LAS VEGAS - With a full year at UNLV behind him, Runnin' Rebel head coach Lon Kruger and the men's basketball program are ready to take the next step toward returning the program to prominence.
It seems hard to believe, but it has now been 14 years since the UNLV men's basketball team has won an NCAA Tournament game, and the program has played in the event just twice during that span. Building the program back up to a national level is a challenging process, one that Kruger looks forward to meeting. He has successfully done just that at Florida, Illinois, Kansas State and Pan American, and knows it will take some time and a lot of effort.
Kruger spent his first season at UNLV laying a foundation for the program, recruiting his first class of incoming players and simply getting to know the people on campus and in the Las Vegas community. He now will enjoy another first - a season with players who have played for him at UNLV returning for their second season in his system, armed with full knowledge of what their responsibilities entail.
Kruger's challenge will be to quickly mesh the new players that he has recruited with the returnees into one cohesive unit on the basketball floor.
UNLV is coming off a 17-14 overall record in Kruger's first year, which included a fourth-place 7-7 mark in the Mountain West Conference and the program's fourth straight NIT appearance. With a new staff and new players adapting to one another, the 2004-05 season could have been termed a transition year, one that was typical when a staff change occurs.
"We had some uncertainties with regard to roles and expectations early on," Kruger says. "But, later in the season we started playing better basketball and better together as a team, sharing the ball more willingly and making better plays for each other. Consequently, we had better success in terms of results on the floor."
The stretch Kruger is referring to happened at the midway point of the MWC season. UNLV won five straight, seven of eight and eight of 10 games before the season came to an end in the second round of the NIT.
"Last year was a great experience for our younger players who are now back for this season," says Kruger. "Those guys want very badly to step forward and provide leadership for our newcomers. The returnees understand the importance of team chemistry and that will be a strong point for this year's ball club and from that standpoint, it should be exciting."
With last year's transition behind them, the coaches and players are excited about what lies ahead.
"This year's group will be interesting in that a lot of the returnees will play significantly different roles than they did last year," Kruger says. "And, with the newcomers, a lot will be expected of them.
"It is going to be a quick blending of the old with the new to determine roles and responsibilities. We are going to try to determine what those are as quickly as we possibly can because we recognize that it needs to happen quickly."
Each team that Kruger has coached throughout his 19 seasons of college head coaching has been a little different. Having a better idea of what his returning personnel along with the newcomers are capable of entering the year, he has set some style-of-play goals for his 2005-06 squad.
"I think this will be a group that will share the ball willingly and will work extremely hard defensively," says Kruger. "We should be a little bit more physical than we were a year ago, really getting after things aggressively on the defensive end, while still pushing the ball and trying to affect and determine the pace of play. We want to be up-tempo and aggressive both defensively and offensively."
Kruger feels this will be a fun team to watch as he expects the group to play with great intensity, commitment and unselfishness - traits his teams have always had.
"We should be able to dictate some things defensively with our athleticism and aggressiveness," Kruger says. "We should have opportunities to score from our defensive pressure and we will look to move the ball and be active on the offensive end. We should also be able to rebound the ball well collectively as a group, even though we are not real tall inside."
RETURNING PLAYERS
Eight players return for UNLV in 2005-06, all with the benefit of having been in Kruger's program last season.
Seniors Louis Amundson and Ricky Morgan, along with junior Michael Umeh all played a significant role on last year's team and spent a good portion of the season as starters. Also returning are seniors Joel Anthony, Robert Berkey and Dustin Villepigue, sophomore Curtis Terry and redshirt freshman René Rougeau.
Amundson, a 6-9 forward, started all 30 games he played in last season and led the team in field goal percentage at 56.1. He earned honorable mention for the All-Mountain West Conference team after averaging 7.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Amundson scored in double figures 11 times last season and recorded double figures in rebounds seven times, tallying five double-doubles.
"Louis really took good strides last year," Kruger says. "He made progress in a lot of different areas. He is a very aggressive rebounder and he improved a lot defensively. He also became much more aggressive offensively when he received the ball in the paint."
Morgan, a 6-0 guard, started a total of 13 games last season, which included 12 straight to end the year. He stepped up his play late in the season and scored 20 or more points in two of UNLV's last four contests. The former Big XII player recorded seasonal averages of 4.1 ppg and 2.3 assists per game last year.
"Ricky came on and played consistently good basketball, especially when he started during the latter half of the conference season." says Kruger. "He gave us good direction, leadership, was very sound defensively. He took on more and more of a leadership role as he became more comfortable during the latter stages of the season."
Umeh, a 6-2 guard, also came on very strong in the second half. He started a total of 17 games, including the last 14. He scored in double figures in nine of UNLV's last 11 games of the year and turned in seasonal averages of 9.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 1.4 apg.
Umeh showed he has the ability to score big points as he tallied 20 or more on three separate occasions. He also earned honorable mention All-MWC.
"Like a lot of players do, as Michael gained confidence he played very well down the stretch," Kruger says. "He got to the point where he was very aggressive offensively, attacking the rim and shooting the three pointer well. He is surely going to be one of our leaders for this coming season."
Anthony, a 6-9 center, started 2004-05 slowly, but as the season progressed he showed that he could be a strong presence inside defensively. He led the team in blocked shots with 1.5 bpg in just 13.6 minutes per game. He also showed an ability to rebound in his first season with the Runnin' Rebels by grabbing at least six boards in four of the last five games.
"Joel really came on strong in the latter part of the season, especially on the defensive end and blocking shots," says Kruger. "He will become more and more comfortable offensively as he gets more repetitions. He has a great attitude, a great work ethic and an outstanding future."
Villepigue, a 6-9 forward, was second on the team in field goal percentage last season at 53.8. He turned in averages of 3.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg, and scored in double figures three times.
"Dustin is another very hard worker and has a great attitude about whatever he can do to help the team be successful," Kruger says. "He is an effective low-post scorer with his back to the bucket and can knock down the midrange jumper."
Terry, a 6-5 sophomore, who last season started as a walk-on before earning a scholarship, proved that he can shoot the ball. He made at least one 3-pointer in 14 games and scored in double figures four times last year as a freshman, turning in a seasonal scoring average of 3.7 ppg. He was also impressive from the free throw line, making 80.6 percent of his attempts.
"Curtis had a very good freshman year," says Kruger. "He became more and more comfortable and confident as the year went on. He shot the ball well, especially down the stretch, making a lot of big shots for us. He has a very good feel for the game."
Berkey, a 6-4 guard, played mostly a supporting role for the team last year as he appeared in just six games.
"Robert is a guy who comes to practice every day with a terrific attitude and a great worth ethic." Kruger says. "He is always positive and is willing to do whatever he can to make the team better on a daily basis." Rougeau, a 6-5 guard, used 2004-05 as a redshirt year and will be vying for a role this season.
"René made terrific progress last year during his redshirt year," says Kruger. "He worked extremely hard in the weight room to add weight and had a great attitude every day in practice."
NEWCOMERS
Six new faces adorn the 2005-06 roster for UNLV in the form of freshmen Jo'Van Adams and Joe Darger, junior Gaston Essengue, freshman Jerome Johnson and juniors Jason Petrimoulx and Wendell White. Freshman Scott Hoffman and junior Efrem Lawrence also have been added to this season's roster.
Adams, a 6-0 guard, averaged 28.0 ppg, 12.0 apg and 8.0 steals per game last year at Gulf Shores Academy in Houston, Texas. His team won the Texas state championship three years in a row and was ranked as high as sixth in the nation last year.
"Jo'Van is a very good competitor, good athlete and is a combo guard with a scoring mentality," Kruger says. "He can play the one or the two positions and is very aggressive, always attacking both offensively and defensively."
Darger, a 6-7 forward, averaged 22.0 ppg and 12.0 rpg last year at Riverton High School in Riverton, Utah, where he earned all-state honors.
"Joe is a real good worker and wants very badly to make progress every day," says Kruger. "He is a very good shooter and good in the post against mismatches."
Essengue, a 6-8 forward, out of Cameroon, Africa, comes to UNLV as a junior college transfer from Weatherford College in Texas. He averaged 14.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg last season.
As a freshman, Essengue played at Compton Community College and the all-state selection helped his team to the California junior college championship.
"Gaston is a very strong power forward who can score both on the inside and with a midrange jumper," Kruger says. "He runs the floor well, is a good rebounder and is very active in the paint. He has a really good attitude about working hard each day."
Johnson, a 6-8 center/forward originally from Baltimore, Md., averaged 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.0 bpg last season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., helping his team to a 26-1 record.
"Jerome is a similar player to Gaston, just younger," says Kruger. "He has a great attitude about working each day and is a good athlete with a power-forward type body. He is good in the low post with his back to the bucket and can face up and knock down the 17-footer."
Petrimoulx, a 6-4 guard from Las Vegas, averaged 15.4 ppg and 4.8 rpg last season at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah. He led his team in scoring last year and stood fifth in the Scenic West Athletic Conference. The first team all-region 18 recipient also ranked third in the conference in 3-pointers made per game with 2.2.
"Jason is a combo guard and a very good athlete," Kruger says. "He is quick, can score driving to the bucket and can shoot the ball from range. He is very active defensively, has a good feel for the game and has a very good attitude."
White, a 6-6 guard, from Los Angeles averaged 21.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg last season at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif. He became the first player in that school's history to be selected first team all-state.
"Wendell is a very good scorer, both on the inside and outside and can slash to the goal," says Kruger. "He can post up smaller guards and take bigger players to the perimeter and beat them off the dribble. He is very versatile both offensively and defensively."
Hoffman, a 6-3 guard, from Hays, Kan., averaged 23 ppg, 5 apg and 4 rpg as a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian.
Lawrence, a 6-0 guard, from Norfolk, Va., averaged 13 ppg, 4 rpg and 2.5 apg at Santa Monica College last season.
"Scott and Efrem bring the intangibles that every team needs to be successful," Kruger says.
SCHEDULE Home games against Texas Tech, Nevada, Reno and trips to Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Hawaii and Oregon State are just some of the highlights of UNLV's non-conference schedule. Add the traditional Mountain West Conference battles, which this year include conference newcomer TCU, and UNLV's 2005-06 slate promises to be a tough test throughout.
The Runnin' Rebels will host former PCAA and Big West rival Long Beach State to open the season and will also face, and later travel to, Hawaii in an unusual in-season home-and-home series. Additionally, UNLV has home games scheduled with Houston, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and Southern Utah.
"We have a very challenging schedule," Kruger says. "The non-conference portion will really help us in our preparation for conference play because we are playing very tough opponents on the road, we are playing a very good home schedule and a lot of teams with differing styles of play, so it should be great preparation for league competition.
"I was really impressed with the balance in our league last year. Every team is balanced and every game is very competitive."
