For Rebels, all that glitters is fool’s gold

UNLV has a men's basketball team today preparing not for the NCAA Tournament but rather a first-round National Invitation Tournament matchup at Kentucky for one reason.

The Rebels this season pulled a Frobisher.

It is called fool's gold because Martin Frobisher was a 16th-century seaman who on a voyage searching for a northwest passage to the New World discovered what he thought was the valuable element. The finding turned out to be worthless.

UNLV turned out to be not as good as everyone imagined, including those who took the court for 31 games.

"We talked as a staff about it all being sort of a perfect storm," Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. "We were (5-0) on Nov. 25 but didn't quite have that edge, that mindset. We weren't doing things as well as we should. But we were winning. On Jan. 1, we were 13-2 and had won seven in a row, but we still didn't like how we were covering or rebounding.

"That was our message (to the team), but it's hard to buy into it when you're hearing from everyone else that you're on your way and almost in the Top 25. It was still our job (as coaches) to fight that off, but we never could quite get it done. It's a tough lesson to learn."

Being good enough below the neck is often out of your control. The Rebels had consistent shortcomings all season. They weren't physical enough. They never could rebound consistently. Some players are in need of an offseason defined by strength training and better nutritional choices, because if you didn't see a difference in some of the bodies of San Diego State players and those from a UNLV side the Aztecs beat three times, you weren't paying attention.

But not being strong enough above the neck is inexcusable for a team that started three seniors. It's indefensible when a coach talks about an experienced team having to search for enough passion and enthusiasm to sustain success, things Kruger pointed out more than once the past several days.

That's on everyone. Kruger. His staff. Mostly, the players. Not being skilled enough is one thing. Not being motivated enough is beyond disturbing.

This is what happens when you think you're better than you are. You don't prepare with the same intensity. You don't approach each practice and possession as if it could be your last. You waver. You coast at times. You beat people no one expects you to some nights and fall to seriously inferior teams on others. You lose the mental sharpness that made you so good in previous seasons.

Ultimately, you get exactly what you deserve.

"You don't like saying you could have done things differently, but that's where we are," Kruger said. "I think if the coaches and players could go back to October, there are things we'd all do differently as far as investment and clearly understanding how important each day is.

"We're going to benefit from this next year from a starting perspective. What happens after that, I don't know, but I know the mindset will be different."

I like this about Kruger: His team held its annual postseason banquet Sunday and again watched the NCAA Tournament selection show in a public setting, knowing full well it had no realistic chance of receiving a berth.

Unlike the past two years, there was no sense of anticipation, no thrill for fans and players as they awaited UNLV's matchup, no laptops on tables as some typed anxiously while booking flights to the team's first-round site.

But they still sat and watched and hopefully felt the sting of not being included. Kruger wanted his players, especially those returning, to know and remember such disappointment. To vow it wouldn't happen again next season.

UNLV will arrive in Kentucky with 21 wins. But the funny thing about expectations is that everyone always points out when they aren't met but few mention the possibility they were incorrect from the outset.

Here's a thought: Maybe the Rebels were always merely a good team capable of playing great here and there. Maybe everyone missed on the team's true ability and potential. Maybe fifth place in the Mountain West is about right. That sort of thing happens all the time.

The Rebels weren't good enough to make a third straight NCAA field. That's obvious. That's acceptable.

This isn't: Explaining your deficiencies by not mentioning things like ability, but enthusiasm. Not pointing to a lack of talent, but passion.

Not always playing well enough is understandable.

Not always preparing well enough is unjustifiable.

UNLV thought it was something it wasn't and acted accordingly this season. It pulled a Frobisher.

That's on everyone.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 702-383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.