Jalen Hill hates ice baths. He would rather skip one than drop into such a freezing state.
He knew, however, how much one was needed Wednesday.
This is who they are now, all battered and bruised, a basketball team being pushed to its physical limits. UNLV doesn’t have any choice. This is the hand it has been dealt.
The Rebels have moved on in the Mountain West tournament at Thomas & Mack Center, having beaten Air Force 68-59.
It means UNLV will oppose Utah State in one quarterfinal Thursday night. It means another offering of coach Kevin Kruger playing guys huge minutes and hoping their legs hold up.
Hill might be the best example of how this new-look UNLV side now competes, a senior whose responsibilities have grown immensely as more and more teammates went down with injury.
He didn’t play in this event last season while recovering from a torn ACL. The former Clark High standout and Oklahoma transfer made up for such lost time Wednesday.
He has been carrying much of the load since leading scorer and point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. was lost to a shoulder injury six games ago. Hill on Wednesday totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He played all 40 minutes.
“He has just been so good the last several weeks,” Kruger said. “You don’t want to play him 40 minutes, of course. You don’t want to play anybody 40 minutes. There just wasn’t an opportunity not to have him on the floor.
“He’s going to have the ball in his hands and make decisions, and it will be no different (Thursday). His (ice) bath is going to be a little longer. I told the guys, ‘You need to be as fresh as possible if we have any chance at chasing (Utah State) around.”
Who they are
Kruger on Wednesday essentially played six guys, who went anywhere between 24 and 40 minutes.
The other 12 minutes were split between two reserves.
But this is who they are now: A team that gives a freshman walk-on like DeMarion Yap out of Arbor View High a total of five minutes and watches him hit a 3. A player who was essentially on the scout team for five months running plays of the opponent.
A team that sees senior Jailen Bedford leave in the first half with a serious eye injury — yeah, someone else went down for a spell — only to return and finish with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
It’s a patchwork lineup that has players adopting new roles and in some instances thriving in them.
It’s just such a different look than when Thomas was running the show.
“You have to give (Kruger) a lot of credit,” Air Force coach Joe Scott said. “They’ve had guys really step up. They’ve done a good job making adjustments. Playing without (Thomas) makes them a completely different team because he has the ball in his hands so much.
“But to play without him for six games has probably helped the other guys. They’ve done a good job saying, ‘OK, we need to play this way now.’ Give them credit. Competitiveness-wise, they’re going to be more than fine.”
They’ll compete, but will they hold up?
Air Force, a team that finished the regular season 4-27 overall and 1-19 in conference, gave the Rebels everything they wanted and more.
A 19-0 run
The Falcons even held an eight-point lead four minutes into the second half. Yes. Folks began wondering if UNLV could really lose it. If the questions about Kruger’s job status would only intensify should such an outcome be realized.
But there’s nothing like a 19-0 run to put such thoughts to rest for the time being, and the Rebels hung one on Air Force over a stretch of 7:19.
It ended any doubt as to whether UNLV would live for the quarterfinals. It will. Short bench and all.
“For our guys specifically, just, again, how proud I am of them and how appreciative I am of them for continuing to fight over these last handful of weeks,” Kruger said. “No matter what comes their way.”
Ice baths. Lots of ice baths.
Even if Jalen Hill hates them.
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
