A Long-Shot : The Walk-On Who Could, Simi Valley’s Bice Emerges as Valued Contributor at UNLV

Yes, as a matter of fact, Travis Bice has seen stars in Las Vegas. But not the kind who strut around in gaudy sequined outfits at the midnight cocktail show.

No, the ones Bice witnessed were dancing around the University of Nevada Las Vegas track in the blistering 120-degree heat of summer.

There was Bice, trying to survive conditioning laps (Was this how they were nicknamed “Runnin’ Rebels?”) on his first day of training with the basketball team when the stars first appeared; sure signs, he believed, that he was about to become a dead man.

“It just about killed me,” Bice said, recalling the workout with a pained expression more than two years later. “I remember crawling to my car to go home thinking, ‘That was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.’

“Then, in October, practice started with Coach (Jerry) Tarkanian and I realized I hadn’t seen the worst.”

So what, a cynic might say, had he expected as a walk-on at UNLV? The school’s basketball team was ranked higher in national polls than Bice was in the pecking order on his team at Simi Valley High.

Sure, Sean DeLaittre, a high-scoring Pioneer forward who now plays a prominent role at Valley College, and UCLA-bound Don MacLean, the 6-10 center, were worthy of marquee billing. But who expected Bice, 6-foot-3 and as thin as a free casino drink, ever to run with the Rebels?

You sure that was Tarkanian on the phone, Travis? Sounded a lot like Allen Funt.

“It was a big deal that Coach Tark called my house,” Bice said. “People didn’t even believe that.”

Well, if it’s any consolation--and it is to Bice--they do now.

There he is, looking forever like a spindly-legged kid dressed in his father’s boxers, playing on national television at Oklahoma, then, two weeks later, scoring a team-high 19 points in a victory over Iowa.

“I can understand people being surprised,” Bice said. “It’s really a surprise to me too.

“When I look at things like everyone else, that I’m playing in front of 20,000 people for one of the top five teams in the country . . . Well, it gets pretty eerie when you look at it like that.”

Truth be told, Bice, a redshirt sophomore, has fit right in with the Rebels. Witness his recent brush with the NCAA as evidence.

Bice was one of six players suspended for a game last month when the NCAA discovered that they had made unauthorized long-distance phone calls and charged room service at a hotel during a road trip.

It was alleged that Bice had not dutifully reimbursed the school for the price of dessert and a phone call, a sum reportedly in the range of $5.

As understudy to Anderson Hunt, UNLV’s shooting guard, Bice’s role is to dial long distance if the local lines to Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and David Butler, the Rebels’ front-line trio of All-American candidates, happen to be tied up.

“Our emphasis is to push the ball inside,” Tarkanian said. “But if a team tries to take that away, we just kick it back outside. That’s where Travis comes in. He’s a good enough shooter to make them pay.”

Indeed, Bice is a dead-eye from outside the three-point stripe, having made 29 of 53 attempts. Overall, he is shooting 51% and averaging 5.3 points in 13 minutes of action per game.

And therein lies the trait that distinguishes Bice from UNLV walk-ons of years past: He plays and contributes.

“To make the team isn’t that difficult, we’ve always had a walk-on on our team,” Tarkanian said. “But rarely ever do they become a player, that’s the difference. Travis has a big role on our ballclub.”

Bice was a true walk-on for less than two months. He paid his own way when he enrolled at UNLV in September, 1987, but by the end of October Tarkanian had put him on scholarship.

It was more a gesture of kindness than anything else. “I liked his work ethic,” Tarkanian said. “I never really thought he’d get a chance to play. But before the year was over, we liked some of the things we saw.”

Bice played only 99 minutes over 17 games his first season, scoring 33 points. But in the off-season, he continued to make points with the coach by adopting strict practice habits.

Tarkanian rewarded the show of dedication by asking Bice to redshirt the next season. Bice took the offer in the manner in which it was intended--as a compliment.

“I knew he wouldn’t redshirt me if he didn’t think I was a player,” Bice said. “I needed that extra year.”

Already a polished jump-shot artist, Bice spent much of his redshirt season developing his culinary skills in addition to working on his ballhandling and defense.

Upon arrival at UNLV, Bice, then 6-3 1/2, weighed in at 138 pounds. Since then, he has gone to great lengths--in both the weight room and the dining room--to bulk up.

An extensive off-season weightlifting program and the consumption of roughly 6,000 calories a day have netted an extra 14 pounds. However, since Bice also has grown an inch, he still casts a meager shadow.

“I still try to gain weight, but I don’t worry about it so much anymore,” Bice said. “Now I know I can do without it.”

He also knows now that he belongs at UNLV, something he wasn’t sure of at first.

“This is what I always wanted to do since I was a small boy,” said Bice, who was recruited by a handful of Division II schools. “But I wouldn’t stay here for five years to sit. I would have left if I didn’t get a chance.”

Since Hunt, who is third on the team with a 15.3 scoring average, is also a sophomore, Bice faces the prospect of staying a reserve in his final two seasons. But he’s not complaining.

“The way Coach Tark is, being a reserve doesn’t really mean anything,” Bice said. “You can still get 20 minutes a game as the sixth man.

“All things considered, I’d be happy to do that.”