Columnist Ron Kantowski: UNLV gets a teaspoon full of sugar

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 | 10:03 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Three down, 12 to go for Jay Spoonhour.

Actually, that's probably not entirely true, as Son of Spoon or Teaspoon or whatever nickname you prefer in referencing the offspring of former UNLV basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour probably doesn't have to go 15-0 to inherit his father's job.

I believe 13-2 might be good enough, provided that one of the losses comes in the next three games and the other in the NCAA championship game in San Antonio. Barring that, he'll most likely be joining Utah's Kerry Rupp down at Kinko's as they update their resumes.

His undefeated record aside, I don't think Jay Spoonhour is this year's Steve Fisher, who took the five guys Bill Frieder couldn't coach at Michigan and turned them into the 1989 national champions. Nor do I think that three wins at home against marginal opponents necessarily makes one Red Auerbach.

But Paul Westhead, maybe.

Is it just me, or have the Rebels been transformed into Loyola Marymount over the past 10 days? Runnin'. Jumpin'. Pressin'. Launching 3-pointers from all angles. And making most of them.

I'm really going to freak if Odartey Blankson shoots his first free throw at Air Force Saturday with his left hand, a la Bo Kimble. (Although that wouldn't be a bad idea for Lou Amundson, whose percentage shooting free throws with his right hand is .574.)

In describing UNLV's new/retro style, ESPN's Bob Carpenter called it "a lot of freedom with a little bit of structure." If you take away the structure part, that about nails it. I've seen sailors on weekend leave with a handful of $20 bills in their hand who are more disciplined than these Rebels.

But you sure can't argue with the results to this point.

I had a friend who was a pretty good playground basketball player who said he always feared playing against guys who wore headbands. He said they would sweat on you (like Wilt), hack you (remember Slick Watts?) or, when the wind wasn't blowing, put a 20-foot jump shot in your eye (UCLA alum Jason Kapono comes to mind).

Have you noticed that Jerel Blassingame is now sporting a red headband?

Blassingame, the only Rebel who appeared to be moving his feet on defense when Tablespoon was in charge, is a handful at both ends now that he has the freedom to express himself under his son.

Forget about the medicine, like in that Mary Poppins song. It's a Teaspoon full of sugar that apparently makes the jump shot go down.

Blassingame is not the only Rebel who has been wheeling and dealing and improving his scoring average. I used to laugh out loud when Irv Brown, the former big-time referee and longtime Mountain Time Zone basketball analyst, mentioned Romel Beck and Reggie Theus in the same sentence, which is like comparing a Cavalier to a Corvette. But recently, you can see a faint resemblance between the two, at least for the five seconds the Rebels have the ball and Beck is shooting it.

And what about James Peters? It still looks to me like he's got a big chip on his shoulder. Only now it's the guy trying to guard him, and not his coaches and teammates, who is having to deal with it.

So now, the big question is not whether these Rebels can play, or play together, but whether they can play or play together on the road. UNLV will wear its home whites just once more this year, and undisciplined -- er, teams that are given a lot of offensive freedom -- usually don't do all that well away from home.

That's why Saturday's game at first-place Air Force is so intriguing.

It's going to be Guy Lewis (Jay Spoon) vs. Norman Dale (Joe Scott). The Rebels want to put flubber on their Nikes and bounce all over Clune Arena. The Falcons will probably come out in satin trunks, high-top Cons and make at least three mandatory passes before Tim Keller or Jimmy Chitwood is allowed to take a shot at the peach basket.

It has been said that styles make fights, although I'm not sure about college basketball games. You might want to watch this one with asbestos gloves and goggles, as something is bound to blow up or boil over when these hardwood opposites attract on the perimeter.

But at least now there's a reason to watch it.