Correction added.
Jahii Carson loves playing in Las Vegas.
The ASU redshirt sophomore point guard played four games there last year — two at the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational and two at the Pac-12 Tournament — and averaged 26 points per game and five assists and also shot 57 percent from the field. Carson also went back over the summer to participate in the LeBron James Skills Academy as a way to boost his NBA Draft stock.
“It’s a bright lights, big city thing,” Carson said. “It’s the energy that the city brings, so I try to live up to the hype that they have and just be exciting.”
Carson makes his fourth business trip there in less than a full year as the Sun Devils (3-0) head to UNLV on Tuesday for their first road game of the season.
The Runnin’ Rebels (2-1) are an ideal team that ASU wants to face. UNLV made the NCAA Tournament last year, and the Sun Devils consider this road game as their first audition for their own journey of making it to the Big Dance.
“It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “UNLV is an excellent team. They have outstanding personnel.”
Despite the Runnin’ Rebels’ résumé, they haven’t had a hot start to their season. UNLV fell to UC Santa Barbara 86-65 on Nov. 12 and also lost an exhibition match to Dixie State 71-70 on Nov. 1.
UNLV only returns five players from last year (two being starters), but the Runnin’ Rebels have no shortage of talent. Junior guard Bryce Dejean-Jones returns and has put up 12 points and five rebounds per game. The Rebels got a huge transfer from Fresno State just before the season started in senior guard Kevin Olekaibe, who leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game.
UNLV junior forward Roscoe Smith is averaging 14.7 rebounds a game for a team that grabs 43.3 boards per night.
“They’re just really athletic at every position,” Sendek said. “Their two-guard (Olekaibe) is a phenomenal shooter when he played at Fresno State, and he is just a lights-out shooter. He’s capable, on any occasion, of scoring 30 or more points. Bryce Jones is an electrifying athlete at the three, and their front court right now is posting amazing rebounding numbers."
Carson was on the same AAU basketball club, the Compton Magic, as Dejean-Jones when they were younger and said he will enjoy the opportunity of going up against an old friend.
“He was athlete,” Carson said. “He was a freak of nature. He dominated AAU basketball for a period of time. … I’m ready for him.”
The Sun Devils have held their last three opponents to 58.3 points per game, so the emphasis for ASU in this game is to limit a team with formidable talent on offense.
“We definitely have to work on our man-to-man defense and be packed in the lane, because they’re a drive-first team,” Carson said. “We just got to be cautious about their ability to make plays for each other and keep our defense pat.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a previous version of this article contained the incorrect score of UNLV's loss to UC Santa Barbara. The story has been updated with the correct score.
