UNLV targets small forward

Steve Addy

Wednesday, April 18, 2001 | 9:58 a.m.

To bolster their recruiting class in the late signing period, the Rebels are going after a "late bloomer."

Louis Amundson, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo., will arrive Friday for his official recruiting visit to UNLV, his coach said Tuesday.

NCAA rules prohibit Rebels coach Charlie Spoonhour from commenting about recruiting targets, but Monarch coach Ken Niven said UNLV will be Amundson's final college visit. He has offers from SMU, Tulsa and Pepperdine.

"I would love to see Louis go (to UNLV)," Niven said. "He's going to make up his mind next week after his visit."

Amundson, who weighs 195, averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds this past season. His early recruiting interest came from smallers schools -- Cal State-Riverside and Portland State -- but he gained more attention after making second team all-state in Colorado.

"He's a late bloomer," Niven said. "He's a leaper. He can really get up. There's some growth potential there, too.

"He has always played (small forward). He's never really played with his back to the basket, but that's an area he can develop."

Amundson transferred to Monarch last year from Boulder High School, where he played under three coaches in three years.

"He really blossomed in our program," Niven said.

UNLV is likely to award two scholarships in this period after signing guards Marcus Banks (Dixie College) and Ernest Turner (Somerdale, N.J.) in November. Banks has said he will honor his letter of intent, and Turner is likely to do the same, his guardian Rick Barrett has said.

Last weekend, UNLV hosted 6-9 power forward Jamal Holden from Westark (Ark.) College, who signed with Texas Tech in November but will be released by coach Bobby Knight. He has been offered a UNLV scholarship.

Holden has also drawn interest from Arkansas and TCU, but the latter is believed to be out of the picture after signing Juco all-American forward Jamal Brown last week.

New Mexico had received an oral commitment from Brown, but recovered Tuesday by signing 6-7, 230-pound power forward Cody Payne from Collin County CC in Plano, Tex.