Rebels have inside track on outside help

Steve Guiremand

Monday, July 12, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS --- UNLV coach Lon Kruger has made no secret of the fact that he needs to recruit perimeter players to help fill the void left by the graduations of star players such as Odartey Blankson, Jerel Blassingame and Romel Beck after the 2004-05 season.

And it looks as though Kruger is well on his way to achieving that goal.

One of the top players in Utah, 6-foot-6 wingman Joe Darger of Riverton, said the Rebels are currently No. 1 on his recruiting list, which also includes Colorado State, Utah State and BYU.

Darger was one of 180 high school players from across the country who were invited to participate in this year's Nike All-America Basketball Camp here on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI).

"I took an unofficial visit to UNLV about three weeks ago," Darger said during a break between games. "I went down and looked at the campus and got to spend some time with the coaches."

Darger said he came away impressed. He also liked the fact that he would have a chance to compete for substantial playing time as a freshman.

"That's one of the big things I'm looking at when it comes to picking a college," Darger, who eventually sees himself playing shooting guard in college, said. "All the schools said I'd have a chance to come in and play early. I thought coach (Lon) Kruger was a great guy. I think the fact he's coached in the NBA before is a big plus. ... Right now they're No. 1 on my list."

Darger, who was also offered a scholarship by former Utah head coach Rick Majerus last year but is no longer considering the Utes, averaged 15 points as a junior while playing in the post for Riverton, which is about 20 minutes south of Salt Lake City. However, he played small forward at the Nike camp and impressed scouts with his outside shooting skills and passing.

Darger said he will likely sign during the early November signing period. He said his plans are to take an official on-campus visit to UNLV in September.

Meanwhile, UNLV also has received a controversial verbal commitment from 6-foot-5 guard Tommie Liddell of East St. Louis High School.

Liddell held a news conference on Friday at the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J., to announce that he had decided to renege on a letter of intent he signed last November with Saint Louis University to attend UNLV.

Liddell, considered one of the top 150 senior prospects in the nation by most scouting services this year, is expected to attend a prep school in the fall. Oddly, his annoucement, which was in part orchestrated by a summer AAU coach, Ricky Lewis, came less than two weeks after Liddell had told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he still intended to honor his commitment to the Billikens.

Liddell is still technically bound to Saint Louis until he enrolls in a prep school or junior college in the fall. That would make it an NCAA violation for Kruger to comment on the report or to contact Liddell directly.

Billikens coach Brad Soderberg, who had not spoken with Liddell since news of the UNLV switch broke, told the Post-Dispatch he would report UNLV or any other school suspected of contacting Liddell to the NCAA.

"If somebody violates a rule, especially when it impacts recruiting, I would be doing a disservice if I didn't make the NCAA aware," Soderberg told the Post-Dispatch.

Lewis said that Liddell had never spoken to UNLV coaches but that Rebels coaches had told him they would have a scholarship available should Liddell decide to change his mind.