Greg Anthony
said he had UNLV reaching the Sweet Sixteen. "I did," he told me last night, no doubt sensing my friendly skepticism over the telephone lines. It was just hours after the seventh-seeded
Runnin' Rebels had stunned the No. 2-seed,
Wisconsin, 74-68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and Anthony was nothing short of a giddy alum. "I told [head coach]
Lon Kruger, I think they can get to the Final Four," he said.
Anthony can be forgiven for his wearing-the-school-colors exuberance. It's that time of year, and it happens to the most right-minded among us as we watch, root and often pray for our alma maters during this month of madness.
Anthony is more than just a proud alum, of course. A generation ago, he,
Larry Johnson
and
Stacey Augmon formed one of the most dynamic trios in college basketball history. In 1990, they led the Runnin' Rebels and their towel-chomping coach,
Jerry Tarkanian, to the national championship. They crushed vaunted Duke in the title game, 103-73, becoming the first team to reach a C-note in the championship game.
The crew returned intact and went 30-0 during the following regular season. The Rebels cruised to the Final Four but were upset by Duke in the title game. (Yeah, the Blue Devils used to be that good.)
There's no George Mason in this year's tournament. No overmatched upstart to capture our hearts while busting our brackets. Xavier will lose sleep over blowing its chance to eliminate No. 1-seeded
Ohio State, as will Virginia Commonwealth, which should have beaten third-seeded Pitt.
Butler could inspire some underdog buzz. They beat Maryland to reach the Round of 16. But they're a No 5 seed and, well, no one knows where the school is anyway. (Indianapolis, I looked it up.)
Southern Illinois?
The Salukis are a No. 4 seed and I just can't root for directional schools. Oregon,
one of my Final Four picks, is a bit of an interloper, but as a No. 3 seed, the
Ducks have proven they belong.
So in a year when the Sweet Sixteen is pretty much filled with Halle Berry-like prom queens -- no double-digit seed reached the round for the first time since 1995 and for only the second time since the tournament expanded -- we're left to root for a former power that's been gone way too long: seventh-seeded UNLV.
The Rebels' past success was a burden for many subsequent Rebel teams.
Lon Kruger , arrived in 2004 having already led two teams -- Florida and Kansas State -- deep into the NCAA Tournament. Rather than be haunted by the Rebels' past, he chose to embrace it. "He talked about looking at the tradition as a positive, as sometime to be proud of and duplicating," said Anthony.
In truth, these Rebels perhaps should have been seeded higher. They've now won 30 games, no easy feat for any team. UNLV may have been diminished for coming out of an unappreciated conference, the Mountain West. But they are no slipper-wearing fluke.
At least, not to Anthony. "Overall, they are just solid," he said. "Our guys were recruited by a lot of different teams and were expected to play well at the next level. This team is on cusp of getting there. They're just now establishing their own identity and personality."
These Rebels share two traits with their predecessors: defensive intensity and, Anthony says, "They still get out and run."
But rather than finish with a thunderous slam from the likes of Johnson or Augmon, these Rebels are just as likely to pop a trey off a screen, or beat you with a back-door cut. "They're hard to prepare for," Anthony said. "They don't have any glaring weaknesses."
The Rebels also have the three ingredients I believe matter most in the NCAAs: senior leadership in the backcourt, size up front and someone who could shoot a fly off the top of the backboard with a spit wad -- blindfolded.
The leadership comes from senior guard
Wendell White, who's also the Rebels' leading scorer (14.4 ppg, 22 against the Badgers) and rebounder (6.3 per game). Inside, the team is anchored by 6-8
Gaston Essengue from Cameroon ("An African whose name I can't pronounce," Anthony confessed). And the guy who turns out the lights is the coach's kid,
Kevin Kruger, another senior guard.
Kruger is a Norman Rockwell coach's seed. His form is textbook, even when his aim isn't true. Kruger missed 14 of his first 15 three-pointers in the tournament, including six of seven on Sunday in Chicago. But he nailed three straight treys during a critical run that tied the game, then gave UNLV the lead with six minutes remaining.
UNLV faces Oregon on Friday in St. Louis. Anthony said the Rebels "match up well" against the Ducks. "You want to play teams that play to your strength," he said. "When you play the game the right way you can control the tempo. And when you control tempo you've got a chance against anyone."
Spoken just like a giddy alum at this very maddening time of year
