Big men again the focus as UNLV hosts Washburn in exhibition finale

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

At the end of the night, UNLV redshirt freshman Carlos Lopez's line didn't look too shabby in last Tuesday's 90-66 exhibition victory over Grand Canyon.

The 6-foot-11 Findlay Prep product had 11 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of run in his first live game action since last year's exhibition.

The Rebels' final preseason tune-up will be against Washburn at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center. For Lopez, he was far from pleased with a good chunk of his 2010-11 debut and is out for atonement.

"Defense," he said defiantly. "I was nowhere to be found on defense when I first came into the game. I told coach (Lon Kruger) 'I'm trying my best, but I have nothing, I don't know what's going on.' He said 'You'll get it, you'll get it.' In the second half, I was more solid, much more used to it."

Some of Lopez's struggles against Grand Canyon could be chalked up to rust, some could be nerves.

Either way, all eyes will again be on Lopez, junior Brice Massamba and sophomore Kansas transfer Quintrell Thomas against the Ichabods.

"(We're looking for) continued progress in all of the areas, with rebounding being the focal point," Kruger said of what he wants to see from his bigs on Tuesday. "I thought in the first half last week, we did a really nice job on the boards, second half not so good. We've got to sustain it for 40 minutes.

"I think that this is a group that can make strides in those areas. It's not going to be there Day One, but it's gotten better over the last two or three weeks. That's the key."

Rebounding was the well-documented bugaboo of a Rebels team that a year ago became more and more perimeter-oriented as the season progressed.

In the end last Tuesday, the Rebels out-rebounded the Antelopes by a 30-29 margin, though in the aforementioned first half, UNLV held a dominating 18-10 edge.

Opportunities for offensive caroms were also limited for the Rebels, who were an über-efficient 32-of-44 (72.7 percent) from the floor.

As for the other two members of the trio, Massamba had six points, two rebounds and two steals in six minutes on the floor, while Thomas went for eight points and eight rebounds.

The pickings could be good for them against Washburn, which features only one starter standing over 6-foot-5 in 6-9 senior forward Logan Stutz

The Ichabods come to town as a tested bunch early on, as their first two exhibition opponents — Kansas and Kansas State — are both unanimous preseason Top-10 teams.

In a 92-62 loss at Kansas last Tuesday, they were out-rebounded 35-27, and in a 90-44 setback against K-State five days later were bested on the glass 53-42.

"We need to play more aggressive, not foul as much as we did (last week), rebound and just help the team," Massamba said. "It's good for our team if we can dominate."

Same starting five

Kruger will go with the same starting rotation he unveiled a week ago — Thomas, Massamba, Derrick Jasper, Oscar Bellfield and Anthony Marshall.

Tuesday night will be the second leg of senior guard Tre'Von Willis's suspension, which will last at least three games. The earliest he could play, depending on what Kruger decides, would be the second regular season game next Wednesday at home against Southeastern Louisiana.

Also, junior forward Chace Stanback will again sit the first half against Washburn due to a punishment stemming from academic issues over the summer sessions.

In 12 second-half minutes against Grand Canyon, Stanback had four points on 2-of-3 shooting and two rebounds. He could be back in the starting five on Friday in the regular season opener against UC Riverside.

Notes on Washburn

— The Ichabods' front court includes two significant contributors from a year ago. Stutz averaged 11.3 points and five rebounds a game, while 6-foot-5 senior power forward De'Andre Washington averaged 16.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per outing.

— It's the sixth straight year in which the Rebels and Ichabods will meet, including five in the exhibition season. Last year, Washburn put a scare into UNLV, leading by seven points early in the second half and by a point with just under five minutes to play before the Rebels prevailed, 62-52.

— Last season, the Ichabods went 16-14 overall and 8-12 in the MIAA. They're led to Vegas by coach Bob Chipman, who is 678-278 in his 32 seasons at Washburn.

Boatright chooses UConn

Less than 24 hours after returning from his official visit to UNLV, Aurora (Ill.) East High senior guard Ryan Boatright committed to UConn.

Boatright, who just a couple of weeks ago de-committed from West Virginia, visited the Storrs, Con., campus last weekend before coming to Las Vegas.

With Boatright now out of the picture, the UNLV staff will likely hold onto the scholarship for the time being rather than pursuing a lower-tier recruit. The staff's hope was to land a 2011 point guard prospect that could be groomed for a year next season under Oscar Bellfield and take over the reins as a sophomore in 2012-13.

There is still the strong option of Kruger & Co. targeting a transfer either mid-season or next summer to assume that role.