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twitterREBELS BASKETBALL:
UNLV hoops notebook: Players suspect practice gym a factor
Wed, Nov 12, 2008 (2:03 a.m.)
A Legendary Reunion
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Working Out the Jitters
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It might not have made a difference. UNLV coach Lon Kruger said as much.
But two Rebels said playing on the Thomas & Mack Center court for the first time in nearly two weeks might have had something to do with Tuesday night’s less-than-spectacular effort.
UNLV defeated Division-II Washburn, 74-56, after turning a two-point lead into somewhat of a rout over the last six minutes.
The Rebels hadn’t played on their own court, in their own building, in nearly two weeks, due to the Pro Bull Riders tour that took over the Mack.
UNLV was bumped to the Cox Pavilion practice gym, nicknamed The Dungeon by students.
“Getting used to the other gym, then to come back here … it’s a little different,” said senior forward Joe Darger, who shot 1-for-8 from the field. “A lot of guys kinda struggled in here.”
Freshman center Brice Massamba made the only shot -- a bunny in which he converted a three-point play -- he attempted in the game.
“Could be,” he said of having trouble shooting in the Mack after being away for a while. “We haven’t been practicing in here very much. But we’ll be ready Saturday.”
The Rebels start their season Saturday, at 2:30 p.m., against San Diego in the Mack.
A Kruger team?
UNLV has cherished each possession under Lon Kruger, especially over the past two seasons.
Its low turnover rate guided it to the Sweet 16 two years ago and the second round of the NCAAs in March.
During a six-game summer tour of Australia, however, UNLV had 68 assists and committed 100 turnovers.
That trend continued Tuesday when the Rebels had 13 assists and turned it over 22 times.
From his perspective
Senior forward Rene Rougeau had a pretty good game for someone who went 2-for-3 from the field and ended with five points.
Take a closer look at the box.
He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, stole four passes, blocked three shots and had three assists, and he only turned the ball over once in 32 minutes.
Rougeau was asked about freshman Oscar Bellfield and third-year sophomore Tre’Von Willis, who split the duties at the point against Washburn.
“It's just a matter of them being able to settle down,” Rougeau said. “They can't let the defense get them sped up. It's the first time they've really played college point guard.
“I'm not surprised that happened at first, but they controlled themselves and ran the team pretty well towards the end.”
The big debut
Well, that will come Saturday against San Diego.
Tuesday did offer fans their first glimpse of 7-foot freshman Beas Hamga in an organized game, on the Thomas & Mack Center court and against another team.
He missed his only shot, grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot.
Kruger frequently talks with Hamga about not being concerned with the expectations of others, that he has the luxury of progressing at his own pace.
That is, the pace that Kruger sets for him. Nobody else’s opinion matters.
“I think we were a little nervous,” Hamga said. “We just have to run our offense and play good defense. But I thought we played a lot more together in the second half.
“It’s our first game. I know we can play better than that. And I’m ready to go.”
Kruger’s three-headed center (Hamga, Massamba and starter Darris Santee) combined to go 2-for-7 from the field, with eight rebounds and 10 points.
Finally
Washburn coach Bob Chipman provided the quote of the evening when yet another questionable call, to him, was called on one of his players.
UNLV was starting to peel away, at 59-51, and Rene Rougeau walked to the free-throw line with less than five minutes left.
To get an official’s attention, Chipman yelled “Yo!” The official turned. Then Chipman barked, “Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!”
Discussion: 14 comments so far…
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Their opponent was a Division 2 school. A good team should have no problem with a D2 school no matter where they are playing. Let the excuses start coming for the mediocre season that is surely inevitable.
No need to hit the panic button yet. Let's take it easy on team expectations for the first few weeks or at least until after Saturday's game.
Having a meltdown, rebfan4evr? I wouldn't read to much into the first game. Saturday will be the real test.
Kansas had a tough time with Washburn, and Louisville struggled against Georgetown College. They might as well pack it up now and hope for a better season next year, right?
You're out of your mind.
You don't sound like a Reb fan forever with such a poor attitude.
Wow, you guys are good! Indeed, that was the best thing to happen to UNLV. Tested in an exhibition game, coming on in the last six minutes to take control. There are kinks to work out; when aren't there? It will be very interesting to watch what happens Saturday.
I think it's important to remember we lost a very good point guard who ran the team all last year. It's still like a new team and Kruger always takes a little time to get it going. By league time I think we'll be ok.
Yep, dloch. I agree. The last two seasons, different people were running the show. Kevin Kruger. Curtis Terry. Now, a new one this season. And Derrick Jasper should be the floor general next season. That spot is like a Merry-go-Round. Am sure Kruger would love the luxury of the same person at that position for two or three seasons. Jasper, by the way, will have two seasons left after leaving Kentucky.
When people start freaking out about our offense looking sub par at the beginning of the season, it makes me wonder if they've watched more than 3 games over the past 5 years.
Kruger is going to preach defense first and foremost and every one of his UNLV teams has started out the year tepid at best on offense.
Last year we barely survived against a game Montana State squad, and lost on the road to old PCAA foe UCSB, not to mention scoring less than 50 against our two ranked opponents (Arizona and Louisville). The year before that we lost to UCSB at home, and the year before that we lost 6 of our first 10 including an absolutely awful Oregon State squad.
In the end, we beat Washburn by 4 more points than Kansas did and 1 less than KState did. We don't have our rotations set yet and we're giving out minutes to everyone; it will take this team time to gel but I don't think there's any question this team is deeper, bigger, and more athletic than last year's squad.
Go Rebels!
Touche, couev. Well done. You need to chime in more here with solid opinions, and facts, like that. Bravo
He needs to check his "facts". We did not beat Washburn by 4 more points than Kansas. We beat them by 18, Kansas by 24.
Actually it was Kansas State by 24, Kansas by 19. Ha ha.
Yep, my numbers were absolutely off on the final scores of the KU and KState games. Don't even know how i made the errors it definitely wasn't simple arithmetic so i have no excuse.
However, apart from minutiae i do believe that my overall reasoning is sound.
Hey, it was an exhibition, a warm-up for all of us, right? Even for the calculators. Point is, Kansas, K-State and UNLV were all about equal against a tough Washburn sqaud with a tough coach. It will be interesting to check on them in a couple of months in the D-II ranks. Those games were invaluable to the Ichabods. D-II national champs? Just sayin' ... good thing the real deal is right around the corner for the Rebels, right?