Demetri McCamey, Illini brand name has UNLV’s attention entering NCAA tourney

By Ryan Greene

Friday, March 18, 2011 | 2:15 a.m.

TULSA, Okla. — He's college basketball's ultimate box of chocolates.

When it comes to Illinois senior point guard Demetri McCamey, you never know what your'e going to get — it can be masterful, it can be rough or it can be somewhere in that vast gray area in between.

Still, what UNLV has seen so far on film of the Illini ringleader leading up to Friday night's NCAA tournament opener in Tulsa, Okla., is enough to command the Rebels' full attention.

"I didn't necessarily know that McCamey was such a factor, where if he plays good, they play good, and if he doesn't, they don't play very well," UNLV senior guard Tre'Von Willis said. "The Mountain West doesn't have big point guards, but I compare him to Jordan Taylor from Wisconsin."

McCamey checks in at 6-foot-4 and a beefy 200 pounds. He's averaging team highs in points (14.8 ppg) and assists (6.1 apg) this season but has been maddeningly inconsistent at times.

Just like Illinois' season as a whole.

The Illini (19-13) enter Friday's tilt having not won back-to-back games since the first week of January and with a 9-12 record in their last 21 games.

Both McCamey's scoring and assist averages have taken slight dips from last season. Midway through Big Ten play, Illini coach Bruce Weber said that his senior star may have been listening too much to outside influences and thinking about his professional future rather than focusing on the present.

But UNLV is in no position to assume that McCamey won't show up to the BOK Center on Friday ready to play at his peak.

"The point guard has to lead the troops, and if I have a bad game, I think we're all going to struggle," McCamey said Thursday afternoon. "Even if I don't shoot the ball well, I can get assists.

"So it's not necessarily me scoring, but I've got to have energy to bring it on the defensive end as well."

McCamey certainly won't be the Rebels' lone concern, but it's clear that it all starts with him.

"We've got to make him uncomfortable," UNLV sophomore guard Anthony Marshall said. "He plays with a swagger, but we've just got to try to take him out of that, pressure him, make him do things he doesn't want to do. They shoot the ball pretty good; their center can shoot it and step out. We've just got to compete and make him work hard."

If McCamey is bothered, UNLV could have an easier time disabling some of the weapons around him, which include plenty of guys with both size and versatility.

Senior forward Mike Davis, according to UNLV's scouting report, is a Chace Stanback clone with his abilities to both rebound on the defensive end and step out to hit mid-range jumpers. He headlines a group of bigs that can stretch out the Rebels' defense, and they're complemented by a host of dangerous pieces on the wings.

While much of the focus this week in looking at the Illini has revolved around McCamey and their size, a kicker for UNLV to focus on is how it will deal with Illinois' stingy defense.

"People give us credit for being really good defensively, and I think our opponents shoot 40 or 41 percent," UNLV assistant coach Steve Henson said. "Their opponents shoot 39 percent in (Big Ten play) against them. Their length is going to be a factor. We can't let it be a situation where we're passing around the perimeter and shooting over their length. We've got to get down low, drive it at them, make them slide their feet, make them move, because they take a lot of pride in their defense."

But this game could come down to a mental battle more than anything.

Illinois is forced to dig for some energy and enthusiasm entering the NCAA tourney after limping its way in. The tough slide to this point was punctuated by a brutal five-point loss to Michigan in last Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, where the Illini blew a 12-point lead in the game's final eight minutes.

UNLV, on the other hand, showed up visibly loose on Thursday for an open session with the media, followed by a public shoot-around. They weren't quite as goofy as they were a year ago in Oklahoma City before bowing out to Northern Iowa in the opener, which is probably a good thing.

The added motivation for UNLV might be the name on its opponents' uniforms.

One thing UNLV has done consistently well over the past few seasons under Lon Kruger is save some of its grittier performances for games against teams from the so-called "Big Six" conferences.

Illinois certainly qualifies.

"We talked about that in our coaches meeting the other day. You're always trying to figure out which buttons to push with your guys," Henson said. "You want to make sure that they have the right amount of respect for the opponent without fearing them.

"But I think when they see a name like Virginia Tech or Kansas State or Wisconsin — hopefully they see the name Illinois — that immediately gives our guys the right mindset going in."

Friday's winner will hang around in Tulsa for 48 more hours and meet the winner between top-seeded Kansas and Boston University on Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks and Terriers will play immediately before UNLV and Illinois.