Rebels guard sees big picture, hopes he has place in it

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As a point guard, UNLV sophomore Marcus Lawrence succeeds because he has sharp peripheral vision and an ability to see the big picture. But he never overlooks the details.

Running the offense efficiently and getting the basketball to teammates in the right spots is what matters most to him.

“I just love passing the ball,” he said. “I love seeing my teammates score.”

In the big picture, however, Lawrence sees that he needs to score more if he’s going to play more. He is unselfish almost to a fault.

“I can pass and play good defense, but I’ve still got to be able to make shots if I want to play,” he said. “It can’t be four on five out there.”

Lawrence has scored just 15 points in 10 games off the bench for the Rebels. He has gone six consecutive games, a stretch of 94 minutes on the floor, without scoring and has not attempted a shot in the past three games.

The former Bishop Gorman star hopes to end that drought when UNLV (8-3) faces Kennesaw State (2-8) at 7:30 p.m. today in the four-team Duel in the Desert tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Rebels play Nicholls State on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday in a three-day event that should allow UNLV coach Lon Kruger a chance to play everyone on his roster.

Lawrence is seventh on the team in minutes per game (16.1), but he was expected to see a bigger role after appearing in all 37 games and starting seven as a freshman.

Starting point guard Curtis Terry, a 6-foot-5-inch senior, is never shy to shoot and averages 12.0 points per game.

“Curtis is a bigger point guard, and he brings a lot of offense to the table,” Rebels junior guard Wink Adams said. “As the season progresses, I think Marcus will play a lot more.”

An inability to make open jumpers was Lawrence’s problem last season, when he shot 30 percent from the field, and he still has not solved it.

“We need Marcus to be able to make shots,” Kruger said. “He needs to take them, and he needs to make them to improve his confidence. Hopefully that will happen in time.

“We always encourage him to shoot it in practice so he can carry it over to games. But there’s no need shooting it if you don’t think it’s going in. He’s got to feel good about it.”

Kruger said Lawrence must be able to hit shots from the outside — he’s 3-for-22 on 3-pointers in his career — to “keep defenses honest.”

The 5-11 Lawrence averages 1.5 points per game but has been exceptional in all other areas. He’s a tenacious defender and has 30 assists to only four turnovers.

“People don’t really look at that a lot, the assists and turnovers,” said Lawrence, who scored a season-high seven points in UNLV’s victory at San Diego on Nov. 17. “I don’t like turning the ball over, and I know Coach Kruger dwells on that a lot. He hates turnovers.

“But I catch myself passing too much sometimes in practice, and Coach will say, ‘Take that shot.’ I really think to pass too much.”

Lawrence said he played the same way in high school. By his junior year, he started to shoot with confidence and averaged 16 points per game to lead Gorman to the Class 4A state championship.

“My freshman and sophomore year, I didn’t shoot at all,” he said. “When I got older, I scored.

“So I know I can knock down shots, and I’m not worried about it.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.