Mixed feelings

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 10:19 a.m.

It was a Turkey Day doubleheader at the home of Lon Kruger last Thanksgiving.

The UNLV basketball coach celebrated the holiday with a traditional turkey dinner with his team in the afternoon. A few hours later, son Kevin and his Arizona State coaches and teammates, in town playing in the Las Vegas Invitational at Valley High, stopped by for Round 2.

So it's a little understandable if Kruger is looking at tonight's first round NIT matchup with the Sun Devils (18-13) with some mixed feelings.

Not only have Kruger and his wife, Barb, been rooting for son Kevin, a redshirt sophomore and starting guard for ASU, for the past three seasons. But they've also grown tight with Arizona State head coach Rob Evans and the rest of the Sun Devils during that span.

"You get so close to those kids," Kruger said. "Everyone makes it out to be Kevin's deal (facing his dad's team), but we've also been cheering for (Ike) Diogu all year and Jason Braxton and all those other guys also. So it's not just Kevin.

"You get to pulling for those guys every time they line up and play. So it's kind of awkward in that sense."

But that doesn't mean the Rebels (16-13) plan to take tonight's contest any easier.

Far from it.

"Coach told us to make sure we don't go easy on (Kevin Kruger) and to kind of go out there and get after him a little bit," junior guard Ricky Morgan said. "But it was in fun and good humor.

"Our team is fired up to be able to keep playing. We'll do anything to prolong our season. First and foremost we're basketball players who love to play the game. And it's going to be great to be able to play in the Thomas & Mack again with the guys."

The Rebels have had six days to digest a 73-67 loss to Utah in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals. Utes center Andrew Bogut, the MWC player of the year and the potential No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in that contest.

Tonight's challenge for UNLV is to try to stop the Pac-10 player of the year, 6-foot-8, 255-pound Sun Devil center Ike Diogu, considered a mid-to-late first-round NBA pick if he decides to bypass his senior season.

"He gets to the foul line, he gets offensive rebounds, he knocks down jumpers, he splits double-teams," Cal coach Ben Braun said. "We manned him and we zoned him. You almost have to concede that when you play against him, man or zone, front or behind him, he finds ways to help his team."

"He's a terrific player," Kruger said. "He's an All-American. He's the Pac-10 Player of the Year. He leads them in scoring. He led the conference in rebounding. He led it in blocked shots. And he's just a real consistent performer every night out at the very highest of levels."

Diogu leads the Pac-10 in scoring (22.7 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg), blocked shots (2.32 per game), field goal percentage (57.3 percent), offensive rebounds (3.65) and minutes per game (36.45).

Talk about being consistent. Over his 90-game college career, Diogu is averaging 21.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest.

"He's a little more mobile than Bogut," said UNLV center Louis Amundson, who will draw the defensive assignment on Diogu. "He plays a little more outside than Bogut does. He can shoot it a little bit. You're going to have to be aware of him not only down in the post but out on the floor, too. He's a good player."

Although they failed to reach their No. 1 goal of making the NCAA tournament, the Rebels had three spirited practices this week in preparation for the game.

"They've bounced back good," Kruger said. "I think the guys are excited about playing."