Hunter’s experience a plus for Spoonhour

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

Charlie Spoonhour finally has Demetrius Hunter on his basketball team. Getting him on the court will have to wait another year.

Hunter's transfer from Georgetown to UNLV became official Monday when classes began and Spoonhour was allowed to confirm last week's reports that Hunter would be a Rebel.

Hunter, a 6-foot-2 guard who played at Cheyenne High, must sit out the 2001-02 season in accordance with transfer rules, but can practice with the team. He is pondering minor foot surgery in the meantime.

Three years after trying to recruit Hunter to Saint Louis, Spoonhour said he won't mind waiting an extra year to get him on the court.

"The good thing is Demetrius can learn our system while he's sitting out," Spoonhour said. "What we do isn't difficult, but this year will give him a bit of an indoctrination. He'll have time to get comfortable."

Hunter played two solid seasons at Georgetown, starting all 33 games last season and averaging 9.2 points as the Hoyas reached the Sweet 16. He scored a career-high 21 points against Syracuse, led the team in scoring four times and had 18 double-figure games.

No one else on the Rebels' roster has taken part in an NCAA tournament victory, so Hunter's experience should come in handy when he suits up in 2002-03.

"He has been involved in a good basketball program for two years, and already proved he can be successful in a highly competitive league," Spoonhour said. "We're fortunate and happy that circumstances led him to come home to Las Vegas."

Hunter will spend next season as a walk-on, then count as one of the Rebels' three new scholarships the following year.

Already, Spoonhour is envisioning an all-Las Vegas backcourt of Hunter and Cimarron-Memorial product Marcus Banks in 2002.

"On many occasions, we'll put two (point guards) on the court," Spoonhour said. "Demetrius and Marcus will be two of our strongest people on the team. With Lafonte Johnson and Ernest Turner, we could have some real strength at those positions."

Three other arenas bid on 2003 -- The Pit in Albuquerque, the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and Cox Arena in San Diego -- but Las Vegas Events received the hosting nod for a fourth straight year. The tournament will be March 12-15, 2003.

The move to Denver in 2004 will be the first MWC tournament at a neutral site, an idea that gained momentum because of complaints by coaches about UNLV's homecourt advantage at the Mack.

The tournaments in Denver will be March 10-13, 2004; March 9-12, 2005; and March 8-11, 2006.