RANKING THE REBELS: 23 – “Sudden” Sam Smith
"SUDDEN" SAM SMITH
Years: 1975 to 1977
Career highlights:
■ Starred on the "Hardway Eight" team that went 29-3 and reached UNLV's first NCAA Final Four in 1977.
■ Scored 943 points in 60 games for a career average of 15.7.
■ Averaged 16.6 points and had a team-high 73 steals in 1975-76, when the Rebels went 29-2 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Quotable: "I know the 1990 team couldn't beat us. We had more athletes and more shooters on the '77 team. We were running, man." -- Smith
Currently: Trains youth basketball players and volunteers at a Las Vegas YMCA. Has a daughter, Rashonda, and a son, Jahmon, who plays for coach Jay Spoonhour at Moberly (Mo.) Community College.
The Review-Journal counts down the top 100 players in UNLV basketball history, 20 years after the Rebels' NCAA championship season in 1989-90.
