More than an hour after he ascended a ladder and awkwardly used a pair of scissors as a kindergartner might when cutting shapes, Michael Umeh was still clutching that small strand of net. Twirling it. Round and round in his fingers, like some nervous twitch he couldn't control.

Or really didn't want to.

It's not as if he has come full circle. That would suggest Umeh returned to the starting point of his situation, that -- for good or bad -- he completed some sort of cycle. This is more about extending a journey he once thought impossible to realize.

UNLV basketball stands on top of the Mountain West Conference today and the senior Umeh appropriately was the first to rise above all teammates at the Thomas & Mack Center floor late Saturday afternoon. The Rebels had just completed a remarkable second-half rally to beat Brigham Young 78-70 in the conference tournament final and a net awaited the celebratory slashing.

It wouldn't have made sense for Umeh to remove his piece of net with one hack. Nothing has come easy in his career here, so why would the most memorable of all moments?

"The biggest in my life," he said.

He finished with 18 points and seven rebounds and was the reason an 11-point halftime deficit wasn't larger. He was the player who kept UNLV alive for the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth as it bricked its way through the first 20 minutes.

The Rebels made just one of their first 15 shots, but Umeh scored eight of the their first 10 points. Six of those eight were off deep 3-pointers, the kind he used to make before his first college coach left and all those darn knee problems.

Before everything turned upside down.

Umeh is the final recruit from Charlie Spoonhour's tenure, and it was the former Rebels coach who sat a few rows off the court Saturday as UNLV officially returned to the NCAA field for the first time in seven years.

"I am so happy for Michael, considering all he has been through with the injuries," Spoonhour said. "He is a great kid and I always thought he was a really good player. This is neat."

Sports are cruel in the way that there is no pause for the wounded. Guys get hurt and others step in and the injured either recovers or is forgotten. Rehabilitation can be a long, lonely, painful process that often steals a player's confidence and usually diminishes his skill. Umeh knows of this excursion all too well, having undergone surgery on both knees.

He was sort of lost this season, trying to rediscover that confident attitude shooters have, while working through the mind games a gimpy knee or two can play on a guy with the intention of driving baseline.

Umeh scored 20 or more just three times and took a back seat to the team's statistical drivers in seniors Wendell White and Kevin Kruger and sophomore Wink Adams. Entering the conference tournament, Umeh's season averages (21.9 minutes, 6.9 points) were pedestrian for a player with his ability and experience.

But you wouldn't have known any of it Saturday, when the player who seriously considered transferring following Spoonhour's final season looked and spoke and acted like the champion his new T-shirt and hat proclaimed him to be.

"Michael Umeh is an outstanding person," Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. "(Spoonhour) talked to us about the players when we came in. He raved about Mike. You've got to have good people in the core of your program to get things turned around. Michael Umeh is as good as it gets in that regard."

When he finally tugged and twisted and slashed through that net, Umeh broke into a broad smile, closed his eyes and lifted the treasure to his lips. Then he paused. You can imagine all the years of thoughts racing through his head.

"Staying here was the right thing to do," Umeh said. "Coach Kruger gave me a big-time opportunity. He was always fair to me and I love him for it. I've grown as a man and as a player under him.

"It has definitely been a long journey. I'm glad (Spoonhour) was in the stands today. I definitely want to thank him. There have been ups and downs, but I was able to come through it with help from a lot of people.

"I just wanted to lead the way a senior should lead."

He said it while twirling that strand of net. Round and round in his fingers, no better example of realizing how far he has traveled.

Somewhere, a frame awaits that small reminder of a career's biggest moment.

Ed Graney's column is published Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.