LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are less than a month away from opening its season, but the team is facing an uphill climb entering the season.
UNLV Men's Basketball is ranked 6th in the Mountain West Conference, but players and their coach at the conference media day Thursday said they're underrated and ready to prove it.
"I just want to bring back to the city what they haven't had in a long time," said UNLV Forward and Clark High School graduate Jalen Hill.
The Runnin' Rebels haven't made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2013, but this team wants to bring that excitement back.
"I've been to other games here when they had fans packing the stadium, the crowds hyped," Hill said. "I want to bring that pride and urgency, like a sense of that, back to Vegas."
Hill was raised in Las Vegas and transferred to UNLV from the University of Oklahoma this year.
"The basketball talent in Vegas is crazy and people don't realize it," he said.
He is just one of several local players competing for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Nick Walters and 5-star freshman Dedan Thomas Jr., known as DJ, are also from Las Vegas.
DJ was named Mountain West Conference Preseason Freshman Player of the Year and is already making an impact on the squad.
"As impactful as he'll be on the court, I think it's also great that he is inspiring the 7th graders, the 8th graders, the 9th graders, etc.," said UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Coach Kevin Kruger. "You need to look at UNLV. If you're from Vegas, you need to be a Runnin' Rebel."
Despite the star-studded freshman class, the team is loaded with upperclassmen and has more 5th year players than underclassmen. The team says that maturity will help them.
"That's what we have here. We have juniors and seniors. We have experience. We have guys that came from Power 5. They know what it takes to win," said UNLV Guard Justin Webster. "They've seen it, they've seen the high level of it, I've seen what it takes to win in this conference."
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels will open the season on Nov. 8 at the Thomas & Mack Center against Southern University.
