Adams’ might carrying Rebels to familiar heights

After muscling his way to the rim and making a layup, UNLV junior guard Wink Adams flexed his left arm and pointed to his biceps.

A year ago, as a sophomore co-star for a team with five seniors, Adams rarely was so demonstrative. He was a major contributor, albeit a quiet one.

Now, the player who wears jersey No. 1 is in the spotlight every night. He’s enjoying it, too.

“Last year, I was kind of spoiled. I had all the seniors to play behind, and they were doing a lot,” Adams said. “But this year, I’ve got to be more vocal, do more and learn how to be a leader.”

Adams scored 23 points — and flexed his muscles for emphasis — during the Rebels’ 68-58 victory over San Diego State on Tuesday. It was the latest marquee performance by one of the Mountain West Conference’s brightest stars.

With three games remaining in the regular season, Adams is a strong candidate for conference Player of the Year.

“I think there are probably three or four guys who have had really good years, and Wink is one of those,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “He has been invaluable to what we’re trying to do.”

The Rebels (21-6, 10-3) host Texas Christian (14-12, 6-7) at 4 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center, and it’s another opportunity for Adams to impress the voters.

Adams has topped 20 points in five of the past eight games, a stretch that started Jan. 30, when he scored 25 points in a 70-58 victory over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas.

The competition for Player of the Year includes New Mexico senior guard J.R. Giddens and two Brigham Young juniors, guard Lee Cummard and center Trent Plaisted.

“It’s something I’d like to get, but if I don’t, it’s nothing that’s going to really bother me,” Adams said. “I just really want to see my team win, and everybody’s happy.”

Adams is UNLV’s leading scorer at 16.1 points per game. In conference games, his scoring average is 17.8, third in the league, and he ranks ninth in assists (3.2).

Comparing the four players by their numbers in conference games, Giddens has a slight edge over Adams, Cummard and Plaisted.

Giddens ranks second in the Mountain West in scoring (18.8), first in rebounding (8.3), third in field-goal percentage (.538), second in blocked shots (1.4), fourth in steals (1.6) and eighth in assists (3.3).

Cummard ranks sixth in scoring (16.2), fourth in rebounding (6.9), second in field-goal percentage (.565) and seventh in assists (3.4). Plaisted is eighth in scoring (15.4), sixth in rebounding (6.7) and fourth in field-goal percentage (.514).

BYU (22-6, 11-2) is first in the conference and had the Player of the Year last season in departed senior Keena Young.

Adams was second team all-conference last year, when the Rebels finished 30-7, won the Mountain West tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

As soon as last season ended, Adams predicted similar results for this UNLV team despite the graduation of seniors Joel Anthony, Gaston Essengue, Kevin Kruger, Michael Umeh and Wendell White.

“We’re on the same roll like we were last year,” Adams said. “I don’t think anybody thought we would be on the same roll, losing five seniors. We’re working hard for it, and we take pride in what we do.”

Adams struggled through a shooting slump in November and did not record his first 20-point game until Dec. 22.

“Wink was the only returning starter, and I think early on he was maybe just trying to do too much because he’s not sure who else was going to step up,” Kruger said.

“The more confidence the players got in each other, and the more he could see that different guys are contributing in big ways, I think he settled into a pretty comfortable role.”

Adams is by no means a one-man team. He has received help from the other four starters — seniors Curtis Terry and Corey Bailey and juniors Joe Darger and Rene Rougeau — in different ways.

“We started off and we were kind of an immature team with only two seniors. We had to get some leadership from somewhere,” Adams said. “Throughout the season, a lot of guys have been doing a little bit more than what they were supposed to do, and we’re progressing as a team.”

• NOTES — UNLV has won five straight against TCU. … Junior guard Henry Salter, the Horned Frogs’ No. 2 scorer at 13.3 points per game, was suspended for the team’s game Wednesday and his status for today’s game is uncertain.

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