UNLV’s opponents still likely to hound Kambala

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2000 | 9:48 a.m.

In theory, the Rebels will probably be a better outside shooting team this season.

In reality, center Kaspars Kambala says he and UNLV opponents will believe it when they see it.

That's not a knock on Lou Kelly or Jermaine Lewis, newcomers who are expected to bolster the Rebels' perimeter offense. It's just that Kambala has grown so accustomed to being the focus of opposing defenses, he doesn't want to be caught unprepared if reality doesn't quite live up to theory.

Hence, Kambala is figuring on another season of being routinely double- and triple-teamed, whether he likes it or not.

"I think I will be doubled as much or maybe more than last season," the Rebels' 6-foot-9 center said. "There is no question we have shooters, but other teams are going to make us prove it first. Teams aren't going to respect our shooting until we have four or five games where we're knocking down shots and developing that reputation.

"Until then, teams will still say, 'Make their guards beat us.' They are going to make us shoot a 3 instead of giving me a layup every time."

Though the Rebels shot only 31.6 percent on 3-pointers last season, the strategy didn't work especially well for opponents anyway. UNLV went 23-8, placed seventh in Division I scoring with 82.2 points per game, and Kambala still finished second in the Mountain West with 18.6 per game.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that most UNLV opponents were more willing to let Mark Dickel or Trevor Diggs take a semi-open jumper than allow Kambala to work against single coverage under the basket. There were few Mountain West big men who could handle him in the low post.

New Mexico tried to guard Kambala one-on-one in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 17 and he lit up the Lobos for a career-high 32 points and 18 rebounds in UNLV's 85-73 victory at The Pit. The rest of the MWC took a cue from that game and Kambala rarely received as much offensive elbow room thereafter.

Like Kambala, coach Bill Bayno hopes that improved outside shooting will force defenses to make tough decisions on how to guard the Rebels. But he's not counting on it right away.

"We will still see a lot of double-teams," Bayno said. "I think teams are going to take their chances on getting beat from 22 feet as opposed to Kas going one-on-one. But it will vary from team to team.

"With the outside shooting we have, there might not be as big a burden on Kas. For us to be good, he might not have to (average) 19 points again."

To hone his skills, Kambala attended the Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Hawaii for the second straight summer. He thinks his passing will have to be crisper, because if defenses continue to collapse on him, he will need to rifle the ball to the open man on the perimeter.

Bayno is less concerned about Kambala's offense than his improvement on the other end.

"For his development and our success, he needs to work on his defense," Bayno said. "He has always been an unstoppable scorer. Now I'm challenging him to be a defensive stopper.

"We could feed off that this year. We'll get a charge of energy when he's blocking shots, taking charges and being able to shut his man down. That's the challenge I have issued for him this year, and he has shown signs of getting better."