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UNLV: 3 thoughts On Rebels’ Victory Over Sam Houston State

By John Parker

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An inexperienced but incredibly talented UNLV team is taking its fans on a roller coaster ride. The team has made and conceded scoring runs of more than 10 points. Through it all, UNLV is undefeated with a pair of wins that should look pretty good in March. Still, this team with just two returning players in its rotation will need to work through a lot of mistakes if it hopes to compete with opponents like Arizona and Kansas.

UNLV fans of all ages are going to have grey hair by March

For the second time in two games this season, UNLV came out victorious after the opponent led by double digits in the second half. In both games, the Rebels survived after giving up a look at a game-winning shot. Serious roster turnover and a number of highly touted freshmen in important roles have been responsible for inconsistent play so far.

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UNLV brought in the highest rated recruiting class in the Mountain West, and one of the higher rated classes overall. The Rebels’ top recruit is Rashad Vaughn, a 5-star recruit who joined the team after playing for nearby Findlay Prep. Vaughn is joined in UNLV’s rotation by a pair of ESPN Top 100 post players, two other freshman, and a transfer that was playing for San Francisco at this time last year.

The top end talent that the team possesses contributes to a lot of exciting plays, while the inexperience and lack of familiarity is causing unforced errors that allow opponents to hang around. This is a team that has the talent to pull a shocking win this season, but a head-scratching loss isn’t out of the question either.

Rashad Vaughn can’t be the team’s only offensive threat

In two games this season, Vaughn is averaging 22 points per game. Second leading scorer Christian Wood is averaging just 9.5 per night. Wood looks like the best candidate to emerge as a second scorer. The 6-foot-11 forward is the only player other than Vaughn that attempted more than 5 shots in each of the first two games. If nobody else even attempts to score, Wood will need to emerge as the second option by default.

The next best candidate to provide consistent scoring is Cody Doolin. Doolin averaged 12.2 points per game as a sophomore at San Francisco in 2013, and looked poised to top that total last season before leaving the team four games into the year. In his second-to-last game with the Dons, Doolin scored 33 against Nevada in a 90-92 loss.

One easy way for a second scorer to emerge would be for a player to start capitalizing on foul shots. Free throw shooting has plagued the Rebels this year. The team is shooting 51.8% from the charity stripe through two games. Tonight’s contest would’ve been decided prior to the final shot if Doolin, an 80% free throw shooter at San Francisco, made more than 2 of his 7 attempts from the line.

Goodluck Okonoboh is already a top shot blocker

After two years with Khem Birch, UNLV fans are used to a dominant shotblocker in the middle. It already looks like they can prepare for another year of opponents’ shots being redirected at the rim. Okonoboh blocked seven shots in the team’s opening game against Morehead State and 6 tonight against Sam Houston State.

The freshman from Massachusetts came to UNLV as a recruit on the rise with an impressive offer list, and has lived up to the billing. While neither Morehead State nor Sam Houston State has the size to match up with Okonoboh, both are coming off of 20-win seasons and are generally solid small-conference programs.

If Okonoboh is able to keep blocking shots without getting into foul trouble, the biggest thing keeping him from posting a triple double this season might be his ability to score. He scored just four points in the team’s opener, and six points tonight. Okonoboh’s unpolished offense could hurt the team later on, as these non-conference matchups with physically overwhelmed opponents are likely to be his best opportunities to find easy shots.