Douglas lighting up MWC foes

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 10:18 a.m.

Utah coach Rick Majerus compares him to former Notre Dame and NBA star Austin Carr.

New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay uses phrases like "tremendous" and "incredible" to describe him.

And when UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour was asked his thoughts about New Mexico guard Ruben Douglas, he said it was as simple as taking a look at the stat sheet.

"He's leading the conference in scoring," Spoonhour said of the 6-foot-5 senior. "That pretty much speaks for itself."

Actually, it may even shortchange the talented shooting guard, who will lead the Lobos (9-13, 3-6) into the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday at noon to face UNLV (15-8, 4-5) in a Mountain West Conference matchup.

Douglas not only is making a mockery of the MWC scoring race with a 33.8 average after nine games, he also happens to lead the nation in scoring with a 28.2 average.

Douglas, who scored 40 points against UNLV in a 75-66 loss to the Rebels in Albuquerque on Jan. 27, has been especially hot in the past six games, scoring 214 points for an average of 35.7. He's connected on 35 of 60 3-pointers (58.3 percent) during that span.

If that doesn't get your attention, try this statistic on for size: During the Lobos' recent two-game road swing to Utah and BYU, Douglas scored 71 points. New Mexico's travel partner, Air Force, as a team scored a combined 68 points against the Utes and Cougars that same weekend.

"He's been incredible," McKay said. "Words can't describe how remarkable he's played. It's been a real treat to watch. I marvel at some of the things he's done in terms of putting the basketball in the goal against teams I think are difficult to score against."

Said Majerus after Douglas scored 32 points at Utah: "There were a lot of people here who didn't care about the Utes and didn't care about the Lobos. They came to see Ruben Douglas."

Douglas took over the national scoring lead after scoring 43 points in a 103-91 loss to Wyoming on Saturday night at The Pit. It was the seventh highest scoring output in school history and enabled Douglas to nudge ahead of Oakland's Mike Helms (28.1) into first place in NCAA Division I scoring.

"I just go out there and play every night, read situations and let the game come to me," Douglas told the Albuquerque Journal. "Everything happens for a reason. If (winning the scoring title) happens, it happens. You can't force the issue."

"I think he's done a nice job, at least in the four or five games I've watched, of playing well within his team," Spoonhour said. "I think he tries to rebound and work hard. I think he's a really good player. And he was last year, too. And he particularly likes to play against us."

Indeed, Douglas has scored 133 points in his last four games (33.2 ppg) against the Rebels, including his 40-point performance last month in Albuquerque when he nailed 8 of his 15 treys, many with UNLV defenders sticking hands in his face.

"Ruben is tremendously gifted in making contested shots," McKay said. "I've been in the Pac-10 and seen some great guards. Without question, he's an NBA player."

"He scores in a multitude of ways," Spoonhour said. "All you have to do is look at the Colorado State tape. When he wasn't getting it done from the outside early in the game, he went inside and drew fouls and rebounded. He's got more than one dimension to his game which makes him hard to deal with."

Spoonhour used four different defenders in man-to-man defense on Douglas in the first meeting -- Jermaine Lewis, Demetrius Hunter, Ernest Turner and Lamar Bigby. Lewis figures to get first crack on Saturday.

"He was just on fire that last game," Lewis said before practice on Wednesday. "Sometimes I was right in his face and he still made them. Most of the players I defend are strictly shooters and come out shooting outside. With Ruben, he can also drive to the basket. So I've got to stay down and put a hand up and hope for some help. That's the main thing."