Graney: Effort, defense define UNLV basketball under Kevin Kruger

It was minutes aft his team’s hoops signifier concluded Thursday — a agelong leap changeable from erstwhile UNLV would look No. 4 Michigan — erstwhile Kevin Kruger sat a fewer rows disconnected the Mendenhall Center court.

“As a program, they’re what we privation to beryllium like,” helium said of the Wolverines. “Their civilization is established. They’ve won games — Elite Eight past year, Big Ten championships. The mode their unit carries themselves, their players transportation themselves, is thing that we privation to do.

“You accidental you privation to, but they bash it connected a regular basis, night-in and night-out. They’re a large illustration of idiosyncratic to emulate.”

The Rebels were capable to gauge themselves against Michigan successful a Roman Main Event semifinal Friday nighttime astatine T-Mobile Arena.

For the astir portion and past some, UNLV held its own.

The Rebels would autumn 74-61 because the Wolverines yet imposed superior accomplishment and magnitude arsenic the amended team.

But if gathering blocks are defined by circumstantial snapshots, we saw implicit 40 minutes the mode Kruger has shaped his roster arsenic a first-year assemblage caput coach.

Play hard and defend

Four games and 3 wins into the season, cognize this: UNLV plays highly hard. That mightiness beryllium expected with 10 caller players — who successful that lawsuit doesn’t privation to impressment the staff? — but it’s not ever assured.

Kids are different. Not each 1 is wired and motivated the aforesaid way.

Kruger fundamentally recruited a squad that has magnitude and athleticism and a tendency and vigor to defend, each attributes that person been lacking. It’s a large crushed the Rebels person struggled to consistently contend successful the Mountain West and nationally astatine immoderate level.

They haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2013. It’s a antithetic benignant of adust spell successful Las Vegas.

“Start to finish, they played with a batch of toughness,” Michigan manager Juwan Howard said. “They didn’t backmost down for 1 minute, and we didn’t expect them to. When we made a run, they made a 3-pointer. When we made a stop, they came backmost and made different 3. I’m impressed with however we dealt with a squad that (plays) arsenic hard arsenic UNLV.

“One that competes that hard connected the violative glass, drives to the handbasket and is physical.”

Do you cognize erstwhile it’s hard to defend? When you’re not doing overmuch offensively. When shots aren’t falling and you’re struggling to observe immoderate benignant of rhythm.

UNLV has improved offensively successful each of its 4 games, but it’s each relative. It’s not adjacent to being a competent unit. Really not adjacent successful the 2nd fractional of games.

Until proven otherwise, wins volition beryllium earned defensively, wherever UNLV continues to combat and grind and amusement maturity.

The adjacent accidental comes against Wichita State successful the consolation crippled Sunday nighttime astatine T-Mobile Arena.

Another hostile with an established civilization that has been to the NCAAs successful 8 of the past 9 years and expects to win. The benignant of cognition Kruger wants from his team.

Demanding more

“There is truly nary crushed not to person a modular and anticipation astir ourselves to beryllium capable to play successful a crippled and vie and bushed Michigan,” Kruger had said connected Thursday. “Not saying we’re acceptable to bash that close now, but I don’t deliberation with this radical it’s unfair to inquire and request that of them passim the season.

“Sometimes, we don’t possibly request capable of them. We tin request much retired of them due to the fact that we deliberation they person a accidental to beryllium truly good.”

They do. They’re not yet.

But they didn’t backmost down from a superior heavyweight Friday, and that’s important to the journey. Four games and 3 wins later, UNLV plays hard and guards people.

There are acold worse beginnings.

Ed Graney is simply a Sigma Delta Chi Award victor for sports file penning and tin beryllium reached astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-4618. He tin beryllium heard connected “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday done Friday. Follow @edgraney connected Twitter.