Willis recalls lessons learned Down Under

By Rob Miech

Friday, Oct. 17, 2008 | 2 a.m.

New UNLV point guard Tre’Von Willis has replayed the unpleasant scene from Australia over and over in his mind and on the video recorder over the past few months.

The seeds of that nightmare started on the Rebels’ 16-hour flight home from Sydney in early July.

“The whole time,” said senior shooting guard Wink Adams, “Tre was talking about how he turned the ball over.”

As the 2008-09 hoops season begins this morning with the official start of practice and tonight at 9 p.m. in a show at the Thomas & Mack Center, many eyes will be on Willis.

UNLV plays host to an exhibition game against Washburn on Nov. 11. The season opener is Nov. 15 against San Diego, which beat Connecticut in the NCAAs in March and returns all of its starters.

Fans will be eager to see Willis distribute to the wealth of talent around him. Fifth-year coach Lon Kruger will be gauging how Willis takes care of the ball and controls a game.

Willis will be watching those tapes from Australia. He has viewed them constantly over the past few months.

The play he has watched most frequently took place in the final minute of the final game, in Cairns against the Marlins.

Trailing by a point, Willis drove through the lane and fumbled the ball away. There was contact. He was called for an offensive foul.

“But there wasn’t enough contact for me to lose the ball,” Willis said.

A Marlin sank a free throw. UNLV guard Kendall Wallace missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer. The Rebels lost, 86-84, to finish the tour 4-2.

“I felt that I let the team down,” Willis said. “It was one of those turnovers in a key, crucial situation. I look at that to see what I need to do so I don’t make that error again.”

Australia might be a distant chapter, but not for Willis. He sat out last season, as a redshirt, after transferring from Memphis, so the Down Under trip was his baptism as a Rebel.

He pores over every detail of those tapes.

"I’m not someone who dwells on something bad," Willis said. "I’m positive, even about the negative. What can I do better? What can I do next time to make me and my team successful?"

Last week, Willis spoke a bit with Dr. Ed Klein, a noted sports psychologist who has worked with players from the National Football League, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.

Klein has volunteered to assist several UNLV men’s and women’s basketball athletes in playing with confidence and visualizing success. Willis might meet with him again.

Klein considers Willis considerate and thoughtful.

“Australia was very valuable to me,” Willis said. “I feel I got a little bit of my juice back from nearly two years off. I feel like I got more experience knowing what being a Division-I point guard is all about.”

He has told the Sun that he’s aiming for a 4-1 assists-to-turnovers ratio, which would qualify Willis as one of UNLV’s finest floor generals.

Greg Anthony (4.6-1 ratio in 1990-91) and Mark Wade (4.4-1 in 1986-87) had two of the best ball-handling seasons in UNLV history. Coincidentally, the Rebels went to the Final Four in 1987 and 1991.

Willis had a negative ratio (18 assists to 23 turnovers) in Australia.

Granted, the Rebels were playing half a world away, against older and professional players, with a short bench and new faces who were learning each other’s tendencies.

But UNLV’s averages of 11 assists and 17 turnovers didn’t resemble Kruger basketball.

“I hope that’s not what translates,” said Kruger, laughing.

UNLV was a Top 10 ball-handling team the past two seasons, when it committed less than a dozen turnovers each campaign.

Kruger approached Australia as an invaluable bonding experience, a chance to get 10 rare days of practice in June and competitive games against other teams while learning about a different culture.

“Everyone benefited in different ways,” Kruger said. “Collectively, it was a really good trip. We realize we have a lot of work to do. That’s good.”

No Rebel made half his shots from the field. Only Willis, at .406, connected on more than 40 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Adams led the team in scoring, with 15.5 points a game. Willis (15.2 points), and seniors Mo Rutledge (13.3) and Joe Darger (12.7) also averaged double figures in scoring.

“I think we were anxious,” Adams said. “I think we rushed a lot of plays, instead of running our stuff and playing through. We settled for jumpers and forced turnovers.

“Usually, it’s not like that. We get stops and fastbreak points, or we run plays and get what we want. In Australia, our weakness was not getting the shots we wanted.”

Willis admitted feeling rusty. The games were a little fast and he caught himself thinking too much.

“That’s not my game,” he said. “I take what the defense gives and react off what happens. That’s coming back.”

Willis said it’s not his game to take a flurry of 3-pointers. He doesn’t want to settle for jumpers. He wants to drive to the basket and create for teammates.

In limited workouts and pick-up games in recent weeks, Adams said Willis looks ready for the season.

“Look at him in Australia and look at him now,” Adams said. “He’s making better passes. He’s scoring better and getting shots he wasn’t getting. He’s a calmer player.

“That’s what we need. He knows what he needs to do. He’ll get it done.”