Texas transfer Royce Hamm makes immediate impact for UNLV

UNLV’s crippled Wednesday nighttime against Gardner-Webb had conscionable reached its archetypal media timeout, and Royce Hamm already had made rather a statement.

In that abbreviated magnitude of time, helium had 3 points, 3 rebounds, a blocked changeable and a steal.

That commencement was an denotation of what was to come. By the extremity of the season-opening 64-58 victory, Hamm had 18 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks, his play wrong particularly important fixed the Rebels’ extracurricular shooting occupation (2 of 25 from 3-point range).

It was rather a debut for Hamm, a 6-foot-9-inch elder transfer from Texas. He didn’t person arsenic large a relation with the Longhorns, averaging 1.9 and 2.3 rebounds, but first-year UNLV manager Kevin Kruger brought successful Hamm to beryllium a cardinal player.

As Wednesday showed, Hamm is rather susceptible of taking connected that other responsibility.

“We had the accidental a fistful of years agone to speech to Royce and enlistee him retired of precocious school,” Kruger said. “Then watching him passim the years astatine Texas, we knew however talented helium was, however large of an jock helium was. They virtually had 5 guys that could spell successful the archetypal circular oregon aboriginal 2nd circular of the NBA draft, and helium stayed determination and played his role, but we knew that helium was idiosyncratic that played hard. But I don’t cognize that we knew it genuinely was an mundane thing.”

Kruger said Hamm does much than spell hard each time successful practice. He brings enthusiasm and joyousness and serves arsenic his teammates’ biggest cheerleader.

Perhaps that was wherefore elder defender Bryce Hamilton was truthful happy, sitting adjacent to Hamm successful the postgame quality conference, to speech astir however thrilled helium was to spot Hamm person specified a beardown debut.

“He’s astir apt 1 of our hardest workers connected the team,” Hamilton said. “We expect that from Royce. He does that each azygous day. That’s not a large astonishment to us. Royce is going to support doing it.”

Hamm gets his adjacent accidental astatine 5 p.m. Saturday erstwhile California visits the Thomas & Mack Center. Considering the Golden Bears connected Tuesday mislaid 80-67 astatine location to UC San Diego, which is playing its 2nd Division I season, Hamm could enactment up large numbers again, particularly if his minutes increase.

He accomplished what helium did against Gardner-Webb successful conscionable 28 minutes due to the fact that Kruger played 9 players successful an effort to spot precisely what benignant of lineup helium has.

“I decidedly privation to support being accordant and doing immoderate the squad needs maine to bash to win,” Hamm said. “I travel successful each time and work, and I effort to beryllium humble and assistance my brothers each and each day.”

Contact newsman Mark Anderson astatine manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 connected Twitter.