Oct. 21, 2004
LAS VEGAS - When UNLV announced the hiring of its new men's basketball head coach back in March, Lon Kruger mentioned three things that excited him most about the opportunity that awaited in Las Vegas guiding the Runnin' Rebels.
Kruger first talked about the people that he had met at the university before his hire. Second, he noted Las Vegas as somewhere that he and his family wanted to live. Last, but certainly not least, he talked about being at a program that had a chance to win, something Kruger has done most everywhere he has been.
It is the prospect of winning and returning the program to national prominence that excites Runnin' Rebel fans the most about Kruger's hiring - but just as long as the runnin' remains with the Rebels.
Shortly after he was hired, one of the most common questions Kruger received from fans was if his style of play would be the up-tempo brand of basketball that made UNLV famous across the globe. With a spring and summer of coaching his new players under his belt, he has had a chance to see his personnel's strengths and fans are delighted by Kruger's answer with regard to style of play.
"This team will be most effective in the open floor by applying defensive pressure, which will create some offense and really keep the pressure on the opponent," Kruger says. "We plan to attack the rim and push the ball after makes and misses and every opportunity, yet make good decisions and take good shots each time down the floor.
"Our fans will enjoy this team and I think they will like our activity on the defensive end as well. We hope to get down the floor and score quickly."
At the beginning of each season, every coach is asked about the goals for their teams for the upcoming year and Kruger's have stayed consistent throughout the years.
"They are pretty much always the same in terms of competing extremely hard and realizing as close to our potential as possible both individually and as a group," says Kruger. "For this year's group the expectations should be to play in the postseason and advance in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, that is the goal of most teams in the fall, but I don't think our club is any different.
"I like the makeup of our team and that's a realistic goal we should have."
RETURNING PLAYERS
The team's makeup begins with the three returning starters in seniors Odartey Blankson, Jerel Blassingame and Romel Beck. Those three players accounted for 70 percent of last season's starting five's total point output and will be looked upon to lead the team on and off the court this season.
Also returning from last year's 2003-04 squad that finished with an 18-13 overall record and a fourth-place Mountain West Conference finish at 7-7 are seniors Andy Hannan and Colin Darfour, junior Louis Amundson and sophomores Michael Umeh and John Winston.
Last year's team was invited to its third consecutive National Invitation Tournament and played in its third straight MWC Championship game. UNLV led the MWC in scoring last year with 74.0 points per game and returns more than 66 percent of its scoring from 2003-04 heading into this season.
Blankson, a 6-7 forward, was named first team All-MWC last season after leading the league in rebounding with 10.2 per game and coming in third in the scoring race with a team-leading 17.6 ppg. Blankson tested the NBA Draft waters this past summer, but decided to return to UNLV for his senior season.
"Odartey is an extremely hard worker and has tremendous experience," Kruger says. "He has the ability to score inside and outside and is a terrific rebounder. He just knows how to play the game."
Blankson finished third in the nation in double-doubles last year with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in the same game 19 times, which is now the MWC record for most double-doubles in a season. Additionally, Blankson finished ninth in the country in rebounds per game.
Blassingame, a 5-10 guard, became arguably the top floor general in the conference and earned third team all-conference honors after leading the league in assists with 6.6 per game.
"I think Jerel is one of the premier point guards in the country," says Kruger. "He can push the ball up the floor with the best of them and his ability to make 3-pointers keeps the defenders honest. He likes to take the big shots in late-game situations, which is a great quality for your point guard to have."
Blassingame was fourth on UNLV's squad in scoring last year with 11.2 ppg and led the Runnin' Rebels with a 3-point shooting percentage of over 40 percent. He finished the 2003-04 campaign in strong fashion scoring in double figures in nine of the team's last 10 games and turned in all four of his double-doubles in points and assists during the final six games of the regular season.
Beck, a 6-7 guard/forward, also earned praise from the conference by being honorable mention All-MWC. He finished eighth in the league in scoring with 14.2 ppg and shot 48.7 percent from the field last season. Beck was also strong from behind the 3-point line, finishing fourth in the conference in made 3-pointers.
"Romel is a terrific scorer," Kruger says. "He can run the floor and just make shots. He has good length and can score inside as well, which creates mismatches in his favor. He adds a lot of experience to our team."
The biggest returning presence down low for UNLV is Amundson, a 6-9 forward, who averaged 4.5 ppg and 4.1 rpg and just shy of a blocked shot per game last season. He averaged just over 16 minutes per game and shot 52.5 percent from the field. His 0.9 blocks per game average was eighth in the conference. He is in his fourth year with the program as he used a medical redshirt in 2002-03.
"Louis has worked in the offseason about as hard as anyone," says Kruger. "He has put on weight and has added bulk and is hungry to have an outstanding final two years here at UNLV. I think he will be more of a scoring presence than people are anticipating. He is a very good athlete and needs to be a big rebounder for us this season."
Assisting with the guard duties will be Umeh and Winston. Umeh (6-2) appeared in 29 games last season, averaging 2.8 ppg in an average of 12.5 minutes. He shot 44.4 percent from the field and was fourth on the team in 3-point percentage at 33.3 percent as a freshman.
"Michael is going to become a very good player for us," Kruger says. "He is a guy who can really make shots and is a great competitor. He pays very good attention to detail and we are excited about his future and the next three years with Michael."
Winston (6-3) saw action in 31 games, logging three starts. He shot 40 percent from the field and averaged 13.0 minutes as a freshman.
"John has worked hard to trim himself down a little and has become more athletic," Kruger says. "He is a great competitor and a very tough guy. He will need to take a lot of pride defensively and lock people up this year. He could be constantly looking at taking on our opponent's top scorers defensively."
Hannan, a 6-6 guard/forward, appeared in 17 games last year and recorded one start. He averaged just under seven minutes per game.
"Andy had a very good spring and I think he will be much more of a contributor to our club than people expect," Kruger says. "He shot the ball as well as anyone during the offseason and is shooting with a lot of confidence. He can play a number of positions for us and when we go small on the floor, he could become a fourth perimeter player."
Darfour, a 6-0 guard, made only one appearance last year. "Colin has a terrific attitude and is a great worker everyday in practice," says Kruger. "He is a guy that wants to contribute to this team in any way possible."
NEWCOMERS
The 2004-05 Runnin' Rebels welcome seven new faces to the roster. They are junior college transfers Joel Anthony, Robert Berkey, Ricky Morgan, Dustin Villepigue and Wilbur Williams. Williams joined UNLV last spring and practiced with the team. Also new are freshmen Curtis Terry and René Rougeau.
Kruger addressed an immediate need for size and post play shortly after becoming UNLV's head coach with the additions of Anthony and Villepigue.
Anthony, a 6-9 junior center who transferred from Pensacola (Fla.) JC, was selected first team all-conference last year after averaging 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game. He will add an immediate defensive presence down low.
"Joel is a very good athlete and has a terrific attitude," Kruger says. "He wants to learn and wants to get better. Right now his defense is ahead of his offense, but his offense is going to improve quickly. He should be a real good worker on the inside for us."
Villepigue, a 6-9 junior forward, transferred from Dixie State College in St. George, Utah. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and led his conference in field goal percentage last year at 64.9 percent.
"Dustin has a great attitude and is another team-oriented guy," says Kruger. "He is the kind of player that will take a charge, get a game-winning rebound and just do the little things necessary to help the team. He will be a great compliment to our perimeter scorers."
Adding even more depth to the guard spot for UNLV will be Morgan, a 6-0 junior guard, who transferred from Schoolcraft College in Michigan and averaged 8.9 points and 6.1 assists per game last year. He attended Iowa State in 2001-02 and led the Cyclones in assists as a true freshman that year.
"Ricky brings a great deal of leadership and experience to us and is a tough, gritty defender," says Kruger. "He is the kind of player that will do whatever he has to do to help the team be successful."
Williams, a 6-3 junior forward transferred from L.A. City College in the middle of last season. In 2002-03 at LACC, Williams averaged 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 71 percent. Fellow Runnin' Rebels Blassingame and Beck were also on that team as the trio led the school to the California junior college state championship.
"Wilbur has the ability to run the floor and can score in transition," Kruger says. "He needs to develop into a real defensive-minded player and be another guy that can consistently defend our opponent's top scoring threat."
Terry, a 6-5 guard/forward, averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists last year as a senior at Curtis High School in University Place, Wash. He was selected to the all-area first team and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
"Curtis has great blood lines of course (his brother is NBA point guard Jason Terry) and has good size," Kruger says. "He can play the point or the wing and has a very good feel for the game. He can score from 3-point range and can distribute the ball with good timing."
Berkey, a 6-4 junior guard who transferred from Barstow (Calif.) College, averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game last season and shot 40 percent from 3-point range. "Robert has the ability to score and brings some experience to our team," Kruger says. "He has a great feel for the game and should work into some minutes for us."
Rougeau, a 6-5 guard, averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds per game as a senior at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., last year.
"René is a quality athlete who is a good scorer and a good worker," Kruger says. "He is eager to learn and has been picking things up very quickly. With added strength and time he will add a lot to our program."
EARLY START
Kruger, who spent the past three seasons in the NBA, enters his 19th year as a collegiate head coach with a record of 318-233 (.577). With his vast experience on the sidelines, Kruger knew that it would be important for him and his coaching staff to work as much as possible with his new team so they could quickly gel into a strong unit.
With that in mind, UNLV traveled to Canada in September for a foreign exhibition tour. Kruger was able to run complete team practices for the 10 days leading up to the trip, when most other teams across the country could not, enabling the Runnin' Rebels to get a head start for this season.
Not only did the Runnin' Rebels experience early success, going 4-0 against four Canadian colleges, but Kruger had the opportunity to instill his values, work ethic and expectations for the team.
"It was great -- the 10 days of practice time, getting to spend time together on the road, playing against different competition," Kruger said. "It was a tremendous opportunity for us to become more familiar with each other."
The trip also confirmed Kruger's intentions to run an up-tempo offense and be a team that will also place a high emphasis on pressure defense.
"Our fans should enjoy watching this team," Kruger said. "They will like our activity on the defensive end of the floor and will like our ability to get out and run."
Not only does this year's team have a chance to win as Kruger hinted at when he was hired, but it appears the group will be a lot of fun to watch.
SCHEDULE
UNLV opens at home this year with St. Mary's followed by Oregon State before heading out on the road to face California, Nevada, Reno, Pepperdine and Auburn during a tough stretch over the first two weeks of December.
The Runnin' Rebels then return home to host one of the most anticipated doubleheaders in college basketball this season as UNLV will host Oklahoma State before Georgia Tech faces Gonzaga on Dec. 18 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
After three more home games against Gardner-Webb, Florida Atlantic and Texas-Pan American, the Runnin' Rebels will make another tough road trip to play at Texas on Jan. 2. UNLV then returns home to play Fort Lewis before MWC play begins on Jan. 10 with a road game at Utah on ESPN's Big Monday.
"I think we are playing a very good schedule," Kruger says. "The non-conference portion is terrific in terms of preparation for league play. We have some tough opponents on the road as well as some tough ones at home."
About midway through the conference slate, UNLV will host Missouri in its final non-conference game of the year on Feb. 9. The MWC Tournament will be held in Denver, Colo., for the second straight year, March 10-12.
"The schedule is a good one relative to the RPI and one that will be very challenging and will bode well based on the results that we expect," Kruger says. "It is certainly a schedule that will warrant attention for consideration for postseason play."
