Kelly promises not to ‘hold anything back’ this season

Steve Addy

Monday, Oct. 16, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

This season will be all about faith for UNLV's Lou Kelly.

Faith that his basketball skills are intact after more than a year off.

Faith that his surgically repaired foot is ready to absorb a full season of long practices and 30 minutes a game.

And faith in his teammates, because Kelly is quite unaccustomed to sharing the scoring load, and his instinct is to do everything himself just to make sure it is done right.

If Kelly can nurture and confirm his faith in those areas, he might fulfill some of the elevated expectations that were placed on hold last season, and the Rebels will be all the better for it.

A 6-foot-5 guard-forward from San Bernardino, Calif., Kelly played only 23 minutes over two games last season before being shelved with a broken right foot. Before Rebel fans could even get a good look at the midseason JC transfer, Kelly was reduced to a towel-waver on the bench.

Now the junior is awaiting this season with Christmas-morning anticipation.

"I'm going to play like it's my senior year. I'm going to go all-out," Kelly said Sunday as the Rebels wrapped up their first weekend of practice. "In my first game, look out. In my second game, look out. I'm not going to hold anything back. I have waited too long."

But that pressure is coming from Kelly himself, not coach Bill Bayno, who realizes it will take a while for Kelly to get back into game shape.

"He's got to catch up. He hasn't played in a year and a half, and no one is going to come right back on all cylinders," Bayno said. "Plus, he is playing at a higher level; this is not junior college. We don't want him to put pressure on himself. He'll eventually get his legs back and the shots will fall. But he's not superhuman."

Kelly looks to be in OK shape. His body is deceiving, because he is narrow and trim around the waist, but his upper body and arms seem round and fleshy. After a 3 1/2-hour workout Saturday, the Rebels went for three more hours Sunday, and Kelly felt he held up well.

"Running-wise, I think I am 100 percent. Jumping-wise, I still have a couple inches to go until I'm back to normal," he said. "But I won't be relying as much on athletic ability now. It used to be all alley-oops, tip-jams and 360 dunks. It's not that I'm worried about the foot, but I'll be a different kind of player now."

Likewise, the Rebels will be a different team if Kelly becomes the consistent perimeter shooter they lacked last season. Instead of defenders routinely double-teaming center Kaspars Kambala and taking their chances on Mark Dickel or Trevor Diggs beating them from the outside, their choice won't be as simple now.

Kelly has a long, deliberate stroke, but he probably has the best shooting range of anyone on the team, with the possible exception of incoming two-guard Jermaine Lewis. Teams might still lay on Kambala, but the Rebels feel they have enough shooters to make them pay.

"I'm the kind of player who can go get the ball at halfcourt, bring it up and get my shot without needing a pick," Kelly said. "I can post up, play the point or be a regular wing player. That's a tough defensive matchup for anybody.

"We are going to be better because we've got so many weapons. Teams won't be able to zone us, because Jermaine will make 10 3-pointers. I can shoot it, so can Trevor and (freshman) Lafonte Johnson will establish himself as a shooter."

Though he stops short of admitting to ballhogging tendencies, Kelly conceded that he has to develop confidence in his teammates. On his previous teams, the prevailing strategy was Let Lou Do It. If that becomes the case for UNLV, it will mean something has gone seriously wrong.

"So many teams I've been on, I have been the guy who had to score all the points, get the rebounds, make steals," Kelly said. "Now I've got teammates who can also do that. I have to let Kas get his touches and get himself into the game. The same with the other guys.

"Even though I always think I can score anytime, it doesn't have to be me all the time."

Getting Kelly to know when to take over and when to defer will be Bayno's balancing act.

"In junior college, Lou got all the shots and he had to score. He doesn't have to do that here," Bayno said. "He's one piece to the puzzle. He doesn't have to be any kind of savior. He knows that all he has to do is help us win."

"The coaches want (to redshirt) me and that's what I want," Scoggin said. "I will still have four years. I want to get back as strong as I was my junior year (of high school, before the injury)." ...

Chris Richardson missed weekend practices while tending to a family emergency in Texas and will return today. ...

The Rebels have too many players (18) to operate an efficient practice, so walk-ons Gene Brennan and Marques Jordan are taking only occasional reps.