Wallace hearing his call

More than a few problems plagued Kendall Wallace during his freshman season at UNLV.

He did not shoot the ball well, for one thing, and he was trying to earn playing time as a shooting guard. He also provided little help on the defensive end, and he rarely pulled in a rebound.

On top of all that, he learned he was hearing impaired -- but not seriously. That was only a bad habit.

"I'm not a great listener when it comes to some things," he said, "but I've worked on that a lot this year."

In fact, Wallace has improved in all areas as a sophomore. He's a better shooter, defender and rebounder, and he's no longer spending time in coach Lon Kruger's doghouse.

"If you have that short leash and you get on his bad side, then you're in some trouble," Wallace said. "I have occasionally been on his bad side, but Coach is a good guy. He helps us all out."

With an assist from Wallace, the Rebels (13-2, 1-0 Mountain West Conference) are on an eight-game winning streak as they prepare to play Texas Christian (10-5, 1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.

In the past five games, the 6-foot-4-inch Wallace averaged 6.6 points and shot 10-for-24 from the field, including 8-for-16 from 3-point range.

When senior guard Wink Adams went down with an abdominal injury in the first half against Southern Utah on Dec. 23, Wallace entered the game and scored a career-high 15 points.

Wallace followed that with a four-point, four-rebound effort at Louisville and a five-point performance against New Mexico.

And he's hearing more praise from Kruger.

"I think the last few weeks, Kendall appears to have as much confidence as he's had since he's been here," Kruger said. "He's not only making shots but doing some other things well.

"He's making progress defensively. He's taking better angles, he's rebounding the ball well on the defensive end and playing with more awareness."

In UNLV's five games from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14, Wallace was a nonfactor, scoring a total of six points.

He went through similar struggles as a freshman, when he averaged 2.4 points per game and shot 29 percent, including 10-for-48 (20.8 percent) on 3-pointers.

"Kendall's been through little up and down moments with his confidence," Kruger said. "When you make a few shots, it picks your confidence level up so much that you're looking forward to getting back in there and doing it again."

When Kruger calls him off the bench, Wallace usually has a small window of opportunity to make an impact.

"You have limited minutes, and you've got to be productive in the minutes you get," said Rebels sophomore guard Tre'Von Willis, who has played off the bench in eight of 15 games. "So when you come in, you have to be aggressive.

"Kendall comes in the game ready to make shots. We're in there together a lot, and I tell him all the time, 'Be ready to shoot, I'm coming to you.' "

Wallace wants to be more than a shooter. If he's a defensive liability and phantom rebounder, his minutes decrease. But when he's making shots, as he has been lately, he's more aggressive in every aspect of his play.

"I guess you have a little more slack with the coaches when you're shooting the ball better, so you're able to make a mistake or two and get away with it and keep playing," said Wallace, averaging 4.5 points and shooting 35.8 percent. "Most of the time, Coach gives you a pretty good opportunity to play, and if you make mistakes, he'll let you keep playing and sometimes that helps a lot.

"I feel like I've got a lot of room to improve."

Kruger is not the only coach Wallace, from Mesa, Ariz., hears from regularly. His father, Jeff, and grandfather, Loren, coached high school basketball in Illinois for several years.

His great uncle, Riley Wallace, was a longtime college coach at Hawaii and is retired and living in Las Vegas.

"I'm getting coached left and right from everybody -- my dad, my grandpa, my uncle and all the coaches here," he said. "It's crazy."

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