Kruger: Recent success set squad up for a letdown

By Rob Miech

Monday, March 23, 2009 | midnight

UNLV coach Lon Kruger bluntly summed up his team’s 2008-09 basketball season, one that frustrated fans, the Rebels and, most of all, Kruger.

“The last two years, quite frankly, set this group up for failure,” he said. “That’s human nature. It really boosted that bar way up, almost in an unfair way for this group.”

Looking at it objectively, he said, that’s the reality of what happened to the Rebels.

“The group (in 2007-08) so far outdid expectations,” Kruger said, “that it was just a little bit of a setup for this season.”

That’s what happens with expectations when a program wins 57 games over two seasons, including a total of three victories in consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Expectations soar.

Instead, UNLV (21-11) stumbled down the stretch, losing five of its final nine regular-season games.

Then it lost to San Diego State, for the third time this season, in a quarterfinal of the Mountain West Conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

And then the Rebels were belted in a 70-60 defeat at Kentucky in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament last Tuesday.

The three-game losing streak to end the season was UNLV’s first such stretch since December 2005.

The NIT game was a microcosm of UNLV’s season. It trailed the Wildcats by 20 points, cut the deficit to three but didn’t have enough drive or energy to complete the comeback.

By the end of last week, Kruger had spoken with a few returning players in end-of-season meetings.

“Generally, they’re just eager to get going,” Kruger said. “Everyone is certainly a little disappointed and let down by what we accomplished this year, but they’re anxious to get started, get that behind us and make progress.”

Early signs

Rewind to the last month of 2008. The Rebels went 7-0 in December, capped by a thrilling victory at Louisville on New Year’s Eve, and went into 2009 at 12-2.

Kruger was concerned about his squad that month.

“The first real moment of concern was maybe our response to winning,” he said. “We didn’t lose in December, but I didn’t like our response to what little success we were having at that time.

“I’m referring to growth and development and passion … all those little intangibles.”

The Rebels were winning, they just weren’t playing particularly well, according to Kruger.

Poor free-throw shooting at the end of a slim victory over New Mexico at home was a cause for concern, then the Rebels lost at TCU and at Colorado State.

Consecutive overtime defeats to San Diego State and at New Mexico, the first time that had happened in the 51-year history of UNLV hoops, ignited the season-ending spiral.

UNLV finished at the bottom of its conference in shooting, and was next to last in free-throw and 3-point accuracy. It had the worst rebounding margin in the Mountain West. Its defensive figures were mediocre.

“I don’t think we ever played good basketball … maybe in spurts,” Kruger said. “We weren’t consistent. That’s my responsibility.”

If it had been a down year in the Mountain West …

“We might have dodged a bullet,” Kruger said. “But we got what we deserved, especially when the league was good.”

Losing focus

One of a coach’s great challenges, Kruger said, is getting players to improve when the team is winning.

“There has to be consistent progress and investment to keep growing,” Kruger said. “That’s our responsibility as coaches. We did pretty well in the middle of the season, but it’s our job as coaches to keep them focused and growing.

“I don’t think we did that.”

All season, Kruger kept insisting that his players, many of whom were quiet by nature, talk more. Of the seniors, only René Rougeau barked regularly.

By the end, there was bickering – at Utah, for instance – that at least one Rebel, senior power forward Joe Darger, said highlighted the fact that the Rebels were not on the same page.

“I don’t think everyone got comfortable in that leadership role,” Kruger said. “Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re naturally a leader. That’s nothing wrong or bad. That’s the way it is.”

Kruger intensified rebounding drills midway through the season. He benched center Darris Santee, going with a smaller lineup to trap and press and hound foes.

“You do a lot of things,” Kruger said. “You challenge a little more. If that doesn’t work, you promote confidence. If that doesn’t work, you change lineups. You try whatever it is to jolt them, to get back on the track of improving.

“Again, I don’t think we, as a group, got that accomplished.”

The new-look Rebels

Sophomore guard Tre'Von Willis, the Memphis transfer who played his first full season since his senior year of high school, and freshman guard Oscar Bellfield were tested in their first runs as Rebels.

They should form the foundation of next season’s squad, with junior shooter Kendall Wallace, junior forward Matt Shaw, Santee and fellow center Brice Massamba, and sophomore swingman DeShawn Mitchell.

Wink Adams has tabbed Willis, whose has an epic hatred of losing, as a likely leader.

“He’s a really good competitor who hates to lose, and those are good qualities,” Kruger said of Willis. “He’ll parlay those into a lot of growth this summer and next fall.

“Wanting to win is a good quality. Hating to lose is, maybe, a better one. Everyone wants to win. Sometimes, you don’t have enough people who hate to lose. He gives us that quality as much as anyone. That’s healthy.”

The dynamic new additions likely will be Derrick Jasper and Chace Stanback.

Jasper, the 6-foot-6 point guard who has spent his transfer year in Las Vegas rehabbing from microfracture knee surgery, has two seasons of eligibility left.

“We don’t know exactly where he’ll be, from a health standpoint,” Kruger said. “He still hasn’t gone full speed. We’ll see how he responds to contact this spring. That’ll be significant.”

Stanback, a 6-8 transfer from UCLA who has three seasons left, often looked like the best player in practice over this past season.

He’s a strong rebounder, crisp passer and solid long-range shooter who can pump-fake defenders and use a one-dribble power drive to finish with a flourish.

Best of all, teammates say, he considerably improved his defensive skills by the end of the season.

“We’ll see how his skills translate to the team this spring,” Kruger said. “It’ll be interesting to see where the leadership comes from next season. This season, we didn’t have the security we’ve had in the past.

“Oscar and ‘Tre’ will grow a lot. The guys who have been sitting out will add a lot. I think we’ll have a different type of leadership.”

Guards Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins, and power forward Carlos Lopez will be the newcomers.

Nearly 6-11, Lopez carries about 220 pounds. He’ll try to help Findlay College Prep (30-0) win a national high school title next week in Bethesda, Md.

Although he’s slight, Lopez has some dazzling spin moves and a tenacity -- nearly always attacking the rim without hesitating -- that Santee and Massamba lack.

“That’s a package we don’t have presently on the roster,” Kruger said of Lopez. “He has length and mobility, that combination. He needs strength and time, but I know he’ll work hard and try to make it happen quickly.”

Watching from home

Kruger believes his returning players will benefit from playing in the NIT, from playing a storied program like Kentucky before a wild crowd in the Wildcats’ second home, the Memorial Coliseum.

The setting, Kruger said, was terrific. The stature of UK and passion of its fans was something to behold. “Kentucky is a different animal,” Kruger said.

Kruger knew the other part of the question, about not playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time in three seasons.

“Hey, we’re sitting home watching (the NCAAs) this weekend,” he said. “We don’t want to do that again. That’s always motivation.”

Kruger’s motivation will be not repeating the recent past.

“I learned that I didn’t feel good about what we helped this group accomplish at all,” he said. “I learned that if there’s a similar situation with a similar group in the future, I’ll refer to this year’s group.

“And try to do it differently next time.”