Devastated by football departures, MWC has potential star in UNLV hoops - Examiner.com

Sports, like entertainment, is driven by its stars.

Back in 1993, a show that would go on to become one of the longest running series in television history made its debut. NYPD Blue chronicled the lives of police detectives in the fictional 15th precinct in Manhattan.

Though the program featured a talented ensemble cast, it quickly became apparent that the show’s breakout star was the intense, red headed character actor David Caruso.

Immediately, the show became a hit with both audiences and critics, and Caruso, in particular, was on the receiving end of much of that acclaim.

However, despite the new show’s tremendous success, Caruso, after just one season, chose to leave NYPD Blue due to a salary dispute.

NYPD Blue suddenly found itself in need of a new star…a situation that the Mountain West Conference can certainly relate to these days.

Last Saturday, Boise State pulled a David Caruso when it officially withdrew from the Mountain West, clearing the way for the Broncos to join the Big East as a football-only member following the 2012-13 academic year.

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Boise State’s departure marks the fourth time in recent years that a highly visible, perennial top 25 football program has left the MWC.

Now the Mountain West â€" for years a poster child for smaller conferences whose success proved a threat to powerful BCS leagues who wanted to keep the Bowl Championship Series money all to themselves â€" will soon be without that high profile, marketable superstar to build around.

Or will they?

Even though football is clearly the money making engine that drives college athletics, the time may be ripe for the Mountain West Conference to embrace, and to shine an even brighter light on, its next potential breakout star.

That star is the UNLV basketball team.

If the goal of any non-major conference is to make noise nationally â€" like Utah’s pair of BCS busters, or TCU’s Rose Bowl champs, or even Jimmermania â€" then the Mountain West program with the best chance of creating national headlines is Dave Rice’s Runnin’ Rebels.

You could frankly argue that they’re already making them.

Despite being on the job for just over a year, Rice has put together a roster that has UNLV fans talking Final Four.

No fewer than eight new players have been added to UNLV’s roster for the 2012-13 season, including a top ten national recruiting class headlined by McDonald’s All-American Anthony Bennett and dazzling top 40 combo guard Katin Reinhardt.

In addition, Rice has brought in a trio of transfers, all of whom are expected make huge impacts for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Pitt transfer Khem Birch â€" like Bennett, a former McDonald’s All-American â€" gives UNLV the shot blocking presence Rice & Co. so desperately needed, and Bryce Jones, who played his freshman season at USC, is considered by many within the Runnin’ Rebel program to be the team’s most gifted offensive player.

Back in May, UNLV also added Roscoe Smith, a starter on UConn's 2011 national championship team, though Smith's eligibility for the 2012-13 season hinges on an NCAA waiver request.

Combine that haul of newcomers with a core of returnees that includes All-American candidate Mike Moser, all-conference guard Anthony Marshall, and senior defensive wizard Justin Hawkins, and it’s easy to see why the excitement surrounding UNLV basketball is at a level not seen since the Runnin’ Rebels’ early-nineties apex.

Following Caruso’s departure from NYPD Blue after just one season, producers turned much of the show’s focus on the character played by veteran actor Dennis Franz. Not only did NYPD Blue’s run continue for another eleven seasons, Franz went on to claim four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Detective Andy Sipowicz.

As the Mountain West goes about rebuilding a football conference devastated by the loss of its top four programs, focusing on what is sure to remain a strong and deep basketball league, headlined by a program that appears to be on the cusp of great things, might well be the league’s best bet for remaining nationally relevant.

And who knows? Like Dennis Franz on NYPD Blue, maybe it’ll even yield a trophy or two along the way.