Rebels relying on Santee to stand tall at Louisville

On his self-improvement checklist, UNLV forward Darris Santee has a few goals he wants to reach.

"Rebounding, defense, offense," he said, prioritizing the three properly in terms of the Rebels' needs, intentionally or not. "I think I can do everything better. I want to be a better all-around player."

Now is when the team needs him to be at his best.

The 6-foot-8-inch junior was supposed to be an inside addition who would help turn UNLV into a legitimate all-around team.

Restricted by a lack of height, the Rebels went as far as they could last season before hitting a wall in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as Kansas presented too big a hurdle to overcome.

Santee was brought in from Midland (Texas) College to help close the gap.

UNLV (11-2) will find out how it measures up against another big-time opponent when facing No. 18 Louisville (8-2) at Freedom Hall on Wednesday.

After watching tapes of the Cardinals, Santee summarized them as "physical and strong and tough." And those are all the qualities Santee needs to show himself.

"I'm up for the challenge. I love a challenge," he said. "I'm going to play hard, play strong and do what I can do."

Louisville's front line -- 6-8, 240-pound Samardo Samuels, 6-9 Earl Clark and 6-6 Terrence Williams -- ranks among college basketball's most talented.

The Rebels counter with Santee, 6-6 Rene Rougeau, 6-7 Joe Darger and 6-10 backup Brice Massamba.

Senior guard Wink Adams, UNLV's scoring leader at 14.1 points per game, said Monday he's still questionable to play because of a lower abdominal strain.

With or without Adams, interior defense and rebounding will be areas of concern for the Rebels, who were overmatched in the middle during the Cardinals' 68-48 victory in Las Vegas last November.

"Clark definitely hurt us last year," Rougeau said. "These guys are very talented and very dangerous.

"We've been working on defense and compacting that middle. That's the biggest thing -- rebounding with all five guys as a team. We have to hold our own on the boards."

Clark, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds against UNLV last year, is averaging 13.4 points and 8.8 rebounds this season. Samuels is Louisville's leading scorer with 15.2 points per game as a freshman.

Rougeau is listed as a guard, but he's often the Rebels' most effective post defender and scorer, and he leads the team in rebounding at 8.1 per game.

UNLV, which is minus-22 in rebound margin for the season, did a solid job against the best centers it has faced, Santa Clara's 6-11 John Bryant and Arizona's 6-10 Jordan Hill.

"Samuels is terrific and Clark is great, and there's a lot of good guys around them," Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. "It's not like you can cheat any one area and help a lot. They can hurt you real bad on the boards.

"Darris and Brice have battled the big guys, and this will be a big test. Usually you associate the big guys with rebounding, but our guards have to also help them. We've got to rebound as a team better, and we need the big guys to set the tone for that.

"Samuels is such a big target in there, and he finishes a lot of things, so you've got to really work to get good position early, and Darris has been doing a good job of that."

Santee, averaging 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds, is not required to do a lot on the offensive end in most games. He knows where he'll be needed most against Louisville.

"I think my rebounding and defense will make the biggest impact," he said.

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