FirstLook means basketball
season is closing in

October 15, 2009 by Noam Amir-Brownstein 

Rebels have their annual preseason tip-off on Friday

The first day college basketball teams can begin official practice for the upcoming season is Friday, Oct. 16.

The Rebels will, for the second straight year, provide fans with the opportunity to witness the first practice, at a free event they call FirstLook, at the Thomas & Mack Center at 9 p.m.
This event, although before last year, was not around since the days of Tarkanian in the early 90s, but last year’s event brought in almost 4,000 fans, which was a great kickoff to a season that would see some of the nation’s largest crowds for the season.

UNLV rose to 22nd in the nation in home attendance and became No. 1 on the West Coast.
Fans are encouraged to not only wear red at the game, but all day long.

Doors for FirstLook open at 8:15 and concessions will be available. This year’s event will feature an increased amount of team and individual drills to allow fans to see more of the team, which has eight players that did not play in a game last season.

Among these events, there will be a shooting competition and for a finale, the team will scrimmage each other, hoping to create a game-like atmosphere.

The Runnin’ Rebels were recently picked to finish third in the Moutain West Conference in the preseason media poll, but players, coaches and students alike all are hoping to disappoint first-ranked BYU and second-ranked San Diego State and finish better than the predictions.

Two players that received preseason recognition are Tre’von Willis and Derek Jasper. Willis was given the honor of being named to the preseason all-conference team while Jasper was selected as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

With high expectations from both the team and fans, the Rebels hope for a successful season to kick start with FirstLook.