Rougeau leads Rebs’ winning ways

January 22, 2009 by Matt Maxson 

Former walk-on leads UNLV on both sides of the court

As soon as René Rougeau entered the Thomas & Mack, all the lights in the building went out.  It was as if the building was honoring the senior guard, who one night earlier, against Wyoming, shot the lights out as he made 7-of-12 field goal attempts and cleaned the boards for nine rebounds.

Though known for his lockdown defense, Rougeau has transformed into an offensive juggernaut. Since the conference schedule began for the Rebels, Rougeau has made 65 percent of his shots.

“There are still so many things I can improve on,” Rougeau said. “We’re working on getting extra shots up. We’ve got to keep being aggressive; you can’t score if you don’t shoot the ball.”

On a team that lives and dies from beyond the arc, Rougeau has given the Rebels an inside presence. All but five of his 150 shots this season have been from inside the 3-point line.

In his four-year career, he’s made only one 3-pointer.

As a senior, Rougeau explained that he has to make each play count as teammates are depending on him. That means he has to be strong on both sides of the court.

“Having to be one of the senior leaders, a lot comes with that,” Rougeau said. “I used to play good defense, now I have to be a scorer for the team. It can be hard at times, but you have to push through it. If you want success for the team you’ll do whatever it takes.”

Since choosing to walk-on at UNLV in 2004, Rougeau has experienced a lot of success. Before he arrived in Las Vegas, he explored other universities; the Air Force Academy, Long Island University, Fordham and several junior colleges were all on his list.

Rougeau, a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native, settled on UNLV after much deliberation.

“[UNLV] being the closest to home had a lot to do with it,” Rougeau said. “I had heard about [Lon] Kruger before and I had seen him in the NBA before. The fact that UNLV had a good tradition more than anything else [made my decision easy]. I [remember] my dad talked about them a lot with the Runnin’ Rebels back in the day.”

When Rougeau walked on at UNLV with teammates Scott Hoffman and Curtis Terry, both of whom were walk-ons, the senior leaders on the 2004-05 team shaped his perception.

 “I looked up to Odartey Blankson, Jarrell Blasingame and Romel Beck,” Rougeau said. “We definitely looked up to them, Scott [Hoffman], Curtis [Terry] and I did.”

Rougeau wrote a new chapter in the Runnin’ Rebels’ story, one that began with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

“It was an eye opener,” Rougeau said. “Seeing that many people, the atmosphere was amazing. We want to get back to there.”

But even if Rougeau doesn’t get back to the Sweet 16, he’ll enjoy every game that he plays in.

“I’m just cherishing every game,” Rougeau said. “We can’t wait until March to say, ‘We need to turn this up.’ I’m not taking any game for granted. I’m just giving it my all.”

Rougeau has been giving it his all for quite some time. During last season’s Mountain West Conference Tournament, Rougeau was selected to the All-Tournament team, a tremendous honor for the junior who had earned a starting spot less than 10 games into the season. He was also named honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference.

But the seriousness with which he plays the game is only rivaled by his playful candor off the court.

In his player profile, Rougeau said that his favorite current UNLV athlete he most enjoys watching is Scott Hoffman and that he wears his jersey number, 24, because he “wore it since high school (before Kobe [Bryant]).”

And though he jokes and laughs during interviews and practice, Kruger couldn’t ignore his competitive spirit. After four years on the team, Rougeau, in his last season, was awarded an athletic scholarship.

“[Kruger] said when it presented itself [the scholarship] would come,” Rougeau said. “It came at the right time, my last year. The scholarship is a true blessing.”

After five years at UNLV Rougeau has proven that he is most deserving of the honor. As the Rebels continue to utilize his tremendous play on what may hopefully be another NCAA Tournament appearance, Rougeau may be the best blessing of all.