UNLV hoops notebook: Youngsters help team unwind after close win

By Rob Miech

Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.

Tre’Von Willis stole a ball from one kid. Chace Stanback raised another one to the rim so he could dunk. René Rougeau showed two girls and a boy how to properly stretch on a pink mat.

Less than 24 hours after UNLV nearly fumbled a game away to New Mexico in the final minute, the Rebels returned to the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday afternoon.

The sourness of how Saturday night ended was in the distant past as each of coach Lon Kruger’s players had some fun with five dozen hearing-impaired children.

Their parents walked around taking pictures, and the kids obtained autographs on basketballs and posters.

Kruger’s wife Barb helped arrange the “clinic” with SERTOMA (Service to Mankind), a national civic service organization that is one of her many charitable endeavors in the Las Vegas area.

“This is fun for us,” Willis said. “Hanging out with kids. Making them feel good. Having them look up to us. It’s heart-warming for us. It makes what we do that much more special.”

Assistant coach Lew Hill observed the controlled frenzy while perched on a pad on the scorer’s table.

“Oh man, this is what it’s all about,” he said. “Helping. Giving back. Just sharing. Coach does a good job of putting our kids in positions to do things like this.

“Some of these kids can’t speak. They use sign language. But look how happy they are to be with these guys. That’s the important thing.”

Barb Kruger is adept at sign language and communicated that way with many of the families.

“As much as the little campers enjoy it, I think our players enjoy it more,” said Lon Kruger. “I think that’s obvious when you watch the interaction. A lot of them are away from brothers or sisters.”

A day later

Kruger and his assistants reviewed some clips of the 60-58 victory over the Lobos with their players Sunday afternoon.

That included parts of the last minute, when the Rebels missed five of seven free throws to give New Mexico a shot at winning the game.

Which was worse, watching those last 38 seconds unfold live or on tape?

Hill laughed.

“Well, as a coach, it’s always tougher on tape,” he said. “You start picking out every little thing. Basketball’s not like that. It’s a reaction thing. But you know what? We found a way to win. That’s important.

“Last season, we won 27 games. Not all of them were pretty. The season before, we won 30. Not all of them were pretty. You have to learn from your mistakes. You have to get better.”

Kruger said watching it unfold live is more difficult. Then again …

“Tape is different,” he said. “It’s frustrating, because you can’t believe some of the things that are happening. But it’s all part of it, part of learning and growing.”

Like Hill, Kruger talked about how having a letdown after winning such a thriller at Louisville on New Year’s Eve is “human nature.”

“Even though we have a great deal of respect for New Mexico, you have to line up and play exactly the same way every night,” Kruger said. “We didn’t. Credit New Mexico for some of that. I think we’ll learn from it.”

Steaming

The Rebels regularly felt the wrath of Hill during timeouts Saturday night.

He said it wasn’t certain players or particular stretches that were in his crosshairs.

“Just the whole game, just everybody,” Hill said. “Just no effort. It’s human nature, after a big game like Louisville, to kind of listen to people and not come out and play as hard as you need to.

“That’s one of my pet peeves since we’ve been here, just playing hard. We play hard.”

Suffice it to say, Hill was upset at the effort from start to finish.

“Not like we normally do,” he said. “We just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be.

“They’re still kids, remember that. They’re still kids. Anybody can beat you on any given night. That’s a big part of it.”

Once in a lifetime

About that air ball that Willis launched from the free-throw line with 13.4 seconds remaining?

“Only one in my life,” he said Sunday afternoon. “Ever.”

He said he didn’t owe it to fatigue or any other excuse, that it just “flat out” slipped.

“Definitely, it was one of the most embarrassing moments in my life,” he said. “It felt like a road game after I shot it, hearing all the chatter. I just have to focus more, make sure the ball is in my palm and follow through.”

He said the review of the game tape earlier Sunday was harsh.

“You know, tape don’t lie,” Willis said. “It was even worse. We knew we played bad after the game. Tape showed that we played awful. That’s not the team we like to be.”

No Mo tape

Senior power forward Mo Rutledge grabbed four rebounds in a second consecutive game for the first time this season.

He stole two passes, hit a 3-point shot and sank two free throws, but he contributed to New Mexico’s renewed life when he missed two freebies with 26.3 seconds left.

“Yeah, that stung,” he said. “I was a little bit nervous at the line for some reason. I don’t know why. Maybe because the game was on the line. I haven’t been that nervous in a long time.

“I felt good. I felt like I’d hit both of them, or at least hit one. But I wound up missing both.”

The review of that final 38 seconds was not pleasant.

“It was a little scary, I’m not going to lie,” Rutledge said. “It was a little scary. New Mexico came and brought their all. I’m just glad we were fortunate to come out with the win.”

At halftime, Rutledge removed the beige tape that wrapped around his left index finger that he has worn since jamming that digit against Western Michigan.

The lefty shot four-for-13, including three-for-eight from 3-point range, with the tape on his puffy finger.

“It feels a little better,” Rutledge said. “It’s still swollen. I can’t bend it all the way down, like the right one. If I bump it it’ll hurt, just not as much. Every time I bumped it, it hurt so bad.

“You learn to adapt, just try to play aggressively even if it does hurt. Just keep shooting and being aggressive on the boards.”

Impressing

Freshman forward DeShawn Mitchell finished with four points, the most he’s tallied since he had five against Northern Arizona 10 appearances ago.

His emphatic dunk on the left side, off a nice feed from Willis, gave the Rebels a 30-26 lead near the end of the first half and might wind up on another T-shirt.

Mitchell also grabbed two offensive boards. Senior guard Wink Adams is regaining his strength and there was some first-half foul trouble, but Kruger said Mitchell is earning a permanent spot in the rotation.

“He’s making progress,” Kruger said. “He got a couple buckets. Equally important was his defensive effort. He was really solid and good on the boards. He’s showing signs of making consistent progress.”