Friday, Dec. 27, 2002 | 10:02 a.m.
Longtime bitter rivals Marcus Banks and Demetrius Hunter aren't best friends.
Yet.
"Anything can happen," Banks said. "We're brothers on the court. Anything he ever needs that I can help him with, I'm there for him. And I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."
Hunter offered his assessment of the relationship.
"The rivalry was fun in the past," Hunter said. "I mean, now we have to look to the future. We were rivals in the past. Now, we're teammates and we have to try to make this thing happen. I'm not going to sit here and say we're best of friends.
"But, I mean, that's my boy. I have no hate against him."
The duel started in middle school, on the court that the locals dubbed The Lights. Its intensity grew during open gym at the Doolittle Community Center. When word spread that Banks and Hunter were again facing off, crowds swelled from 30 to 40, then 50.
One dipped his shoulder a little lower than usual when making a cut, caring little about the fate of the other guy's jaw. The other nudged just a little closer on defense, not flinching when his finger grazed his opponent's eyelid on a reach for the ball.
Banks and Hunter have always wanted the same thing -- a state high school championship, a Division I scholarship, a career in the NBA -- and therein lies the foundation of a tense and occasionally terse rivalry.
Finally, they wear the same uniform, forming UNLV's starting backcourt. Apparently, it will take a while longer to convince others that their disdain for each other is not only a thing of the past but existed mainly between the lines.
It's like Michael Jordan and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Banks said. On the court, they weren't best friends. Off the court, it was a totally different story. Or Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, Hunter said.
"Some people might think they don't get along, because of the competition," Hunter said. "But I bet you they're pretty good friends. It's just the competition, man. Me and Marcus have a pretty good relationship right now."
However, many observers, albeit outsiders, talk about continuing bad blood between Banks and Hunter as easily as they'll chat about the day's weather.
"I don't know why people think that's the way it is, but they're wrong," Banks said. "It doesn't matter what people think. This is my life, and I couldn't care less what anyone on the outside thinks. I'm pretty sure Demetrius feels the same way.
"We'd play so hard, we're just so physical. I'm a very physical guard, and he's the same way ... we'd hit each other, coming off screens. Nothing bad intended. I don't think there was ever a time where we wanted to fight, because of this basketball thing."
This basketball thing escalated between the two in high school, culminating in a thriller of a finale during their senior seasons.
At Cimarron-Memorial, Banks had a stellar supporting cast. At Cheyenne, Hunter led by example with his grit
In the State 4A championship game at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno on Feb. 26, 1999, the last Friday night that Banks and Hunter have battled each other, Cimarron got a big boost from Brian Lang's 30 points.
Hunter did not back down. In the final minute, he knocked the ball off Banks' leg, swiped it and then attempted a shot that would have given Cheyenne a 61-60 lead. It didn't fall, then Cimarron scored four of the game's final five points for a 64-60 victory.
Banks and Hunter both scored 20 points, but Hunter sank only four of his 21 shots. Banks is still disappointed that Cheyenne coach Larry Johnson did not have Hunter defend him from the opening tap.
"I don't know if their coach was afraid he'd foul out, but (Johnson) put (Hunter) on Brian Lang. I pretty much had a field day with their guards," Banks said, "and I'm the one who has the ring."
Lang is Hunter's best friend.
"It just hurt to lose to those two," Hunter said of Lang and Banks. "We led, then we tried to stall. They got a steal and we couldn't recover. They were better than us that night.
"Me and Marcus, we never really talked much mess. We just played. I mean, we brought the best out of each other, what good players do. The best people bring the best out of you."
Dave Rice, whose 10-year tenure as a UNLV assistant coach stretches to Jerry Tarkanian's final season as the Rebels' boss, said he has never watched two prep players battle each other harder than Banks and Hunter.
"I saw it as two guys who were extremely competitive and enthusiastic, who would do whatever it took, including knocking the other guy down, to win," Rice said. "As a coach, that's what you want to see, that desire to win.
"Misconstrued, that's a good word. People have misconstrued their competitiveness for animosity, and that just isn't true. I think it's a great story. It's special for Las Vegas. To see two of their own here, and starting, is exciting."
Hunter, 22, bolted for Georgetown out of Cheyenne. As a sophomore, he averaged almost 10 points and started all of the Hoyas' 33 games, but the birth of his daughter, Destini, helped draw him home.
So did UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour. When he was the coach at Saint Louis, Spoonhour often visited Cheyenne to recruit Hunter for the Billikens.
Banks, 21, attended Dixie Junior College in Utah out of Cimarron. He committed to UNLV before Hunter began to have misgivings about his situation at Georgetown, and Banks remembered when it circulated that Hunter wanted to return to Las Vegas.
"Everyone was like, 'Well, what do you think about that?' I was like, 'It's great, because we've been playing against each other for so long ... it's like a dream come true,' " Banks said. "I wondered what it would be like, if he was playing by my side."
On a fastbreak against Tennessee-Martin last week, Banks, zipping down the right side of the court, barely caught a peripheral blur of Hunter, speeding down the left side but in a crowd.
Somehow, Banks found Hunter with a bullet pass, and Hunter finished with a dramatic flourish, dunking the ball with high-flying authority.
"I tell Demetrius that we have to keep the crowd in the game with at least one alley-oop a game," Banks said. "I'm a very unselfish guy. I'll throw the lob. If (it goes bad), I'll point to coach 'Spoon.' I will understand if it's a mistake, but that's the bond me and Demetrius have."
Johnson, the Cheyenne coach, shook his head when asked about the widely held perception that Banks and Hunter are, and always will be, enemies.
"I know a lot of people think they don't like each other. I don't see it that way, not at all," Johnson said. "The rivalry and bitterness was on the floor. Off the floor, I think they were friends. Matter of fact, I know they're friends. Now, they're teammates.
"I think they're one of the best 1-2 guards in the country. I think they can play with anybody. Both have been battling all their lives, and both have really matured into really nice young men. I'm very proud of both of them."
The rivalry continues in practice at the Thomas & Mack Center or in Cox Arena. Hunter dons a white jersey and Banks puts on a red one. It's The Lights, revisited. Neither one slacks off, just like during those Doolittle days.
Banks badly wants to get to the NBA, but he seems just as intent on getting Hunter there. That's why Banks doesn't give Hunter anything. He knows that Hunter's ticket to the pros will be as a point guard, with an emphasis on defense.
"He's like a 'two' guard in a point guard's body," Banks said. "He's getting me ready ... I won't play against too many guards as strong as him, and he won't play against any other guard as strong or quick as I am.
"It's really cool to play with Demetrius. I love it. He has a lot of jokes, and we sit and laugh and talk. It's an honor to play with Demetrius."
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