Rosegreen turns back clock in alumni game
Warren Rosegreen was known largely for his leaping ability when he played for the Rebels in the mid-1990s.
More than a decade after his UNLV career ended, Rosegreen showed he still has his hops Tuesday night, throwing down two dunks as the Red team defeated the White squad 69-62 in the UNLV Legends Alumni game at the Thomas & Mack Center.
While most of the players showed their age during the exhibition, the 35-year-old Rosegreen looked like he possessed most of the skills that made him an effective inside player despite being just 6 feet 4 inches.
“I feel good. I still work out three, four times a week,” Rosegreen said. “And I work with kids, giving them private basketball lessons, so it keeps me young. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’m still a clean-cut guy. So I think that’s why. I’ve still got a little bit left.”
Rosegreen had 14 points to lead the Red team, followed by Lou Kelly with eight points and Christian Popoola with six.
Patrick Savoy scored a game-high 18 points to lead the White team, which also got 15 points from Moses Scurry and eight from John Flowers.
After losing last year’s alumni game by two points, Red coach Michael “Spiderman” Burns said he was determined to get a victory this time around.
“I just told them to play defense, play hard,” Burns said. “We had bigger guys at the other end, so we ran them. … We’re the Runnin’ Rebels.”
To call either team the Runnin’ Rebels was a bit of a stretch. The pace rarely got above a trot as the players tried to recapture a bit of their former glory.
Flowers, who played for UNLV from 1983 to 1986, might have shown the most ability of any Rebel who played before 1990. He had one dunk and a blocked shot and seemed to really be enjoying himself in his return to the T&M court. “It had to end too soon,” Flowers said. “I’m in better shape now than I was in college. That’s a shame.”
• NOTE — While much of the focus of Tuesday’s exhibition centered on the celebration of the Rebels’ 1990 national championship team, former UNLV great Larry Johnson was noticeably absent from the festivities. After Johnson appeared at Monday night’s gala at Green Valley Ranch, he was definitely expected to be at Tuesday’s game, but even former Rebels coach Jerry Tarkanian was unable to explain why the two-time All-American wasn’t at the T&M. “He was with us all day,” Tarkanian said. “I don’t know why he’s not here.”