UNLV basketball has four different jerseys, but there’s one that’s set aside from the rest. The sight of it alone can give the players an extra bounce to their step because the Rebels, like most college teams around the country, love the way they look in black.

UNLV alternates between its white and gray jerseys at home. Like they did last season, the team will also alternate on the road between its traditional scarlet and those ballyhooed black uniforms. The schedule works out so that UNLV’s first three games in black will likely be at California, at North Carolina and at San Diego State.

According to my amateur count, the Rebels went 3-4 in black last season, including a victory against the Tar Heels and a loss at the Aztecs’ Viejas Arena. They’re hoping for some better results in their favorite duds this time around.

Redshirt decision coming soon

The question isn’t hard to answer — there are only two real candidates — so it’s actually more about figuring out when the decision is coming.

UNLV is playing a closed scrimmage at UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 3, and then it returns to the Thomas & Mack Center for its lone exhibition game against Dixie State on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The final decision will likely be made in between those games since the selected player can still play in that Dixie State game no matter what.

The two likely candidates are forward Demetris Morant and guard Daquan Cook, both freshmen. All signs point to Morant being the guy since he’s very unlikely to see the court this year behind a loaded front court and could use the time to both bulk up and work on his offensive game.

Rice said he will likely redshirt just one guy because of the numbers. He has 13 scholarship players, but Roscoe Smith is sitting out due to transfer rules, Khem Birch isn’t eligible until mid-December and redshirting one guy gives him 10 total for what he wants to be a nine-man rotation.

Cook can be an emergency point guard if Anthony Marshall and Katin Reinhardt get into foul trouble or get hurt, plus he can get experience running the offense at the end of blowouts, especially early in the year.

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Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.