Is Rice Done?

[babalou]

Doing the same thing expecting different results, yada yada yada

5 years hasn't done a single thing to change the results of the past 3 years which where Dave's guys playing Dave's game.

"If we keep doing what we're doing, we'll keep getting what we're getting".

If you are OK with that then you have come to the right place. I personally would rather take a shot at success than just keeping on hoping that this blind squirrel can find a nut. We really won't need to make a decision because it will be made for us one way or another once we enter conference play.

There was a day when we Rebel fans could "expect" success but now we are left with just "hoping" that something good will happen. Even "if" lightning struck once this year can you say that you would really "expect" it to happen consistently?

I expect that the players will get even more confused and disillusioned. I expect that the coaches in conference who know Dave best will carve up his offense like they have the past 2 years. I expect to finish 4th or worse in conference and get invited with our 22 wins to a 3rd tier tournament that will cost us $100,000 but we will turn that down.

I expect these things not because I want bad things to happen to our program. I expect these things because that is what we have seen the past 2 years and what we are seeing as this season progresses is looking exactly the same.

I no longer have any hope for different results because I'm not insane. I'm also no longer emotional, angry or disappointed, just numb.

 

[manic water]

The "we should keep Rice because who are we going to get instead" straw man argument is nonsense. Of course people want him to win but if he can't get the job done, time to hit the road. Y'all acting as if he's the only one who can recruit to UNLV. Please.

As for whoever was comparing the situation to DC politicians. Difference is Rice's loyalty is to the Rebels no doubt about it. The elite in Waqshington work for corporate Globalist interests, they could give a damn about the constitution they swore to uphold or whether American citizens live or die. Dead is their preference, some say their plan.

 

[UNLVAlumni]

I saw three things that bothered me about the game. And these are the coaches responsibility to make changes when they see what the other team is doing or if you don't like what your team is doing.

1. I'm almost sure the Rebels opened the game with 5 three point shots and they missed them all. What the hell coach!

2. As soon as they went to the zone the Rebels quit moving the ball around. There was zero motion by the other players. One guy with the ball and the other four standing around. As a coach you gotta call a time out after seeing that in two straight possessions and reset what they have practiced. Why is it such a surprise to the team that they would throw a zone on them.

3. ASU spread us out towards the end of the game and basically ran the same play over and over and penetrated the middle and scored on lay ups. Coach you have to call a time out and change your defense. Go to a zone if you can't stop that. They couldn't shoot from the outside so use a zone.

Seagears isn't a true pg. He can shoot the three so they need to play him at the two.

 

[Bleed_Red702]

I want to see Rice succeed. He has been improving minimally every year. He is a great recruiter and his coaching improves minimally every year. I don't see the point in panicking over multiple bad games. I don't want to see Rice go and start all over with a someone who doesn't know and love UNLV like Rice foes. I see progress. Tark didn't turn the program around overnight and he wanted his legacy continued under Theus.

FIFY.

And for what it's worth, I'm not a Theus fan and never want to see him here. And as it's been stated, why continue on with a coach that continually underachieved when we can get someone who will actually achieve success? Recruiting to UNLV isn't hard. Get a good coach and things will be on the uptick. Rice is a good recruiter, but a terrible coach.

And as far as the argument that we can't get a good coach for the same amount we pay Rice. We don't have to pay them the same amount. Rice doesn't even deserve what he's getting based off the results we've seen. There are plenty of boosters willing to pony up and get a better coach. And you act like Kruger was paid the same as Rice. UNLV can afford paying more.​

 

[tarkaniancourt...nm]

If we go to zone we win.

 

[drmontehorne_a_yahoo.com]

LVRJ

Coaching: F

Dave Rice should get the majority of the blame for ASU's 22-5 run in the second half. The Rebels scored six points in a 14-minute span and Rice didn't have an answer for the scoring futility. He didn't draw up a play for an easy basket after a timeout. Nothing. Rice said after the game he wants his team to focus on a inside-outside game and not shoot as many 3s. That's hard to do without a point guard. UNLV is athletic and it can run. Rice could have pushed the tempo and let his guards attack the rim and find open shooters. There was a sequence where Zimmerman got the ball and didn't hand it to Seagears to bring up, instead pushing the ball up himself, giving an outlet pass to McCaw who then found Jalen Poyser for an open corner 3. That type of offense has worked for UNLV this season.

3rd place finish in the MWC at best. Just sayin'

 

[Mjs_702]

No improvement. IMHO the only reason we are 8-3 is because of the athletic ability of this team. We seldom play as a unit. Coaching.

Just curious: Did you not see year over year improvement in the wins against Indiana and Oregon? Or even the losses against UCLA and Wichita State?

I ask because the product I saw on the floor in all four of those games (all Rebel covers) was head and shoulders better than any Rice team ive seen to date. Offensively, defensively, all of it. The Rebels didn't noticeably out-athletic any of those 4, but an argument can be made that Rice out coached both Altman and Crean.

The Rebels are athletic, but that's not why they're 8-3. They're 8-3 because they're a better, more complete roster than in years past. That, and because with one exception game this year, they've appeared better coached.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

I saw three things that bothered me about the game. And these are the coaches responsibility to make changes when they see what the other team is doing or if you don't like what your team is doing.

1. I'm almost sure the Rebels opened the game with 5 three point shots and they missed them all. What the hell coach!

2. As soon as they went to the zone the Rebels quit moving the ball around. There was zero motion by the other players. One guy with the ball and the other four standing around. As a coach you gotta call a time out after seeing that in two straight possessions and reset what they have practiced. Why is it such a surprise to the team that they would throw a zone on them.

3. ASU spread us out towards the end of the game and basically ran the same play over and over and penetrated the middle and scored on lay ups. Coach you have to call a time out and change your defense. Go to a zone if you can't stop that. They couldn't shoot from the outside so use a zone.

Seagears isn't a true pg. He can shoot the three so they need to play him at the two.

The part about the zone is not all together accurate. They switched to zone for 5 straight possessions. First 2 shots we took against it were Ike missing two clean looks from three. After that I think it was Poyser who dribbled into teeth of the zone put up bad shot. We worked ball into Carter on next possesion, he missed his shot. Next possession I think the ball went to Zimm at the free throw line where he drove to the basket and didn't convert. 4 out of 5 possesions vs the zone were solid looks. Not saying Rice is a mastermind when it comes to breaking the zone or half court sets, but players have to convert as well. They ran man the majority of the game. We couldn't handle that either.

As for us switching to zone, I would have liked to see it just to give them a different look. But zone slows the game down and we are better at a faster pace so it may not have helped.

Dave probably should have ditched the press. It wasn't generating any turnovers.

The biggest issue was our bigger, supposedly more athletic guys getting their tails kicked in on the glass. This could be a coaching issue, and fundamentals not being stressed. But effort plays a role in rebounding and our dudes got out worked on the boards in a big way.

 

[Mjs_702]

Rice didn't do a good job of coaching in the second half against ASU. Not sure who is debating that. I don't think he's responsible for the 19% second half shooting, but whatever.

I think he did a good job in the first 10 and a half games of the year. Better than any season prior. We can debate that if you'd like.

Some people have lost faith in Rice as result of previous seasons. That's fine, but I haven't. I don't think his players have either, which is most important.

Through 11 games I see plenty of reason for optimism. I also see the best roster Rice has ever had. Save one half of basketball this team has given me no reason to give up on them.

Feel free to disagree with my optimism, but for the love of God, please leave "the definition of insanity" out of it... Thats just silliness.

 

[RebtillDeath]

The Rice supporters are nauseating. Can't wait till we get blown out in Arizona by 30. Gee what will you say next. .lmao

 

[YellowSpinE]

Loosing to AZ wouldn't be bad. It's the what if we loose to San Jose State at home that would be nauseating.

I was banking to go .500 on these 4 marquee games. Which people poo-poo that we would win at Witchita and ASU. I thought we would also. But, figured winning 2 of them where ever the wins came from would be good. We could be .250 in these 4 games now. Disappointing.

 

[LVKryptonite]

Rice's Head coaching record at UNLV from 2011-Present
UNLV Runnin' Rebels (Mountain West Conference)
2011–12 UNLV 26–9 9–5 3rd NCAA Round of 64
2012–13 UNLV 25–10 10–6 3rd NCAA Round of 64
2013–14 UNLV 20–13 10–8 T–3rd
2014–15 UNLV 18–15 8–10 7th
2015–16 UNLV 8–3 0–0

Overall at UNLV and MWC Record: 92–48 (.657) 37–29 (.561)

Where exactly is this improvement you speak of? Every year he has gotten worse.

8 and 3 is better

 

[Doubleyew]

From Ken Pomeroy on the game:

Least likely comebacks

3) #64 Arizona State 66, #62 UNLV 56 (4.2%), Wednesday. A lot of smart basketball people say UNLV is “talented”. To my knowledge, basketball is the only vocation where saying one is talented does not mean one has ability. If an artist was constantly putting out crappy works of art, we wouldn’t say that artist was talented. If a singer made our ears hurt we wouldn’t say that singer was talented. Yet Stephen Zimmerman is making 42% of his 2’s and people call him talented. Look, Zimmerman will eventually make many dollars playing basketball, probably in the world’s best league. And at some point it will be appropriate to call him talented. But right now he is still learning. Sadly for Dave Rice, he will probably not be coaching Zimmerman when he regularly demonstrates talent. Anyway, this was not Zimmerman’s best work (though with nine points he was UNLV’s leading scorer), and Arizona State overcame a 14-point deficit with 16:48 left to win easily, outscoring the Rebels 35-11 the rest of the way.

 

[rebelluver]

The Rice supporters are nauseating. Can't wait till we get blown out in Arizona by 30. Gee what will you say next. .lmao

It is much better to pile on the bandwagon and go from "this team is different", to "same ole crap" after one half of basketball.

Hit ignore if you don't like it.

 

[Mjs_702]

I expect these things because that is what we have seen the past 2 years

I no longer have any hope for different results because I'm not insane.

You know what, you're right. Why would anything you've been watching for so long stand any chance to get better.

You're completely sane.

 

[WarthogRebel]

Most likely we'll be 9-4 going into conference. Essentially the same as the past three years.

No true marquee wins and no bad losses, IMO.

If we lose no more than 4 in conference and get to the MWC tourney finals we'll have 8/9 losses and we'll get to the dance. That will be enough to keep CDR.

OTOH, anything close to last year - with no NCAA appearance - and we'll have a new coach.

If someone in the community can step up with some $$ I'd think this board would be surprised at the quality of coach we could get. No extra $$ and we'll be rolling the dice with a young coach or an assistant.

 

[babalou]

This has little to do with 1/2 of basketball or just a loss. It is about the utter failure during that half of basketball. It was a complete failure in every way imaginable. It is about it being a copy of the same failures that we have seen entirely too many times in the past several years.

Having another team go on a run and coming from behind to win a game is a normal part of basketball. Having a team and a coaching staff look totally helpless about what is even happening let alone what to do about it is a failure in the worst way. If this is a one off for the year then all will be well. Do you think that we will see a repeat of this complete failure again....and again this year? The history of the past few years says yes.

I can deal with the bad wins as well as the good losses. This was a very bad loss. 8-3 is a good start. I expect to lose on Saturday but won't get too gushy about a win either. Conference play starts in a week and that is where we will see where we really are this year. The warm-ups and preparation will be over and the only thing that will matter is the final score. I expect success because that is where we should be at this point with this team and this staff. Win and you're in, lose and .........well you know.

 

[the Florian Trout]

The Rice supporters are nauseating. Can't wait till we get blown out in Arizona by 30. Gee what will you say next. .lmao

this is pathetic. too many people that are hoping for failure rather than hoping for success so they can say "i was right, see."

we all can see some inefficiencies, but rather than hope for some fixes, let's hope we lose so he can get fired! so we can start all over again and then again and then again. because we all know if someone has success, they will bolt.

and by the way, it's not "Rice Supporters" it's UNLV supporters that want him to succeed!!!

 

[rebelluver]

this is pathetic. too many people that are hoping for failure rather than hoping for success so they can say "i was right, see."

we all can see some inefficiencies, but rather than hope for some fixes, let's hope we lose so he can get fired! so we can start all over again and then again and then again. because we all know if someone has success, they will bolt.

and by the way, it's not "Rice Supporters" it's UNLV supporters that want him to succeed!!!

Wish I could upvote this twice, well said. I don't care what some people on here say, they really are hoping for the opportunity to say I told you so. That is why after a win this year this place is crickets. After that loss, busy as hell.

Keep hearing people say that we can get a top coach and those that don't think it will happen are wrong or ignorant.

All I am going off of is evidence. We haven't had the coach people here think we can get in 23 years.

It is possible, but history has told us very unlikely.

"Rice supporters" are seen as clueless, or insane. I consider it more like mentally stable.

I flip out in anger during the games and yell at Rice and players. My wife has a bad night. But I calm down and try and think positive because we are screwed otherwise.

I lost respect for people that feed off of negative energy and emotions a long time ago.

 

[babalou]

Well if we are speaking about track records of all parties concerned then:

UNLV has shown little to no desire to want to do what it takes, meaning spending money, to find the best available coach for us to return to being an Elite Program. I put very little stock into the whole pipe dream about money being available from a private source because we haven't seen that in decades, only talk and wishful thinking. We all know that talk is cheap as it always has been.

That being said without some serious signs that this program is changing for the better I am about to the point of taking a shot and making a change with the best available option. We've been 4 1/2 years patient to this point and if we are supposed to expect to be patient for a few more then I'm in for being patient with a new direction.

 

[rebelsfans4ever]

The last couple of weeks has taken the shine off the season, clearly. I like to take a long view, and still think he should be allowed to coach the whole season, but I think we have to get real results to bring him back next year. Great guy, great recruiter, but in the end, seems unable to put it together and unable to resolve his teams problems. After five years, still no PG, still stymied by the zone, no apparent in-game/half-time adjustments, and still more year-end excuses than year-end results. I don't know what goals TKM has, but for me, there are three: 1. Win MW Conference Championship; 2. Win MWC Tourney; and 3. Win a game in NCAA Tourney. I think Rice needs to do two out of three of these to stay on for next year. With the talent we have, the way the league is playing, having the tourney on our floor, I think this is a reasonable goal this year (should be every year...). I really and truly hope he makes it.