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Reb Baron

Jasper Transfers To UNLV From Kentucky

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KENTUCKY TRANSFER JASPER BECOMES A RUNNIN' REBEL

6-foot-6-inch guard enrolls at UNLV and joins men's basketball squad

LAS VEGAS - Derrick Jasper has enrolled in classes at UNLV and has become a member of the men's basketball program, head coach Lon Kruger announced Monday.

Jasper, a 6-foot-6 inch, 210-pound guard, transferred to UNLV from the University of Kentucky, where he played for two seasons. He will have to sit out the 2008-09 season at UNLV because of NCAA transfer rules and will be eligible to play for the Runnin' Rebels as a junior during the 2009-10 season.

"We have followed Derrick's progress from his high school years on and have been very impressed with his versatility on the court in terms of making plays and also making his teammates better," Kruger said. "We are really pleased to have him joining our program and he will be an outstanding ambassador for Runnin' Rebel basketball."

For the Wildcats last season, Jasper appeared in 20 games after missing the first 10 while recovering from knee surgery. He started six games over the rest of the season and averaged 4.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2007-08. He shot 43.2 percent from 3-point range, 42.6 percent from the field and dished out 2.4 assists per contest.

As a freshman in 2006-07, Jasper started 27 games and averaged 3.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg. He prepped at Paso Robles (Calif.) High School where he was a four-star recruit and rated the 38th-best player in the class of 2006 by Rivals. He was also rated the fifth-best point guard in the country and the fifth-best player in California by RivalsHoops.

Jasper joins 6-foot-2-inch freshman guard Oscar Bellfield from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, 6-foot-10-inch freshman forward/center Brice Massamba from Findlay College Prep in Henderson, Nev., 6-foot-5-inch freshman forward DeShawn Mitchell from Monmouth Academy in Howell, N.J., and 6-foot-8-inch junior forward Darris Santee from Midland (Texas) College as newcomers to the 2008-09 UNLV men's basketball roster.

Also eligible to play this season after redshirting in 2007-08 are Beas Hamga, a 7-foot freshman center, and Tre'Von Willis, a 6-foot-4-inch sophomore guard who came to UNLV from Memphis.

UNLV finished the 2007-08 season with an overall record of 27-8 and lost to eventual national champion Kansas in the NCAA Tournament's second round. The appearance in the NCAA Tournament was the second straight for UNLV, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2007, and the first time that the Runnin' Rebels won games in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments since 1990 and 1991.

UNLV finished second in the Mountain West Conference this past season with a 12-4 mark for the second consecutive year and won the MWC Tournament championship, also for the second straight time.

Kruger, who was named the 2007-08 MWC and USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year, will enter his fifth season at UNLV in 2008-09 after compiling a four-year mark of 91-42 (.684), including a record of 57-15 (.792) over the last two seasons. UNLV's 57 wins over the past two years ranks ninth in the country among teams that have played in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments and is the second-most victories over the last two years among teams in the West, only behind UCLA.

UNLV has a 15-game home win streak, which is the 11th-longest active streak in the country, has compiled a record of 38-3 at home over the last two seasons and has won 24 straight games against MWC opponents at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV loses only two players from last season's team - seniors Curtis Terry and Corey Bailey. The Runnin' Rebels will have four seniors on the 2008-09 roster in Wink Adams, Joe Darger, Rene Rougeau and Mareceo Rutledge (three of them starters from last year). Several publications have listed UNLV in their early 2008-09 preseason Top 25 polls. UNLV recently completed its summer foreign exhibition tour of Australia with a 4-2 mark.

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Again, what does RebelRobert think?

#20 BYU 14, #3 Oklahoma 13

#18 BYU 26, #21 Utah 23

#14 BYU 44, #16 Oregon State 20

#10 BYU 82, Utah 69

#14 BYU 71, Utah 51

#16 BYU 99, Florida 92

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Again, what does RebelRobert think?

I like Jasper from the videos that I have seen of him. He seems like a stud.

The problem is this:

Right now UNLV has only one good player, Wink Adams who is a Senior. When Wink leaves you can replace him with Jasper.

The program doesn't improve. UNLV needs way more talent. One player isn't going to get it done.

Kruger can't recruit well enough to make UNLV a National Power. He can win the lousy MWC but that is not good enough. UNLV must be a National player. Kruger can't do that so I will never be happy with him. Winning this lousy conference should be a forgone conclusion. UNLV should win this league without even trying.

Jasper I like. One of the few Kruger recruits I actually think will be good.

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