Undersized but unbowed

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 | 8:11 a.m.

UNLV ranks last in 3-point shooting in its conference.

1. New Mexico .478

2. San Diego St. .439

3. Utah .429

4. BYU .409

5. Wyoming .363

6. Air Force .358

7. TCU .330

8. Colorado St. .306

9. UNLV .293

UNLV sophomore center Matt Shaw disdains the taste of elbows and leather and an opponent's jersey, but those constituted his appetizer, main course and dessert Saturday night.

JaVale McGee, a 7-foot center for UNR, slammed a two-handed dunk with impunity on the 6-8 Shaw that the UNLV big man will not soon forget.

"It woke me up," Shaw says. "Like, this is big time right now. I have to fight even harder and play way more physical. I don't let anyone bully me."

He is the poster child of the undersized Rebels, who must play tenacious defense, run like marathoners and hit from long range to be successful in what has morphed into a season of small ball.

Expect to often see bombs-away, frenetic and sloppy stretches more suitable for middle school playgrounds than for Division I arenas.

Fourth-year coach Lon Kruger wants Shaw to develop a sense of urgency now instead of in February.

"It's tough," Shaw says. "I ain't going to lie. It's real tough."

The NCAA forced 7-footer Beas Hamga to redshirt and 6-10 Emmanuel Adeife forced Kruger to boot him off the team.

Just like that, UNLV became the molehill in the Mountain West Conference.

You're in the fire now, assistant coach Lew Hill told Shaw, who prefers to face the rim, from the perimeter, on offense. No excuses. We expect you to do the job.

Shaw's been in the middle of the flame for three weeks.

"It's in the heart," Hill says. "Angles, toughness ... all that makes up for it."

In 21 previous seasons as a collegiate head coach, Kruger had never been forced to employ a 6-8 player as his starting center without even a power forward to use as a reserve.

Shaw's backups are lithe junior wings Joe Darger, 6-7, and Rene Rougeau, 6-6. We'll figure it out as a group, a smiling Kruger says.

On Monday, Kruger had another talk with Shaw about his burden.

"He has a renewed perspective on how great the challenge is," Kruger says. On Tuesday, Shaw had 2 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes as UNLV (4-2) lost at UC Santa Barbara on a last-second 3-point shot.

The Rebels have split their past four games, the only valid stretch on which to judge them because Adeife played in the season opener and the second game was against Division II Dixie State.

In those four, the only statistic directly related to victory or defeat was 3-point percentage. When UNLV shot better than its opponent beyond the arc, it won. When it didn't, it lost.

The Rebels are shooting 3-pointers at a 29.3 percent clip, worst among the nine Mountain West teams. Their 41.7 percent shooting overall is also at the bottom of the league.

Louisville hit the Rebels with a 2-3 zone defense and won by 20. No doubt, the rest of the Mountain West will see that video.

However, the Gauchos, who trailed most of Tuesday night, capitalized on some late interior offensive rebounds - in front of Shaw - to fuel their comeback.

"I'm on him all the time, and I'll stay on him," Hill says of Shaw. "He can't rest, can't relax. He ain't there yet, but guess what? He's going to get there."

Shaw received tough tutorials in Los Angeles at Fairfax High, where he played on a nationally recognized team.

He guarded Kevin Durant, now in the NBA, and Michael Beasley, now at Kansas State, during his prep career. "Those are elite big guys," Shaw says. "That played a major role in me being more tough. Can't be soft playing against guys like that."

Or Hamga.

At least there's a 7-footer in practice to push Shaw around, swat his shots, show him footwork and positioning, and steel him for what's coming.

That would be Brigham Young's 6-11 Trent Plaisted, Utah's 7-1 Luke Nevill and San Diego State's 6-10 Jerome Habel. Mountain West power forwards must be licking their chops too.

"He needs to know what he can do so he doesn't get his shot blocked," Hamga says. "Playing against me is good for him and the team."

Sitting on the bench hasn't been ideal for Hamga, who helplessly squirmed watching UNLV against Louisville, Reno's two 7-footers and in Santa Barbara.

He says Shaw did well against the Wolf Pack, except for that lapse when Shaw drifted under the basket against McGee.

But it's only a game, Hamga told Shaw. Even Yao Ming, the 7-6 center for the Houston Rockets, gets dunked on.

"So what? You're dunked on. Boom! It's over," Hamga says. "I told Matt, 'I won't care if I get dunked on 100 times if we win.' That's all that matters. Winning."

Shaw is the Rebel with the quickest wit and smartest comments. He makes fun of anyone - except coaches. He's serious, he says, only on the basketball court.

Since McGee got serious on him, Shaw's been a bit quieter. He vows to work on each possession, trying to deny passes to his taller foe, as if he's defending the crown jewels.

"They might have 4 or 5 inches on me, but when they leave here I want them to be sore," Shaw says. "Just because they're taller than me doesn't mean they'll outwork me."

Or leave him with a sour taste in his mouth.