Wyoming, UNLV, Fresno and Nevada offer lists Wyoming as favorite

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

Wyoming is in the lead.

https://wyoming.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?sid=896&script=%2Fcontent.asp&cid=1789243

[Dirtball]

Damn, Wyoming out recruiting UNLV.

 

Its all Tina's fault!

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

Give Wyo some credit. The campus, basketball complex, and program are all top tier in the league.

I don't know how anyone that isn't a blue chip(one and done) athelete would want to go to UNLV under Dave Rice. He hasn't shown the ability to develop people. If you don't have the skills to get to the NBA as a freshman in college, you likely aren't going to go.

[ph90702]

Give Wyo some credit. The campus, basketball complex, and program are all top tier in the league.

I don't know how anyone that isn't a blue chip(one and done) athelete would want to go to UNLV under Dave Rice. He hasn't shown the ability to develop people. If you don't have the skills to get to the NBA as a freshman in college, you likely aren't going to go.

Christian Wood?

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

Well, if you think that Dave Rice has a better reputation for developing NBA talent than Larry Shyatt, more power to you.

He's definitely better at under achieving on a basketball court and somehow keeping his job, when everyone in America aside from a handful UNLV fans can see how big of a mess the UNLV program is right now.

You must not have read the article. He hit it off with the players because of our team chemistry: something UNLV has failed to see at all under Dave Rice.

[Dirtball]

Christian Wood?

How would Christian Wood ever be an example of developing NBA talent? He was a really good recruit, always had the length and athletic ability. He then went undrafted. 

[HoosierRebel]

Using Christian Wood as an example of how Rice develops players is laughable. He missed most of the pre-season workouts and practices because he was getting his academics in order, sick, or sitting out with a broken finger. By the time his freshman season rolled around he had a handful of practices under his belt and had no idea what to do on the floor. His limited playing time early in his freshman season was a product of his complete lack of understanding defensive and offensive schemes rather than a lack of talent. By the end of his freshmen season he finally had a grasp on what to do and he was seeing time. 

After his freshman season he had the entire off season to learn the schemes and work out plus he was gifted a started spot when both Roscoe and Khem left early. His minutes went way up his sophomore season and, naturally, his production went up too. I haven't checked what his per minute averages were during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but I'm guessing there isn't a huge difference.

But please ph, keep giving telling us how great Rice is despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

[ph90702]

How would Christian Wood ever be an example of developing NBA talent? He was a really good recruit, always had the length and athletic ability. He then went undrafted. 

He improved during his time at UNLV.  He is an NBA talent.  He's lacking upstairs, but he's better than 90% of the players that were drafted.

[ph90702]

Using Christian Wood as an example of how Rice develops players is laughable. He missed most of the pre-season workouts and practices because he was getting his academics in order, sick, or sitting out with a broken finger. By the time his freshman season rolled around he had a handful of practices under his belt and had no idea what to do on the floor. His limited playing time early in his freshman season was a product of his complete lack of understanding defensive and offensive schemes rather than a lack of talent. By the end of his freshmen season he finally had a grasp on what to do and he was seeing time. 

After his freshman season he had the entire off season to learn the schemes and work out plus he was gifted a started spot when both Roscoe and Khem left early. His minutes went way up his sophomore season and, naturally, his production went up too. I haven't checked what his per minute averages were during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but I'm guessing there isn't a huge difference.

But please ph, keep giving telling us how great Rice is despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

You're an idiot.  You're so blindsided by your hatred for Dave Rice that you can't even acknowledge that he makes players better.

[roughrider]

He improved during his time at UNLV.  He is an NBA talent.  He's lacking upstairs, but he's better than 90% of the players that were drafted.

2 things wrong with this statement. Glaringly wrong;   if he's lacking upstairs then he's not better than 90% of the players who were drafted because pro sports more than any other is a mental game. Wood has the length and a good touch but putting it together is key.   Secondly it points out what everyone else here but you can see and that is Rice is recruiting cancers.  Uncoachable cancers. High rated, uncoachable cancers.  How does anyone know how well can coach, when he recruits the Mean Machine every year.  

Team chemistry is critical.  A team of me's isn't going to get there.  Winning the recruiting image battle is great.   But there's only a couple Calipari type coaches out there that can handle that makeup and Dave Rice doesn't have the swagger those guys respect.

[HoosierRebel]

You're an idiot.  You're so blindsided by your hatred for Dave Rice that you can't even acknowledge that he makes players better.

No, dipshit, I am a realist. You're so blinded by your Rice colored glasses that you can't see the guy is a terrible motivator, awful judge of talent, god-awful program builder, and a putrid in-game tactician.

As far as you claim about him making players better, who exactly did he make better? Khem had a huge junior season, but based on his per-minute numbers he showed only marginal improvements from his sophomore to junior seasons. Anthony Bennett didn't really improve, he got by on being a freak athlete and his numbers actually dropped as he progressed in his one and only college season. With Rashad Vaughn, he hovered around the end of the first round and the end of the second round until he was able to get to workouts and, once he was able to showcase his talents he nearly turned himself into a lottery pick. Sounds like his time working under Dave Rice was amazing.

You, however, have made a specific claim about Chris Wood and have stated that Dave Rice made him a better player, so lets take a look at that claim. As you will remember, Wood started his freshman season off barely able to keep himself on the floor because he missed something close to 80% of the preseasons workouts and practices from injuries (IIRC he spent several weeks sick and several more with a broken finger). Because of that it took him a while to get into the swing of things and he started to hit his stride around the time conference play started. Because of this I am going to compare his in-conference numbers between his sophomore and junior years as we attempt to see just how much he improved. Here is my source for raw date.

Here are Chris Wood's stats in conference for his frosh and soph season (I am using his stats per 40 min so we con more closely compare the two seasons. His frosh year Wood only averaged 14 mpg, but his soph year he was at 34. With such a huge jump in minutes, comparing his raw stats would be apples and oranges):

Freshman: 13 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 1.0 apg, 40.3% fg, 52.2% 2fg, 19.2% 3fg. My initial reaction to this stat line is that Wood had a pretty solid run of games once he found his feet. He nearly averaged a double double, but didn't shot particularly well from the field, most likely because he shot an undeniable awful 19% from distance. The stat I find most impressive is his 9.3 boards per game. I'm not blown away by the number, but just that he pulled down so many while often sharing the floor with Roscoe, who was an animal on the boards. 

Sophomore: 18.6 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 3.1 bpg, 1.6 apg, 47.7% fg, 53.8% 2fg, 30.8% 3fg. My initial reaction is that Wood showed improvement across the board. He literally improved in every category. He scored 5.6 more points, grabbed 3 more rebounds, and blocked almost 1 extra shot per game. His fg % went way up, which seems to be a product of him improving his 3fg % (As a side note, his improved 3fg % seems to be at least partially caused by improved shot selection as he took fewer shots per game in his sophomore season, 4.4 per game as a frosh and 3.4 per game as a soph).

So now we have established that Wood improved, the real question, and the one with the least definite answers, is why? What was the cause(s) of Wood's improvement? In my mind there are three causes: (1) he adjusted to the increased speed, strength, etc. of the college game; (2) he had more time to understand the schemes; and (3) he improved because of the instruction he received. IMO, Chris' maturity, both physically and mentally, are responsible for the lion's share of his improvement. I have this opinion for two reasons. First, Rice hasn't really developed any players. He has relied on players that are already immensely talented and hasn't really done much to improve that. Second, Wood (as well as Vaughn) were often left on their own to make things happen, because Rice has virtually no offensive game plan. He relies almost entirely on rolling the ball out and letting kids play. NBA scouts have seen it (as well as anyone with half a brain who has watched more than 5 minutes of UNLV basketball in the last 4 years) and it doesn't reflect well on Rice or his program.

On a final note, I believe you meant to say I am "blinded" by my hatred for Rice, not "blindsided." Blindsided would imply that it is something I am surprised by and that catches me off guard. To the contrary, I am well aware of my biases for Rice, and I am well aware of how they color my perception of the current state of the program and my feelings on the coming season. I absolutely love the four sophomores we have coming back, I am excited to see how our freshman adjust and contribute, and I really look forward to seeing if Seagers can finally provide the steadying, senior leadership at the point that we have been missing since guys like Oscar Bellfield and Wink Adams were running the point. Despite all of this, I can only seem to muster little more than an bland indifference for the coming season, largely because I know Rice will be at the helm. Maybe I will be wrong, maybe I won't. If I am wrong, and Dave Rice does lead this team to a top 2 finish in conference and wins a game in the NCAAs I will gladly eat crow and admit I am wrong. In fact, I'll eat my crow and treat you to a steak dinner.

[sdsuphilip4]

I agree that wood improved drastically on the court. He should have been drafted unless he has some big drug problem or some big issue (and no having a big ego or not playing 100% all of the time does not qualify as to why he shouldn't have been drafted)

[sig570]

Well, if you think that Dave Rice has a better reputation for developing NBA talent than Larry Shyatt, more power to you.

He's definitely better at under achieving on a basketball court and somehow keeping his job, when everyone in America aside from a handful UNLV fans can see how big of a mess the UNLV program is right now.

You must not have read the article. He hit it off with the players because of our team chemistry: something UNLV has failed to see at all under Dave Rice.

good thing he visted wyo in the summertime because wyo in the wintertime is a piece of hell that is hard to explain.  saying it is cold is selling cold short

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

good thing he visted wyo in the summertime because wyo in the wintertime is a piece of hell that is hard to explain.  saying it is cold is selling cold short

Luckily basketball is played indoors. If Bryce Peters signs for Wyoming, every basketball facility he uses will be brand new and state of the art. The weight room, locker rooms, practice court, arena, High Altitude Training Center, and a large percentage of his academic facilities are all brand new 50 million dollar facilities. Yes, it's cold in the winter, but when you're walking from one brand new facility to the next it helps ease the pain.

I know UNLV has some nice chit, but Wyoming, at least for basketball, is pretty hard to beat for basketball facilities.

From the article it sounds like weather isn't that big of a factor. Bryce wants to play where he feels welcome and enjoys the chemistry: the reason why UNLV has no shot at him.

[HoosierRebel]

Luckily basketball is played indoors. If Bryce Peters signs for Wyoming, every basketball facility he uses will be brand new and state of the art. The weight room, locker rooms, practice court, arena, High Altitude Training Center, and a large percentage of his academic facilities are all brand new 50 million dollar facilities. Yes, it's cold in the winter, but when you're walking from one brand new facility to the next it helps ease the pain.

I know UNLV has some nice chit, but Wyoming, at least for basketball, is pretty hard to beat for basketball facilities.

From the article it sounds like weather isn't that big of a factor. Bryce wants to play where he feels welcome and enjoys the chemistry: the reason why UNLV has no shot at him.

I have no idea where we stand with this kid, but to say UNLV doesn't have a shot is silly. Rice recruits better than any coach in the conference and it isn't even close. If he can convince a kid to come play at UNLV instead of Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, and Arizona, I think it would be unwise to count him out of any recruiting battle.

[sig570]

Luckily basketball is played indoors. If Bryce Peters signs for Wyoming, every basketball facility he uses will be brand new and state of the art. The weight room, locker rooms, practice court, arena, High Altitude Training Center, and a large percentage of his academic facilities are all brand new 50 million dollar facilities. Yes, it's cold in the winter, but when you're walking from one brand new facility to the next it helps ease the pain.

I know UNLV has some nice chit, but Wyoming, at least for basketball, is pretty hard to beat for basketball facilities.

From the article it sounds like weather isn't that big of a factor. Bryce wants to play where he feels welcome and enjoys the chemistry: the reason why UNLV has no shot at him.

if WYO has some underground tunnels to walk around campus he will be fine, but if he has to walk around outside he will feel his eyeballs freeze

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

I have no idea where we stand with this kid, but to say UNLV doesn't have a shot is silly. Rice recruits better than any coach in the conference and it isn't even close. If he can convince a kid to come play at UNLV instead of Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, and Arizona, I think it would be unwise to count him out of any recruiting battle.

I've been reading up on this kid for almost two years now, since we started recruiting him. From his own priorities, it doesn't sound like UNLV is a good fit. I shouldn't say you don't have a shot, but it's got to be really slim on Peters. He's a family/friends kind of guy. His uncle is a former Wyoming athlete. That is what is important to him. He gets along really well with the Wyoming team, and enjoys the unity/chemistry that Shy has developed the last four years.

I just don't think UNLV has that. You guys have a never ending trail of transfers. It doesn't seem like your team chemistry is a strength of your program.

Since he listed his top six, Utah and Kansas State have both started expressing interest. They might be able to get him.

I feel really good about Wyoming's chances though. It's a good fit for us. We we're the first team to offer him and he really likes our staff/players. He should be ours to sign if something else more ideal doesn't pop up.

[Guest Cowboy Junky]

if WYO has some underground tunnels to walk around campus he will be fine, but if he has to walk around outside he will feel his eyeballs freeze

I wish they would have had those when I was there. I've had my eyelashes freeze together in Laramie before. ;}

[HoosierRebel]

I've been reading up on this kid for almost two years now, since we started recruiting him. From his own priorities, it doesn't sound like UNLV is a good fit. I shouldn't say you don't have a shot, but it's got to be really slim on Peters. He's a family/friends kind of guy. His uncle is a former Wyoming athlete. That is what is important to him. He gets along really well with the Wyoming team, and enjoys the unity/chemistry that Shy has developed the last four years.

I just don't think UNLV has that. You guys have a never ending trail of transfers. It doesn't seem like your team chemistry is a strength of your program.

Since he listed his top six, Utah and Kansas State have both started expressing interest. They might be able to get him.

I feel really good about Wyoming's chances though. It's a good fit for us. We we're the first team to offer him and he really likes our staff/players. He should be ours to sign if something else more ideal doesn't pop up.

 

Fair enough. If UNLV doesn't land him I wouldn't mind if Wyoming did. The more talent in the conference the better. I also like Shyatt and think he is a quality coach.

For the first few years of Rice's tenure he definitely had chemistry issues, but last year I think we actually had some solid chemistry between our core players. Coincidentally, this is why I find Obekpa's transfer so confusing because he has a high probability of being a problem child.

[ph90702]

If I am wrong, and Dave Rice does lead this team to a top 2 finish in conference and wins a game in the NCAAs I will gladly eat crow and admit I am wrong. In fact, I'll eat my crow and treat you to a steak dinner.

You don't know shit about Chris Obekpa.  All you can do is parrot what supposed "insiders" have said.