MVP. He averages a little under 17 points a game and will likely be drafted into the NBA when his college career is over.
PG is a Senior walk-on named Curtis Terry. He started at UNLV as an eratic bench player but now is a guy who can hang 20 point and 10 assists on any given night. He can be somewhat out of control at times, or so it seems. He then makes a pass out of nowhere to the open guy on the wing.
Corey Bailey is a Sr. Power Forward. He's solid but not the leading scorer type. He's not a pure shooter but can knock down the three when he get's an itch. He does get his share of rebounds.
At the 5 spot we have a Jr. Small Forward named Joe Darger. He's only 6'7" and has been playing against the big guys all year and done a wonderful job. He held 6-11Trent Plaistad of BYU to only 9 points in the title game and 7-0 Luke Nevill of UTAH to 11. He has a habit of knocking down big threes in bunches.
The hardest worker and the heart and soul of the team is Rene Rougeu. He's a So. Walk-on who is an almost automatic double-double every night.
Bottom line is that this team looks on paper like it should never be in the tourney or MWC champions. They have gone through a lot this year starting with MWC coach of the Year Lon Kruger having quadruple heart bypass surger in the off-season. At the beginning of the year Kruger kicked the starting center and the back-up point guard off the team for conduct unbecoming. He also lost another back-up guard late in the year due to an off-campus incident.
The Rebels go only 8 deep this year so depth can be a problem, or so it would seem to those who don't follow them. They are hard to prepare for because they rarely get out-coached and never out-hustled. They play with a ton of heart and with a chip on their shoulders. They, as quoted by several reporters, "play defense like crazed yaks."
The Rebels are beatable when the three's aren't dropping or if they get into foul trouble. This doesn't happen much but when they do the game can get out of hand especially late in the game. They are much better at home than on the road and really untested at a neutral setting. The team that beats them will also play tough defense and be effective at stopping the three.
From what you are saying, it sounds like our teams are going to be very evenly matched for this game. Our strategy is Defense but we can get it done on the other end of the court as well. Our guys play with a lot of intensity and commonly out-hustle opponents.
In the MAC this season our coach Jim Christian received coach of the year and he has certainly earned it. This was his 6th season with KSU and he has yet to finish a season under 20 wins.
Two players to watch out for are Haminn Quaintence and Al Fisher. "Q" is a Monster on both ends of the court. He was voted Mac defensive player of the year and MAC tournament MVP.
Al Fisher was the MAC player of the year this season, a JUCO transfer that put up 28 against St. Mary's. He is the one that will put the whole team on his bag and drag them to a win if need be. And he has done it more than once. The kid has ice in his veins and he has showed that time and time again with game-winning shots this season.
KSU is beatable, but you have to outplay them. They don't back down and they have shown that they can play with anybody this season.
It should be a good game with both teams being agressive on defense. Rene Rougeu led the MWC in steals, and all five starters would have to be rated above average or well above average defenders. The Rebels were about 10th nationally in turnovers, averaging around 10 per game. In the MWC Tournament, the rebels turned the ball over 7, 5 and 6 times respectively, a 6 turnover average for the tourney. Obviously, ball control is a strength.
This team is a total surprise to Rebel fans as most of us figured we would win 18 to 20 games this year (at most) after losing 4 starters and our first player off the bench, who was the MWC Defensive POY, now playing in the NBA. All 5 seniors from last year wound up playing pro ball somewhere, NBA, Development League or Europe. Its easy to see why fan expectation was diminished.
However, defense and great coaching have turned this into a surprise season. We have a 5-star 7' foot redshirt joining the team next year, along with 4 solid recruits, 3 returning starters including Wink Adams, MWC 1st Team, and 3 players from the bench.
Hope we have a great game! This is all gravey for us at this point, and after going to the Sweet 16 last year, I think these guys will be unfazed and play with open abandon. I'm originally from Jersey, so I want to get a look at Al Fisher.
whats up guys? great win over my zips. too bad we picked the worst time of the season to play our worst game. anyway good luck in the tourney ill be rooting for you. i have you winning over unlv but losing to kansas. unfortuanatly your highest ranking ever may hurt you. i was hoping youd get a 10 seed that way you wouldnt have to play a team like kansas in the second round and would be able to get back to the 16 or even possibly the 8. anyway good luck.
Q and Fisher are the main weapons and are excellent together. Fisher is a 6-1 guard, plays point, but is more of a scoring threat then our other starting perimeter guard. At times he plays out of control Q is 6-7 or 6-8 and a bundle of energy. He's usually under control, and kind of the bully on the court.
Our other starters are 6-7 Mike Scott. Dude can jump out of the gym. You've seen him multiple times in sports center's top 10 for poster dunks. Very athletic player who has improved himself to a very good shooter. Seems to lose focus at times and disappears, but is extremely dangerous and can guard anyone.
Jordan Mincy is a 5-10 firecracker guard who is the defensive stopper on the perimeter. Mr. Adams will have himself a face and chestful of Mincy all game. I'm not sying he cant be beat, he is just difficult to beat. If he (Mincy) scores 2 points it is a bonus.
Chris Singletary will likely round out the starting 5. He's 6-4 and built like a linebacker. He can score from anywhere 25 feet in and for a long time this season was a national leader in FG percentage. I'd say he's the second option in the post, but will take it out to the three point line as well.
On the bench, Julien Sullinger is a 6-5 post player and will rotate in in there, nice game, but not particularly dangerous. 6-8 F Isaac Knight has been in and out of coaches dog house, but can provide some defense and rebounding if needed. Guards Mike McKee and Rashad Woods are shooters off the bench. Woods is consistent McKee is streaky, but lights out when on. 6-2 Rodriguez Sherman also gets some PT and can put up numbers if you're not careful on him.
You'll see a couple 6-11, 7-footers on the roster, they likely won't play a lick.
Kent usually plays 8 or 9 guys, with Knight filling in if there's help needed inside To me this looks like a good match-up for Kent, as big talented post players (Hansborough) are a nightmare for this team and UNLV is without. The other thing Kent has been vulnerable to though is a streaky hot shooter(particularly one with a little length) and turning the ball over. These seem to be the way to get an advantage on them.
