Former walk-on gets his turn

By Rob Miech

Thursday, March 13, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Junior guard Rene Rougeau is a former walk-on who has blossomed into perhaps the most versatile Rebel. His strong play earned him honorable mention on the Mountain West All-Conference team, announced this week.

As the conference tourney begins, Rougeau shares his thoughts:

I definitely had to work hard to get to this point. I started lifting weights five times a week and drinking protein shakes as a freshman to add weight, and I still need to add some.

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Coach Lon Kruger said by my junior year he expected a lot out of me. Everything’s going as planned.

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My options were limited out of high school. Fordham. Long Island. Columbia. Air Force. I’m just glad coach Kruger gave me the opportunity.

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Romel Beck, from my high school, played here, and we’re close. And it’s close to home but not too close. And my dad knew the history of UNLV basketball and of coach Kruger.

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With my frame, I have to be versatile and do whatever it takes to be more athletic. Being a “tweener,” I guard guards and big men. I need to post up guards and take big men off the dribble.

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Last postseason, guys went all out. Whatever it took. Kevin Kruger, Wendell White and Joel Anthony, they left it all out there. Sometimes I think of what they would do in situations. I looked up to them, so I definitely need to be someone these guys can look up to now.

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I talk most with Michael Umeh. He’s real proud of me. He knew all it would take was for me to get some playing time. He knew I’d blossom.

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My dad is my toughest critic. After every game, he tells me what I could do better, even if I played well. I’m never satisfied, and I thank him for that.

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He would always make sure I was in a park or a gym, taking a lot of shots. He set that standard for me. He’ll come back from the park and say, “I just got my shots in. Have you?”

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For almost 15 years, he has driven a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus on a graveyard shift in Los Angeles. Knows the city like the back of his hand. It’s peaceful at those hours in L.A.

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Out of the Air Force, he almost played ball at Delaware State. But he had a bad ankle. He wanted this one day. I guess I’m reliving it for him.

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He’d pound me in one-on-one games. He’s about 6-5, 240. A muscular guy. So he’d post me up. I first beat him in ninth or 10th grade. Now I have that reach so I can block that shot. I talked to him last night. He says I need to play opponents like I play him.

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I get a lot of rest. Got that from Dad. He taught me that at an early age. With the minutes I play, I have to be rested. I take a lot of naps, especially on the road. Wink Adams always gets on me about sleeping a lot on the road.

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You have to be patient. Keep working hard. Things have fallen into place for me, and I’m very thankful and grateful. Any moment, you have to be ready.