UNLV’s Good aims to put quick halt to players’ feud

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001 | 10:54 a.m.

Coach Max Good isn't going to let the Rebels develop their own version of Shaq vs. Kobe.

Good said he will act quickly to restore team harmony in light of Kaspars Kambala's sideline antics Monday night at Brigham Young and Trevor Diggs' harsh criticism of Kambala after the game.

"No question, Kas quit on us," Diggs told the Sun after UNLV's 91-63 loss on ESPN.

After learning of Diggs' comments Tuesday, Good said, "If he said that, he shouldn't have."

Good said he intends to keep any action within the team, but said, "It's got to be addressed immediately. In my experience, situations like that usually don't get better by themselves."

Kambala, the Rebels' senior center, had only two points and one rebound in 20 minutes, and sulked after being benched with 9:20 remaining. When he failed to participate in the Rebels' last few timeout huddles, ESPN showed Kambala sitting alone, clutching a towel.

At the end of the game, Kambala bolted to the locker room without shaking hands or waiting for his teammates.

Diggs did not blame Kambala for the 28-point loss, but criticized his effort.

"We competed hard, but some guys quit," Diggs said. "I'll put that out there -- Kas quit on us. No question, Kas quit on us. That's crazy. ... All you can ask is for somebody to compete."

Kambala, voted the top returning player in the Mountain West preseason poll, is UNLV's leading scorer (17.3) and rebounder (9.9), but his two-point output against BYU was his lowest since Feb. 15, 1999 when he scored two at Tulsa.

Before learning of Diggs' comments, Good said he addressed team harmony with the players before giving them Tuesday off.

"I told them when we're fractured, we don't play well. But when we're together, we can be pretty good," Good said.

The Rebels don't play until Monday when New Mexico visits for another national ESPN game.