What defines success for UNLV this basketball season?
The answer during UNLV’s glory days was an easy one.
What defined success?
For those teams, it was making the Final Four, or in the case of the 1990-91 squad, winning the national championship. Falling short that season in the national semifinals to Duke remains a sore subject for UNLV fans.
For other Rebels teams, success was defined by reaching at least the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament or simply making the field itself.
The question is not so simple for this season’s team, the first under coach T.J. Otzelberger. UNLV, which opens its season against Purdue-Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Thomas &Mack Center, isn’t expected to make the NCAA Tournament or even National Invitation Tournament.
UNLV has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and the Rebels were picked by the conference media to finish seventh in the Mountain West this season.
Seven lettermen, including two starters, return from the team that went 17-14 last season. Even though athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois termed the program as “win now” when beginning the search that landed Otzelberger, this season should be more about transition than contention.
So what does define success for this team? Is it playing way above expectations and becoming a real player in the Mountain West? Or is it creating a foundation for future teams by setting an example of what’s to be expected under new leadership?
“Wherever we’re at today, we want to be better next week and the following and so on so that we’re playing our best basketball come late February and into March,” Otzelberger said. “I think that’s what every program wants to do. I think in order for us to do that, we’ve got to work extremely hard. We’ve got to put in the hours, we’ve got to be in great shape, and we’ve got to stay mentally and physically healthy for the long haul.”
That hard work means perfecting Otzelberger’s high-tempo offense that emphasizes shooting 3-pointers and layups and nearly does away with midrange jumpers. The Rebels attempted only three midrange shots in their 112-54 exhibition victory over West Coast Baptist on Oct. 25.
But Otzelberger said defense will be the key to any success this season, and he wanted his team to defend better against the 3 in that game. West Coast Baptist’s Seth Hanna made five 3-pointers.
Otzelberger also started Bryce Hamilton over Amauri Hardy against the Eagles, and Hardy gave the Rebels a spark off the bench with 14 points, 10 assists and no turnovers.
“We’re going to start different lineups this year,” Otzelberger said Monday. “I think with Amauri, he’s had a great week of practice. I loved how he played in our exhibition game, so now I think it comes down to game in and game out, what’s the best lineup to give us that chance to win every night.”
How many wins the Rebels wind up with is anyone’s guess.
The success of this team could be defined by the ones that follow.
“What kind of foundation do we leave?” point guard Elijah Mitrou-Long asked. “Is it a successful foundation where it’s better than last year’s or is it going to be the same?”
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Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.