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twitterUNLV BASKETBALL:
Assistant hoops coach Lew Hill, like Rebels, hungry to win
Public to get its first look at the 2009-2010 team Friday night
Rob Miech
UNLV assistant basketball coach Lew Hill, who left the Thomas & Mack Center on a stretcher after a game last season, at a Wednesday media event. Hill says he’s in fine shape and looking forward to the 2009-10 season.
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Lon Kruger
Sun coverage
UNLV assistant basketball coach Lew Hill knows it’s early. The public gets its first look at the 2009-10 team Friday night and full-bore practice begins Saturday.
Yet, in the past several weeks of conditioning, Hill has noticed something different about this version of the Rebels compared to last season’s squad.
“The hunger,” Hill said. “Two years ago, when people didn’t know we’d be good, that was the edge they played with. Last season, people projected us to be good and we didn’t play with that edge.
“I think this team has gotten that edge back.”
So has Hill, who left the Thomas & Mack Center on a stretcher with chest pain in February after an overtime defeat to San Diego State in one of the scarier scenes in recent UNLV memory.
“I remember walking out of the arena and seeing him in the ambulance,” said guard Derrick Jasper. “It was real scary for him and his family.”
After a few days of tests and observation at Sunrise Hospital, Hill returned to the Rebels with a doctor’s list of lifestyle changes. At the Mack on Wednesday, Hill said he’s doing fine.
“I feel good,” he said. “Oh yeah, I feel really good. There was a lot going on, stuff I care not to share. It was just a whole group of things.”
Hill acknowledged that many were concerned about him.
“I am great and thank you for worrying about me,” he said when asked what he’d like to tell UNLV fans and others interested in his welfare. “I am blessed. I’m happy and I feel good, and I’m ready to get after it.”
UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who underwent heart bypass surgery in August 2007, said such a health concern makes most people pause.
“Anytime something like that happens, it gets your attention,” Kruger said. “It makes you step back and maybe more fully appreciate the opportunity you have and also be a little more careful with your health and how you’re taking care of things.
“Lew seems very enthusiastic about the year and excited about the guys on the squad.”
Kruger coached Kansas State against Hill, a point guard, and Wichita State in 1986-87 and 1987-88, when Hill helped the Shockers reach consecutive NCAA tournaments.
Hill and the Shockers won the first game, 63-60, in Wichita, and Kruger and the ’Cats took the second, 58-47, in Manhattan.
Wichita State, coached by Kruger pal Eddie Fogler, lost in the first round of the NCAAs in 1987 to St. John’s and in 1988 to DePaul.
“Eddie was always positive about Lew,” Kruger said. “Lew was a very good competitor, one of those guys who knew the game well and knew how to play.”
When Kruger took over at UNLV, he hired Hill away from Texas A&M, which had gone 7-22 (including 0-16 in the Big 12 Conference) in 2003-04. Aggies coach Melvin Watkins had always raved about Hill to Kruger.
“Lew does a great job, absolutely,” Kruger said. “He’s very conscious about helping the guys, both on and off the court, and he works extremely hard at it.”
Hill’s wife, Renee, gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Elle, last month, but he declined to discuss the family addition.
“It’s great,” he said, “but I’m private on that.”
Hill is very public about his outlook for the Rebels this season.
“They had a great preseason,” he said. “They were working and getting better, and they’ll come out and do the same thing. It’s a good group. Great chemistry. They have great care for one another.”
Hill tutors the UNLV big men and he’s well aware that it had the worst rebounding edge, at minus-3 a game, last season in the Mountain West Conference.
That was 276th in the nation.
“When we won 27 games,” Hill said, “we didn’t rebound, so ...”
He laughed a bit and said he was just being funny, but he’s accurate. When UNLV went 27-8 in 2007-08, it had a -1.7 rebounding margin. That was seventh in the MWC and No. 242 in the country.
His unit will be bolstered by the additions of 6-foot-11 freshman Carlos Lopez, 6-8 junior Matt Shaw, who sat out last season after undergoing knee surgery, and 6-8 sophomore Chace Stanback, a transfer from UCLA.
Brice Massamba, a 6-10 sophomore, and 6-8 senior Darris Santee are the returnees.
“We have to gang rebound,” Hill said. “By that I mean, guards have to help the bigs and the bigs have to do their share. We have to gang rebound everything. It has to be a collective, a team. We’ve just got to do more.”
He declined to pigeonhole Santee as a ‘four,’ or power forward, or talk about Lopez pushing Massamba as the starting center.
“There’s no ‘four’ or ‘five,’ we just have players,” Hill said. “That’s this system. If you want to give them numbers, you can. But it ain’t how we judge it. Just go out and play.
“We don’t have numbers. Coach puts you in a position to play to your talent and your ability … We just play, which is good about what coach Kruger does. We don’t give you a title, per se.”
With that, he summed up his feelings about what’s about to take place.
“It’ll be fun.”
Discussion: 13 comments so far…
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REEEBEEELS!!! Can't wait for Friday night. Been waiting for this since March.
"There's no 'four' or 'five,' we just have players,"
Good lord, here we go again.
You might not have numbers but the rest of the country will have our number if we don't have some size on the court.
I like Lew Hill but I feel hiring REGGIE THEUS as Kruger's main assistant should be on the agenda of the new AD.
You're right, Lenny...when we beat Louisville...they sure had our number, right? Because Kruger didn't put size on the court, right? If we have seen anything, its that size doesn't matter with Kruger squads. It comes down to the players wanting it. Some players ruined that for us down the stretch last year...
Somehow I do not think that Theus will be interested in being an assistant coach in college again. After what he did at New Mexico State lots of universities would gladly snag him as their head man, he is not coming back as an assistant.
Our big guys have got to improve immensely. I am not sure there is hope for Santee unless he has a Wendell White turn around. Massamba was obviously overweight last year and has slimmed down so I am interested to see if that helps him. I liked Lopez when I saw him on tv last year but he is raw and thin. Shaw prefers to sit outside and pump up threes(although he is good at it)when we need him to be more of a low post scorer. So I hope Lew Hill is ready because these guys need alot of coaching to do what is necessary for the Rebs to get back to the NCAA's and do some damage. Still not sure whether it is Hill's big man coaching or Kruger's big man recruiting that needs a little work. As the saying goes you can't make chicken salad out of chicken @$#!.
Lets go Rebs!!!!
I pray that Lopez and/or Massamba are somewhat servicable this year.
Santee is NOT a center. I'm not sure he has what it takes to be out on the court at any position. He sure didn't last year (which is why he got benched).
We need some size. Some rebounding. Massamba and Lopez are the future. I hope those two get a lot of minutes against our weak OOC schedule (outside of UofA, Lville, K State).
It will be so dissapointing to see Shaw or Santee playing center with both a 6'10" and a 6'11" riding the pine. Especially since Santee will be gone next year. Develop those young guys.
Our bigs last year had no game.
He was looking for the mismatches.
This year looks like alot of match up problems for other teams.
I hope the perimiter game will be better this year too. Extends the defense.
Lenny....if we don't have size on the court? WTF brotha?
PG - JASPER 6'6"
SG - WILLIS 6'4"
SF - STANBACK 6'8"
PF - SHAW 6'8"
C - MASSAMBA 6'10"
You can substitute names wherever you want, we have size and talent. Throw in Marshall, Bellfield, Lopez, etc.... Should be good with a pretty decent schedule!
BrandonRebelfan - I think it will look more like:
PG Bellfield
SG Willis
SF Jasper (point forward)
PF Stanback
C Shaw
Kruger loves a three guard offense and Stanback himself mentioned he would be at the 4. I personally am not a big fan of Oscar and would love to see Marshall & Hawkins early and often to see what they can do.
Besides a few schools most dont have 7 footers walking around campus. The bigs do need to step up. Mainly to get rebounds. There is scoring everywhere on this team but the bigs effort was dismal on the boards. Why would Theus be an assistant coach when he was a head coach before bolting to the pro's? Cant wait to get started. This is such a differnt team with a 6'6 guard. How do you match up with that. Lets GO REBELS!!!!!!!!
I have absolutely no problem with starting three guards (Jasper, Willis, Bellfield) and two forwards (Stanback and Shaw). Massamba and/or Lopez will get plenty of opportunities early in the season, and if they play well, they'll play often.
For anyone worried about size being an issue, name one center in the MWC that Matt Shaw can't guard. Neville is gone; Plaisted is long gone.
Having five guys on the court who can all shoot the three ball, without sacrificing rebounding and interior defense, has me salivating.
Wispy - I don't think many are worried about our bigs being able to D up MWC Centers. It's the postseason that makes you say hmmmmm.... for us to stand a chance IF we go dancing, we need better play out of our bigs.
Brandon, that size will be on the bench. They're talking skinny ass Stanback at the 4.
We're going dancing this season. 2 out of the past 3 years, small ball worked for the Rebs. And, In my opinion we would have made the dance last year if Wink would have played as well as he did his junior year.
Either way, we have more size this year than we had any of the past 3 years, not to mention more talent. This isn't the Joe D at the 5 and Rene at the 4. Stanback can bang with college 4s and we will have a stable of big bodies at the 5.