Strip mining

This is not a good season for college basketball in Los Angeles, surely not a good time for fans to get picky about the details.

With no Bruins in the NCAA tournament, no Trojans or 49ers in sight, the situation calls for a little geographic flexibility.

So if San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara seem too far-fetched, consider cheering for the Runnin’ Rebels of Nevada Las Vegas.

Their campus lies about four hours to the northeast, not much farther than Chino at rush hour.

Their roster includes four City Section players, plus another who competed in youth basketball here.

And UNLV -- seeded eighth in the Midwest Regional, facing Northern Iowa in a first-round game at Oklahoma City on Thursday -- will gladly share the March Madness.

“Vegas and L.A.,” junior forward Matt Shaw said. “We can handle two cities.”

It seems only fair given how much the Rebels, in their current incarnation, owe to Southern California.

Shaw started things off by arriving from Los Angeles Fairfax High three years ago. Tre’Von Willis followed shortly thereafter, a transfer from Memphis who grew up in Fresno and knew the Los Angeles guys from various basketball camps.

Then came guard Oscar Bellfield out of Westchester High.

“I mean, Westchester and Fairfax, that’s a rivalry,” Bellfield said. “I never expected to be playing with somebody from Fairfax, playing on the same team.”

Neighborhood feuds mean nothing to Coach Lon Kruger, who has targeted Southern California, gaining momentum with each convert he has lured to the desert.

“The players are our best recruiters,” Kruger said. “When a prospect comes to town, it’s the players who sell them.”

That’s what happened with another Fairfax alumnus, Chace Stanback, who decided to leave UCLA after a freshman season spent mainly on the bench. He was leaning toward Washington or North Carolina State until Shaw, his high school buddy, persuaded him to stop by Las Vegas.

“I saw a lot of familiar faces here,” Stanback recalled. “That definitely was a positive.”

The lanky 6-foot-8 forward committed immediately and, after sitting out a year, has become the team’s leading rebounder and a sneaky-good defender.

The Rebels needed that sort of help after losing three starters from last season.

Bellfield runs the offense at point guard and backcourt mate Willis has established himself as the go-to scorer. Shaw, who lost his starting job because of a midseason ankle sprain, is returning to health and providing muscle off the bench.

The Rebels also expect to get valuable minutes from Justin Hawkins, a freshman from Woodland Hills Taft High.

Shaw figures that players who grow up in the same area and have some mutual history are bound to form a cohesive team.

“We have kind of the same personalities,” he said. “It’s always easier when you know people and you’re closer to them, just to have that bond on the court.”

This closeness translated into a 25-8 record, including victories over Louisville, Brigham Young and New Mexico, all nationally ranked at the time.

The Rebels, who flitted in and out of the top 25, play an efficient offense, ranking among the nation’s best teams in assists and turnover margin. At the other end of the floor, they had the best field-goal-percentage defense in the Mountain West Conference.

“Willis has obviously come into his own, but they’re sharing the ball a lot better than they did a year ago,” Wyoming Coach Heath Schroyer said. “They’re all very talented and I think they have very good chemistry.”

The guys from Los Angeles also share a common motivation, having grown up around Pacific 10 basketball. Bellfield explains: “That’s the big conference . . . that’s where a lot of us wanted to go.”

They’ve already exacted some revenge.

Though the Rebels lost to USC early in the season, they defeated Arizona and are one of four Mountain West teams to make the tournament, compared to two from the glitzier Pac-10.

A victory or two in the early rounds could solidify the upstart’s reputation.

“The Mountain West is picking up,” Bellfield said. “We want to keep this going.”

Maybe that’s why Stanback, as a refugee from the coast, seems reticent to share the good times.

“We’re in Vegas,” he said. “This is a Vegas team and we’re playing for Vegas.”

His coach is more generous.

With Southern Californians accounting for about half of his rotation, Kruger intends to continue scouring the area for talent.

And with Los Angeles woefully underrepresented in the NCAA tournament this season, he wants fans to know there is plenty of room on the UNLV bandwagon.

“The more the merrier,” he said. “Come on aboard.”

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david.wharton@latimes.com

twitter.com/latimeswharton

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BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

Southern California Rebels

At Nevada Las Vegas, players who grew up in and around Southern California account for three starters and half of a 10-deep rotation:

CHACE STANBACK

So., F, 6-8, 210, Fairfax High

Stanback leads the team in rebounds (5.8 a game) and steals (1.58) and is the second-leading scorer (10.7 points). In his first season since transferring from UCLA, he was named to the Mountain West Conference’s all-defensive team.

OSCAR BELLFIELD

So., G, 6-2, 185, Westchester High

Starting in the backcourt, Bellfield leads the team with 4.8 assists a game and is averaging 9.2 points. Coach Lon Kruger said: “Oscar has given us good direction and good leadership at the point guard spot. He’s taken really good care of the ball.”

TRE’VON WILLIS

Jr., G, 6-4, 195, Fresno Washington Union High

The Rebels count on Willis for offensive punch. Averaging 17.3 points and 3.9 rebounds, he was named to the Mountain West all-conference and all-defensive teams.

MATT SHAW

Jr. F, 6-8, 240, Fairfax High

Shaw used his size and strength to earn a starting spot but sprained his ankle during warmups last month. He returned for the Mountain West tournament and is averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds.

JUSTIN HAWKINS

Fr., G, 6-3, 190, Woodland Hills Taft High

An unexpected contributor, Hawkins is averaging 12.5 minutes off the bench in his first season with the Rebels. His 25 steals and seven blocked shots fit right in with a team that plays tough defense.