After scrimmage, it’s getting real for Kevin Kruger, UNLV basketball

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Asked which team emerged victorious from Friday’s closed-door scrimmage between his UNLV squad and visiting Cal State Northridge, Kevin Kruger was feeling mischievous.

“I think we were both winners,” he said, tongue planted in cheek. “We both won because we both had fun.”

It was a nice thought, sure, but one that can’t last much longer. The start of the season is fast approaching, and it's getting real for a UNLV squad that is looking to make an NCAA Tournament run in Kruger’s second year as head coach.

There will be winners and losers soon enough.

One source indicated UNLV came out on top in the scrimmage, which was played under regulation NCAA rules (with the score resetting for each 20-minute half). Coaches are not allowed to comment on specifics of closed-door scrimmages before the game, but how much they reveal afterward is up to them.

Kruger was more interested in his team’s overall performance than he was in the final score, and he gave his guys a good grade for their activity level, especially on the defensive end.

“This is group where a lot of guys hang their hat defensively, so a lot of good things happened when we were locked in and focused defensively,” Kruger said.

According to senior guard Eli Parquet, lining up against some unfamiliar faces was enough to boost the team’s energy.

After a month of scripted drills against his teammates, the change was welcome.

“It was big because it was getting a little redundant playing against each other every day,” Parquet said. “We know exactly where the ball is going and what we’re going to do defensively, so it was good looks for us to get somebody else in here.”

Kruger followed through on his plan to begin firming up his rotation. While he tried to dole out minutes equally during the team’s summer exhibition trip to Canada, on Friday playing time was distributed on merit.

That dose of reality figures to have a tangible effect on the team, something senior forward Luis Rodriguez said was already evident during Monday’s practice.

“We kind of got to learn our roles. That might have been the biggest thing,” Rodriguez said. “I think practice is getting a little more intense now that people are seeing everybody is not playing the same amount of minutes.”

Rodriguez, a fifth-year senior transfer, started 51 of 60 games over the last two years at Mississippi, so he figures to be a core member of the rotation. For those who didn’t get as much court time against Cal State Northridge, continuing to compete will be imperative.

Rodriguez said the response had been encouraging.

“There’s one of two ways [to take it],” he said. “You can take it personal in the sense that you’re going to get better and try to expand your role, or you can take it personal and kind of quit. I don’t see nobody on this team quitting. I think everybody is now ramping it up, going harder, so I think that’s good for us.”

UNLV will have a week of practice before hosting Southern Utah in another closed-door scrimmage Saturday.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.