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Rebels turn up the heat in competition to fill Jasper’s shoes
Wallace, Marshall likely to fill void in starting lineup when UNLV resumes league schedule
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Air Force vs UNLV
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del.icio.usUNLV managed to overcome both a sluggish offense and a Derrick Jasper knee injury in the first half to beat Air Force 60-50 Tuesday night.
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Filling in for Jasper
- Kendall Wallace — 18.5 mpg, 6.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg — Wallace is far and away UNLV's best 3-point shooter and has experience playing major minutes. He doesn't create off of the dribble quite like Jasper, but his long-range shooting can be quite the neutralizer.
- Anthony Marshall — 16.4 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg — As far as physical tools, Marshall is best equipped to fill in for Jasper, with a similar frame and outstanding athleticism. He's struggled to find confidence and rhythm on the offensive end of late, especially with his jump shot, but might just need to see one fall to break out.
- Justin Hawkins — 11.7 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg — Hawkins busted an offensive slump a week ago at Colorado State and has continued to improve on the defensive end as the season's progressed.
- Matt Shaw — 15.5 mpg, 6.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg — Shaw can spread defenses out with his ability to pop out and hit threes, and he's shown some nastiness inside this season. His vocal presence on defense hasn't gone unnoticed.
- Darris Santee — 12.3 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg — Santee is playing much more aggressive basketball this season, and if he keeps that mean streak going, he'll be key in filling the rebounding void left with Jasper's absence.
From the Sun archives
- 2008-09 season is Jasper's time to heal (1-23-2009)
The Rebel Room
AIR FORCE POSTGAME: Jasper goes down, Kendall rises up
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Ryan Greene and Ray Brewer discuss UNLV's 60-50 triumph over Air Force on Tuesday night at the Mack. Kendall Wallace helped get the Rebels going in the second half, while Derrick Jasper hurting his left knee was the hot topic of the night. The guys take a look at who could emerge if the UNLV junior misses any extended period of time.
With 11 different players averaging at least 11.1 minutes per game this season, who takes injured guard Derrick Jasper's place in the starting lineup beginning Wednesday at Wyoming is pretty inconsequential.
But even that spot in the rotation won't be set in stone for coach Lon Kruger.
"It might be, as much as anything else, depending on the opponent," he said following Thursday's practice at the Thomas & Mack Center. "At this point, we'll probably put Kendall (Wallace) in there in the starting lineup, but Anthony (Marshall) could be in there at times, as well."
The fact that UNLV (17-4 overall, 5-2 MWC) has used such a deep rotation this season could now prove beneficial as it will take several replacements to fill the void left by Jasper, who suffered a partially torn MCL in his left knee late in the first half of Tuesday's 60-50 home victory over Air Force.
Jasper, who this season is averaging 6.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 24.5 minutes a game, will miss approximately five weeks with the injury. His average playing time ranks third on the team, and he's also one of only two Rebels to start every game this season.
The battle to earn those minutes began Thursday in what was the Rebels' first practice since the Air Force game, and a heavy amount of focus was placed on rebounding in the heated, competitive session at the Mack.
"One of our leaders and one of our best players going down, I think it's just fueled a fire in a lot of guys, not just because there's open minutes, but we know we have to pick it up with him being down," freshman guard Anthony Marshall said. "He's a big component of our team and it's a good thing he's not done for the whole season. Individually, we know what we've got to do."
UNLV has improved on the glass during its successful recent stretch in conference play, and the 6-foot-6, high-flying Jasper was a big part of that. In back-to-back road wins last week at Colorado State and TCU, he took down nine defensive boards in each contest.
"That's just been an area we've been needing improvement on the entire year," said junior forward Matt Shaw, who rolled into Jasper's knee on Tuesday after taking a charge against Air Force's Tom Fow. "With the lack of his rebounding ability, we'll just have to step up even more, which we're definitely capable of doing, and it's what we're going to do. We are losing something, but it just means we have to work that much harder."
While the Rebels are more likely to stick with three-guard sets as opposed to using two of their three big men on the floor at the same time, that could always change. On the season, Shaw, senior Darris Santee and sophomore Brice Massamba each have seen their minutes fluctuate and could see regular spikes in playing time with consistent, aggressive rebounding efforts.
However, UNLV didn't sway from its traditional sets in the second half against Air Force.
After halftime, Wallace started in Jasper's place. He hit four of the team's six second half 3-pointers in sparking the comeback from a 24-21 halftime deficit. What might have gone unnoticed during that long-range barrage, however, were a pair of defensive rebounds in heavy traffic.
Wallace's experience — he's already started six games this season — also factors in, making him a nice fit in the rotation with the first-teamers.
The two who might be forced to grow up the most in a hurry, though, are freshmen guards Marshall and Justin Hawkins.
Both have had some growing pains on the defensive end, and both have also dealt with confidence issues on offense.
Hawkins ended a brutal offensive drought last week with a 10-point output in the victory at Colorado State and said afterwards that he could feel his confidence come back. He's played with it ever since.
On the other hand, Marshall is in the midst of a freshman swoon right now. He is scoreless in UNLV's last two games, and in seven conference contests, he's 7-of-21 from the floor, often deferring to teammates.
Coincidentally, the 6-foot-3 hometown product might, physically, bear the closest resemblance to Jasper of anyone on the team.
His impressive leaping ability already has provided some nice highlights this season, while his quickness and lengthy wingspan could make him a presence on defense.
Marshall said he'd like to find the inner player who suited up a year ago at Mojave High, earning Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year honors while averaging 25 points, six assists and five rebounds a game.
"I think last year, I kind of played with no worries," Marshall said. "This year, I wouldn't say I'm self-conscious, but I really don't want to make mistakes. So I kind of play conservative a little bit and not as aggressive as I normally have in the past.
"Thats the kind of stuff I'm trying to work on. I guess you could say I'm my worst critic, so it's stuff like that that I have to get over."
Kruger hits the recruiting trail
UNLV coach Lon Kruger will hit the road today for the day to make a couple of stops on the recruiting trail.
After taking in a practice in La Verne, Calif., Kruger will shuffle down to Los Angeles to watch Westchester High's Dwayne Polee in action. The 6-foot-7 small forward is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.
Polee, along with Findlay Prep guard Cory Joseph, is a target for the UNLV staff to fill its last scholarship for next season.
Polee, in an interview earlier this week with the Sun said he'll wait until the conclusion of his senior season with the Comets before making his decision.
UNLV is in his list of five remaining schools along with Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and Oregon. The only official visit he's taken so far was to UNLV to watch the Rebels take on Louisville on Nov. 28.
Polee also told the Sun that he'd like to take in another game at the Mack this season.
Discussion: 27 comments so far…
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would love to see shaw at 4 seems to more natural...Polee is sounding good, bet it would sound great after a "slaaaam dunk" in the T&M
for all you spelling bee champions and english professors sorry i left out the "be"
Would love to see the starting 5 as this
Massamba, Shaw, Stanback, Willis, Bellfield but it wont happen, that makes too much sense.
I have to admit that that starting lineup with Shaw at the 4 scares me a little bit. I'm not confident Shaw can guard a good 4, I don't think that he's quick enough. Also, I don't think he can run the floor good enough and would slow the hole team down. I would like to see Marshall step up and take the starting job but he makes a lot of freshman mistakes. So I guess that leaves us with Wallace. I don't know how happy I am with that either unless he can stay hot from 3. Maybe UNLV isn't as deep as we thought they were.
What makes sense is Kruger can't play Shaw or Santee at the 4 all the time because it would have a negative impact on our defense.
I'm with betblak...shaw is pretty quick when he's fresh and unless he's going against an elite PF he'll fair just fine (till he get's tired).. what's wrong with mixing big and small line-ups? Nice assessment "big" mabey these frosh's and wallace will step it up...they took back the game tues!
It definitely is a catch 22. I think we might see some nice dividens on offense with a big lineup with Shaw at the four and Massamba at the 5. Santee to me would have to be a five because he can not shoot the ball. The only way he scores is very close to the basket. Lenny is right about the d though. That lineup would cost us in the quickness department. Our pressure would not be quite as effective. Against teams that start 2 bigs like BYU(Miles & Hartsock)and Utah(Foster & Tillie)I think it could be a nice option. But to me Marshall has got to be the guy that really elevates his game. I want to see the guy that played against SMU and Hawaii when he could not be stopped going to the rack. Moving him off the point could be great for him. Stop making him worry about running the team and let him do what he does best...slash and score. Runnin Rebels!
Polee, come check out the game on the Feb 6th. It's gonna be a madhouse!
Unfortunately going with a big line-up (Massamba and Shaw OR Massamba and Santee) as part of a starting 5 group just won't be a plus for our team given the style of ball Kruger like to play. Remember this isn't the Big 12. Kruger likes to create mismatches at the 3 thru 5 positions. He likes his guards to be quick, stifling and extend on defense and be able to create on offense. Having a "true" big line up will SLOW US DOWN negatively and get our team out of the rhythm their used to playing. Don't get me wrong though, I can definitely see Lon mixing it up in spurts during the game with combos of 2 bigs at once, just not at the start.....my guess is our starters till jasper is back will stick to this:
Bellfield
Wallace/Marshall
Willis
Stanback
Masamba
I think we will see a lot of development in tomorrow's game with the youngsters, and I think that will help them tremendously in the long run. Hopefully Wyoming won't be too difficult and our guys can work on getting their confidence up.
Great to hear Polee interested and Kruger on the recruiting prowl. I'm sure we will do fine.
Somebody please somehow someway get Polee to the T&M on Feb. 6 to see the Rebs play BYU or at the very least on Feb. 10 when the Lobos come to town.
Both games should be sellouts and intense battles from start to finish.
If you really want to give Polee a true taste of what basketball at UNLV was like back in the glory days and what it could be again if we get him and CJ, then get him to the Mack on Feb. 6 or Feb.10!!
I'd like to see Hawkins get more minutes in Jasper's absence. It seems like good things happen for the team when he is in the game. He pulled us through a rough stretch in the game at CSU in the first half and helped stop the bleeding in the second half of the air force game. I'd like to see him more and if Marshall can find a happy medium between his too often reckless drives to the hoop and timid play when he's on the point, he'll be looking good.
We are calling Shaw "quick" and talking about the game "tomorrow."
Come on, Rebel fans, we are definitely having an off-day on this board. Let's get our act together and actually act like we know a little more about our team. :)
Have a good weekend everyone. Enjoy the other games. Let's go Utes and Horned Frogs. Go Rebels!
Oops, my bad Native, Wednesday.
My point exactly Lange. Shaw is supper slow and only good for opening up the middle by playing the high post and shooting spot up 3s. His rebounding has been weak and he's still like 3 steps slower than pre-ACL Shaw. At least you can get Santee to run. Bottom line is I don't see to many lineups that include a combination of 2 out of the 3 "bigs" in the game at once. Sorry folks.
The best thing for the Jasper-less Rebels to do would be a mix of big and small lineups. Just as gumby said we can use the bigger lineup with Shaw at the 4 against BYU and Utah and we continue wiith the 3 guard attack against the other teams. Anthony Marshall or Kendall Wallace would be perfect in the starting lineup. Wallace has the experiance and Marshall can play the 2 and do work without having the pressure of being the PG.
I don't think we should start a big lineup, but I would like to bring in both bigs when stanback goes out. I'm not a fan of 1 6'8" guy and 4 guys 6'4" and under. Have 2 bigs in for 8-10 minutes a game could work, maybe more against a team like Utah or Wyoming with bigger and slower lineups.
I can see the validity of using two of our "bigs" at the same time as a change of pace or if we are playing a team with multiple big guys in their regular rotation on the court at the same time. I really like the progress that Massamba has made on both offense and defense. He was the only one putting the ball in the basket for the first 5 minutes of the Air Force game and he is playing solid defense without committing the bad fouls that used to limit his minutes. I think he's going to be a stud next year. I look at Shaw and Wallace as being somewhat interchangeable. Both are outstanding 3-point shooters, but don't offer too much else and are defensive liabilities for different reasons. I figure Santee gives us better interior D and rebounding, but doesn't bring as much Shaw or Wallace to the offensive side, or at least I haven't seen it consistently. I have faith in whatever Coach Kruger decides to do... there's a reason he's the coach and we all aren't.
Who is the quick scoring power forward in this conference that Shaw would have to guard? Someone mentioned that the big lineup would mess up Krugers style of play, what they might only score 55 points instead of 60? Since when has Kruger been a running style of coach anywhere he has coached? So Wallace is going to mix it up under the glass at the 3 spot? Way too many ? marks with team outside of Willis, Stanback, & Marshall...
UNLV is averaging over 76 points a game this season. Bring facts...
The style of play issue stems from Kruger's defensive methods and philosophy. They play very aggresive perimeter defense and switch all screens. If you have Massamba and Shaw both on the court, it could create some serious defensive mismatches if we continue to switch all screens.
I do think it's worth a try, at least, maybe not as a starting line up, but for a few minutes here and there.
Am I crazy or did anyone else notice that we appeared to switch to a zone for a few possesions against Air Force? Was I imagining things?
I wouldn't be opposed to trying a little zone with a bigger, less quick group on the floor at Wyoming. An occasional change up gives the other teams offense a lot to think about. Wyoming shoots below 30% on threes and is very turnover prone. Might be worth a shot.
wat about shabazz muhamed?
Lenny, just responded to your question:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan...
I'll be surprised if we see Jasper back before the Mountain West Tournament is over.
Thanks snyder.
@kleink, I agree this is a great opportunity for Marshall. If they stick to the 4 guard attack with Bellfield at the point that will allow Marshall to be a '2', where he is clearly more comfortable. He was a shooting guard in HS, he plays like a '2', I think that lineup will benefit him. Still has to work on hitting that 'j'. He seems to thrive inside the arc, like Stanback, with those mid-range jumpers, and he is quick enough to get his own shot.
It's fortunate we are playing a dreadful Wyoming team for our first game without Jasper. They turn the ball over and are one of the worst 3 pt shooting teams in the country, as wispy pointed out above. Their offense is basically drive into the defender and hope to get fouled. I agree a zone defense would counteract that perfectly.
Ryan, is that the recruiting article you promised? Where's the rest of it? LOL :(
Its not like the Rebels are the dream team they used to be, there isnt really one player that stands out above the rest. so Jasper is hurt big deal, grab another kid off the bench and play ball. Kruger hasn't impressed anyone in Vegas with his coaching skills,the Thomas and Mack hasn't sold out for a Rebels game in years. It's nothing to worry about if a player gets hurt like it used to be, c'mon there's no Larry Johnsons or Sidney Greens anymore.