Rebels playing waiting game on Amundson, hurt thumb

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Dec. 9, 2002 | 10:16 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. -- Louis Amundson is getting closer to returning to the lineup for the UNLV Rebels. But just how close is still anybody's guess.

The energetic 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, who started UNLV's final exhibition game and is one of the team's top defenders and rebounders, made the trip to Madison for Saturday morning's 91-74 loss to defending Big Ten co-champ and No. 23 ranked Wisconsin and even suited up. But Amundson still hasn't been cleared to partcipate in full contact drills because of a cut on his right thumb from a staph infection that has sidelined him the first five games of the season.

"I knew I wasn't going to get in (Saturday)," Amundson said. "But in practice I'm starting to do more things without going full contact yet."

The fear is if Amundson is rushed back too quickly, the half-inch cut on the thumb could reopen and become infected again starting the whole healing process over.

"It's kind of a slow process," said Amundson, who averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds last year as a freshman. "There's no stitches in there. It has to heal from the inside out basically, so that the infection will get out of there. If they were to stitch it up, it could trap the infection in there."

"It's really frustrating," Amundson continued. "It's really hard to just sit and watch the guys play. But it was nice to make the trip and practice with the guys."

Amundson has just a brown bandaid covering his thumb. He has been unable to practice his shooting but says the injury is still too painful to grip the ball properly.

"I can't really put any pressure on it yet," Amundson said. "I don't want it to get hit or scratched or whatever. I can't palm a ball yet or put any pressure on it when I'm shooting. That's the hardest part. But it's getting better."

There's a chance that Amundson could play in UNLV's next game on Saturday at Bradley.

"I would think there's a good opportunity for (Amundson) to play because it will be another week," Rebel coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "I would hope so."

Amundson isn't sure.

"It could be another game or two," he said. "It just depends on what the trainers say and how its feeling. It still hurts a little when I hit it or when I catch a ball and it hits it. It's not one of those things where you can just go out and play because if it gets hit it could get a lot worse and then I'd have to sit out a lot longer. That's why we're being so cautious about it."

Amundson's injury has made for more playing minutes for junior college transfers J.K. Edwards and James Peters.

The 6-foot-8, 215-pound Peters made the most of his opportunity in Saturday's loss, scoring 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and picking up two steals in 25 minutes.

"I thought we got good production out of James Peters," Spoonhour said. "(But) you can always use somebody who can go get a rebound."

Wisconsin (5-1) held a huge 48-36 rebound edge over UNLV (4-1), the second straight game the Rebels have been outrebounded.

Banks finished with seven points on 2-of-12 shooting, including 0-of-3 from 3-point range, as Badger guards made sure they came out and put a hand in his face. But that opened the door for Banks to penetrate to the hoop. He finished with a game-high eight assists.

"If we could have finished better he would have had 15 assists," Spoonhour said.

"As (former Auburn coach) Sonny Smith would say, he's quicker than a hiccup," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "I don't know of too many guys who can do what he does with the ball. I was trying everything on him. I'm working the officials trying to get a carry because he freezes the ball in his hand. He does a little Allen Iverson with it.

"He had the ball at our free throw line and got it to his free throw line in 1.1 seconds," Ryan said with a smile. Then after pausing for a moment, he added: "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was 2.1 seconds."

"He's very similar to (former Maryland All-American) Juan Dixon," said Badger guard Devin Harris, who finished with 20 points. "They're both lightning quick. I think Juan shoots the ball a little better, not to take anything away from Marcus. He's very quick and you have to stay in front of him."

Knoche, who was playing in just his fourth game in two years for the Rebels, helped force a pair of turnovers with his double teams during his four minutes and was a key figure in UNLV's late comeback as the Rebels cut Wisconsin's lead to five points, 73-68, with 6:57 to go. However, he had to leave the game a few seconds later after he bumped his head while diving for a loose ball.

Knoche -- Spoonhour referred to him as "the itty-bitty guy" in his postgame press conference -- laid on his back on the court for about two minutes before getting up and returning to the bench.

"I saw stars," Knoche said. "I tried to open my eyes and I still saw stars."

As for the Rudy chants, Knoche said: "I don't really know them, so I don't really know what to think about it," he said.