UNLV Is Going To Be A Very Dangerous Team Next Year

After leading Oklahoma to a poor 15-16 record and an 8th place finish in the 10 team, Big 12 with a 5-13 conference mark, Lon Kruger has to be looking back at his former job and envying that he isn't in Dave Rice's position. Kruger, who left UNLV to take the Oklahoma job last year, left the door open for Rice, who was a former Jerry Tarkanian player with the Rebels when they won the National Championship in 1990, to take over the job.

Rice's first year at UNLV began with a bang after his Rebels knocked off the top ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in the Las Vegas Classic. It was the first time that the Rebels had beaten a number 1 ranked team since 1989 when they toppled number 1 overall seeded Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. UNLV finished the season 26-9 and earned themselves a trip to the big dance, as Rice became the first coach in UNLV history to lead the Rebels to the tournament as a first year head coach.

After a successful first year at UNLV, bigger and better things are going to be expected next year from the Rebels. Not only does the team return their monster rebounder and double-double machine Mike Moser as well as their all-around playmaking guard Anthony Marshall, but Rice has also been able to load up this off-season by luring in top recruits and transfers from other schools.

Unlike other post-Tarkanian UNLV coaches, Rice has been able to compete with other top flight college basketball programs in terms of recruiting. Under Lon Kruger, the Rebels were unable to keep players from high school powerhouse Findlay Prep in-state. From 2009 to 2011, 5 Findlay Prep players were top 25 recruits according to ESPN 100, and the Rebels were unable to land any of them.

However, Dave Rice was able to secure one of UNLV's best recruiting classes of all-time when the number 7th ranked recruit according to ESPN, Anthony Bennett, announced that he would stay in Vegas and commit to UNLV instead of going to play for Florida, Washington, Oregon, or Kentucky. Bennett, a 6'8'' McDonald's All-American power forward, can step out and shoot the three-ball as well as use his size and strength down low in the paint. Bennett will also be joined by shooting guard Katin Reinhardt from Mater Dei in California, who is the number 47th ranked recruit according to ESPN. The signings of Bennett and Reinhardt will likely make an impact right away as both players will see a lot of playing time. UNLV's recruiting class was ranked number 13 by ESPN, above powerhouse programs like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Florida.

But the fun doesn't end there for the Rebels, as Rice has been able to lure high quality tranfers to the UNLV program.

Former USC guard Bryce Jones and former Pittsburgh center Khem Birch will both be apart of the Rebels plans for a major season next year.

Bryce Jones, who was ranked 69th in the 2010 recruiting class according to ESPN, was unhappy with his lack of playing time at USC after Jio Fontan became eligible to play for the Trojans, while he also had off the court issues with teammate Garrett Jackson. Jones is going to be a very important piece to UNLV's success next year, as the 6'5'' guard is extremely long and athletic and can shot the ball from three. In the Trojans first 8 games, Jones averaged nearly 13 points per outing.

Khem Birch will be one of the most interesting stories to watch around college basketball next year. The 6'9'' big man will be eligible to play for Dave Rice's squad around Christmas time and the Rebels will be hoping that they will be able to get the most out of the former McDonald's All-American and 12th ranked recruit (in ESPN's 2011 recruiting rankings). Birch, who left Pittsburgh mid-season last year after being disgruntled with his teammates and the team's playing style, has a tremendous amount of ability and talent. Birch is a very good rebounder and shot blocker, as shown by his 6 block game in just 29 minutes against Robert Morris last year, and will only continue to improve on the offensive end of the floor.

Finally, former Connecticut power forward Roscoe Smith has decided to transfer to UNLV from the Huskies as a result of UConn's 2013 postseason tournament ban. Connecticut is unable to play in next year's NCAA tournament because the basketball program didn't reach the NCAA's academic standards from 2009 to 2011, as they had a low Academic Progress Rate. Usually the NCAA only grants waivers to players whose postseason bans span over their entire eligibility, but Smith is going to ask the NCAA for a wavier to not have to sit out a season although he has two years of eligibility remaining and UConn's ban only spans one year.

Nonetheless, Smith is a very nice transfer to land, as the big man is a solid rebounder and also a very good defender. Smith is able to impact the game without taking a lot of shots and his productivity will increase with the added minutes that he will get in the Rebels frontcourt.

UNLV is not going to be just a dangerous mid-major team, but they are going to be in the picture as one of the best teams in the country. They are loaded in both the backcourt with Anthony Marshall, Justin Hawkins, Katin Reinhardt, and Bryce Jones, as well as in the frontcourt with Mike Moser, Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, and possibly Roscoe Smith if he is eligible to play.

The Heat Really Missed Chris Bosh In Their Game 2 and 3 Losses To The Indiana Pacers

Since Chris Bosh signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010, his role on the team and his place among the big three along with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade has constantly been questioned. Fitting in alongside an 8-time All-Star and a 3-time MVP in LeBron James and an 8-time All-Star and 2006 NBA Finals MVP in Dwayne Wade has not always been an easy task for Bosh.

Despite the fact that Bosh has been an All-Star for 7 straight seasons dating back to 2006, he has been highly criticized for his play with the Heat. Bosh is often labeled as soft and as a power forward who is reluctant to bang with the big boys inside. Often times, fans even jest that there isn't a big three in Miami but rather the Heat have a dynamic duo with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

For a guy that was the second highest scoring power forward in the Eastern Conference during the regular season at 18 points per game, Bosh has been the subject of a tremendous amount of criticism. His detractors point to the fact that he averaged just under 8 rebounds per game during the regular season, which was not a very high number considering the Heat's opponents shot the fifth lowest percentage from the field during the season at 43.4 percent.

In the Heat's game 1 victory over the Pacers, Bosh suffered a lower abdominal strain after finishing off a dunk during the ladder stages of the second quarter. The injury forced Bosh to miss games two and three of the series, and without Bosh, the Heat have fallen in a 2-1 series hole with game 4 left in Indiana. Without even being on the court, Chris Bosh has shown his true value to the Miami Heat and how much the Heat struggle without him on the offensive end of the floor.

Without Bosh on the court, Joel Anthony and Ronny Tuiaf have received extended minutes at the power forward and center positions. Although Anthony and Tuiaf are good rebounders and give great effort, especially with their intensity on the defensive end of the floor, they are both non-scorers. Therefore, Pacers center Roy Hibbert is able to clog up the paint and prevent driving lanes for LeBron and D-Wade because he doesn't have to worry about Anthony or Tuiaf scoring the basketball. In game two, Hibbert had 3 blocks, while he followed that up with 5 blocks in game three. With Hibbert hanging around the lane, Dwayne Wade has struggled to score around the basket, as he was 2 for 13 in the Heat's game three loss.

Although Bosh is 6'11'', he is a very comfortable and confident shooter, as has a very good elbow jump shot. Bosh is able to set up for open jumpers off LeBron and D-Wade's penetration, especially on the pick and pop. He is vital to Miami because he is able to extend the floor due to his ability to shot the basketball, which causes match-up problems because teams rarely have power forwards who are agile enough to stay with Bosh outside. Without Bosh on the floor, Roy Hibbert's lack of mobility has yet to be exposed by the Heat.

Any time that a team loses one of its best players and an 18 point per game scorer, it is going to struggle, but the Heat are a team that have even bigger problems replacing a guy like Bosh because of their lack of quality bench players. During the regular season the Heat's bench averaged less than 24 points per game, as none of their bench guys scored more than 7 points per game during the season. The Heat were 28th in the NBA in bench points per game. In game 2 for example, Miami's bench scored just 11 points.

The Pacers have been able to key on LeBron and D-Wade during the last two games of the series because they no longer have to worry about the threat of Bosh. The Heat have severely struggled to get in a rhythm offensively since Bosh went down with his injury and they have scored just 75 points in two consecutive games. In game 2, the Heat scored just 14 points in the third quarter and they followed that up in game 3 by scoring just 12 points in the third frame.

Not only have the Heat missed Bosh on the offensive end, but they have also missed him on the defensive end of the floor. Since Anthony and Turiaf are not going to score offensively, Erik Spoelstra has used LeBron at the power forward position to ensure that the Heat have enough on the offensive on the floor. Although LeBron is a specimen and is extremely strong, he has very little position playing the power forward position. In game 2 of the series, with LeBron on him for large parts of the game, David West had 16 points including 7 points in the final 7:05. LeBron said about defending in the post, "It's a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys. [Defensively] is the biggest difference. When you're on the perimeter, there is more space. The interior is more cramped and physical."

Shootouts Are Perfect For The Regular Season But Overtimes Have Made This Postseason

In a season where Sidney Crosby played just 22 games due to his post-concussion symptoms and Alex Ovechkin had career lows with 65 points and just 27 assists (his lowest totals since he had 85 points last year and 46 assists during the 2006-2007 season), the NHL wasn't dazzling with star power. 

It is easy to take a quick glance at the team's remaining in the NHL playoffs and not get overly enthused. 

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, who finished 2nd in the East, were eliminated in the first round in 7 games by the Washington Capitals. The Bruins joined the 1989-1990 Calgary Flames, the 2002-2003 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2007-2008 Anaheim Ducks as just the 4th Stanley Cup Champion since 1990 to lose their first round match-up after winning the Cup, despite having home ice advantage.

The star studded Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely disappointing in their first round defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Pens, who were 14-4-1 during March and April largely fueled by Crosby's return, were sliced apart by the Flyers offense. In Philly's 4 victories, they averaged more than 6 goals per game.

In the Western Conference, the top seeded and Presidents' Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks could only muster one game during their opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Without Daniel Sedin for the first three games of the series, the Canucks fell in a 3-0 hole. The Canucks became just the 6th Presidents' Trophy winner to lose in the first round of the playoffs joining the 1990-1991 Chicago Blackhawks, the 1990-2000 St. Louis Blues, the 2005-2006 Detroit Red Wings, the 2008-2009 San Jose Sharks, and the 2009-2010 Washington Capitals.

Finally, instead of powerhouses like the Red Wings and the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals, they have been replaced by much less attractive teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, who knocked off the Blackhawks in 6 games, and the Nashville Predators, who defeated the Red Wings in 5 games.

Despite both conference semifinals lacking the star power of a normal year, the NHL playoffs have been nothing less than magnificent due to all of the close games and the wild finishes in overtime.

During the 2003-2004 NHL season, 170 NHL games ended in a tie with neither team walking home the winner. In fact, the Minnesota Wild only had 20 ties that year, which means they had nearly 3 ties every 10 games.

Following the NHL lockout in 2004, Gary Bettman decided to implement a shootout during the regular season if both teams remained tied after three periods and a five minute overtime. Although the rule has received some criticism especially from hockey purists, it has made the end of games extremely exciting as no fan wants to see a game end without a winner.

However, there is nothing better than sudden-death hockey overtime in an intense and highly contested playoff game and that is what this year's playoffs have provided.

During the conference quarterfinals, of the 48 games, 16 of them were won in overtime, which set a record for the most overtime games during the first round of the playoffs. This mean that a third of the opening round games took at least one extra period of thrilling hockey to declare a winner. In fact, every series had at least one overtime game aside from the Predators-Red Wings 5 game battle.

Both the Bruins-Capitals series and the Panthers-Devils series went into overtime in game 6 as well as in the decisive game 7.

The Capitals were unable to close out the Bruins at home in the Verizon Center in game 6 after Tyler Seguin scored just 3 minutes and 17 seconds into overtime. However, the Capitals regrouped and returned the favor in an exhilarating game 7 overtime victory after Joel Ward slammed home a rebound for the series win.

After falling behind the Panthers 3-2 in the series, the Devils were able to keep their championship hopes alive by winning both game 6 and game 7 in exciting overtime periods. Travis Zajac became the hero in game 6 with his goal in OT, but the intensity of game 6 was nothing compared to the pressure of game 7, which lasted two overtimes before rookie center Adam Henrique won the series for the Devils with en electrifying goal.

Finally, the Coyotes-Blackhawks series was overtime galore, as the first 5 games of the series all went into overtime, which tied an NHL record with five consecutive extra periods. Even though the Coyotes are still flying under the radar despite the fact that they are one win away from reaching the Western Conference finals and the Blackhawks were without Marian Hossa for the final 3 games of the series, the Coyotes-Blackhawks were a can't miss matchup because every game was nip and tuck.