A Goodman cometh

Just when you thought that the Runnin' Rebels were set for the 2012-13 season, Dave Rice and his staff struck gold one more time on Friday.

UNLV continued its incredible offseason by picking up a commitment from four-star forward Savon Goodman, of Constitution High School in Philadelphia.

Goodman, who was one of the last seven players still undecided in the Rivals Top150, made his decision after taking an official visit to Las Vegas this week.

Originally committed to Villanova, Goodman chose the Runnin' Rebel program over a number of schools, including Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, St. John's, SMU and Temple.

"We are excited about Savon joining ourprogram," Rice said. "He is a winner and brings great energy on everypossession. He can guard multiple positions and will be explosive in ourtransition game. He has a tremendous work ethic and we look forward tohis development over the next many seasons."

Despite there being questions regarding Goodman's true position at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, but there has never been any doubting the effort that Goodman competes with. He is a force on both the defensive end and the rebounding front, which are both areas that he could help the Rebels immediately.

Ranked No. 72 nationally, Goodman will help bring the toughness that lacked throughout the course of last season. His wide frame and tremendous athletic ability has been his calling card throughout his high school and AAU career. That rugged play was recognized by Rivals whenever they ranked him fifth in his class of players that would excel on the football field.

Goodman's arrival strengthens a UNLV frontcourt that is already being lauded as one of the nation's strongest with Mike Moser, Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, Roscoe Smith, Carlos Lopez and Quintrell Thomas already on the roster.

Rice has given the Rebels a completely new look heading into next season with only five players that earned letters a year ago back in his second year. Of those new members, six of the eight were ranked four-star players or higher. And Demetris Morant and DaQuan Cook each received a three-star rating.