Print
E-mail
Share
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Stumble
Technorati
reddit
Fark
twitterOnce again, Santee leads scrimmage in scoring
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
UNLV forward Darris Santee pulls a rebound away from forward Carlos Lopez during the Rebels FirstLook scrimmage Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
| Player | FG | FT | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darris Santee | 5-6 | 10 | |
| Matt Shaw | 3-6 | 0-1 | 6 |
| Steve Jones | 1-2 | 3 | |
| Derrick Jasper | 3-4 | 1-1 | 7 |
| Oscar Bellfield | 4-7 | 9 | |
| Brice Massamba | 1-2 | 1-1 | 3 |
| Kendall Wallace | 1-4 | 2 | |
| Tre’Von Willis | 2-4 | 5 | |
| Carlos Lopez | 2-4 | 1-1 | 5 |
| Justin Hawkins | 0-1 | ||
| Tyler Norman | 0-1 |
UNLV Basketball: First Look
Rebels fans got their first taste of the 2009-10 UNLV basketball season at First Look, an intrasquad scrimmage, Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Sun coverage
Six days after a public scrimmage at the Thomas & Mack Center, it was the same tune Thursday afternoon inside the Cox Pavilion practice gym.
In The Dungeon, like he did in the Mack, senior center Darris Santee led everyone with a team-best 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Last Friday night, he was the lone Rebel in double figures in scoring with 13.
It was the first time since the FirstLook event at the Mack that UNLV coach Lon Kruger put his players through a scrimmage with officials, and Santee stood out.
Once again, sophomore forward Chace Stanback (left ankle) and freshman guard Anthony Marshall (right hamstring) were sidelined from practice with injuries.
A closer look at Thursday's four 3-minute scrimmages (see chart to the right for complete statistics):
Game 1 – White 8, Black 6
Santee started the scoring by hitting a jumper along the right baseline, but on his team’s next possession he traveled and the Black interior defense broke down.
Brice Massamba, Oscar Bellfield (twice) and finally Derrick Jasper scored inside for the White for the victory, and Matt Shaw hit a late jumper for the Black.
Game 2 – White 9, Black 2
Shaw hit a jumper to get the Black within 4-2, after Bellfield canned a 3-point shot, and then Tre’Von Willis took over.
The junior guard converted a banker from the right side, Kendall Wallace missed a jumper, and then Willis drilled a 3-pointer from the right side.
Game 3 – White 6, Black 5
Freshman post player Carlos Lopez’s three-point play got the Black to within 4-3, but Santee answered with a jumper along the right baseline to double the White’s margin.
Wallace tallied a late lay-in to make it look good.
Game 4 – White 12, Black 2
Santee started and finished this one strong, with a three-point play to start the scoring and a pair of inside baskets, one in transition, to finish it.
Lopez scored inside late to at least put the Black on the scoreboard.
In between Santee’s flurry, Steve “Chopper” Jones hit a 3-pointer from the left side and Jasper swooped in with his long strides along the right baseline for a scoop shot.
Discussion: 11 comments so far…
Post a comment
Next Basketball Game
Nov. 25, 7:00 p.m. (PST)
- UNLV: Schedule & Stats | Roster
- Holy Cross: Schedule & Stats | Roster
- Location: Thomas & Mack Center
- NCAA: Odds | Schedule | Stats
Next Football Game
Nov. 28, 6:00 p.m. (PST)
- UNLV: Schedule & Stats | Roster
- San Diego State: Schedule & Stats | Roster
- Location: Sam Boyd Stadium
- Tickets: UNLV Tickets
- NCAA: Odds | Schedule | Stats
Never can get enough UNLV analysis and chatter? Then this is the stop for you. Join the Sun sports staff in The Rebel Room for your fix.
Willis leads charge in victory against Southern Illinois
Follow the Rebels
Widgets
Email Newsletters
Blogs
The Greene Room
MWC Winners and Losers: Week 12 (1 Comment)
Miech Again
Chilly start for Chace, but Stanback says he'll warm up (2 Comments)
Elsewhere
A few early names to watch for UNLV's football vacancy? (14 Comments)
Lobos soccer player Lambert regrets actions (6 Comments)
Now or Never
A strange few days ... (1 Comment)
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
This is one guy I am very skeptical about. Last year I saw absolutely no game from Darris. He has no offensive repitoire, has a tough time making catches, is soft defensively, and does not rebound well. Nothing would make me happier than too see drastic improvement from Darris but I seem to remember Darris impressing the coaches and experts about this time last year before having a very poor season and being benched midway through it. Fortunately this year we do have more depth with Carlos and Matt in case Darris and Bryce are ineffective again. Hopefully Darris can turn it around. If the combination of Darris, Bryce, Carlos, and Matt can average somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20 points and 20 rebounds a game we will be fine. The perimeter guys will take care of the rest. Runnin Rebels!
Keeping hopes up for Darris. Guys like Wendell, Gaston, Joel, Corey and Mo made great strides second season out of JC. Hopefully, Darris follows that same pattern. Agree that the inside depth will help as well. Hard to believe we're almost two weeks away from games. Go Rebels.
Anyone know when the practices are?
I think for Darris, you have to get him involved in the offense early. At game time the first 2 or 3 possessions when he is on the floor should either go through him or target him. Things like that wake up his confidence and keep him aggressive. Otherwise he just kind of becomes lost out there and in his own world (like his quite guy personality). You could kinda see this in the early part of last season. In early games he was strong (Fresno St, Reno, UTEP etc) but as the season drug on and he got less touches and kinda fell out of favor.
When the guy gets the ball often he's at his best, and a great weapon. Just like he was in Juco and HS....Bring the ball down the court and just dump it to him right away, once and awhile. Even if just for him to kick it back out. His confidence will stay high and he will stay aggressive believe me!
SMB, that was very evident at Fresno State, especially. But, folks, this piece was about the four brief scrimmages Thursday. Look for a more in-depth look at Santee on Saturday. We'll explore some of the questions you all raise. All valid. thanks!
Gumby if that foresome can produce those kinds of numbers it would be a pleasant surprise. Realistically, I believe it will be more to the tune of 10-12 points with 8-10 boards per game.
There are only 2 ways to see this:
1) Santee has finally become that guy that he was in the JUCO ranks and has hit his stride.
2) Our defense really sucks. I don't know which way to lean yet. I hope he has become the guy he was recruited to be.
The more Santee faces the basket, rather than having his back against it, the greater scoring threat he becomes. He has a power forward build and mentality, and needs to be played primarily at the four spot if he's going to have a substantial impact on this team.
good points southern ... very true ... he rebounds better that way and needs to be more involved with the offense, and that's the way to do it, rather than relying on slop underneath. In the first week of practice, he has been the strongest finisher on the squad. Maybe that portends good things for him, too. Look for an in-depth look at Santee by yours truly in the next few days. thanks
in my opinion, last year Santee looked like he had a decent game, but he wasn't getting the ball consistently enough and when he WOULD finally get the ball, sometimes he rushed things a bit. It seemed our guys would find him at the beginning of games, and after timeouts (which says the coaches must've gotten on them about doing it), but then he'd only see the ball when one of the Seniors weren't getting the looked they wanted late in the shot clock...not a recipe for success.
Santee looked pretty good to start out the season and faded.....but even after he faded, I always felt he could be a major contributor this year because he had the skill, and we were losing a lot of players that dictated a different style of play than what Kruger likes to run....I think we'll see a lot more consistent touches for Santee this year....and once he get the confidence and the reps, he'll be very solid to very good for us.
rebelx, Santee made some pretty candid comments to me today about last season. Look for a feature on him Monday, first thing, very likely. He's very good in transition and he has been the one Rebel who most consistently tries to dunk. Hey, not a better-percentage shot in the game, right? Anyway, don't want to divulge too much. He's an interesting player and person.