Rebels’ shooting guard Lewis sustains serious knee injury

Steve Addy

Tuesday, April 24, 2001 | 10:03 a.m.

The Rebels have focused their spring recruiting on big men, and those efforts could result in at least two commitments this week.

But suddenly UNLV has an opening on the perimeter, because shooting guard Jermaine Lewis has sustained a torn right ACL and could be sidelined well into next season, perhaps all season.

Tests Monday revealed that Lewis tore his anterior cruciate ligament Friday when a teammate fell on him in an off-season workout. Lewis will undergo surgery around mid-May, trainer Dave Tomchek said, and be out 6 to 8 months.

That means the 6-foot-4 senior could return in mid-November at the earliest, but possibly as late as January.

"As hard as Jermaine works, he may have full range of motion and his strength back in four months," Tomchek said. "But you have to be careful not to rush it.

"We're keeping all of the options open. We've talked about him potentially sitting out the season, but we'll evaluate that as it goes."

In 26 games last season, including 12 starts, Lewis averaged 9.3 points. He scored a career-high 24 against New Mexico on Jan. 22 and 22 versus San Diego State on Jan. 27.

"We were counting on Jermaine for significant minutes," new coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "We'll handle (his absence), but it obviously makes it more difficult. It means somebody has an opportunity to step up, and they must."

For the last two months, Lewis had been rehabilitating his right knee after suffering a partial ACL tear in February. UNLV's medical staff opted against surgery then, and Lewis had only recently been cleared for off-season drills.

During a workout at the North Gym on Friday, a teammate fell on the back of Lewis' legs.

"It was a freak injury," Tomchek said. "He came back fine from seven weeks of rehab, and his strength returned better than before."

Spoonhour quickly looked at the bright side.

"If something like this had to happen -- if it was going to pop -- it's better to have it go now," he said. "It's one of those things you can't do anything about. I feel bad for Jermaine. But he seems to be a hard worker, so maybe he can bounce back quickly."

With Lewis on the shelf, it has become even more vital that the Rebels get a new commitment from recruited shooting guard Ernest Turner from Sterling High School in Sterling, N.J.

Turner signed with UNLV in November, but hasn't given the new staff a firm answer on whether he'll stick with the Rebels, only a strong maybe. Until he passes the SAT and meets NCAA academic qualifying standards, his status will be unclear.

Since taking over as coach, Spoonhour has focused his recruiting on replenishing the Rebels' frontcourt, and he hopes to sign two or three players this week.

Spoonhour isn't at liberty to discuss recruits, but UNLV is a strong candidate to sign power forwards Jamal Holden (6-9, 220) from Westark (Ark.) College and Will Frisby (6-7, 225) from Fresno (Calif.) City College. Holden visited two weeks ago, and Frisby last weekend.

Holden, a Texas Tech signee, will be released by coach Bobby Knight this month. Frisby has also visited UTEP, Miami, Virginia Tech and Oregon State.

The Rebels are also seeking a commitment from 6-7 forward Louis Amundson of Monarch High in Louisville, Colo. Having gotten offers from SMU, Tulsa and Pepperdine, Amundson visited UNLV last weekend and enjoyed his trip, coach Ken Niven told the Sun.

"He seemed to like the players a lot, and that's important," Niven said. "We're going to sit down this week and write down all the pluses and minuses of the schools. Then he'll make a decision."