Rebels ready for practice, practice and more practice

Steve Addy

Monday, Dec. 3, 2001 | 9:08 a.m.

The winter session of Camp Spoonhour starts today, and there's no recreation on the itinerary.

With only two games for the next 17 days, both on the road, the Rebels will be spending much of their time on the practice court, trying to fix inconsistencies that have produced a 3-2 start.

Until UNLV's next home game Dec. 20 against Nevada-Reno, its only games are on successive Saturdays -- this week at Alabama-Birmingham (2-4) and next week at Loyola Marymount (3-3). Even allowing for travel time, the Rebels will be able to practice for several days at a time.

"We've got some time to try to knock these kinks out," guard Vince Booker said. "We're going to be working, I know that."

"Without many games, we have to practice hard enough to keep in game shape," forward Dalron Johnson said.

Coach Charlie Spoonhour said he will probably bring in referees for scrimmages, as he did in preseason camp, to create a reasonable simulation of a game.

"We've got so many things we can get better at," he said. "We're going to get down to business on some stuff. We're not going to go as long at practice, but we're going to go hard.

"We have to get to where we won't accept being just OK. Nobody is dogging it, but we don't have the concentration and unity we need to have. Sometime, we are going to have to figure that out."

There are several areas that require attention, even after Saturday's 79-64 home victory over Georgia Southern.

Though the offensive execution perked up some, mainly because of Lou Kelly's playmaking, the Rebels committed a season-high 24 turnovers. Their decision-making on the break remains suspect, with point guard Marcus Banks still adjusting to Division I tempo, and their shot selection continues to baffle.

"When one guy takes a rushed shot, it seems like everybody does it," Spoonhour said. "It's like catching the chicken pox -- it goes through the whole team."

The turnovers are becoming maddening. The Rebels are averaging 19 a game, and in Saturday's first half, they committed three in barely more than a minute.

"When we get a (lead), we don't stay tight enough with the ball," Spoonhour said. "We get caught in a double-team and lose it, or we do something careless. That's something I hope we'll correct in the next two weeks.

"I would think the embarrassment of turning over the ball will eventually get the best of us and we'll quit doing it. That's my theory."

Defensive fine-tuning is also needed, especially with regard to ball pressure and rotations on the perimeter. Georgia Southern, which shot 34 percent, didn't hit enough jumpers to make the Rebels pay for slow rotations, and many of the Eagles' 22 turnovers were unforced travels.

But the Rebels aren't merely trying to shine in comparison to the Nicholls States and Georgia Southerns of the world, especially with two road games coming up. They are 0-2 on the road, losing by 13 at Cincinnati and Washington.

The reason for the Rebels' light schedule is because National Finals Rodeo is taking over the Thomas & Mack Center for two weeks. Every Rebels coach has dealt with that over the years, and Spoonhour knew about it when he took the job.

But, he said, "No one wants to go two weeks without a home game. We need to be more creative as a staff next season with the schedule. It's difficult to put stuff together with a schedule that's so fractured. Maybe we can play at halftime of the rodeo."

Lou Kelly's six assists were his career high and the most by a Rebel this season. His 19 points also tied his career high, though he shot 4-of-17.