Somehow, I doubt this is how new coach Dave Rice wanted to start off his tenure: Leading returning scorer Chase Stanbeck was arrested late Friday night for DUI, putting him into limbo heading into the summer.
If this sounds familiar, remember that last summer, leading returning scorer Tre'von Willis was arrested in a domestic dispute, served a suspension to start the season and didn't ever really get his legs under himself the whole season, helping contribute to a season that was successful with its NCAA Tournament berth, but not as good as it could have been with the talent on the roster.
Now, Stanbeck has put a thinner roster in just as difficult a position. While he will likely be back considering this is a first offense, the question is what effect this will have on the Rebels. With the Mountain West changing greatly and BYU no longer in the league, the spot of league kingpin is up for grabs, especially with UNLV nemesis San Diego St. losing most of the roster. This doesn't help in any way and could really hurt the Rebels not just this season, but in future seasons if a possible lack of fitness submarines the season for UNLV.
For the rest of the Mountain West, this could also really hurt. UNLV is the most likely team to pick up some key non-conference wins (co-favorite New Mexico tends to not schedule as aggressively) that will help in seeding and/or making the tournament and if Stanbeck is forced to miss any time, UNLV could lose early games against the likes of Wisconsin (evidently there is a possible game against North Carolina, but the Rebels aren't winning that anyway).
No comments:
Post a Comment