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Adams remains positive as season end draws near
Up-and-down senior campaign hasn’t fazed UNLV senior guard
Monday, March 2, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.
Wink Adams looks for an open man as UNLV takes on Utah Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. Utah defeated UNLV 70-60 making the series even on the season.
| Adams' career stats | ||||
| Year | Pts. | FG% | 3Pt.% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 10.9 | 40.7 | 33.3 | 72.3 |
| 2006-07 | 13.9 | 38.4 | 35.8 | 75.5 |
| 2007-08 | 16.9 | 42.2 | 35.7 | 84.8 |
| 2008-09 | 14.4 | 37.2 | 27.2 | 69.1 |
Up to this point, UNLV guard Wink Adams reserves two words when describing his up-and-down senior season.
From a team aspect, with the Rebels heading into Wednesday's Senior Night contest against Air Force at 20-8 overall and 8-6 in the Mountain West, his choice needs a bit of explanation.
"I'd probably have to say just 'chemistry,'" he said. "I think that was probably our main problem this year. I think we could have established chemistry a little earlier in the season, could have won more close games than we did, but we were all trying to learn to play together."
When asked to provide the word to best describe his individual role in the roller-coaster ride of a season, though, clarification isn't as necessary.
The first injury of his career, a free-throw percentage that's dropped 15 percentage points from his junior season and up-and-down offensive trends. Not exactly what Adams had in mind.
"I'd probably say, for myself, 'mediocre,'" he continued. "I could have done better. I haven't shot the ball well, my first injury since I've been here, my first scoreless game, a lot of things happened this year that haven't happened in my career. Definitely mediocre.
"But at the same time, fun."
It's hard to think that Adams is lying about the 'fun' part. No matter who UNLV has lost to unexpectedly this season -- be it Cincinnati, Colorado State, TCU or Wyoming -- he's kept his head up and a smile on his face.
Deserving much credit for Adams' upbeat manner is his mother, Reandre, known around the greater Houston area as 'Mama Wink'.
"Every time they've got a game, if they lose, he'll call me when the game's over, and I'll tell him, 'Look, keep your head up, always keep a smile, always keep positive,'" she said. "'You never know who's looking, who's watching you.'"
Coming into the 2008-09 campaign, the expectations were there, as Adams was tapped a Mountain West preseason Co-Player of the Year.
But Adams had a tough time getting off the ground early on. Part of it was adjusting to a new physique.
Adams dedicated himself in the weight room over the summer, and returned in the fall looking both more defined and bulked up in his upper body.
"When you shoot, the ball is kind of lighter," Adams said of adjusting his jumper to his new body. "You get a tendency to shoot the ball harder after you lift weights. If you put on some weight, things get lighter.
"When I miss free throws, a lot of it is I'm either shooting them too hard, or if I shoot a three, it's too hard. You can't lighten up too much because you might air-ball. My whole season I've been trying to adjust that."
In turn, his offensive numbers have taken a dip.
Last season, in leading the Rebels to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, he averaged 16.9 points per game, shooting 42.2 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from 3-point range and, most impressive, 84.8 percent at the free-throw line.
Adams has always been known as a streaky shooter, but this season, the droughts have just tended to last longer. Averaging 14.4 points per game, his field-goal percentage is at 37.2, he's shooting 27.2 percent beyond the arc and 69.1 percent at the charity stripe.
Plus, there was one major bump in the road, which came in the form of a strained abdominal muscle, suffered against Southern Utah on Dec. 23. While the team labored on without him, even defeating Louisville on the road on New Year's Eve, Adams was thrown for a loop.
Before the injury, he went 14-of-32 from the floor and averaged 20.5 points per game in victories over Santa Clara and Arizona. After coming back, he went scoreless against New Mexico in 18 minutes, then struggled in losses at TCU and Colorado State.
While Adams's physical structure may be more eye-popping now than it was a year ago, the underlying battle has been keeping his body weight down. Last year, he played with 8-percent body fat. This season, he's down to 6, but there's still work that needs to be done, no matter how late in the schedule UNLV might be.
"Two percent of his 200 pounds, that's 4 pounds that he's heavy," said Jason Kabo, the team's strength and conditioning guru. "If it's 4, 6 pounds he's heavy, that's actually a lot.
Kabo said he doesn't even have Adams lifting all that much anymore at this point. Instead, dropping the so-called 'dead weight' is the focus.
"I just think carrying that extra weight hurt him a little bit," he added. "When he sets his mind to it, he can get it right. I think he can do that by the end of the season, but unfortunately it's the end of the season and not the beginning of the season."
For Adams, though, it's never too late to make as much of an impression as possible with pro scouts.
To make himself as seen as possible, showing a final burst of leadership by example in pushing his team to the NCAA tournament wouldn't hurt.
To do so, at this point, the Rebels more than likely will need to win the upcoming Mountain West tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"If we make the NCAA tournament, I'm satisfied," Adams said. "I want to be the one to take these freshmen and the ones who haven't experienced playing in the tournament there. If we get those guys there, I did my job, and then maybe win some games in the tournament, that's my main thing, wanting to go to the tournament for the third year in a row and help guys like Oscar (Bellfield) and DeShawn (Mitchell) experience that."
If Adams can push the Rebels into the field of 65, it'll be one final chance to showcase himself for whatever it is that lies ahead following his graduation this spring.
Coming into the season, Adams wanted to showcase his point-guard skills more and generally build on his break-through junior campaign for potential employers.
Now, the focus is placed on simply extending the season on college hoops' biggest stage.
"The closer it gets, you always think about where your future's gonna be and where you're gonna be playing at," Adams said. "I really don't know at this point, so I'm enjoying these last couple of months of college, playing with the guys, coming to practice and after the season, then wherever God blesses me to be at, I'll be at."
Kabo, as he has all along, sees the physical potential for Adams to reach the pinnacle of his personal hoop dreams.
"You've got guys like (5-foot-8 New York Knicks guard) Nate Robinson in the NBA who are short guys and are driving, making layups through people and banging into people who are twice their size," he said. "If (Adams) works at it, he will be."
Mama Wink, as she has all along, focuses on keeping his mind right above all else. She's reminded him plenty that worrying about the future will get him nowhere.
"I don't even think about it until it happens," she said of the next stop in his career. "All I want to see him do is graduate, get that diploma, and whatever God puts next is gonna happen. If it comes to you, it's gonna come. Focus on that, focus on your conference games. Come on up out of there, and we'll see what happens. Don't worry about none of that right now."
That's one area where he's found consistency this season.
Discussion: 8 comments so far…
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You're quoting Kabo for the story. Maybe you should have asked him a tough question like, why the hell did he bulk Adams up so much? And has he started job hunting yet.
Kruger should fire him. Adams bulked up physique has had a major effect on UNLV's poor season.
Stay positive Wink, the season is far from over. Plenty of teams have got hot late and made deep runs in the tournament.
Lenny, I don't think looking back in hindsight and saying Wink shouldn't have gotten stronger is the right mindset here. Added strength was the right step to take, considering how much Adams drove to the hole the past couple of years and got knocked on his rear while scoring and drawing fouls. Plus, a commitment in the weight room was something necessary given Wink's hopes of a future in pro ball.
I don't think Kruger should do that, either. You may think this season is poor, but it's far from over, and Kabo has plenty to do with the success this team has had, even though it's hard to remember for some fans that there has been plenty of success.
Fire Kabo for bulking up Wink.
Wink is not the same player bulked up
People look for easy answers to complex problems with the team. Do you really think if Wink didn't work out so much he would be the Wink of Old? I don't think so. I think it had to do more with expectations of this year's team and being the focal point of a team. Wink wasn't ready to be in the spotlight as the lead man. The failure to get a big man to perform reasonably well didn't help matters much either. I don't know where I blame that matter though.
Wink's size is not the problem.
Wink does better when we have a floor general. A Kevin Kruger or Curtis Terry. He's forcing. Doesn't play well with his team mates.
The trust that's been there the last two years is not there now. Like Wink said, "Chemistry".
You guys have a point. No-one else is really stepping up on a consistent basis and that pressure has probably affected him. But his shot has been off since day one of this season and his increased size has without doubt been a factor.
He is definitely slower this year compared to the last couple of seasons, and this has nothing to do with whomever is or isn't on the floor with him. You'd have to be blind not to notice the deficit of speed on his drives to the basket this season?
"Added strength was the right step to take, considering how much Adams drove to the hole the past couple of years and got knocked on his rear while scoring and drawing fouls."
So he'd be tougher, and not get hurt?
But he'd never been injured before this season.
Naah, it didn't make any sense to bulk up.
But look at the big picture. If your best scoring option is a 5'11" guy with a shaky jumper, that's not good. The utter failure of Santee and Massamba to develop is the main problem...