Rebels hope for return to glory days
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in an 11-part series previewing UNM men’s basketball opponents for the coming season. The series includes articles and capsules on all Mountain West opponents published in the reverse order of the league’s preseason poll and concludes with capsules for each nonconference opponent.
Earlier this month, when newly hired UNLV Runnin’ Rebels coach T.J. Otzelberger faced a gathering of Mountain West Conference media at the league’s preseason media summit, the first question fired his way sort of summed up the expectations of a fan base that longs for the glory days of 30 years ago but follows a program that hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2013 or the NIT since 2009.
“What’s your timeline like?” the reporter asked. “Sweet 16 this year? National championship in three? Do you have a timeline like ‘I want to make sure we do this by this time and this by that time?’”
Otzelberger, the 42-year-old coach who spent the past three seasons going 70-33 with the Summit League’s South Dakota State, handled the question as though he’d been asked it a time or two since being hired in March.
“Yeah, my timeline is we have a film session today at 4:30 and I want to make sure that at 4:30 we get the most out of that film session that we possibly can for our team,” said Otzelberger, whose team was picked seventh in the league’s preseason media poll. “Then we practice again on Thursday, so I want to have the best practice at 8 a.m. on Thursday that we can possibly have. And then, when we get done with that practice, we’ll have a film session at 4:30 . ... We’ll keep hitting repeat on that each and every day.”
Otzelberger spent his offseason walking the same fine line New Mexico coach Paul Weir did two years ago, trying hard not to overpromise an instant return to glory of a once-proud program while also pleading to get fans and boosters who quit supporting the program to return to the Thomas & Mack Center. It was alarmingly empty most games by the end of last season, which led to the firing of Marvin Menzies, previously the New Mexico State head coach.
While every coach promises a faster pace, Otzelberger’s analytics-heavy approach and a history of high-tempo offenses seems to suggest the run-and-gun style truly will return.
“To me, the best time to score the ball is before the defense is set,” Otzelberger said. “In order to do that, you have to be in great physical shape. You have to be in great mental shape.”
UNLV got a boost with the NCAA’s decision last month to allow Utah transfer Donnie Tillman, a 6-foot-7 forward, to play this season. Last year’s Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year could be the Rebels’ star.
HE SAID IT: “If you study the history of this program, and what UNLV and UNLV basketball specifically has meant to this community — as the community and the city has grown the basketball team has been a big part of that. The community has rallied behind it.”