A Day at the Office for Gilliam : UNLV Center Has Easy Time Scoring a Career-High 36

As well-behaved and well-spoken as Armon Gilliam, Nevada Las Vegas’ 6-foot 9-inch center, is after a game, he cannot escape one plain fact.

He is intimidating when he plays basketball.

Gilliam has the body of an NFL tight end and an on-court attitude and stare that frightens most women, children, wayward cheerleaders who wander into his path.

To tie up this bulging bundle is the nickname. The Hammer. A sublime little tag that not only plays off his body but his first name (Arm and Hammer, get it?).

Gilliam scored a career-high 36 points as Las Vegas beat UC Irvine, 114-103, Thursday night in the Bren Center.

And though he did protest afterward, in the most polite terms, it all looked very easy for him.

He made short jump shots, he followed missed shots.

When he wasn’t scoring, he was rebounding. He had 14 rebounds, nearly half of UC Irvine’s total (29).

The whole thing didn’t look so much like a man playing against boys, but a man playing against invisible boys.

“He’s super,” said Scott Brooks, UCI guard. “I don’t think anyone can stop him.”

UC Irvine sure couldn’t. Starting center Wayne Engelstad fouled out with 7:26 left trying to stop Gilliam.

Others tried, such as freshman Arthur Phillips and forward Frank Woods, who stands all of 6-5. Good effort guys, but uh-uh.

But Gilliam maintained that UCI played him tough. He even kept a straight face.

“It wasn’t easy out there,” he said. “They were sitting on me pretty good. I thought they did a good job. But I thought our guards did a good job of getting me the ball.”

Said Brooks: “The only people who can stop him (Gilliam) is his own team.”

There have been some times this season when the UNLV guards have ignored Gilliam inside. More than a few people think that the Runnin’ Rebels’ only loss of the season, to Oklahoma, came in some measure because Gilliam did not have the ball in his hands enough.

That can happen with a team as talented as UNLV. Gilliam is just one star on a team chocked full of them.

“I have confidence in what I can do,” Gilliam said. “But I have to have the ball to do it. We’ve been working on some things to get me open. Flashing in low and stuff like that. Today I was open and I got the ball. After I get the ball, I know I can do something with it.”

For the most part, Gilliam, who had 20 points when UNLV beat UCI on Jan. 3, 114-72, got the ball about 10 feet from the basket, turned, and put up the one-handed, lean-back jump shot that has become a trademark.

What also has become a trademark are big games such as Thursday’s. Gilliam is 16th in the nation in scoring with a 23.2 points per game average. Dick Vitale, never at a loss for hyperbole, calls him a big league “Man-Eater,” and projects that Gilliam may be a first-round NBA draft choice, where he figures to get stiffer competition than 6-5 guys playing way over their heads. But don’t tell that to Gilliam.

“Hey, every game is tough,” he said. “Everyone we play is tough. Everyone works hard. It’s never easy.”