Rebel with applause

OMAHA -- Rene Rougeau had to walk-on before he could start Runnin’.

In four seasons, he has gone from a seldom-used walk-on at Nevada Las Vegas to the key contributor who logged a double-double in his first NCAA tournament start Thursday against Kent State.

Now the eighth-seeded Rebels are one upset victory over top-seeded Kansas away from a second consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16, thanks in part to the contributions of a 6-foot-6 junior swingman who had been a reserve at Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda High.

“When I found out he was a walk-on it was kind of surprising to me because most walk-ons are not that good,” junior guard Wink Adams, UNLV’s top scorer, said Friday. “When I saw him play it was amazing. I just couldn’t believe this guy wasn’t on scholarship.”

Rougeau had 12 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals during the Rebels’ 71-58 victory over Kent State in the first round, solidifying his status as perhaps his team’s most indispensable player.

Today against Kansas, Rougeau probably will be matched against the Jayhawks’ Darrell Arthur, a potential lottery pick in the June NBA draft and the kind of player Rougeau once could only watch from the bench.

“You’re definitely the underdog,” said Rougeau, who averages 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. “I definitely had a lot of people who didn’t think I was going to make it to UNLV, and now that I’m a starter I’m definitely shocking a lot of people.”

Rougeau was so lightly regarded coming out of Etiwanda that his coaches had to call Rebels Coach Lon Kruger in search of an invitation as a walk-on. Rougeau had averaged six points and five rebounds as a senior on a high school team that included three future Division I standouts -- UCLA’s Darren Collison, Arizona State’s Jeff Pendergraph and UC Davis’ David Carter.

The only programs that pursued Rougeau were Fordham, Long Island, Air Force and Columbia. He opted for UNLV because it was closer to home and offered a storied tradition that included the 1990 national title.

After redshirting his first season, Rougeau played sparingly as a freshman and then averaged fewer minutes per game as a sophomore, though he did play in 25 games for a senior-laden team that upset second-seeded Wisconsin on the way to the Sweet 16.

“Last year, I wasn’t getting as much playing time because the seniors were doing so well,” said Rougeau, who averaged 1.5 points and 4.9 minutes. “I couldn’t be mad about that.”

Rougeau started this season as the Rebels’ sixth man before moving into the starting lineup for good in December.

“He’s done a remarkable job,” Kruger said. “It would have been hard to project that three years ago. I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said, ‘Yeah, by the time he’s a junior he’s going to be a big-time contributor.’ ”

There have been no promises of a scholarship for next season, Rougeau said, though Kruger temporarily provided one for a semester earlier in Rougeau’s career. Rougeau said his father, a bus driver in Los Angeles, and his mother, a state worker in Sacramento, have helped pay tuition.

And so Rougeau continues to put a novel spin on the concept of pay-for-play.

“As long as I’m playing,” he said, “that doesn’t even matter.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com