UNLV alums Augmon, Anthony become stoppers for Blazers

Landon Hall

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nearly a decade after UNLV ran roughshod over college basketball, two stars from that team find themselves in pursuit of another title.

Greg Anthony and Stacey Augmon are still the best defenders on their team, but their roles are decidedly different as reserves for the Portland Trail Blazers.

They have emerged from a crowded Blazers roster to become the crunch-time leaders for a team with the NBA's best record (27-6).

Often they're playing crucial minutes in the fourth quarter while starting guards Damon Stoudamire and Isaiah Rider -- and their combined annual salaries of $13.8 million -- ride the bench.

"They were two of the best defensive players we ever had," said former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, who coached Anthony and Augmon when the Rebels won the national title in 1990. "It started with Greg pressuring the ball, and Stacey taking the other team's best scorer out of the game. They were two tough guys. They understand what hard work meant."

Last Saturday, in a hard-fought 98-93 victory over Phoenix, Anthony scored a season-high 17 points and Augmon hit two big shots late, including a jumper with 1:53 left that put the Blazers ahead for good. Stoudamire sat the final 15:40 of the game, Rider the last 16:34.

The night before against Seattle, Anthony held Gary Payton scoreless for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, and Augmon had two steals in the period as the Blazers forced 10 Seattle turnovers and went on to win 107-95.

Perhaps their best late-game performance was in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 21, when Anthony scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and contained Allen Iverson, the league's leading scorer. Augmon, meanwhile, had season highs of 10 points and seven rebounds and shut down Sixers point guard Eric Snow.

"We had four or five possessions in a row where, boom, boom, boom, they steal and we score," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It was tremendous."

The newfound success comes for players who are only a couple years removed from NBA obscurity.

Anthony, 31, was drafted by New York in 1991 and stayed there for four years, but then was shipped to Vancouver in the 1995 expansion draft. He put up his best numbers, averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 assists, but the Grizzlies won just 29 games in his two seasons there.

Augmon's career was revived when he was traded to the Blazers from Detroit in 1997. He had been a five-year starter for Atlanta, but was dealt to Detroit and traded six months later after a shouting match with fiery coach Doug Collins.