Rebels’ success may lie with playing some ‘D’

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

The flash point of this season's UNLV basketball team will be out in front, for all to judge.

Point guard Jerel Blassingame welcomes the challenge.

"I don't fear anyone," Blassingame said, "or anything."

In the wake of exhibition victories in which his team scored 100 and 95 points, Rebels coach Charlie Spoonhour believes some might think he relishes the prospect of high scores.

He doesn't.

"I'd rather have a little defensive stability," Spoonhour said.

As UNLV prepared for its opener Friday night at 7:30 against Delaware State at the Thomas & Mack Center, Spoonhour said Blassingame will be the linchpin of that effort.

A transfer from Los Angeles City College, Blassingame will set the defensive tempo, trying to disrupt his opponent into careless mistakes at best and delay the timing of the Rebels' foes at worst.

"He's right," Blassingame said of Spoonhour's perimeter-defense theory. "It starts with the guards, pushing their guards and making it difficult for them to get the ball in. It disrupts their offense, makes it harder on them."

When opponents take a shot, UNLV's two forwards and center will pound the glass for the rebound. It is Blassingame's responsibility, Spoonhour has drilled, to retreat to halfcourt, where he will pick up and harass the other team's point guard.

Blassingame's backcourt mate, mostly freshman Michael Umeh recently, will zip past Blassingame and shade toward the defensive basket -- "in the hole," as the coaching staff says -- to contest any attempts at an easy or close-range shot.

During Tuesday's practice, Umeh raced around the court with controlled abandon, drawing Spoonhour's praise after the session.

Once, Umeh's halfcourt dive for a loose ball resulted in a skinned-up right knee and possession of the ball. A 6-foot-2, 185-pound freshman from Houston, he took a charge from 6-8, 260-pound center J.K. Edwards another time.

"I just want to show that I'm ready to play defense and I'm ready to hustle," Umeh said. "That's why I'll take charges and dive on the ground. It's just a little scar. I want to contribute as much as possible, every day."

Then recover as quickly as possible. Umeh said he rested his bruised body soundly Tuesday night.

"I was hurting, but I hurt all the time," he said. "My back is always sore. The main thing, I just try to get as much rest as possible. I'm not out on campus. I take a shower, do my homework and sleep."

The defensive work ethic that Blassingame and Umeh have displayed for the past month has impressed Spoonhour, who has guided UNLV to consecutive 21-11 seasons.

"We've been pretty decent (defensively) on the perimeter," Spoonhour said. "I've always found, if our perimeter defense is tough enough, it makes the interior (defense) a lot easier. It makes it so people can't exactly do everything they want to do."

Upon first glance at the Rebels, other teams might try to get away with plenty. UNLV's lack of size or depth, even when Edwards and forward James Peters return from suspensions, has been well-documented.

After practice Wednesday, Spoonhour told his players to heed none of that talk. "Don't listen to any of that," he said. "We have a chance to be pretty good."

Senior shooting guard Demetrius Hunter, who had been nursing a calf injury, participated in a full practice Wednesday for the first time in about two weeks. Under the close supervision of trainer Dave Tomchek, Hunter practiced without pain.

He and Umeh will share that off-guard position. To be cautious, Spoonhour said he might not play Hunter until Monday's home game against Nevada-Reno.

Behind the guards, and before Edwards and Peters -- both nicked in a telephone calling-card caper -- return, sophomore Louis Amundson will be UNLV's 6-9, 215-pound center.

When the Rebels have prepped to play a 2-3 zone defense, Amundson has been the one in the middle down low, near the basket. Juniors Romel Beck (6-7, 185) and Odartey Blankson (6-7, 220) have manned Amundson's sides.

"No, I sure didn't," said Amundson, when asked if he had signed up to play center when he committed to UNLV. "But you never can tell how circumstances can turn out. I'll just try to play as tough as I can and as big as I can, to help the team out."

Peters (6-8, 215) will be back for the Rebels' fourth game, at home against California on Nov. 29. Edwards returns for the seventh game, at Stanford on Dec. 13.

"Our guard play is going to be very important, because it starts with us, keeping their guards in front of us and making our big men work less," Umeh said. "If we lock down their guards as much as possible, it will give us more confidence and hype us up, so we can play harder."

Blassingame said he will be a capable floor leader this season.

"I have confidence in my teammates, and I'm pretty sure they have a little confidence in me," Blassingame said. "On defense, I think my chances are good. I'm quick enough and I'm strong enough to get out there and guard."

With the depleted early roster, Spoonhour said he probably won't press in the full court very frequently.

The Rebels will most likely employ that defensive scheme when Peters and Edwards get back in the fold, and count on those two being the twin disruptive forces at the front of that press.

"That's pretty hard to play against," Spoonhour said. "They're both quick enough when they trap, and they haven't fouled. That was really pretty good."

Mainly, don't look for UNLV to settle into one style of defense. Spoonhour said he foresees doing a little bit of everything, depending on the makeup of the other team, and staying or switching gears as he sees fit.

"It's how your defense goes and how the opponent reacts to it," he said. "We can get a lot better there, if we just decide that that's what we're going to do. We're all right with Blassingame stopping the ball. That part of it is good.

"And Umeh is smart about getting in the hole."

It will fall on Blassingame to keep UNLV out of one of those during what promises to be an intriguing first quarter of the season.