25. UNLV
Deep, balanced and free of the off-the-court distractions of the past, these unrebellious Rebels are up and running again
Posted: Wednesday November 18, 1998 02:22 PM
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The super-strong Kambala anchors the Rebels' athletic frontline. AP/Lennox McLendon |
Soon
after
Latvia native Kaspars Kambala arrived in
Las Vegas
in August 1997, he took in all his surroundings—the
vast desert, the neon skyline, the UNLV front line
depleted by suspensions. He then narrowed his gaze to a
shiny object in his dorm room, the 1996-97 WAC Pacific
Division Freshman of the Year plaque
owned by his roommate, sophomore guard Mark Dickel. Says
Kambala, "I
decided my name would look good on one of
those."
Indeed it does—though with a slightly different
inscription. After shifting to the Mountain Division before
last season, the
Runnin' Rebels struggled through a year marked by three
suspensions, 12 starting lineups and, remarkably enough, a
WAC
tournament championship and their first bid to the NCAA tournament
since 1991. Through it all, the
6'9", 250-pound Kambala was a rock. With now departed
Keon Clark and then junior Kevin Simmons serving
suspensions for accepting a trip to Orlando from an agent,
Kambala had eight double doubles in his first 11 games,
including a 19-point, 10-rebound
performance while matched against Kansas All-America Raef
LaFrentz. "All that playing time was unexpected, but I
sure liked it," says Kambala, who averaged 11.6 points
and 7.4 rebounds for the season, numbers that earned him
his very own WAC Mountain
Division Freshman of the Year
plaque.
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| STARTING LINEUP |
| POS. | HT. | CLASS | KEY STAT |
| SF Shawn Marion | 6'7" | Jr. | 23.5 ppg** |
| PF Kevin Simmons* | 6'8" | Sr. | 11.5 ppg |
| C Kaspars Kambala* | 6'9" | So. | 7.4 rpg |
| SG Brian Keefe* | 6'4" | Sr. | 7.7 ppg |
| PG Mark Dickel* | 6'1" | Jr. | 5.5 apg |
'97-98 record: 20-13
Final rank (coaches' poll): unranked
*Returning starter
**ppg as junior college sophomore
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He should enjoy his playing time more this year, having
polished his game at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp this
summer. "Kas has a real knack for scoring with his
back to the basket," says
UNLV coach Bill Bayno. "And he's as strong as anyone in the
country." (Not just in this country: As a 14-year-old, Kambala
made the third-longest hammer throw in Latvian history for
his age
group.)
When it comes to throwing weight around on UNLV's front
line, Kambala will get hefty help from Simmons and
6'7" newcomer Shawn Marion (13.1 rebounds per game at
Vincennes University in Indiana). The backcourt of Dickel
and Brian Keefe
(41.7% from three-point range) is solid too. "We may not be
great at any one position,'' says Bayno. "But I think
we're very
good at all of
them."
Bayno is further encouraged by the absence of off-the-court
distractions. "Until midway through last year, we
weren't a team, just a collection of guys. But this is a
team, the best group I've had here in terms of talent,
attitude and
chemistry."
—Kelli Anderson Top 25 | Rest of the Best
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