Strength coach helps to give Rebels big lift

With broad shoulders, bulging biceps and thick legs, UNLV senior Wink Adams resembles a power lifter. He's one of the most physical guards in college basketball.

Adams remembers when he struck a less impressive pose four years ago.

"I look a lot different," he said. "You can tell how small I was when I first got here compared to now."

Before he met Jason Kabo, Adams said he had "never lifted weights in my life." After working with Kabo, Adams appears as if he has lived in a weight room.

The Rebels rarely get pushed around on the court, and that's partly because they do heavy lifting off it, all under the guidance of Kabo, UNLV's assistant director of strength and conditioning.

"When you watch a game, you always hear the commentators say how strong we are as a team," Adams said. "Everybody on this team wants to be physical, and everybody on the team loves lifting."

Adams and seniors Joe Darger and Rene Rougeau lead the team when coach Lon Kruger is watching and when he's not. Kabo said all three are "really good workers" behind the scenes.

"Joe is a great worker in the weight room," Kabo said. "You see his work ethic on the court -- he just hustles after everything -- so that's how he is in the weight room. It's hard to hide that mentality. Some guys slack, and some guys are good workers."

Kabo, 32, has been in UNLV's strength and conditioning department since 1999, and this is his eighth year working with men's basketball. He spends almost as much time with the players as Kruger does.

Kruger calls Kabo's strength program "a real important part" of the team's success.

"Jason really does a terrific job with identifying what each guy needs and not just treating them all with exactly the same program," Kruger said. "You can look across the board, and whether it's Lou Amundson or Joel Anthony or Rene Rougeau, and take a look at how much people have changed when they first get here because of Jason's program, it's unbelievable.

"He has a demeanor that guys really look forward to going and working, and they've seen the results of others before them."

Kabo said he developed philosophies while working for seven years under former UNLV strength coach Mark Philippi, once recognized as America's Strongest Man.

"I put every one of our athletes through an individualized performance evaluation so they're going to go through a series of exercises where I look for imbalances," Kabo said. "What I'll do is individualize their program so they're working those specific areas where they're weak.

"Wink, for example, needs to decrease his body fat, so he's doing cardio a little bit extra a couple times a week. Joe needs a little bit more explosiveness, a little bit more lift in his vertical, so we're doing more explosive exercises. I tailor to specific guys that way so they're always working on something they need to improve in those areas.

"It all depends on the coach, and luckily Coach Kruger lets me do what I feel is necessary. We discuss it, and he gives me the freedom of doing that."

Since his first year with the Rebels in 2005, Adams has improved his bench press from 180 pounds to 230 and his squat from 275 to 500.

Rougeau has gained 30 pounds since he was a redshirt freshman in 2004, when he started lifting about four times a week. "I feel a lot stronger," Rougeau said. "My legs are a lot stronger, and more than anything, I've gained a lot of upper-body strength."

Kabo also acts as a nutritionist, advising players on what to eat, and he tries to eliminate hot dogs from the menu.

"Some of these kids are used to eating fast food every day, and you've got to get them out of that routine," he said. "I feel like I've got to be the dad constantly."

The players lift more frequently during the summer than they do during the season, when they hit the weights about twice a week.

"It's more of a maintenance program during the season," Kruger said. "We want to try to maintain our strength and maintain our body weight and not get weaker as the year goes along. I feel like our teams always have been at their strongest in February and March."

Adams recalled the first time he worked with Kabo.

"I was so sore, I couldn't even lift my arms up," he said. "It seems like now he never lets me lift anymore because he said I got too strong."

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