Tramel's ScissorTales: UNLV quickly becoming Oklahoma's surrogate college basketball team

Nevada-Las Vegas already had ties to the state of Oklahoma.

A dozen years ago, the Sooners got Lon Kruger from UNLV, and that’s a gift that gave a long time. Kruger’s son, Kevin, a former OU assistant, was named the Running Rebels’ head coach two Aprils ago.

Kevin Kruger’s first two seasons finished with 18-14 and 19-13 records, including a combined 17-19 in the Mountain West Conference.

But help is on the way, from the state of Oklahoma.

OU’s Jalen Hill and OSU’s Kalib Boone both have committed to UNLV via the transfer portal, and Keylan Boone, Kalib’s twin who played three years at OSU before transferring to Pacific last season, also will join the Rebels. The Boone brothers are from Tulsa Memorial.

Hill, who grew up in Las Vegas, played two years for Lon Kruger at OU, then two years for Porter Moser. Hill is a 6-foot-6 versatile player, a premium defender who was solid offensively.

More: Kalib Boone's road to OSU basketball was full of personal chaos, but he's still smiling

“It feels great to be back home,” Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “My family is here. My friends are here. Just being able to represent not just myself but the school and my friends and family is something anybody would want. I’m just glad I can do that.”

Kalib Boone was a four-year contributor in Stillwater who at times was great – he made second-team all-Big 12 this past season – but who also got in Mike Boynton’s doghouse.

"Kalib is a great addition,” Kevin Kruger said. “He brings a wealth of experience and production, and is a threat at the rim offensively, but also protects the rim on the defensive end. He has improved every aspect of his game each year throughout his career, and we are extremely excited for that to continue this coming season."

Keylan Boone didn’t play nearly as much at OSU as did his brother, but Keylan seemed to blossom at Pacific, averaging 23.1 minutes and 13.9 points a game, and he raised his 3-point percentage from .308 in three OSU years to .410 at Pacific.

“His career resume really speaks for itself with the success that he had at both Oklahoma State and Pacific,” Kruger said.

So there you go, Oklahomans. A surrogate team if next college basketball season doesn’t go your way.

More: OU men's basketball lands Siena guard Javian McCollum via transfer portal

The List: OU spring game scoring

Brent Venables says his OU football team doesn’t have enough healthy offensive linemen to stage a separate-teams spring game, which is a common reason for spring games becoming scrimmages. Like Saturday at Owen Field.

So the spring game is offense vs. defense, with a funky scoring system. Here are the most unconventional elements of that system:

1. Offense gets two points for a punt: Seems like this is sending the wrong message. “Hey, at least we didn’t commit a turnover.”

2. Defense gets four points for a made field goal: What? Rewarding the defense for allowing a field goal? A made field goal is never a badge of honor for a defense unless 1) it’s late in the game and you’re up three; or 2) your defense totally stinks.

3. Defense gets 12 points for a defensive touchdown: This creates a great question. Are defensive touchdowns worth more than six points in terms of momentum and game impact? What’s the won-loss record for teams that produce a defensive touchdown? I’ll bet it’s way above .750.

4. Defense gets two points for a failed two-point conversion: Hey, maybe we’ve stumbled onto something here. With the proliferation of offense, should football put a little risk in going for two? Maybe a 2-point stop isn’t worth two points, but how about one point? I’m just spitballing here, but it sounds promising.

5. Defense gets three points for a sack and two points for a pass breakup: Squishy in real life (not all pass breakups are easily recognizable) and squishy in spring games (quick whistles create phantom sacks).

More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Will hard times lead to success for Brent Venables, OU football?

Thunder report card: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl began his second NBA season strong. He started 18 of the Thunder’s first 27 games, averaging 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 21.1 minutes a game. But a severe ankle sprain caused JRE to miss 29 straight games, and when he returned, his effectiveness and playing time were curtailed. Over the final 27 Thunder games, Robinson-Earl averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds.

We continue our series of Thunder individual report cards, and today is Robinson-Earl, who clearly has fallen behind rookie Jaylin Williams on the Thunder’s future plans at center.

Rebounding: C. The 6-foot-8 Robinson-Earl is an undersized center. That doesn’t mean the Thunder can afford to get hammered on the boards when he’s in the game. JRE’s rebound rate of 11.9 (percentage of available rebounds he grabbed while on the floor) is barely above average for all players; centers must be higher. Williams’ was 14.1. Among Thunder post men, Robinson-Earl outrebounded only Darius Bazley and Mike Muscala, both traded in February. JRE’s rebounding percentage of .389 on rebounds contested by one other player is not terrible.

3-point shooting: C. Robinson-Earl's only way of staying in the league is to make a decent amount of 3-point shots. A situational big man can help teams if they can get in the way on defense and make 3’s. But JRE this season made just 33.3% of his deep shots, after making 35.2% as a rookie. That’s the wrong direction. And it’s not like Robinson-Earl didn’t get in the right spots. He took 35% of his 3’s from the corners this season, up from last year, but his percentage went down (.348 to .333).

Shot selection: A. Robinson-Earl is a fundamentally sound player. He took zero contested 3-point shots all season, and 57.2% of his overall shots were what the NBA calls open (nearest defender 4-6 feet) or wide open (6 feet or more). But JRE made just 61.2 percent of his shots from 0-3 feet, third-worst on the Thunder, behind only Luguentz Dort and Bazley. Robinson-Earl's problem was not the shots, but the making.

Defense: C. Robinson-Earl neither blocks shots (11, in 814 minutes) nor draws offensive fouls (two all season). But his man-up defense wasn’t bad. Opponents made 61.5% of their shots from the restricted area, when guarded by JRE. He’s not as switchable as, say, Bazley was, but he wasn’t terrible.

Ball protection: A. Robinson-Earl committed just 19 turnovers all season. His turnover rate of 6.7 was fourth-best on the team, as was his assist-to-turnover ratio 2½:1. Like previously noted, he’s a fundamentally sound player, just not particularly a playmaker.

More: Thunder's Mark Daigneault finishes second to Kings' Mike Brown for NBA Coach of the Year

Mailbag: Lament of a fan

The new-age NCAA landscape has some fans questioning their commitment. The transfer portal and name, image and likeness has taken a toll on some fans’ view of their beloved sports.

Lee: “Got to thinking about the Red-White game Saturday. I will be there but am beginning to ask why. I have been a season- ticket holder since 1966, back when it was the Varsity-Alumni game. It was a real game, and the Alumni won their share. The current athletes loved being on the field with their heroes. The stands were packed. The “system” has turned college sports into D-League teams. Why get to know the players when such a large number will not be there next year? I feel like the fans have been used, but I will be there Saturday and next season and for basketball (may be lonely in the stands} and for the WCWS, but my loyalty is weakening.”

Tramel: Actually, the stands were not packed for the Varsity-Alumni Game. Those games typically drew 15,000-20,000. Only in recent years, long after the alumni format, have massive crowds been coming out for OU spring games, climaxed by the 75,000 at the 2022 game.

I agree, connection with the players is an issue. As I wrote in the Thursday ScissorTales, only 25 scholarship players remain from the 2021 OU football squad. But football was a tough sell anyway on connectivity. You didn’t come to know the players from yesteryear all that well, either, even if they were three- or four-year players.

They play relatively few games, they are covered by massive equipment and only in the last 30-40 years have all the games been televised.

The players from the 1950s and 1970s were as much mythic figures as anything.

I get it. This new age is new. We don’t like new. We like things the way they were. But the new age doesn’t have to be bad.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: UNLV Runnin' Rebels is becoming Oklahoma's college basketball team