Alumni squad gives Rebels’ basketball practice push

On a fast break, senior guard Justin Hawkins dribbled in from the right wing for a layup, only to have his shot swatted away by a long-armed defender who played 15 years in the NBA.

Stacey Augmon turned to Hawkins and demonstrated a few teaching points.

"While we're playing, they were all giving us little tips," said Hawkins, who called UNLV's scrimmage against former Rebels an "amazing" experience Saturday at the Mendenhall Center.

Augmon, a second-year assistant coach, joined an alumni team that was assembled to help prepare UNLV for its four-game exhibition tour to Canada. Three of the former Rebels - Augmon, Wink Adams and Kaspars Kambala - rank among the top 10 scorers in program history, and the competition was intense.

The Rebels' present players gained a slight edge over the players from the past after the 44-minute scrimmage, but coach Dave Rice's main concern was not the scoreboard.

"Practice is great, but there's no substitute for 5-on-5 game experience," Rice said. "To be able to do it against this group of guys, many of whom are still playing overseas, is terrific. It was important for us, as hard as we practice, to be able to try to put it all together in a game situation."

After getting a layup attempt blocked by Augmon, Hawkins sank a 3-pointer from the corner and later earned his typical praise from Rice for his all-around solid play. Rice opened the scrimmage by starting Hawkins and senior Anthony Marshall in the backcourt, with senior Quintrell Thomas and juniors Carlos Lopez and Mike Moser in the frontcourt. That lineup outscored the alumni team 13-10.

The Rebels' second unit consisted of sophomore Bryce Dejean-Jones and freshmen Daquan Cook, Katin Reinhardt, Savon Goodman and Demetris Morant. But Rice used several lineup combinations from the group of 10 players he will take to Canada.

Anthony Bennett, a freshman forward from Findlay Prep, and transfers Khem Birch (Pittsburgh) and Roscoe Smith (Connecticut) did not attend the scrimmage and cannot travel with the team this week.

"We're definitely making progress every day," Hawkins said. "The new guys are coming along very fast and picking up the plays and picking up the defensive schemes a lot better than I thought."

The 6-foot-9-inch Kambala, a muscular 275 pounds, proved too much for the Rebels' post men to handle.

"I'm still one of the better players in Europe," said Kambala, who scored 1,699 points for UNLV from 1997 to 2001 and played in Turkey last season. "It's like young men playing against men. We've been there and we've done that, so it's a good experience for them."

The squad of former Rebels included Romel Beck, Lou Kelly, Marcus Lawrence, Patrick Savoy and Jermaine "Sunshine" Smith. Four years ago, Adams was a senior when UNLV scrimmaged an alumni team in preparation for an exhibition tour to Australia.

"We're all Rebels, but we're all competitive, so no matter what age, we're going to come out and try to win," said Adams, who played in Switzerland last season and is considering an offer in Iceland. "It was a good scrimmage.

"Growing up, I always wanted to come to UNLV. I watched Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon and the guys. This is my first chance to actually get to play with Stacey and pass it to him in the post, so I had a lot of fun playing with him and a lot of these other guys."

Adams singled out Dejean-Jones, a 6-5 shooting guard and a transfer from Southern California, as a player to watch.

"Bryce is a great player. He's going to be a big key to this team," Adams said. "He's athletic, he plays defense, and he's the type of guy who wants to win."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.