Perimeter defense must set tone

No guidance for Vincent and Jules on disposing the body.

No proven help for the UNLV defender who gets beat off the dribble.

The Rebels won 30 games last season and lived to tell about an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game for countless reasons. A major one: Opponents found finishing at the basket about as comfortable as a bad case of gout.

“We had two monsters back there,” senior guard Curtis Terry said.

They’re gone now. The mind-set must change. UNLV opens its season against visiting Montana State tonight with a younger, longer, more athletic team whose defensive potential will depend more on moving feet than rejecting shots.

Breakdowns happen. Screens are set. Switches are made. Focus is lost. Guys get beat. But last season, that usually meant another blocked shot for Joel Anthony or Gaston Essengue. They combined for 159, and the Rebels led the Mountain West Conference with 197. The next-closest team — Colorado State — had 137.

Teams dream of owning such a convincing advantage.

“It wasn’t like we were trying to get beat off the dribble and let guys go by us, but as the season went on, I think we became comfortable knowing Joel or Gaston would be there to the point we just expected it,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. “We have to become more solid defensively. I think we have a chance. We don’t have a choice.”

Scoring is different. It’s like an untrained singing voice. It needs time to develop. Patience to discover rhythm. The Rebels lost four of their top five scorers from last season, meaning players who took a limited number of shots then will be afforded several more now.

How confident will they be in a fourth jumper when the first three miss?

The good part: Effort at the other end doesn’t need a timetable. Some of the best defenders in the world have separated themselves by playing harder than the next guy. Getting to a spot quicker. Shuffling faster.

It’s a method UNLV must adopt beginning tonight, hoping whatever unpredictable things happen offensively against an early schedule that presents its share of winnable and also difficult tests, it can remain in games and find success by contesting enough shots and grabbing enough rebounds and not funneling too much action toward the rim. You can beat Montana State and Dixie State and San Diego and Texas-El Paso and Northern Arizona by defending well enough. You at least can play with Louisville and UNR and Arizona at home doing the same.

The key is perimeter pressure. For all that Kevin Kruger and Michael Umeh meant last season, neither was athletic to the point of overly bothering an opposing guard’s pursuit of the key. But there might not be a collection of better Mountain West on-ball defenders this year than Wink Adams, Marcus Lawrence and Corey Bailey. Terry isn’t a great athlete but has the experience of 98 Division I games.

If everything in football begins up front, everything for the Rebels defensively this year begins outside. Havoc must be created.

The middle isn’t bare. Just green. Emmanuel Adeife assumes the center position and is a 6-foot-10-inch junior who managed two blocks in an exhibition victory against Washburn on Tuesday and who could average that this season. Matt Shaw is a 6-8 sophomore who is more position defender than anything. It’s just a different look from last season, when UNLV was good enough to rank second among league teams in scoring defense and yet shaky enough to rank sixth in rebound margin.

“We’ve never been a really big team with a bunch of 7-footers clogging up the key and slowing the game down,” Terry said. “We like to run and be active on the ball and stir things up that way. If we can do those things, we’ll be fine.

“We can’t rely on guys being there to always block a shot and protect the basket. Emmanuel will learn and grow and get better at it. He’s naturally long and athletic. But we really need to focus on locking our man down and not getting beat.”

In the absence of a cleaner, it’s the most fitting approach.

Either that, or hope someone develops inside to the point of being this credible: “I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.”

Ed Graney can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.