Rougeau’s senior presence among team’s biggest assets

By Rob Miech

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.

René Rougeau arrived in Las Vegas with hefty amounts of ambition and confidence for someone who didn’t start on his high school hoops team as a senior.

Some well-placed elbows from Odartey Blankson, and the physical styles of Joel Anthony, Louis Amundson and Dustin Villepigue, served as Rougeau’s Division-I baptism.

It was open gym.

“Where anything goes,” Rougeau said. “There were no coaches out there. By the time practice started, it wasn’t as hard. It could be physical in open gym. Having to guard ‘O-dot’ wasn’t the easiest, for sure.

“He was so physical. He was a hard one to block out. I definitely learned a lot that first year, just watching those guys.”

Soon enough, the quick learner was making life difficult for regulars like Wendell White.

“René would give Wendell fits in practice,” said assistant coach Steve Henson. “Some guys probably looked at him and didn’t think he was a good player, but they didn’t know much about him.

“He’s a guy who can get under a veteran’s skin, too. He never stops running, never stops talking. He probably had those guys frustrated right off the bat.”

Rougeau, one of the program’s walk-on-to-riches stories, will play his final regular-season home game Wednesday night against Air Force.

If Rebels coach Lon Kruger had not been receptive to allowing Rougeau to walk-on at UNLV, Rougeau could have been on the other side of the scorer’s table come Wednesday.

His father, Glenn, was a mechanic in the Air Force, and René would have followed that path.

Cal State Northridge and UC-Riverside were other options, and he might have gone to San Diego State if Aztecs coach Steve Fisher would have accepted him.

But that would have only been if UNLV and Air Force had fallen through.

“I applied to schools, and UNLV was at the top of the list,” Rougeau said. “I didn’t want to stay at home. Not many people were doing good things there, so I wanted a fresh start.”

Rougeau spoke with Kruger throughout the summer of 2004, and before school started Rougeau and his parents met with Kruger in Las Vegas.

“He met me,” Rougeau said, “and it was downhill from there.”

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound swingman is on track to become the first Rebel to lead the squad in rebounds, steals –- he’s five ahead of Wink Adams this season –- and blocked shots in consecutive campaigns.

Since blocked shots have been charted since 1981-82, only Richie Adams (1984-85) and Shawn Marion (1998-99) have pulled off that trifecta in one season.

Not only is Rougeau leading the team shooting 56.3 percent, he is the only starter hitting better than 40 percent from the field.

“It’s just been amazing to watch him grow before our eyes, on and off the court,” Henson said. “He came in with the perfect attitude; tons of energy, a team guy and he works like crazy.

“He took baby steps along the way. His skills started catching up with his attitude, he gained strength and he gained the respect of his teammates. Just a great story, period. A great story.”

Rougeau showed up with confidence. Otherwise, he never would have made the trek to Las Vegas. He knew he had to hit the weights, improve his ball-handling skills and shoot better.

But he had some natural attributes, Henson said, that some guys never develop.

Rougeau has a feel for the game that is innate. He finishes well, although he’s been tested close to the rim lately, and he can shoot with either hand.

“He recognized what he needed to work on that would give him a chance to play,” Henson said. “He did that a lot better than we all anticipated.”

It was almost comical, Henson said, how many good plays Rougeau made in practice, with the scout team, his first two seasons. Could he do that on the main squad?

There were doubters.

“On the scout squad, he’d make mistakes,” Henson said. “He’d gamble for steals. But you don’t worry about that because he was on the scout team.”

When he put on the red jersey, among the regulars, the UNLV staff figured those mistakes would stand out.

“But he overcame all those with his hustle,” Henson said. “He could gamble, get steals and not get beat.”

Kruger put Rougeau into his starting lineup in the ninth game of the 2007-08 season, and Rougeau has been there since. In Utah last week, he scored 19 points for the third time in his career.

As the team left for Australia in June, Rougeau, who turns 23 later this month, was rewarded with Kruger’s final scholarship.

“I definitely understand and appreciate coach, especially making me be patient,” Rougeau said. “That’s the biggest thing; me being patient, waiting my turn and learning more about the game.

“I was thankful for the scholarship. It was a lot smoother ride, for sure, not worrying about where money was coming from. It was a great honor. Going to Australia was a big achievement, too.”

Last fall, Rougeau and Kruger talked about Rougeau’s future. He graduated in December, with a degree in criminal justice. Investigating crime scenes interests him.

Playing professional basketball, however, was a preseason topic between Rougeau and Kruger. Coach, Rougeau said, has a lot of faith in him.

“That’s why he put a lot on me this season,” Rougeau said, “but I’m not worried about (the pros) right now. I’m just trying to help us get to the NCAAs, trying to give our fans something to cheer about.

“They definitely deserve it. The sellout against BYU was remarkable. Hopefully, we can get another one Wednesday.”