After weighing his options, Amundson opts to redshirt

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

If the UNLV Rebels are to make a strong run at the Mountain West Conference basketball championship this season, they'll have to do it without one of their best frontcourt players.

Sophomore forward Louis Amundson, who started the team's final exhibition game before being sidelined with a painful staph infection in his right thumb, announced Wednesday that he will redshirt this season.

The 6-foot-8 Amundson, who averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds last year as a true freshman out of Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo., was expected to provide some much-needed rebounding and defense up front for the Rebels. But after being sidelined much of the summer with a staph infection in his big toe, he has missed UNLV's first seven games of the season when another staph infection developed in his thumb.

"I've missed a lot of non-conference games and that's real important to me," Amundson said. "It's a lot of games to miss. The other thing is what happens if I get another infection? It could be like the same thing all over again. And there's a high probability that if I get another cut, it could come back."

So Amundson, who has practiced with the Rebels for more than a week with the sore thumb still bandaged, decided to spend his winter break away from the program with the hope of finally being able to cure the staph infection. He will be re-evaluated by doctors and rejoin the team after the holiday season.

"There's no way of telling if the staph virus is out of my system," said Amundson, who made the decision after visiting with team physician Dr. Rick Lippman on Wednesday. "In all likelihood, I'd get it again and be in the same situation. It's one of those things where I want to be sure that I'm free and clear of this.

"It's hard for them to tell if it is still in my system. It's been in my system now for five or six months. We've tried some different things to try and get rid of it. They've given me antibiotics and stuff. But it still hasn't gone away. It's really weird."

Amundson will redshirt this season and still have three years of eligibility remaining. His loss will be softened somewhat by the recent development of junior college forwards J.K. Edwards and James Peters. Still, Amundson will be missed.

"I'm very disappointed for Louis and our basketball team," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "However, we will do what is in his best interest. This will continue to be a productive season for him as he works on his game."