Youngest starter takes on mantel of leadership

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Feb. 18, 2005 | 10:40 a.m.

With this past Saturday's game at San Diego State slipping away in the second half, the UNLV men's basketball team needed a spark.

The Rebels trailed the Aztecs by 18 points, 55-37, with a little more than 12 minutes remaining when coach Lon Kruger called a timeout to settle things down. And a team desperate for some leadership got it from an unlikely source.

Quiet, mild-mannered sophomore guard Michael Umeh, who rarely shows emotion on the court other than an occasional smile, implored his teammates not to quit.

Umeh, who also played tough, hard-nosed defense down the stretch, scored seven of his career-high 22 points during a 15-2 run over the next four minutes as UNLV closed the gap to five points, 57-52. The Rebels, thanks to a miraculous 11-1 spurt in the final 18 seconds of regulation, eventually forced the game into overtime and pulled out a 93-91 victory.

Although it was freshman swingman Curtis Terry's 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game into the extra session and was replayed repeatedly on ESPN and other national news outlets, it was Umeh's leadership that was the talk of the Rebels locker room afterward and during practice this week.

"He got everybody going in the second half," senior forward Odartey Blankson said. "Just with his hustle plays and never giving up. We all fed off of him."

"Mike played great," junior center Louis Amundson added. "I thought he was the MVP of that game. When everyone else was kind of down and we needed some energy, he kind of stepped up and was the leader. He put the whole team on his back and led us to victory. He led by example and everybody kind of hopped on board."

When informed of his teammates' comments at practice Thursday, Umeh took them in stride.

"I just didn't want to lose," he said. "And I was saying that a lot to the guys in the huddle. There was plenty of time -- 12 minutes -- left. We've got some great players here. We can come back from that kind of deficit any time in any game against any opponent."

Even 10 points down with less than 20 seconds to go?

"I wasn't really saying nothing then," Umeh replied. "We were all just kind of playing at the time."

Despite being the youngest member on a starting unit that currently includes two seniors and two juniors, Umeh said he isn't afraid to take on leadership responsibilities on the court.

"I think any time is a good time to be a leader ... sophomore, freshman, whatever," he said. "If you show you really mean it, and you show that you're playing hard, people will respect you. Anybody can be a leader."

Kruger said he couldn't be happier with the play of the 6-foot-2 guard from Houston.

"He's just doing a terrific job," Kruger said. "I think his confidence level is really good right now. I think that's the big key with him as it is with most guys. ... playing with confidence and being aggressive."

The Rebels (11-11, 3-6) depart today for Laramie, where they begin the difficult Front Range trip against third-place Wyoming (14-9, 6-4) on Saturday afternoon. Then it's a 60-mile trip down Highway 287 to Fort Collins, Colo., for a Monday night game against Colorado State (9-14, 1-9).

"It's a big road trip for us," Umeh said. "We have a lot of confidence going into (the Wyoming game). We know Wyoming is playing well. It's going to be a good game but I think we're ready for the challenge."