UNLV to begin practice with clean slate

Steve Addy

Friday, Oct. 12, 2001 | 9:56 a.m.

Guards (10)

Jevon Banks, sr.; Marcus Banks, jr.; Lamar Bigby, jr.; Vince Booker, sr.; Demetrius Hunter, jr.-x; Lafonte Johnson, so.; Lou Kelly, sr.; Jon Knoche, jr.; Jermaine Lewis, sr.; Ernest Turner, fr.

Forwards (5)

Louis Amundson, fr.; Noel Bloom, sr.; Dalron Johnson, jr.; Omari Pearson, so.; Chris Richardson, sr.

Center (1)

Jamal Holden, jr.

Coaches

Head coach Charlie Spoonhour; assistants Jay Spoonhour, Derek Thomas, Deane Martin; director of basketball operations Dave Rice

x-transfer, sitting out season

Saturday morning, the future begins for new coach Charlie Spoonhour and UNLV's basketball team.

After all of the dizzying twists and turns of last season, the futile pursuit of a certain coach who wound up at Louisville and the new staff's dogged rush to save the recruiting class, Spoonhour will finally get on the practice court with his team.

It's not a totally fresh start -- the Rebels are on probation through 2004 -- but they can finally leave behind last season's unpleasantness at Saturday's 11 a.m. workout.

No more worrying about who'll be running the program. No more in-fighting between Kaspars Kambala and Trevor Diggs, both departed. No more worrying about whether freshman guard Ernest Turner will be allowed to play (he will). No more NCAA investigation hanging in the air.

But despite Spoonhour's eagerness for the community to adopt his team -- some practices will be open to the public -- he also knows the Rebels will have to prove themselves first. They'll open the season Nov. 17 against Wisconsin at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Even with their solid recruiting class, led by highly touted point guard Marcus Banks from Dixie College and Cimarron-Memorial HS, the Rebels aren't likely to be immediately better than last season. They must replace their top two scorers, Kambala (16.9 ppg) and Diggs (14.1).

Also, No. 4 scorer Jermaine Lewis (9.3) is still recovering from summer knee surgery and won't be available until late December at the earliest.

"I think people need to be realistic about what they expect from this team," said Spoonhour, 61, returning to the coaching racket after two years in retirement. "Not that I don't think we're going to win games, because I do, but it might take us a while to get things where they ought to be.

"It will take time for the coaches and players to learn one another, and figure out where the ball needs to be at given points in the game. All of that's waiting to be decided."

In nine seasons at Southwest Missouri State (1983-92) and seven at Saint Louis (1992-99), Spoonhour's teams won at a 65-percent clip, developing a national reputation for using tenacious defense to overcome modest talent. It became known as Spoonball.

Even with UNLV's question marks, this might be the most talent Spoonhour has had. He said he doesn't intend to limit his players offensively, but because the Rebels lack an abundance of great shooters, aggressive defense and sturdy effort might have to be their calling card, at least early on.

"Every team has its own personality, regardless of who the coach or players are," Spoonhour said. "We will probably appeal to (fans) who like guys who work hard, because that's what I'm going to ask our guys to do.

"That's probably the only thing I'm going to expect -- that we give a good effort. Wherever I've been, people have appreciated guys who take charges, dive on the floor and play hard. I think the fans here will identify with that."

Three of the Rebels' probable starters are obvious. Junior Dalron Johnson (12.3 ppg) will start at power forward, junior Banks at point guard and lanky 6-foot-10 Juco recruit Jamal Holden at center. The shooting guard and small forward spots are murkier.

But Spoonhour said he hasn't awarded any starting jobs yet.

"Those things work themselves out in practice," he said. "I don't think you can know who's going to play when you haven't had a practice. We'll see who goes to work. There's no free meals. Everybody's going to earn a spot.

"I've had years when I came in thinking, 'This is the way it's going to be,' and it just didn't work out that way."

Spoonhour said he won't designate a No. 1 assistant among son Jay Spoonhour and Derek Thomas. "We don't stand on ceremony," he said. "We just have a staff." ...

The annual Fan Jam will be Nov. 1. The Rebels will play exhibition games Nov. 10 against the California All-Stars and Nov. 13 against Global Sports.

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