No fear

Victoria Sun

Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 | 10:28 a.m.

John Thompson is gone. So is Rollie Massimino.

When the UNLV men's basketball team plays Georgetown at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time P.T. and P.M. (post-Thompson and post-Massimino), there will be a lot at stake for the Rebels -- pride and a season-opening three-game winning streak.

After the Rebels easily disposed of Mississippi Valley State, Fairfield and Nevada-Reno, the Hoyas (2-2), of the Big East Conference, will pose the first real test of the season for UNLV.

"We know they're going to be physical," said UNLV point guard Mark Dickel. "They're tough and they battle hard.

"We respect them, but we don't fear them."

The Hoyas (2-2) already have been challenged by some of the nation's top teams. Georgetown lost 85-79 to fourth-ranked North Carolina and 72-62 to sixth-ranked Florida in the Maui Invitational earlier this week.

The team is trying to rebuild from a tumultuous season that included Thompson's unexpected resignation in January after a tenure that lasted 26 1/2 years, leaving assistant Craig Esherick in charge.

The Hoyas were 15-16 last year and endured their first losing season since Thompson's first as head coach.

Under Esherick, the team will try to regain its status as one of the powerhouses of the Big East, something the Rebels are well aware of.

"We've got to change the perception of our team so that people look at us on their schedule like they would look at a Georgetown," Dickel said. "That comes with beating those types of teams.

"I definitely see them as a favorite coming in even though this is our home court so we've got to go out there and prove ourselves and play hard."

The Hoyas are young but talented enough to avoid a repeat of last season's shortcomings. The first Georgetown name that comes to mind is Ruben Boumtje Boumtje.

Boumtje Boumtje is a strong, athletic presence in the middle who can score, block shots and grab rebounds. Although he had a poor game against the Gators, he had 16 points and five rebounds against North Carolina big man Brendan Haywood.

UNLV center Kaspars Kambala says he looks forward to the chance to match up against Boumtje Boumtje.

At least this time, the Hoyas probably won't triple team him like Nevada-Reno did.

"I'm sure you have an aura about you, more enthusiasm when you get ready for Georgetown," Kambala said. "In those games it's more of playing against different players and seeing how you do against them.

"That'll be nice if I could just go one-on-one against someone instead of having three guys on me. We'll just see what happens."

With a year of experience, Hoyas point guard Kevin Braswell has shown a lot of potential. In four games, he has led the team with 16.3 points and 5.1 assists per game.

Two local standouts -- freshman guards Demetrius Hunter, a graduate of Cheyenne High School, and sharp-shooting Jason Burns out of Durango High School -- will return to Las Vegas in Georgetown uniforms.

"We didn't recruit Burns," UNLV coach Bill Bayno said. "Hunter we recruited, but he was hurt so much his junior year that it was hard for us to get a feel for how he would be.

"And then we had some young guards coming in. I think Demetrius is going to be a great player. He's a great kid and I wish him well."

In eight previous meetings against Georgetown, UNLV has lost six times.

"Right now, I'm just worried about making us a better team," Bayno added. "Georgetown is very athletic. They are going to try to get you to play out of control. I just think handling their pressure and trying to battle them on the boards is going to be very important."

The last time the teams met was on Jan. 8, 1994, in Washington, D.C., when Thompson matched wits with Massimino. Georgetown won 78-67.