Willis absorbs lessons from failed season

Before turning the page, junior guard Tre'Von Willis talked about the importance of reflection, of not forgetting what led to UNLV's ill-fated tale of last season.

He used the "combination of things" explanation to describe how a basketball team that seemingly could not fail just fell apart.

"If we were winning games, it would have been a different story," Willis said.

But the Rebels lost seven of their final 11 games, beating only one quality opponent (Brigham Young) during a tailspin that ended with a loss at Kentucky in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament.

There was no shortage of scapegoats. Some pointed to the three senior starters -- Wink Adams, Joe Darger and Rene Rougeau -- for not getting the job done. Some pointed to Willis as a disruption to team chemistry. Willis pointed to several factors, including himself.

"I was disappointed in my play, and that I wasn't doing more to help the team win," he said.

But no individual was to blame for a team's decline. It was indeed a combination of things: No inside strength, weak rebounding, no true leader at point guard, a lack of defensive intensity and a lost focus.

A 21-11 season might be reviewed as a success elsewhere. And there were highlights, including a New Year's Eve upset at Louisville and a sweep of BYU.

Rebels coach Lon Kruger has re-raised expectation levels, though, and the NIT is where mediocre teams languish. What is great at San Diego State is not OK for UNLV.

"The seniors were there to try to lead us all year, so I let them say whatever if they could, and I was standing in the background a little bit. I was new to the team," Willis said. "But this year I'm looking to get after it. Whatever I need to do to let this team win and get on a roll and gel together, I'm going to do that."

The 6-foot-4-inch Willis, the Rebels' top returning scorer at 11.4 points per game, was named to the Mountain West Conference preseason first team. He's moving to a shooting guard spot after splitting point duties with Oscar Bellfield last season.

Bellfield, a sophomore, and Derrick Jasper, a 6-6 junior transfer from Kentucky, will alternate at point guard. Jasper and Willis are expected to fill major leadership roles.

"In the weight room, in conditioning and in practice, Tre is always one of the hardest competitors, and that's the leadership we need. The leadership will be good," Kruger said.

"There will be a lot of combinations with three guards out there. Tre needs to be aggressive to score. He'll be on the wing, and being aggressive is kind of his forte. I think what he does best is attack and score, and he'll rebound the ball for us."

Willis wants to put to rest the widespread rumors that he had fractured relationships with Adams and Rougeau. All three denied a division every time they were asked by the media.

"That's ridiculous. It's really ridiculous," Willis said. "Honestly, we were hearing that, too, and that's what was so funny. It was the closest team I've ever seen. Everybody hung out with each other and talked with each other.

"I think our problem was that we liked each other too much. If somebody messed up, we wouldn't get on them. This year we're holding guys accountable."

Willis said a lingering right shoulder injury that bothered him last season is mostly healed. He shot 38 percent from the field, including 32.4 percent (33-for-102) on 3-pointers, in his first year at UNLV after transferring from Memphis.

Even if there were apparent personality differences between Adams and Willis, the only real issue was how they didn't always mesh in the same backcourt. But Willis said the team as a whole came up short.

"I think the team in general just didn't know how to grind a game out and do what it took to win," he said. "I don't think last year's team worked as hard as we should have, and sometimes we were looking ahead or just not serious all the time.

"Sometimes the whole chemistry was out of whack, and that was the big thing. We didn't really talk on the floor. It was a lot of little things. That's what we're stressing this year. So now we're coming out and trying to talk more to each other. We're being more aggressive, more physical.

"We didn't play together as a team the whole year. Now we're trying to get on each other and make it a hardworking group. This team has got a whole new mentality."

Willis made a couple of minor missteps to bring some scrutiny on himself last season, when he started 23 games. Kruger pulled him from the starting lineup twice, once for arriving late to a game and once for oversleeping and showing up late to practice.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing and let my teammates see me do the right things," he said. "I just want the team to be known as a great team.

"It doesn't bother me too much what people say about me. I've been an underdog my whole life, so I'll take the blame when we lose. I think my shoulders are pretty big. As long as we win, I'm happy."

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