Knudson: Being Louis Amundson

By Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
April 15, 2011

He’s just finishing his fifth season in the NBA. Not too bad for a guy who was not drafted, played in the NBA D-League and, for that matter, wasn’t heavily recruited by big schools before landing at UNLV.

Yes, Louis Amundson is a little bit different.

Different enough that the 6’9” 225-pound forward from suburban Denver has carved a niche in the NBA with a willingness to do the dirty work in the paint, no matter the stature of the competition. It’s an unusual game for Amundson if he’s not battling guys bigger than he is and if there’s not some extra circular scraping and scuffling involved.

His intense style of play has earned him the security of a three-year contract with the Golden State Warriors, with the first year now in the books.

His path to the NBA is not all that makes him unique. Amundson stayed in school for all four years, was an Academic All-Mountain West selection four times while playing for Charlie Spoonhour and Lon Kruger, graduated with a degree in English and Philosophy and has begun work on a second degree. And to top it off, his offseason hobbies include painting and drawing.

“Academics have always been something that’s been very important,” said Amundson. “I thank my parents because they’ve always made sure that I held that as something that was important to me. It was always something I worked hard at.”

While his bio says he’s working on that second degree in Finance, Lou says that’s not set in stone anymore. His sister and her husband are both lawyers, and he’s intrigued by that notion as well.

But that’s far down the road. Right now, and make no mistake, basketball still comes first.

While he’s close to former Rebels coach Lon Kruger, Amundson was pleased that when Kruger elected to head for the plains of Oklahoma, long time UNLV and BYU assistant Dave Rice got the head job.

“When I went to UNLV, Dave Rice was an assistant coach there,” he said. “I think he’s a great guy and a great fit for that program. He had all that success at BYU and I think it’s the right time for him. To come after Lon and try to fill his shoes is a tough task, but I think he has the right character and the right personality to do that.”

Count Amundson among the legions of basketball fans who don’t want to hear any more ridiculous talk about the Mountain West being just a mid-major conference.

“It’s a great conference…I tell people that every day,” Amundson smiled. “I was a little disappointed in March Madness that San Diego State didn’t go a little further, but every year there are tough teams and great stadiums and great fans. It’s a fun league to play in.”

So is the NBA, of course. Even with the season winding down and the Warriors out of the playoff hunt, there was Amundson, during a game with the Nuggets in Denver, getting into hand-to-hand combat with the much bigger Nene, resulting in both players earning technical fouls.

Amundson is who he is.

Now that the NBA season is over, Lou will return home where he has his art supplies are stored and will resume his drawing and painting.

“My senior year I had already graduated (Amundson had a red shirt year as a freshman at UNLV) but you have to take 12 credits. While I was taking finance classes I was also taking these painting and drawing classes. I just really enjoyed them. It was something that just really stuck with me and it’s something that I continue to do,” he said.

Along with that hand-to-hand combat under the boards.

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