Nov. 12, 2000

LAS VEGAS - Life in the city of Las Vegas is a 180-degree turn from life in the Baltic country of Latvia. But that never scared UNLV big man Kaspars Kambala at all. He has conquered Vegas, and now looks to do so in college basketball's national scene.

Kambala, a Preseason Top 50 Candidate for the 2000-2001 John R. Wooden Award and Top 25 candidate for the Naismith Award, will be on cbs.sportsline.com this Monday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific to chat about playing for the Rebels, the Mountain West Conference and what his team's and personal goals are.

Kambala, a native of Riga, Latvia, returns for his fourth season at UNLV. His 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game led all Rebel scorers last season.

This season, Kambala has been named the MWC's Top Returning Player and was selected to the All-MWC Preseason Team. He has appeared in 85 career games at UNLV, started 80, and he has averaged 14.4 points (1,226 total points) and 7.9 rebounds (667 total) in 2,194 minutes, 17th-best in UNLV history.