By Rob Miech

Sat, Jan 5, 2008 (midnight)

Meet Joe Darger, a 6-foot-7 gum-chomper who has found himself in the eye of a hurricane at UNLV.

He's either attempting to poke passes away from opposing centers or trying to hold his ground, yielding no room horizontally or vertically, with his arms straight up in the low post.

“I never thought I'd be a starting center in college basketball,” he says. “I thought I'd be out on the wing. Things happen. You try to do your best every game.”

When Rebels coach Lon Kruger put Matt Shaw on the bench, his already diminutive squad lost another inch in its starting fold when Darger -- sounds like “dagger,” with a hard “g” -- was assigned to the opposing center.

His defensive play will be critical for the 11-3 Rebels, who start Mountain West Conference action today at Colorado State -- against 7-foot center Stuart Creason -- in their quest to return to the NCAA tournament.

Darger usually gives up four or five inches to his foe. Fortunately, he gets tested every day in practice against Beas Hamga, a 7-footer who is redshirting and holds nothing back.

Darger's nose knows Hamga's forearms and biceps well.

“Gonna catch a few elbows,” Darger says. “It (ticks) me off a little bit, but it's not on purpose. He's a tough kid.”

Darger's becoming one.

Here are five other key elements to UNLV's future success:

Dialing long distance

They had center Manny Adeife, who is no longer on the team, for the first game, then played Division-II Dixie State. Since then, the Rebels have won when they shoot 3-pointers better than their opponents and lost when they don't. That didn't hold form only once. Hitting 3's will combat their post deficiencies.

Contagious chemistry

When a Rebel falls, watch how the rest sprint to pick him up. Kruger relentlessly instills that practice. “People don't know how big chemistry is,” says reserve guard Marcus Lawrence. “Players on other teams yell at each other. We play hard and pick each other up. I love our team.”

Ball control

Almost the entire starting unit has changed from last season, but the song remains the same at UNLV. The Rebels are among the top teams in the nation in fewest average turnovers. Cherishing every possession comes from Kruger playing for the demanding Jack Hartman at Kansas State.

Bench

The tenacity of Wink Adams is invaluable to UNLV, but even he needs a rest now and then. Credit Matt Shaw, who did not pout when shown the bench. In his past three games, he scored 38 points and grabbed 24 rebounds. Call him the sixth starter.

Win the conference tournament

For the second consecutive season, the Mountain West tournament is in Las Vegas and UNLV will need the edge. The Rebels are a solid 37th in the Ratings Percentage Index, a factor in NCAA tournament seeding. But they don't want to rely on the whims of a subjective NCAA Selection Committee.

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at miech@lasvegassun.com.