Monday, June 23, 2008 | 1:03 p.m.
UNLV’s final practice before leaving for Australia was all about communication, giving coach Lon Kruger a four-month jump on the basics.
As his players maneuvered through five-on-none drills, he constantly stressed that they talk to each other.
“C’mon, let’s talk,” he barked as the Rebels swung the ball around the perimeter and shifted into different sets. “Joe. Wink. Let’s go. Good. Good. A little more talking to each other.
“C’mon Beas. Mo. Good. Now you’re talking.”
Joe Darger, Wink Adams, Beas Hamga, Mareceo Rutledge and the rest of the Rebels all complied.
The late-morning hour session at the Thomas & Mack Center was a lot different than the previous ones over the past week and a half.
First, only 22 people were in the stands. Kruger opened all of the practices to the public, and they turned out in droves. More than 600 watched them practice against a group of alumni Saturday.
It was more tutorial than the others, too, with no alumni to scrimmage. When walk-on swingman Rob Ketchum showed up, there were only nine Rebels.
So they didn’t have enough to even run a full-court scrimmage.
In addition, it was senior swingman Rene Rougeau’s first practice as a scholarship player. Kruger awarded Rougeau with his last scholarship for the upcoming season before practice.
“No one is more deserving and also more appreciative than him,” Kruger said.
Kruger said the team accomplished plenty in the practices for Australia.
“It’s been great,” he said. “The guys made progress and they’re excited. It will be a good experience, both on and off the court.”
The team leaves Monday night for Sydney, a trip Kruger has made with previous teams at Florida and Illinois.
Even he is flying coach for the 15-hour flight, and he plans to drink plenty of water and stretch often in the back of the plane.
He also said he has no idea what the competition will be like Down Under. A group called Basketball Travelers has arranged all the games against club teams.
A couple games might be tough, a couple teams might not be so competitive.
What’s most important, he said, is getting Hamga and Willis game-time minutes, and adapting Darger and Rougeau to perimeter positions.
Those two were forced to primarily play inside last season because of UNLV’s lack of size. With the 7-footer Hamga, they’ll be able to drift outside.
“Really, you want competition,” Kruger said. “You want to win. But winning five or losing four isn’t significant.”
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