MRI on Adams’ abdomen brings positive news

By Ryan Greene (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Wink Adams' best Christmas gift came a day late, but surely the UNLV senior guard didn't mind.

Adams -- the 11-2 Rebels' leading scorer -- got positive news following a Friday morning MRI. The test revealed that a lower abdominal strain he suffered in Tuesday night's 73-60 victory over Southern Utah was just that.

"(We were able to) rule out any kind of tearing, anything pulling off the bone, anything like that," team trainer Dave Tomchek said following Friday night's practice at the Thomas & Mack Center. "As you can see, he's shooting out here and doing all this stuff, which is 10 times better than he was doing on Christmas Eve, and hopefully every day he will get better."

Adams rested on the scorer's table while his teammates worked out in the evening. He casually hoisted some set shots afterwards, but didn't try to do too much.

"I've just got to get the swelling down, and hopefully the pain goes away," Adams said. "I'm not really ready to jump and run yet. I'm just shooting jumpers standing still. I'm walking pretty good, so that's a good thing.

"Not a lot of shooting. I just took a couple of shots to see how I feel, loosen it up a little bit."

Now that the idea of Adams' injury being more serious than expected goes out the window, his goal becomes returning in time for UNLV's marquee non-conference game -- Wednesday evening at No. 19 Louisville.

But returning before he's good and ready won't be an option. Tomchek said on Thursday that if it were to be revealed by MRI as just a strain, it was likely an "8-to-10-day thing."

"I think in talking to Wink, it appears it feels better than he even anticipated," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "It's one of those things like a hamstring -- Where you don't really know until you get down the road a little bit. Fortunately, we've got time.

"I know he wants to play, which is a good thing, but still you have to be conscious to make sure he's healthy."

Added Adams: "There's always a couple of games you circle on the calendar, and this is one of them. I always want to play in these big games, at Louisville. Just coming out here and watching these guys practice and prepare for that, it's tough, but hopefully by Wednesday I'll be ready."

Rushing Adams back wouldn't be worth the risk anyway. As big as the game at Louisville is for the Rebels, the hunt for another Mountain West Conference title begins just a few days later, as New Mexico is in town for the league opener on Jan. 3.

Most likely, Adams will be doing the same thing he did at Friday's practice when the Rebels get together for more preparation on Saturday afternoon -- not much of anything.

Instead, he plans on trying to walk briskly, get some small hops on his jumpers and try his hand at a bit of advanced ballhandling.

"If I can do that," he said, "then I know it's progressing."

With Adams very questionable for the non-conference finale, it means the Rebels will more than likely prepare to face the Cardinals with Tre'Von Willis penciled in as the starter at the two-guard spot, with Kendall Wallace serving as the primary weapon off the bench.

Willis at the moment looks primed for the opportunity.

Following a 19-point outburst off the bench on Dec. 20 against Arizona, he talked about embracing his role off the bench in terms of knowing what's needed of him -- aggressiveness and a knack for making plays any way possible.

"We've played 12, 13 games so far -- I'm just getting more comfortable, getting my feel, my touch out there, my awareness, just everything a basketball player needs," he said Friday. "That's my mentality going into every game for the rest of the season, just be aggressive and be a playmaker."

He stayed in game mode until well after Friday's practice concluded.

He spent a good chunk of time getting off 3-pointers from five different spots around the arc, with assistant coach Greg Grensing firing crisp passes the entire time.

He hit 52 of 80 attempts on his final go-round. Still, he wasn't satisfied when told of his hand-counted total.

"We're basketball players, this is our opportunity to step up and pick up some slack if Wink can't play," he said in a serious tone. "That's our leader and our leading scorer. So we've all just got to pick up the slack for what's missing."

Note: The Rebels were a tad shorthanded for Friday's practice as far as available bodies went. Senior Rob Ketchum left early due to illness, while Wallace showed up at the tail end after airport traffic delayed his return to Vegas. The same went for injured junior Matt Shaw.

As for redshirting transfers Chace Stanback and Derrick Jasper, they were not present, nor will they be until the team returns from Louisville. Both were given an extended break by Kruger. Jasper was not present for UNLV's two games prior to the short break, as he was given permission to go home for the holidays a bit early.