Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleREBELS BASKETBALL:
UNLV gains unique commitment from Israeli forward Karam Mashour
Mashour now awaits clearing from NCAA to join Rebels in time for 2010-11 season
Las Vegas Prospects wing Karam Mashour plays on Thursday, July 22, 2010, during pool play at the adidas Super 64 tournament at Rancho High School. Against Team A.C.C.E.S.S. during the Prospects’ Super 64 opener, he scored 11 points in a 77-63 victory.
Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 | 11 a.m.
Related Content
Earlier this summer, after the pursuits of Cory Joseph, Dwayne Polee Jr. and Jonathan Loyd fell through, the UNLV coaching staff was prepared to stick with the roster it had unless something came up.
Well, something came up, and UNLV took advantage of a unique inside track, adding Israeli forward Karam Mashour.
The athletic 6-foot-6 wing has given a verbal commitment to coach Lon Kruger and staff and could begin classes when the fall semester begins Monday.
Mashour is cleared to attend UNLV from an academic standpoint, but the last hurdle is the NCAA completing an inspection of his amateur status. That could be done in the next few days before the start of classes.
If Mashour is cleared, it could take the last scholarship UNLV has available for this season.
The other uncertainty in this issue is the status of 7-foot center Henry Buckley, who is expected to join the program this fall. According to the staff, UNLV still is awaiting word on his academic clearance from the NCAA.
If either Mashour or Buckley does not end up at UNLV this year and has to wait, there will be a spot open for a potential mid-year transfer.
Mashour came to the United States roughly six months ago for an extended stay with his uncle, Jason Awad.
Awad, a loyal 40-year Las Vegas resident, wanted to introduce his 18-year-old nephew to American basketball.
"He told me how much he loves basketball, and I thought just to give him an opportunity, bring him over here," Awad told the Sun in July. "He has so much talent. We put him to practice to play over here, and all of a sudden a lot of schools are looking at him."
The amount of interest that came from schools across the country by Mashour playing in just a handful of tournaments this summer with the Las Vegas Prospects may have expedited his plans to play college basketball a bit.
Mashour, a Nazareth native with experience on Israel's 18-and-under national team, last played for the Prospects in early July at the adidas Super 64 before returning to his country to deal with his visa.
Despite his brief showing in front of college coaches this summer, Awad said 18 schools, ranging from UCLA to Florida, began to call.
But Awad made it no secret that he wanted his nephew to play in Las Vegas for reasons beyond basketball.
A major one is that Mashour is just now beginning to grasp the English language, with help from Awad and his three kids who all are around Karam's age. He's been studying with his cousins at home.
Originally, the plan was for Mashour to attend Impact Basketball Academy this year as a post-grad in preparation for Division-I ball starting in the 2011-12 season.
Instead, he's hoping to get cleared to attend UNLV, where Awad said his nephew will get assistance in the classroom to help bridge the language gap.
On the floor, Mashour's game needs no translation.
It's unclear if he will redshirt in his first season with the Rebels, but with junior Chace Stanback and senior Derrick Jasper firmly entrenched at the wing spots, it is a possibility. While most redshirts use the year to grow physically, Mashour is already more developed than most college freshmen.
His bread and butter is the ability to take the ball from the wing, slash to the bucket and finish from all angles. With his impressive vertical leap, Mashour should also prove to be a threat on the glass for UNLV in the future. He also possesses a nice, soft shooting touch from the outside.
Prospects coach Anthony Brown, despite only having Mashour for a couple of months in his program that also produced UNLV rising sophomore guard Anthony Marshall, didn't need to see him for long to hand down some high praise.
He's also had some impressive small forwards come through his program in recent years, including Nevada-Reno product Luke Babbitt and Iowa State wing Craig Brackins, who both were first-round picks in June's NBA Draft.
"The kid is phenomenal," he told the Sun during the Super 64. "I don't know if he is going to go in the first round, but he's going to be pretty good."
Discussion: 47 comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.
Post a comment
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.
Rebels down San Diego State in final minute
Follow the Rebels
Widgets
Jerry Tarkanian: Mike Moser impresses yet again on a day to remember former Rebel greats
Email Newsletters
To view/update your newsletter subscriptions and interests, please visit our Preference Center.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Hooraw......
This youngster has skills. I think he will probably redshirt the season, but he will given the opportunity to learn English and improve his game to be an incredible backup to Chace in 2011.
Now on to the PG position.
Agreed, reagan. I think at the end of the day, he redshirts in 2010-11 (if cleared). But that's far from a bad thing. UNLV is set at the wing position with Chace and Jasper. But the fact that they got this kid is big. Can't emphasize the term 'under-the-radar' enough.
has anyone seen him play?
unlvrunrebs,
He was just here last month and I have seen him play, albeit one game. He is good and has a lot of room for growth. This is not another Beas Hamga situation. I think he is good enough to play this season, but sitting him may allow an acclamation to a new country, language and college basketball.
Ryan Greene tweeted that this will be a better "get" than had we landed Polee. I tend to agree. If anyone had seen Polee play they would understand that in a fast break situation Polee is your man. However, in Kruger's system Mashour will flourish. Plus, he is a much better shooter than Dwayne Polee, and Mashour can leap azwul. He gone.
I saw him play just once. 14 points, very impressive, saw the whole skill-set. Agreed with reagan that there's a lot of room to grow, but he's far from raw.
Polee maybe be worth something by the time he is a senior. He's just that raw. I'm glad we got this kid instead if it's true about his skills.
Does anybody have a link to some video of this kid?
Tark,
When I say better get than Polee, I mean it from a chemistry standpoint. I think Polee showed a bit too much ego and arrogance by the way he handled the last couple months of his recruitment, while this kid is a modest, hard worker who fits Kruger's mold a bit better, I think.
Tark,
You might want to go look at some video again of Polee. There is a reason UNLV was the best school offering until 11:59 of his recruitment, and even then is St. John's better than UNLV?
Athletically, Polee is very gifted, but athletes are not always "basketball players." Look at Deshawn Mitchell. A very good athlete who didn't fit the Kruger "player" mold. He was always out of place whenever he found the floor. Mitchell was a great kid, but he did not mesh with UNLV's offensive and defensive schemes.
I've got your back, Ryan.
Ryan ... if what you guys are observing is accurate this could should play this year... every year we have transfers and every year theyre eligible we get the same garbage... "well they haven't played in over a year they need time to acclimate" (uh if they've redshirted theyve been practicing with the team for a year to supposedly get better) ... i'm not a big fan of redshirting this kid plus we don't know if jasper's knee is gonna hold up and with Shaw gone you still have the option of playing small ball with chace as the "5" and this kid or jasper guarding the opposing teams long athletic wing/PF - instead of needing Tre or marshal to guard guys like kawhi leonard
Tito,
Good point about Jasper's knee. I had failed to look at it that way, and I guess he has been in Vegas for a long while. If he can be clearned bu Monday, then let's get 'er done.
Is it bball season yet I watched the Louisville game from last year again last night. Getting pumped!
I'll take this kid over Polee as well due to his smarts and "feel" of the game. It sounds like he is well rounded, and good size. Very similar to Jasper.
I disagree with some others that he should play right away. I think he should redshirt for sure to get used to the team, the style, and the language barrier. I have confidence Jasper will be A-ok.
Sounds interesting to see what he can actually do on the court. If he redshirts this year, then we have him and Moser locked in at the wings for the next few years after this season. Their styles sounds very similar. Also, am I the only one who finds it a little strange that Marshall was used as our backup point guard last season? Is that the case this year too? He has crazy skills and can handle point but he's a straight out 2 guard in the college game. I think making him play point guard takes the aggressiveness away from him if he's trying to set others up. He likes to score/shoot too much to be a great point guard. Rather see Jasper or Hawkins run point when Oscar is out.
Awad needs to pay his way through college and save our scholarship. Being a lifetime business man/attorney, it shouldn't be a problem.
Looking forward to another big body here.
Ant Marz should be a 2 in the college game, but his shot did not fall AT ALL last season. To be a shooting guard, you need to shoot the ball well...or is it just me?
That being said, I think Marshall is one of the hardest, if not thee hardest, workers on the team. He is forever in the gym, and I am very confident his shot will be much more consistent this season.
Kruger may have put Marshall at the point at times because, by the end of the season, Kruger knew he had to have him on the floor. However, Jasper was unavailable to run the point. I honsetly think Marshall running the point was more out of necessity than anything.
Also, it was obvious to anyone that as Marshall's mintues grew so did his confidence; even if he could hit a jump shot. Most kids would have folded as a true freshman shooting 4.5% from the three point line. Marshall did not, and I think it had to do with Kruger's confidence in him to still play substantial minutes.
Tito, I think he COULD play a little this year, but there's just no NEED for it, that's the thing. Why burn a year with the kid? It was the same for Carlos Lopez a year ago, and it was the best decision he ever made. This kid is more developed than most freshmen who come in, but it doesn't mean he's seasoned from day one. They want to teach him more of the American game.
what is number 33's timeline? we here about possible suspension or getting the boot anytime soon?
JASPER should be playing the POINT, NOT the WING.
unlvrunrebs, there's no timeline. People I've talked to seem to feel pretty confident that he'll be playing this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's sitting a few games.
This guy might be good, but I think Coach Kruger needs to put all his eggs in the DeAndre Daniels basket. If Coach ends up not being able to land Daniels, Mashour will still be available.
I disagree with Jasper at the point. Bellfield is the man for the position, and if anything, Marshall is second. Jasper is great, don't get me wrong, but He's not as quick with the ball handling as the other 2 are.
Redshirt=project. Yes?
logic,
Not necessarily. As Ryan pointed out, this year's team doesn't really NEED him this season, even with Shaw gone. We still have, what a 10 or 11 man rotation? Let him come here, let him focus on classes, learning the language and acclimating to the city, country, game, etc... That way we have him for 4 seasons instead of using him this year when he probably won't play too terribly much. Just because he COULD play doesn't mean he should or needs to.
This is a good get as far as recruiting goes. I've heard a lot of good things from those who have seen him play and we're getting him over some big-name schools. Guess playing all that golf instead of working worked out well for Kruger on this one, right haters?
I agree with Lenny V that Jasper should play more point for two reasons. First is that he is not an authoritative offensive player. He likes to pick his spots and defers to others often. That is the definition of a point guard. The starter is without a doubt Oscar but Derrick is better suited for the back up than Marshall which brings me to the second reason. Marshall is a two guard. When he has to run the point, he has to worry about setting people up and that is not his strong suit. He needs to take the next step offensively and become a more consistent scorer. Take him off the ball and allow him the latitude to score. Especially if Tre has to sit for any period of time, Anthony will be the guy that needs to step way up. Love the debates. Hoops season must be coming.
I agree that Jasper should be the 2nd option at the point. Marshall is quick and explosive, but he's not as much as a distributor. If Jaspar is healthy he's the best option. I'd like to see D jas be the ultimate 6th man. First guy off the bench who can fill in spots 1-4 whenever he is needed.
I like the Mashour pick up. If he can absolutely light it up from 3 then he may be worth playing this year, but if he's quite not there yet he should sit.
4 star guard Jahii Carson has cancelled his trip to UNLV and committed to Arizona State, a fact strangely unreported in the local media.
While I understand that Las Vegas in not the place for a college experience when compared to many other top programs, I don't know why Kurger has not recruited much better.
The typical UNLV basketball recruit seems to be a disgruntled transfer from another program, a diamond in the ruff, or as with this Isreali kid, an overlooked player. Indeed, Kurger lucked out only because Mashour's uncle lives in Las Vegas.
Findlay Prep was created in large part to be a feeder program to UNLV basketball. One only needs to ask Kruger, "how's that workin for ya".
Of course the answer is terrible.
Just this past week, a Findlay player, top 50 guard Nick Johnson committed to Arizona. Certainly Kruger tried to recruit to kid but obviously there was no mutual interest. Why?
Lon Kruger is a great coach. I've met him and he is very personable. If he could recruit some of the top talent out of high school instead of relying on a patchwork of transfers and projects, he'd have the top 10 program that Rebel fans crave. Why can't he???
@ logic, because he doesn't want another OJ Mayo/Reggie Bush decision perhaps.
For the most part, if a kid has his eyes set on a school from the get go, and that school offers a scholarship, they will take that 1st. Whatever these guys say that they do not have a school in mind when they are visiting different schools is garbage, because they will have their 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices lined up in their head already.
@logic: Can you be more specific? Kruger has recruited top guys, but he can't make them play for UNLV. Exactly what has he done wrong? (Again, specifics, not theory.)
I know why he can't get commitments it's because the other schools are offering them more then a scholarship. *Cough* money *Cough*
Tarkus, You seem to have missed the point. Findlay was created in large part to feed UNLV. So far that plan has been a spectacular failure.
Kruger is a fine coach but as a recruiter of ELITE talent, he's a failure. That's an irrefutable fact.
Exclude transfers and show me ONE 5 star recruit in Kurger's tenure. Heck show me a 4 star. I can argue that the best college player he brought in was his own son who also was a transfer!
As I've said Findlay is in UNLV's back yard. Other schools from around the nation swoop in and grab these kids. I certainly would think that UNLV should get one of the top kids from there sooner or later. But when????
Honestly, I don't remember a 5 star kid coming to UNLV in the 10 years I've lived here. Want to play with the big boys? You need big boy talent.
bcu2828 --Oh sure, you imply that everyone else is cheating and UNLV is the only playing by the rules? Absurd, of course.
Marshall is a 4 star recruit, Hamga was a 5 star recruit. STARS don't mean a thing. I'll take a really hard worker with some athleticism over how many stars a recruit has.
logic, Findlay was NOT created to feed UNLV. If you think that's the reason it was put together, then you're sorely misinformed. A lot of the guys who have gone to Findlay were recruited by big schools well before landing out in the desert. You can't magically expect them to end up at UNLV. And why do only 4- and 5-star guys matter? You are incredibly off-base.
Disagree Ryan. "Incredibly off base?" Hardly
If you think that there was not any thought that Findlay would feed talent to UNLV then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you...
Besides, the main point is that Kruger, while a fine coach who gets the most out of his kids, is a woeful recruiter. This is despite having the nations top high school basketball team in his hometown!!
Findlay notwithstanding, Kurger has been forced to continually restock his teams with transfers and lower level recruits. The ONLY reason for that is he hasn't been able to get the best kids out of high school in the first place.
No one should be able to dispute that.
If the kids from Findlay were born and raised in Vegas, then your argument would have some merit. But they're not. None of them are. These are kids from all over the country. Sure, Cliff Findlay expected that it would net some recruits for UNLV, and it has. Brice Massamba and Carlos Lopez = Key pieces on Kruger's roster. But if you think a kid from Toronto (Cory Joseph) will come here for two years and magically decide to stay, you're wrong. The fact that UNLV was a finalist on Cory Joseph is a testament to the job they did recruiting him by itself.
The culture of college basketball recruiting has changed. These future NBA draft picks all have "handlers" that feed them to BCS schools. Recent example- the Kentucky flack in the news. Truth is schools like Texas have ten times the athletic budget UNLV does. They can wow with facilities and a huge alumni base willing to raise funds for "anything". Then theres guys that will do anything like Calipari and Floyd. How does Tim Floyd land a recruit? Answer that question. If Lon did the same, we'd see the death penalty. Lon must recruit the best players money CAN'T buy.
I didn't expect to much agreement but I will throw out a question for anyone here: on a 1-10(1 being the worst), where do you rank Kruger's recruiting ability? I'll give him a 6. Am I too critical?
logic,
there are too many variables. Example: budget, prestige, facilities, $$ (to pay players) which Lon doesnt use or have, boosters, etc.
Given what Lon has to work with and what he gets out of his recruits (and compared to the rest of the conference)..I'd give him an 8 and give Alford and Fisher a 9 or 10.
Based on logic's criteria Alford and Fisher aren't top drawer either. They both rely heavily on transfers. (Hobson, Wade, Thompson etc...) They can't get top level out of high school either. Fact is, this conference gets killed by the lack of national TV. Incoming freshman want to be on ESPN. How hard is it for a competing coach to say "Have you been able to find UNLV games on TV?" or "What channel is Versus anyway?" We get the second chance guys who have found the promise lands of the BCS aren't what they seemed. The league, CBS College Sports, and Comcast need to pick up distribution or cut us loose to make another deal.
Tarkanian did pretty well with 3 star recruits and transfers. Even when UNLV was arguably the sexiest basketball program in the country, he couldn't recruit McDonald's All-Americans. As rebelsfan11 said, there are way too many variables beyond a coach's ability. Put Kruger in Kentucky, for example, and I'll bet his "recruiting ability" would magically improve greatly.
Points taken regarding the variables and if Kruger was at a school like Kentucky. Also the Mountain West has it's shortcomings as a1994rebel points out. The Pac-10 is in the process of negotiating a new TV deal because they're presently with Fox sports.
I guess the answer is that I just might be too critical. Maybe I just expect too much....At any rate, good points everyone.
Logic - You are not too far off base. I am also a Kruger fan when it comes to coaching and running a program with class. I have always maintained that Kruger is not a strong recruiter. Your grade of a 6 is accurate. The argument that if he was at Kentucky he would rake in recruits is not accurate. Coach has been at places like Kansas State, Florida, and Illinois and to my knowledge the only players that have had NBA careers of any length were Mitch Richmond, Andrew Declerq, and Brian Cook. Look what Bob Huggins/Frank Martin did at K-State, Billy Donovan at Florida, and Bruce Weber at Illinois. Those programs get top rated recruiting classes every year now. For whatever reason he has never been able to consistently land top talent. Having said this I am not sure I would want to trade where our program is now. Coach has come in to a tough situation and slowly but surely improved everything from on court performance to fan support. This is as much fun as I have had since Coach Tark was here and we may not be a powerhouse but we are definitely on the rise and a program to be reckoned with. Coach Kruger deserves all the credit for that.
@logic: Props to you for having an open mind.
I'm not necessarily saying Kruger is a great recruiter. I just think there are too many variables to really know. All we know is that he does seem to go hard after many excellent prospects, but beyond that, there's only so much he can do.
For example, I just read the article on PG Jabarie Hinds, that they've been recruiting him since the 9th grade. If he ultimately chooses to go somewhere else, is that Kruger's fault? The fact that UNLV is in his final three, with many big programs falling by the wayside, tells me they must be doing something right.
@ Tarkus, exactly. They follow these guys from early in high school for the most part, and coming from Hinds, a New York kid, I'd say they have been doing a great job. The recruits will visit other places, and you just gotta hope they like UNLV better, as well as if they visit while playing a game, hope they like the team and how the team operates.
Any chances of UNLV getting the kind of recruiting classes that Kentucky/Texas/Kansas/other BCS programs get disappeared with the 1991 death penalty. UNLV is just a modest public school in the middle of the desert. While it is located in a "party town" it is hardly a "party school". We do have a vaunted basketball program that carries some mystique and has a compelling history as well. We will get some good ones here and there, but in general we will have to be satisfied with the Bellfields, Stanbacks Wendell Whites of the world, and i for one am just fine with that. For the most part, Kruger has been doing an excellent job with what he gets.
November cant get here fast enough...
What 1991 death penalty?
And when did UNLV *ever* recruit with the likes of North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, etc.? Those 1989-1991 guys were not a collection of McDonald's All-Americans. Tark found a great group of guys who were under the radar and/or unavailable to an institution with higher admission standards, and then coached them like hell.
BTW, there's no such thing as the BCS in basketball (thankfully).
And thank goodness there isn't a crappy BCS in basketball. If there was, you definitely wouldn't have a Butler in the final game, nor would you even have a term "Cinderella Team"
The reasons why most of us like Kruger as a coach are the same reasons that he is not an elite recruiter. He is honest and doesn't BS. The Calipari's and the Barnes's of the world tell players what they want to hear, and not exactly the truth. Also the lack of extra financial help can hurt too.
I think we lost Joseph because there was a strong chance that he wouldn't start his first year and I think Kruger told hiom that. He probalably said he'd have to compete for PT. Others come in and guarantee the starting spot. I think a main reason that he gets so many transfers that he recruiting out of high school is that hplayers get to their schoools and realize that they've basically been lied too and they get come back to Kruger because they respect his honesty.
the death penalty after the 1990-91 season? Lloyd Daniels ring any bells?
I never said they did recruit like that. The point I was attempting to make was, had the 1991 death penalty handed down by the NCAA NOT occurred, Tark had McDonald All-American types lined up to sign for UNLV and we would have, could have been an elite program a la Kansas, Puke, et.al. for all eternity.