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twitterUNLV basketball:
Jasper’s 85-second flurry highlights scrimmage
Jasper turns from directing traffic and deferring to others to taking over the action and dominating
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
UNLV guard Derrick Jasper takes the ball up the court during the Rebels FirstLook scrimmage Oct. 16 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Sun archives
There was a stretch at the start of the fourth and final 5-minute UNLV basketball scrimmage Wednesday afternoon that would have made any Rebels fan salivate.
Oscar Bellfield, who was on all four winning teams, had already put on a show inside the Cox Pavilion practice gym, and Darris Santee produced a solid performance that is becoming common.
But the star of the day, with three officials controlling the action and coaches keeping score, was junior point guard Derrick Jasper, the Kentucky transfer who will be the rudder of the Rebels this season.
Until that flurry, Jasper has been mostly directing traffic and deferring to others over the past week and a half. This time, he took over the action and dominated.
A closer look at the four scrimmages:
Game 1 – White 13, Black 7
Bellfield, the sophomore guard, eventually scored the game’s first points with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for the White squad and he didn’t back down.
He nailed a pull-up jumper, another 3-point shot and then he capped the scoring with a tear-drop flick-in shot. Those were 10 of his 15 total points in the four scrimmages.
Game 2 – White 18, Black 9
The White team raced out to a 9-0 lead on Bellfield’s 3-pointer from the left side.
Jasper’s layin, Tre’Von Willis’s free-throw points, a three-point play by Shaw and Willis’s coast-to-coast layup put Bellfield in position to bring down the hammer.
Anthony Marshall, the rookie guard out of Mojave High, put the Black on the scoreboard when he sailed in for a layup, drew the foul and sank the ensuing free throw with 1:43 left.
But the White peeled away, again, when Willis stripped Todd Hanni of the ball and zipped in for an easy layin, and Santee canned a jumper along the right baseline.
Santee topped the scoring for the White when he hopped over teammate Brice Massamba to put in Willis’s missed jumper.
Game 3 – White 13, Black 9
Just as he was being recognized for trimming down in the summer, and looking lean and mean, Massamba was sidelined again when he tumbled to the court with 32 seconds left.
He had been defending Bellfield when the fell over, with another Rebel. Massamba rose, clutching his left knee, and he gingerly walked to the sideline to trainer Dave Tomchek.
Massamba, a sophomore power forward from Sweden via Findlay College Prep, has had knee and Achilles’ tendon problems in the past.
He did not participate in the rest of the scrimmage. With an ice wrap around his left knee, Massamba stood to the side and watched Jasper start Game 4 with a flourish.
The Black team battled in Game 3, as Kendall Wallace’s 3-pointer gave it a 6-3 advantage, but Marshall answered by stripping the ball from Jasper and scoring inside.
And Shaw hit a 3-pointer to give the White an 8-6 edge. Freshman guard Justin Hawkins drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner, off a sweet feed from Santee, to make it 11-6.
Wallace answered with a 3-pointer to get the Black within two points when the Massamba Tumble occurred.
Bellfield finished the game with two free-throw points for the White.
Game 4 – White 16, Black 10
This is what UNLV fans have been waiting for since they heard Jasper, a California native, was leaving Kentucky to come back to the west.
Twenty-five seconds into the game, he finished off a move with a two-handed dunk.
Carlos Lopez had drawn a double team in the right post, and he deftly passed to Jasper, who was cutting into the lane from the left side.
On the next possession, Jasper used a keen hesitation move on the left side to breeze by Tyler Norman and slip in a reverse layup on the right side with his right hand.
After Bellfield missed a jumper, Jasper sank a 3-pointer along the right baseline. It all looked easy and it was within the context of the offense, and UNLV fans no doubt will be salivating for more.
Hawkins stole a pass and fed the ball to Bellfield, who gave it back to Hawkins so he could convert a layin that gave the White a 9-2 lead.
Then Bellfield darted in through the left side and fed Lopez for an easy bucket, and the rout was on.
The Black squad made it respectable at the end when Steve “Chopper” Jones made a three-point play, Willis stripped Shaw of the ball and sped down for an easy layup and then Willis sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Santee (6-of-8 from the field) and Bellfield (5-8) finished with 15 points apiece, Wallace had 12, and Willis and Jasper (5-6) each tallied 11.
Discussion: 14 comments so far…
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I'm assuming, since I didn't see his name, that Stanbeck still isn't participating in practice. How close is he to returning from his sprained ankle?
kbc, I've been documenting Stanback regularly ... looks like early next week, at the earliest. Wednesday was the second day in a row he actually wore his practice gear, a good sign in itself. But he's limited to shooting, although he might have pushed that a bit too much Tuesday. Wed was 15 days since he turned his left ankle, and you could still see discoloration above his sock. So, yep, a very bad twist. Monday or Tuesday would be a good guess on his return.
Great Jasper......He will always be one of my favorite CATS. Good Luck Jasper and UNLV...I'll be watching from KY.
Hey Rob, how competitive is the 2 spot looking right now in the scrimmages/practices you've seen?
I know we'll have a deep bench, but is there anyone that is really standing out like Tre Von or Bellfield? I would just hate for one to feel stiffed if one of them doesn't start per se. Not to say the Rebels can't run small with three guards, but I was just wondering.
thanks gats, that's a GREAT question. One thing that gets way overlooked with UNLV hoops is, nobody has a number... Granted, Jasper at the 1 (point guard) is very, very, very likely a given ... everywhere else, though, there are no numbers, just players. Asst coach Lew Hill preaches this ALL THE TIME. Just players. So, to say who has the lead at the 'two' or 'three' isn't exactly accurate. It's whoever is balling in practice and deserves the clock. Now, that doesn't mean there could be a starting five of guards. Of course, they'll need some size, which will be a luxury this season as opposed to the last few.
But, more to the point, Bellfield has been AWESOME. He was, easily, the player of the day Wednesday. You can check out my daily Player of the Day notes at twitter.com/robmiech ... that is almost exclusively for daily UNLV hoops notes that won't be available anywhere else ...
Back to your point. Bellfield has been playing so smart. His passes have been savvy. His shot has been on. He is a rock.
Williw, however, has been on, too. In particular, he's a pickpocket, stripping foes and sailing coast-to-coast for easy buckets. His defense is on.
The starting five is gonna be interesting.
It's early, but, here's a preliminary quintet -- Jasper, Bellfield, Willis, Stanback, Santee.
I think Bellfield is becoming quite a weapon. I've always felt that this kid was the truth...I can definitely see him being quite a useful weapon coming off the bench to run point for Jasper and vise versa. Opponents won't be able to rest, "Alright guys here's Jasper at point lets be ready, ok cool now he's going to the bench, uh-oh Bellfield is in to get him and he's got crazy energy and speed. Ok now he's going to the bench, damn Jasper's back in... crap it never ends!"
Thanks Rob, and that definitely makes sense. I personally think Bellfield is developing into what I think he was intended to be, a guard who can find a way to make a shot, either contested or not.
I'm not saying he was a lousy point, but I felt that there many opportunities where I think he felt like he needed to distribute the ball a lot more than taking the shots he knew he could hit. Also having a year under your belt helps.
I'm actually very very impressed with Santee. He had limited minutes last year, and I think he's really shaping up to be a weapon both in the paint, and from about 15 feet out, as indicated by your past briefings on their practices. It also seems like he's producing on defense, and grabbing those necessary rebounds and providing second chance points that were badly needed last season.
Good stuff gats ... we'll see what happens at that closed-door scrimmage at Long Beach State on Nov. 7. That's be a little litmus test. Dan Monson squads are always tough, so Lon Kruger will learn some things about his guys. The former UCLA football coach Terry Donahue told me a great line before their first games of a season ... he was always interested in finding out if his guys were "porch dogs or hunting dogs" ... Nov. 7 will be the first clue. It sure looks like this version of the Rebels is gonna get after it.
I think Jasper will be the leader we so desperately needed last year!
I thought O did alright last year, but our 1 play was definitely one of the weaker aspects of the team. As for Santee and Mas, they played their way off the court. Darris and Brice really hit the wall. Any word on Brice's knee injury?
(How about updating the "Roster" page? Baes, Joe, Mo, etc.??)
Louis, updates are taking place as we speak ... please be patient.
Brice's knee appears to be fine. He went full-tilt on Thursday. Although he appeared to favorite it, those times were few. Rebels fans can breathe a little sigh of relief, so can Brice -- the last thing he needs is another nagging injury.
Thank you Rob, just poking a little good natured fun. I think you guys do a great job covering the Rebels. The Sun's dedication to both teams in the past two seasons is the best coverage I've seen in the 30+ years I've lived here.
Thanks Louis, we're just going to get bigger and better ... lots of good stuff on the horizon. And write anytime ... appreciate the feedback
Here's to hoping Jasper can stay healthy during the season and make his teammates better. I can't lie, with all the new bodies, I have to be worried about the team chemistry and understanding each other on the court. Hopefully we can do that fast, we NEED to catch wreck on those big non-conference games.