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twitterUNLV hoops notebook:
Adams responds to ‘showtiming’ in layup line
Friday, Jan. 16, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.
UNLV guard Wink Adams takes the ball up the court during the second half of their Mountain West Conference opener against New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center earlier this month. Adams returned to the lineup after missing the game against Louisville due to an injury.
The Rebel Room
CSU POSTGAME: Where to start ...
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Ryan Greene and Rob Miech start from the beginning in dissecting UNLV's surprising 71-69 setback at Colorado State, including some interesting body language from the Rebels during pregame warmups. The guys talk about areas still needing improvement, plus look ahead to what is now a very intriguing home date with Wyoming on Saturday night.
UNLV senior guard Wink Adams cringed when he saw teammates clowning around in the layup line Wednesday night at Moby Arena.
Tre’Von Willis soared in for dunk after dunk, posturing with his left hand on the back of his head. Others made it look like they were about to play the Washington Generals.
That’s the woeful squad the Harlem Globetrotters always turned into hapless fools.
The Rebels were about to play Colorado State, which had dropped its past 19 regular-season games in the Mountain West Conference.
Adams made the connection. He also remembered that’s what insulted UNLV in games at Texas-El Paso and Louisville –- both of which were Rebels’ victories -– this season.
He nearly spoke up. He nearly gathered every teammate together and tore into them, blasting them for their lack of class.
Then he saw René “NeNe” Rougeau, a senior, taking part in the antics. That stopped Adams, a master of hoops etiquette, cold.
“I really couldn’t say anything,” Adams said after a heated session Thursday afternoon in the Cox Pavilion practice gym. “We had a senior out there doing it. I couldn’t say anything but I should have.
“I think some guys were focused on the game. I think some guys were trying to hype themselves up a little too much by dunking.”
The 71-69 defeat to the Rams might have shocked many, but it stung the Rebels like a cold shower. Mostly, it might have transformed Adams from a leader-by-example to one with a voice.
A loud one.
Adams vowed to never let something like that happen again without his attention or comment. He vowed to speak up more. He started Thursday before practice in the locker room.
Adams talked first. He didn’t whisper. He talked about effort.
Rougeau went next, saying he was dunking in the layup line and that’s not what UNLV is about. He sent every Rebel a text message Thursday about a Friday morning players-only meeting.
Fifth-year coach Lon Kruger went third.
“He came in and finished it off,” Adams said. “I think everybody got the point … like coach says, guys listen to certain people they want to listen to.
“You know, everybody really listens to me. They listen to NeNe and Joe (Darger), too. But everyone listens to me. It all starts with me. I’ve been taking that into consideration.”
UNLV is at its best when Adams plays strong, when he’s bull-driving through the lane, using his strength to brace himself for tough shots in traffic and drawing fouls, and creating for others.
He had a career-high nine assists Saturday at TCU.
Adams watched Kevin Kruger take the Rebels by their horns two seasons ago and Curtis Terry impose his will on them last season. Neither hesitated to dress down a teammate.
For UNLV to win a game in the NCAA tournament for a third consecutive spring, Adams has figured out the formula.
He will need to provide the fire, with his actions and his vocal cords.
“Really, I’m not a big talker off the court,” Adams said. “I don’t say too much, except for people I know. But for this team to be good, I have to talk and I have to do things better.
“I’m really working on it, just being vocal. It’s the biggest thing. It’s coming slowly, but it’s coming.”
He admitted he isn’t the best speaker. He can get going and, well, it can make no sense very quickly. He’s just not used to it.
But Adams plans to learn quickly. He knows his passion and fire won’t require perfect syntax or complete sentences. They’ll know what he’s talking about.
They won’t showboat in a layup line again this season.
Kruger reminded his players Thursday about UTEP and Louisville.
“They were dunking in the layup line, kind of ‘Showtiming,’ kind of showing us up at the other end,” Adams said. “It was kind of embarrassing. We came out and played harder.”
UNLV scored the first 10 points in Louisville and squeaked out a victory.
What the inspired Rebels did to the layup-line-dunking Cardinals, Adams saw the Rams do to the Rebels on Wednesday.
“That’s not real basketball,” he said. “Coming out, dunking in the layup line, trying to show up the other team, coming out and not breaking a sweat in warm-ups …
“That’s the biggest thing. Since I was a freshman in the layup lines, seniors have said ‘Break a sweat. Get loose.’ That’s how you start a game well.”
Wednesday night, Adams noticed enough teammates who were “fresh,” who hadn’t broken a sweat at the start of the game, to further disturb him.
“That’s not good,” he said. “We need everyone to be in a sweat.”
Chemistry 101
Asked about team chemistry, one Rebel smiled. He said this is the closest, most tight-knit team he’s ever been a part of.
“It’s there,” Adams said. “When we watch film, certain parts of games look like games we’ve played the past two seasons. Some possessions look like a totally different team.
“We have to get five guys out there who can play 40 minutes of defense, denying the ball and not getting back-cut, just getting five guys out there who can do it. Everybody else will follow.”
According to Kruger, chemistry-wise, there is nothing wrong with this club.
“I don’t think it’s to the point where we can’t improve the five-on-five mindset,” he said. “We’re definitely more concerned about the team results, but you’re always trying to do that.
“Right now, when you’re not great defensively, when you’re not getting good results like we aren’t, we’re a little extended. It’s five one-on-ones instead of one five-on-five.”
The coach’s corner
Being 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference will test Kruger, his staff and the Rebels.
“That’s what makes it interesting,” Kruger said. “These are difficult times, when you lose a couple and you don’t feel good about what you’re doing.
“People write you off a little bit. Chips are down. But that’s really when you find out about yourself, find out about how you’ll respond in tough times.”
Assistant coach Greg Grensing told the Sun that one of Kruger’s best assets is his demeanor 10 or 15 minutes after a victory or a defeat. In either case, Kruger is even-keeled.
It won’t be easy to tell if the Rebels had just won or lost.
“Well, we’re always concerned about what’s happening next,” he said. “Let’s learn from what happened previously. Still, you can’t change it. You have to focus on getting better for the next one.”
It isn’t about the players having difficulty in effectively transferring what they learn in practice to successful outcomes in games.
That works both ways, Kruger has always preached.
“That’s a combination of us teaching and them listening,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ever a case of me saying, ‘Well, I told you to do it that way.’ I have to say it in a way that they get it.
“Anytime something doesn’t work in games, I don’t ever think it’s because they weren’t listening. Maybe I wasn’t saying it in the way that they hear it. It has to be a combination of the two.”
Free throws
UNLV and local non-profit group Three Square are teaming up for the “Full Court” food drive at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday night before the Rebels take on Wyoming at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to drop non-perishable food items outside the Mack starting at 2 p.m. Those who donate are eligible for free tickets to the game that night ... Saturday’s game also is the annual “Pack the Mack” event. All balcony tickets are available for $7 … junior center Darris Santee left Thursday’s practice early with what appeared to be a leg injury. “I don’t know,” said trainer Dave Tomchek. “No comment.”
Discussion: 9 comments so far…
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Wink needs to line them ALL up and go down the line. One by one. Lay the smack down and let it be known hat there is ONE leader on this team. Even a group of leaders needs one above all others.
I'm just saying. There's a reason why Wink was addressing the team as it's leader and Rene was addressing them to apologize...
You're the man Rob. BTW, what's your handle on the message boards...? lol
; )
The problem is, Wink hasn't been leading by HIS PLAY all year. Some of his shot selection and decision making really has me scratching my head. Wink can help us the most by scoring the dang basketball...something he has NOT done well all year long. Shooting a paltry 35% from the floor, 23% from 3, and just shy of 70% from the foul line (as a 2 guard!?!?)...maybe WINK needs to try dunking in warm-ups. ;) We didn't lose because we were dunking in warm-ups, we lost because we stuggle executing on both ends of the floor. Not everyone has the same approach to a basketball game.
Interesting scoop though Rob, thanks for the coverage.
Great info. This is encouraging considering yesterday's reported information.
However, 2 questions remain:
- Can Nene rebound from this? Will he overcompensate for his recent cocky-ness with a lack of confidence? That will be just as harmful.
- Can Wink really be the leader? He is a naturally socially passive guy who doesn't appear to have innate leadership qualities. Perhaps this is the event that propels him into leadership, but really if that were the case, shouldn't it have shown up on the court Wed.?
Should be interesting. I keep reminding myself of the guy on the sidelines and then I feel better.
Team Chemistry is there??? I don't think so fellas.
pivotal game this saturday. see if we get our head out of our behinds or we roll over. i can hear byu chomping at the bit already for this wed. may not be pretty.
KC, the lax attitude in warmups directly translated to sluggish and sloppy play ... a sports psychologist who went to today's practice heard about that and shrugged. NEVER a good thing, he said of the layup-line antics. NEVER. So, it wasn't minor at all. Just the opposite. The players themselves said so.
Why would anyone expect anything less from this team. It is like Rebel fans are in a coma and refuse to accept the fact this is a weak team,weak school and a weak conference which by any standards is a laughing stock of NCAA sports.
Laughing stock of NCAA sports? Hmm. Not sure about that homer. Utah football did pretty well this past season. Winning at Michigan. Not bad. The other day, the MWC was rated higher than the SEC in hoops. That win at Louisville was pretty big. A joke? How about nine Big East teams in the rankings. I don't think anything of rankings, first off, because of just that -- Eastern bias. Any Kruger team is not a 'weak' team. That is so wrong, I won't even dignify it with a response. This is supposed to be an arena for thoughtful banter.
Where were the coaches when the players were acting like idiots, show boating instead of warming up focused on the game?