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Do you feel a draft?

Play for UNLV. Go to the pros. It happens more than you think

Damon Hodge

Thu, May 8, 2008 (12:53 p.m.)

Let’s face it: UNLV will probably never reach Trojan (USC) heights in football, win as many NCAA hoops titles as UCLA (11), or fashion a college baseball dynasty like Louisiana State University. The best we can hope for is another national hoops crown in the near future. No pressure, Lon Kruger, no pressure.

However, we (and that means all you transplants still clinging to your hometown universities) shouldn’t be fooled by UNLV’s middling athletic rep. It may not have a lot of national titles in the trophy case (three in golf, one in hoops), but the school has quite the history of putting athletes in the big three sports into the pros.

Since 1967—back when UNLV was Nevada Southern University—107 former Rebels have been drafted by the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

A few former Rebels have actually transcended (albeit temporarily) their sports. Think the Ickey-shuffling tailback Elbert “Ickey” Woods or Larry Johnson’s cross-dressing, slam-dunking “Grandmama” persona. One alum, former quarterback Randall Cunningham, has Hall of Fame cred.

As expected, the majority of UNLV’s draftees played pro hoops—thanks, Coach Tark. Since Elburt Miller was taken in the seventh round of the 1967 draft by the Houston Rockets, 47 more Rebels have been selected, including 13 in the first round—starting with Ricky Sobers in 1975 (No. 16 by the Phoenix Suns). Three Rebels are currently on NBA rosters: Lou Amundsen, Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion (the former signed a free-agent contract and played last year with the Philadelphia 76ers; Banks and Marion played for the Miami Heat).

Okay, we all know it’s true: Rebel football stinks, and has for most of its 40-year existence. UNLV football has lost more games than it’s won (205-215-4). Despite paltry on-field performances, the program has placed 41 players in the NFL. The first was in 1972—wide receiver Nathaniel Hawkins went to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round. Last month, the Cleveland Browns picked linebacker Beau Bell in the fourth round. There are six Rebels currently on NFL rosters.

On the baseball front, UNLV has put 19 players in the pros, Dave LaRouche started the trend in 1967. Ryan Braun, National League Rookie of the Year for 2007, was the last Rebel drafted, in 2003 (he plays for the Milwaukee Brewers). So let this be a lesson to all fans: Today’s nondescript UNLV student-athlete could be tomorrow’s multimillionaire stud. So go show them some love, why don’t you?

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