UNLV opens its season Tuesday against visiting Northern Arizona, but coach Josh Pastner's roster is far from settled. Several new transfers define the team for the second straight year, and Pastner is still waiting on the NCAA eligibility status of senior guard AJ Storr while also managing injuries that have left the Rebels shorthanded.
The team played three exhibitions against Power 4 opponents — losing to Utah and BYU before beating Missouri — all without a full complement of players. Pastner said those games provided valuable experience compared to last November, when UNLV was not ready for the regular season and lost to UT-Martin and Montana.
Senior transfer guard Sebastian Mack said the group has connected quickly off the court. "We're very connected. We've been jelling pretty quickly. It's always about small steps, just making sure we're all on the same page," Mack said.
Pastner supports more exhibition games but criticized a new NCAA proposal that would allow summer competitions in July. He argued that exhibitions in late September and October are far more useful for evaluating a roster that turns over annually via the transfer portal. "Because of the transfer portal and having a new team every year, it's important we have exhibition games in late September into October to see our team and get better before the product starts," Pastner said.
The Rebels finished 18-17 overall and 11-9 in the Mountain West last season, reaching the second round of the NIT. Pastner said the goal this year is the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013, though he acknowledged the challenge of integrating players who have yet to see the floor. "You have to make sure that when countable games start, everything" comes together, he said.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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