For Rebels, it’s lights, cameras, scrimmage

By Rob Miech

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

With cameras rolling, UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger returned to scrimmages to gauge his players at the end of Friday morning’s practice.

In the Cox Pavilion practice gym, walk-on guard Todd Hanni, a 6-foot-4 junior from Danville, Ind., led everyone with six points in the two three-minute runs.

His two 3-pointers helped the Black squad eke out an 11-11 tie in the second of the scrimmages. Thursday, with refs, the Rebels ran four 3-minute scrimmages. This time, there were no officials.

Those 18 minutes will provide Kruger and his staff with interesting video of their team.

Onto the action, in which sophomore forward Chace Stanback (left ankle) and freshman guard Anthony Marshall (right hamstring) once again sat out with injuries:

Game 1 – White 11, Black 3

The White squad dominated inside, as all of its field goals came close to the rim and three came courtesy of offensive rebounds.

Matt Shaw and Carlos Lopez were the interior players for the Black team that yielded those point-blank buckets.

To start the scoring, Darris Santee yanked down Oscar Bellfield’s missed jumper and put it back in on Shaw.

Hanni missed a jumper, Brice Massamba snatched the rebound for the White team and Bellfield finished in impressive fashion, with a reverse lay-in on the left side, in transition.

Lopez has had a rough first week in a Rebels uniform, although an abundance of that can be attributed to the 30 pounds he lost this summer when he caught a stomach virus in France.

He is regaining strength, but he has had some difficulty. Passes have missed their mark, he’s been out of position underneath the rim on defense and he dribbled a ball off his foot.

That said, it’s his first week of full-on college practice. His upside is still tremendous.

After Bellfield’s smooth move, Lopez took the ball at the other end, dribbled three times through the left lane and then launched a shot … that hit the side of the backboard.

But he was saved, as director of basketball operations Mike Shepherd whistled a foul on a foe.

Then Lopez missed the ensuing free throw.

Massamba continued to show the White squad’s dominance on the boards when he grabbed Jasper’s missed jumper and put it in over Lopez for a 6-0 lead.

Jasper hauled in Justin Hawkins’s missed jumper at the other end and flashed what likely will become his signature move – he’ll twist and turn, or fly in from a baseline, and finish with a swooping scoop shot.

He’ll lunge and get every centimeter out of his reach and wide stride, and he’ll spin it off the glass or plop it over the rim.

This time, Jasper was fouled as he converted and he polished off the three-point play for a 9-0 advantage.

Kendall Wallace, the team’s junior long-range ace, canned a 3-pointer to get the Black team on the board, and the White squad finished the first scrimmage with another rebound put-back.

Santee’s bank shot was too hard, but Tre’Von Willis was there for the carom and he put it back in to finish it 11-3.

Game 2 – White 11, Black 11

Steve “Chopper” Jones, started the scoring by nailing a 17-foot jumper for the White squad.

Shaw answered that by getting fouled on a close-range fling shot from the right side, and his ensuing free throw gave the Black a 3-2 lead.

Chopper was fired up, though and he came back with a 3-pointer from the left side to make it 5-3.

And on the fourth possession of the mini-game, Hanni fired in a 3-pointer from the right side to give the Black a 6-5 edge.

The White squad pulled away when Wallace hit a free throw (that counted as two points), and Lopez put in Chopper’s missed jumper to give the White a 9-6 lead.

Shaw missed a shot at the other end, Massamba grabbed it and Bellfield wound up missing a shot. But Jasper got the offensive board and was fouled on a close shot, and his free throw enabled the White to pull out to an 11-6 lead.

In a flash, the game ended in an 11-11 tie when Hanni dropped in a 3-pointer, Chopper turned it over and Willis sailed in for an easy breakaway layup.

The rebounding of Massamba and Santee stood out in the six minutes of scrimmage time.

But so did Jasper, who is getting more comfortable running the show in every practice. He’s starting to defer less, and the swooping scoop shot surely figures to wind up on a poster or two.