Darger fulfilled as Rebel

That’s easy for him to say now. But about five years ago, as a high school junior in Riverton, Utah, he faced a tough choice.

Darger was being recruited by Brigham Young and Utah, and he was pretty sure where he wanted to play basketball next.

"I almost committed to Utah," he said. "I just about committed there, and a couple more weeks and I probably would have committed there."

Darger’s future took a sudden turn when the Utes’ coach, Rick Majerus, stepped down citing health concerns in January 2004.

"That made me change my mind," Darger said. "I’m happy I didn’t commit."

Darger, a 6-foot-7-inch forward, joined guard Wink Adams from Houston in a recruiting class that helped Rebels coach Lon Kruger form a foundation for success.

A starter in all 62 games the past two seasons, Darger has been a big part of teams that won two Mountain West Conference Tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament games.

"I’ve been really happy with the way things turned out," he said.

Darger plays his last game in his home state when UNLV (20-7, 8-5 MWC) faces league-leading Utah (19-7, 10-2) at 7 p.m. today. He expects to have about 50 family members and friends at the Huntsman Center.

In the summer of 2004, Darger became friends with Adams after they were assigned to the same team at the National Basketball Players Association Camp in Richmond, Va. The nation’s top 100 high school players were invited, and Darger was an unknown.

Adams said he ignored Darger at first because there were higher-profile players on the team.

"I would never pass the ball to him," Adams said. "For some reason, I just kept passing the ball to Gerald Henderson and Gerald Green and Greg Oden, and Joe kind of came up to me and said, ‘Hey, pass me the ball in the corner and I’m going to hit it. I promise I’m going to hit it.’

"I told him, ‘OK, I’m going to pass it to you.’ I passed it to him one time and he hit a tough 3-pointer. So I went back to him again, and I think he hit four or five in a row. From that point, I knew he was a flat-out shooter."

Adams laughed at Darger’s appearance, saying, "He had the long hair. He wasn’t doing the Mohawk then. He had the long hairdo, and he was just shooting the ball.

"When I heard he was coming to UNLV, that’s what really made me want to come. Joe was a good friend on and off the court after I met him at the NBA camp. I was going to enjoy playing with him, so he was a big reason why I came here, too."

Darger has delivered on his promise as a shooter. He ranks fifth on the Rebels’ career list with 198 3-point baskets, trailing Anderson Hunt (283), Freddie Banks (229), Gerald Paddio (205) and Adams (202).

But what has made Darger even more valuable is the aspect of his game he will display today, when he gets physical in the middle while defending Luke Nevill, the Utes’ 7-2 center.

With no true center to go to the past two seasons, Kruger has asked Darger to adapt and sacrifice by moving down low on defense.

"It’s hard to explain his value because of his unselfishness, because of his versatility and his willingness to do whatever to help the team," Kruger said. "It’s hard to find people in any walk who are generally interested in a whatever-it-takes type of attitude, and that’s what Joe’s got."

On Jan. 24 at the Thomas & Mack Center, Darger had four points and six rebounds as UNLV beat Utah, 75-65. But his effectiveness defending Nevill was his biggest contribution.

"We beat them the first game, so I’m sure they want to come back for some revenge," said Darger, averaging 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds this season.

"It’s my last time going up to Utah, so it will be fun. I know a lot of people up there, and it’s always a little more special to me if we win there."

Darger is 8-1 career against the Utes, another reason he does not regret his decision to play for the Rebels.

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