UNLV men begin season with almost all-new cast of characters

UNLV basketball coach Kevin Kruger doesn’t always notice the progress. He’s with the Rebels every day. Sees everything. The good. The bad. The ugly.

But somebody else sees the progress when he stops by practice, be it roughly once a week.

“Even somebody like my dad, who’s come and gone back to Oklahoma and come back. He’s noticed,” Kruger said, referring to his father, Lon. “He said. ‘You don’t see the incremental growth when you’re with it every day.’”

The Rebels this week will finally unveil their new roster. It has nine scholarship transfers, the Mountain West’s Preseason Freshman of the Year and two returning rotation players. They open their first year under Kruger on Wednesday against Gardner-Webb at the Thomas & Mack Center.

He’s spent the last month with his staff tinkering with lineup combinations, rotations and practice as he learns the nuances of his new team.

“Offense is starting to be crisper. Defense is starting to understand each other a little more,” he said. “Having an older group, it’s an unselfish group. They enjoy making plays for each other. Now that the turnovers are starting to cut back and cut back and cut back, you can see the chemistry forming.”

They all come from different schools, at which they assumed different roles and utilized different terminology and schemes. Teaching new terminology in a relatively short period of time is “the biggest obstacle” Kruger and his staff have dealt with thus far.

But the experience on the roster that features 13 upperclassmen serves to ease some of the growing pains. As does the presence of returning seniors Bryce Hamilton and Marvin Coleman.

“They just know my temperament. They know when I say something, the tone, there’s that understanding. That familiarity,” Kruger said. “I know how far I can go with them and what I can do to get them going.”

And in turn, they’ve tried their best to acclimate their new teammates to their new surroundings on the fly.

Coleman said he’s explained to his new teammates the importance of the program’s tradition. “Me and Bryce are the only ones that have been here. Kruger’s obviously been here. So just trying to tell them the standard. And things like that,” the point guard said.

Additional practice time has helped Coleman attain a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of his new teammates.

New bigs like Royce Hamm and David Muoka figure to be defensive anchors and rim runners. Point guards like Jordan McCabe and Keshon Gilbert can help handle the playmaking load. Forwards like Victor Iwuakor and Donovan Williams add two-way versatility. Two-guards like Michael Nuga, Josh Baker and Justin Webster help supply scoring from the perimeter.

Coleman said this group is the most athletic he’s played with during his four years at UNLV, and Kruger indicated he’s comfortable with its depth

“(The rotation) is going to go as deep as we need it to. We have no issue playing all 13 guys if we need,” he said. “We know we can count on all 13 if needed. It should be fun. Go out and play hard for a few minutes. Get a quick breather. Sub them in and out.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter. “