Lobos, Rebels expected to pace Mountain West

Unlike a lot of first-year coaches, Dave Rice is not taking on a slow-paced rebuilding project. It appears he has the players to get off to a running start at UNLV.

The media covering the Mountain West Conference picked the Rebels to finish second in the eight-team league in the 2011-12 basketball season, it was announced Wednesday at media day in Denver.

New Mexico, anchored by senior forward Drew Gordon, the preseason Player of the Year, was tabbed the favorite with 22 first-place votes. UNLV, which collected the other four first-place votes, is followed by San Diego State in the poll.

Rebels seniors Oscar Bellfield and Chace Stanback made the preseason all-conference team.

"We've got great senior leadership. We're excited about our guys," Rice said. "Where you're picked doesn't guarantee anything. But I think being picked where we are says something about the quality of our program.

"It's a really wide-open league, and it's going to be really competitive from top to bottom. I believe the teams that will be picked lower than third are really dangerous teams. All those teams will be a lot better than anticipated."

Colorado State is predicted to finish fourth, followed by Air Force, Wyoming, Texas Christian and Boise State. The Broncos are debuting in the Mountain West after the departures of Brigham Young to the West Coast Conference and Utah to the Pacific-12.

The MWC is in transition on the heels of perhaps its most successful year, led by stars Jimmer Fredette of BYU and Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State. New Mexico and UNLV return the most experienced players.

Lobos coach Steve Alford brings back four starters. Gordon, who averaged 13.0 points and 10.5 rebounds last season, is joined on the all-conference team by sophomore guard Kendall Williams. New Mexico guard Hugh Greenwood was picked as Freshman of the Year.

Texas Christian senior point guard Hank Thorns, a Valley High School product, also was named a first-team selection.

Rice, a former BYU assistant who was hired in April to replace Lon Kruger, inherits four starters from a Rebels team that reached the NCAA Tournament and finished 24-9.

UNLV launched a "Let's Run" marketing campaign to build on Rice's plans for a fast-paced style of play. Bellfield, a three-year starter at point guard, and Stanback are expected to lead the way along with junior guard Anthony Marshall.

"We're going to run a lot more, and that's going to help us in the long run because most teams don't do that," said Stanback, the Rebels' top returning scorer and rebounder. "We're all excited about this season. But every team looks great on paper. What matters is what you do on the court."

The league's new look is reflected at UNLV, where Rice hired assistant coaches Justin Hutson from San Diego State and Heath Schroyer from Wyoming.

"There's a great base for the program in terms of the defensive job that Coach Kruger did," Rice said. "We're going to change our offensive attack a little bit, and we're going to play a little faster.

"One of the advantages that our staff has is that we're pretty familiar with the league. Certainly it will be different without Utah and BYU in the league, but it will be competitive like it always is."

Rice has been running workouts for the past six weeks, and college teams officially open practice Friday. The Rebels will hold a Scarlet & Gray scrimmage, which is free and open to the public, at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Stanback said he expects UNLV fans to like what they see.

"I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason," he said. "It's definitely not a negative with the coaching change."

■ NOTES -- UNLV's team will be introduced during a fan event at 7 p.m. Friday at the Fremont Street Experience. Festivities begin at 6 at the Third Street stage adjacent to Fitzgeralds, Fremont and Four Queens. The Rebels' only exhibition is against Washburn (Kan.) on Nov. 1.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.