Ketchum foresees emotional, teary Senior Night

AP Photo/Fort Collins Coloraodoan, Travis A. Heuser

Colorado State’s Harvey Perry and UNLV’s Rob Ketchum fight for position in the first half during their game at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo., on Jan. 14. CSU defeated UNLV 71-69.

By Rob Miech

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.

Justin M. Bowen

UNLV 's Rob Ketchum puts his head in his hands as the final seconds tick off the clock against Utah on Feb. 25 at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

UNLV senior forward Rob Ketchum can see it coming, he can feel the tidal wave that will be triggered by his mother’s first few steps at the Thomas & Mack Center tonight.

Shed a tear?

“A fountain,” Ketchum predicted from his mother, Kim Madden, as they walk to center court before the Rebels play Air Force on Senior Night.

She’ll have a bouquet of roses in her right arm, he’ll be tightly holding on to her left arm.

“I talked to her the other day and I felt her getting emotional,” Ketchum said. “I said, ‘Mom, you’re not crying in front of all those people.’ I love my mom to death, but when she cries I cry. I’m not going to lie.

“We’re each other’s support system. I said, ‘C’mon mom, not in front of all these people.’ She knows I’m not a quitter. I’ve never quit anything I’ve done, no matter how rough it’s gotten. She’s just proud of me.”

The basket

In his brief stretch at UNLV, Ketchum, 22, has made an impact, way behind the scenes, and is one of the most respected Rebels.

Not bad for a guy with one basket and two free throws on his career.

He appeared for practice at the Mack in the middle of the 2007-08 season. No fanfare. No press release.

No one knew he played high school baseball and basketball in Elk Grove, Calif., south of Sacramento, or that he went to Tuskegee University in Alabama.

He didn’t play basketball at Tuskegee, but he was near his sister, Mary, who has four children. He didn’t care for the South, so he played two seasons at a junior college in Rocklin, Calif.

His older brother Danny’s dream of going to UNLV always stuck with Rob, who turned two fantasies into reality when he arrived in Las Vegas.

He converted a fast-break layup, on a feed from senior guard Wink Adams, in the first half at Colorado State on Jan. 14. He’s 1-for-1 from the field as a Rebel.

Two seconds after Ketchum scored, Rams coach Tim Miles called a timeout. UNLV players circled Ketchum as he loped to the bench.

“More than anything, I didn’t expect them to be that happy for me,” he said. “Even after the loss, Kendall Wallace came up to me and said, ‘Sorry we lost, but you scored your first bucket.’

“Even in hard times like that, they still noticed something like that. I’ll never forget about it. Glad I got to share it with guys who care about me and whom I care about a lot.”

Lucky 13

There was some confusion with his academic transcripts, so the 6-foot-5 forward wouldn’t be eligible to play in games, but UNLV coach Lon Kruger needed warm bodies during a challenging ’07-08 season.

Ketchum missed the team’s tour of Australia in late June because he had summer classes. He became eligible to play after fall grades were posted.

Hours later, he wore his white No. 13 jersey for the first time in a home game against Southern Utah. He made his first road trip with the squad for its New Year’s Eve stunner at Louisville.

Mostly, Ketchum’s duties are with the black shirts, UNLV’s scout team of transfers, walk-ons and Rebels on the mend who push the regulars in practice.

Think the starters and reserves take losing hard? The black shirts feel twice the sting since they believe they didn’t do enough to prepare the regulars.

Kruger always hopes to have such a third team, but he acknowledged that black shirts are a rare luxury for many reasons.

“Rob really is a good guy for the black shirts … they’re all strong guys and experienced,” Kruger said. “The quality and depth of that black-shirt team is probably unusual.”

The fat lip has healed. A while back, he was fitted with a mouth guard to protect his teeth. His cranium no doubt resembles a mogul run on a ski slope. Monday, Ketchum sported a cut on his nose.

He wouldn’t change any of it.

“Every one of these guys I respect,” Ketchum said. “I’d do anything for them. They know that. If I tell them something, they believe me. If I see something wrong, I’ll point it out.”

He has memorized Kruger’s plays to fill in the young bucks, like DeShawn Mitchell and Brice Massamba.

“They trust me to know what I’m talking about,” Ketchum said. “I feel like they give me respect. Not many people can say they came in the middle of a season and got respect from a team.”

The future

Ketchum rolls his eyes when he thinks about the next few editions of UNLV hoops. He calls Mitchell, Massamba and Oscar Bellfield his three little brothers.

Mentioning point guard Derrick Jasper and forward Chace Stanback just about made Ketchum gasp.

“Derrick is so physical,” he said. “The progress he’s made with his knee is incredible. He’s moving, cutting and working out so hard in the weight room, more than anyone. He’s so committed to basketball.

“And I’m just so proud of Chace. When he first came here, his defense was not up to par. He gambled a lot. Now he’s staying down and playing every play, not taking plays off like he did before.”

Ketchum said not to forget about Matt Shaw -– Ketchum’s roommate, with René Rougeau –- who is rebounding from knee surgery and has been practicing for a couple of months.

“He was a big part of last season,” Ketchum said. “The program is going to be nice for a long time.”

Do not forget about this season, either, Ketchum warned. At 20-8, fans might have expected more. So did the players, Ketchum said. But it isn’t over.

“We still have an opportunity to do something great this year,” he said. “That’s what we’re honed in on. We’re not giving up on the season … nothing is dismissed. We’ll keep pushing.”

Inspiration

Last semester, in front of the team, Kruger told Ketchum “good job” after the players had turned in their grade reports.

“It inspired me to do even better,” Ketchum said. “You don’t want to let him down. He gives everyone respect, and that goes a long way. That has rubbed off on me.

“He’s just an inspiration. He inspires me to do great things on and off the court. It’s easy to play for him, to come in here and do whatever he needs.”

If the Rebels get a big lead on the Falcons, build on it and it’s no contest with a few minutes left, Ketchum just might get into another game.

It might be the last one of his collegiate career, and he just might get his second Division-I basket. Soon enough, there just might be an 11th body in the game.

“Oh, you’ll see my brother run out on the court,” said Ketchum, smiling. “I’m almost guaranteed he’ll do that. Yeah. And mom will be right behind him.”