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UNLV big men hope to maintain steady hand against K-State
‘Three-headed center,’ comprised of Shaw, Santee and Massamba faces tall task
Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
UNLV forward Matt Shaw fights for a defensive rebound with Louisville forwards George Goode, left, and Jared Swopshire during the second half of a Nov. 28 contest at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels upset the 16th-ranked Cardinals 76-71.
Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 | 2:30 a.m.
Battling Big Men
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del.icio.usBy competing against each other during practice and cheering for each other during games, Darris Santee, Brice Massamba and Matt Shaw have pushed themselves to a combined average 18.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
The Rebel Room
Previewing UNLV vs. K-State with Austin Meek from the Topeka Capital-Journal
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Ryan Greene is joined by Austin Meek, who covers Kansas State for the Topeka Capital-Journal, to preview Saturday's matchup between No. 18 UNLV (7-0) and Kansas State (8-1). The contest tips at 4 p.m. at the Orleans Arena.
UNLV vs. Kansas State
No. 18 UNLV Rebels (7-0) at Kansas State (8-1)
Where: Orleans Arena
When: 4 p.m.
Coaches: Lon Kruger is 119-53 in his six seasons at UNLV and 437-286 in 24 overall seasons; Frank Martin is 51-25 in his third season at K-State, which is his first head coaching job.
Series: UNLV leads, 3-1
Last time: The Rebels won, 80-61, in Salt Lake City in the NCAA tournament on March 14, 1987
Line: UNLV by 1.5
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Kansas City, ESPN Full Court, ESPN360.com/ESPN Radio 1100-AM
THE REBELS
G Tre’Von Willis (6-4, 195) 17.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.9 apg
G Oscar Bellfield (6-2, 180) 10.7 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.4 rpg
G Derrick Jasper (6-6, 215) 7.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg
F Chace Stanback (6-8, 210) 6.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg
C Brice Massamba (6-10, 240) 6.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Bench: G Kendall Wallace (6-4, 190) 6.6 ppg; F Darris Santee (6-8, 225) 7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg; G Justin Hawkins (6-3, 190) 5.6 ppg; G Anthony Marshall (6-3, 200) 4.7 ppg; C Matt Shaw (6-8, 240) 5.4 ppg; G Steve Jones (6-1, 220) 2.1 ppg.
What to watch: Tre'Von Willis has made a habit of carrying UNLV through in the second halves of each of their last two games. He could prove pivotal late if it's a tight game. Also, many are still waiting for Chace Stanback to have his breakout offensive game. The opportunity presents itself here.
THE WILDCATS
G Jacob Pullen (6-0, 200) 18.2 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.7 rpg
G Denis Clemente (6-1, 180) 14.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.7 rpg
F Curtis Kelly (6-8, 250) 11.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg
F Dominique Sutton (6-5, 218) 6.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg
F Jamar Samuels (6-7, 220) 11.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Bench: F Jordan Henriquez (7-0, 245) 3.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg; G Rodney McGruder (6-4, 205) 7.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg; F Wally Judge (6-9, 248) 4.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg; G Martavious Irving (6-1, 209) 3.7 ppg.
What to watch: K-State definitely has a size advantage up front, but the key to shutting down the Wildcats is containing a wildly active backcourt, featuring two highly-productive combo guards in Pullen and Clemente. If both are in the zone on the offensive end, it could make for a long night for UNLV.
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One had to re-establish himself after missing a year because of kneey surgery, one had to get stronger and, well, meaner, and one had to lose 40 pounds.
But so far, junior Matt Shaw, senior Darris Santee and UNLV sophomore Brice Massamba have combined to give the No. 18 Rebels (7-0) a solid, diversified frontcourt attack.
That trio faces a tall task — literally — Saturday, when Kansas State (8-1) brings its long, tall, athletic lineup to town for a 4 p.m. contest at the Orleans Arena.
UNLV assistant coach Greg Grensing, who regularly works with the big men, thinks gaining a mental edge on the K-State forwards could prove to be key in the pivotal non-conference game. A win would be valuable down the road on either team's NCAA tournament resumé.
"I think our guys are mentally ready to take on the fight, but it's going to be a battle from go," Grensing said. "We talk about it all the time. You can either hit or be hit. We better focus on delivering the first blow and trying to be physical and intelligent about it. But you have to neutralize some of that length and athleticism."
Neutralizing things inside has been the specialty of the UNLV bigs through seven games so far, as they've proven to be a reliable, quiet complement in the Rebels' guard-heavy lineup. Seven members of Lon Kruger's 11-man rotation check in at under 6-foot-8.
A common theme throughout the UNLV lineup is the lack of egos. Nowhere does that prove to be more beneficial than down low.
Massamba (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) averages 12.3 minutes per game, while Santee (6-8, 225) is checking in at 14.0 mpg and Shaw (6-8, 240) leads the group by a slim margin at 14.9 mpg.
With so much scoring coming from the cast of characters outside of the paint, the 18.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg the three combine for fit just right.
The scoring output has been timely, while the defensive prowess from each of the three is consistent. If there's one knock, it's the combined rebounding average between the three. They've totaled double-digit rebounds in only three games.
But with the Rebels' ability to get boards out of their physical perimeter players — the team is led in boards by 6-foot-8 small forward Chace Stanback at 5.7 per game — it has yet to prove to be a major problem.
"I think that's a big deal about it — everyone knows what their role is and what we have to do," Shaw said. "No one gets caught up in playing time and if one person's playing well, we don't get upset if they stay in longer. Being unselfish and willing to do whatever to win is the mindset we have right now."
Shaw's found new life in UNLV's rotation after missing all of last season recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, suffered just before the team headed to Australia for an exhibition tour in the summer of 2008.
His mean streak and propensity for banging around underneath the rim has been matched by Santee, who is a different player than the one who lost his starting gig and ultimately disappeared from the rotation towards the end of a disappointing 2008-09 campaign.
No play has epitomized his turnaround better than a first half jam against Louisville on Nov. 28. As part of a huge first half surge in the Rebels' 76-71 victory, Santee went up strong against lanky Cardinals forward Jared Swopshire. His two-handed throwdown, along with the accompanying foul it drew, brought a near-sellout crowd to its feet. A year ago, that shot might have been swatted into the stands.
For Massamba, who had trouble finding solid ground as a freshman, losing noticeable mass in the offseason has helped him gain the starting spot down low for the Rebels. His transformation may be more impressive than anyone's.
"I don't feel worn down yet, and I feel pretty good," he said. "Last year I was feeling terrible. But not this year. My conditioning's good with less weight. I'm quicker now, so coach tries to get me to use my quickness against slower big guys."
It will be the brawn of Massamba and friends that will serve them better than their quickness Saturday.
Between junior Curtis Kelly (6-8, 250 pounds), freshman Wally Judge (6-9, 248), sophomore Jamar Samuels (6-7, 220) and freshman Jordan Henriquez (7-0, 245), among others, the Wildcats have a lot of talent and bodies to throw around down low.
But while the Wildcats tend to go regularly with a bigger lineup, UNLV more than likely will stay with either a five-man attack featuring four guards or three guards and 6-foot-8 wing Chace Stanback. Deviating from what works could happen, but not if all goes to plan.
"If (the referees have) a fairly tight whistle, you could see a lot of lineups you haven't seen this year," Grensing said. "So, is it possible that those guys could be on the floor (at the same time)? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not unless the situation dictates it."
Another reason the three-man attack has worked so well is the philosophy behind it.
UNLV coach Lon Kruger has instilled in the big men the idea that, with the depth they have, going out on the court is to go as hard as humanly possible. If you get gassed or get in foul trouble, a safety net is always there.
"I think we've made really good progress. We work hard together, we play well together and we're coming along," Santee said. "I've seen they're very long, athletic and can block shots. So we've got to go in there and just play real strong, try to get them in foul trouble early and get them out of the game."
Discussion: 9 comments so far…
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I see Shaw as the one who steps up and plays huge tomorrow. He will bring his man (the opposing center) out on the perimeter. That frees up the lane for the guards AND gives Shaw a chance to shoot 3s, which he has made to this point in the season.
K-State definitely has a size advantage. It would be nice to see a the rebs employ a full court press to speed the game up, cause a little havoc for K-State's guards and to take advantage of our depth at guard. I like our chances in denying K-State from getting good passes to their big guys. We do have big athletic guards that can get in their guard's faces making it very difficult for them to just drop it into their bigs in the paint. The rebs just need to play smart, play fast, and keep moving the ball for open shots. I like our chances.
Big key is not so much the big guys but containing Pullen and Clemente. They are both very aggressive and look to score. The bigs mostly get points off of put backs and feeds off guard drives. If our guards can contain their guards we will win. Runnin' Rebels!
Ryan- Austrailia was not last summer. It was the summer before last. The summer of 2008. very small mistake. Great article, nice insight into our bigs.
johnvegas -- We all could probably argue all day about exactly what "last summer" means, but that has been clarified now :)
Hey john, thanks for the kind words. Truly appreciate it. I did mean summer of 2008, just probably should have worded it different. Thank you for pointing it out.
Gumby -- Gotta agree, while the battle of the bigs is intriguing, if you can cut off the head of K-State's attack -- that backcourt -- it renders the rest of the guys less effective, as the offense loses any possible flow.
One game I remember was Pullen's freshman year when Kansas was ranked No. 2 in the country and went into Bramlage Coliseum. So much focus was put on containing Walker and Beasley, and Pullen meanwhile steered the ship, scored 20 points and I think had maybe one or two turnovers. He turned out to be the difference in a monster upset. He has that kind of capability if you're not careful.
so is there a kansas/kansas state rivalry? forgive my ignorance... but is there a unlv/unr type thing going on? more incentive for the rebels to beat kstate. mehaw... or meow..... one wildcat down (arizona) one to go... kstate... then we need some paybacks for the other wildcats (uk) okay okay.. maybe we arent that good.. but i can hope
Of course there is a Kansas/Kansas State rivalry. We are two division one schools in the same state and in the same conference. We hate each other.
Unrelated to this article, but I've just been thinking about the return trip that UNLV will make to play Kansas State in Kansas City next year at the Sprint Center, and really wish it would be played at Bramlage Coliseum on the K-State campus in Manhattan. My desire is not for a home court advantage, we will have that in Kansas City anyway but rather as a homecoming for Lon Kruger. I think it would be really neat for Lon to bring his players into Bramlage and for them to see that big #12 jersey with the name Kruger on the back hanging from the rafters. What a great storyline that would be for the commentators during the game. It might give some extra inspiration to UNLV's players though, so maybe it is better to have it in KC.
you're probably right KSU. Let's have it in Manhattan