It appears that this year will be the first UNLV recruiting class without a freshman recruit that I can remember. Then I read an article from the NY Times that took a look at Covid and the immediate eligibility transfer rule and noted found that many of this years successful mens and women ncaa tourney teams were older and took advantage of the new transfer rules. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/sports/ncaabasketball/super-seniors-college-basketball.html
Next, I looked at the age of the current UNLV roster and it appears CKK has adapted and taken advantage of the rules and UNLV will field a veteran and much older roster next year than they normally would by focusing on freshmen. Also, we know first hand there is little benefit to recruiting 4-5 star players if they don’t play as juniors and seniors. A look at the age of the current UNLV roster when the season starts: McCade 24, Rodreguez 23, Parquet 23, Harkless 22 turns 23 during season, Iwuakor 22 turns 23 during season, Webster 22 turns 23 during season. Williams and Cottrell at 21 and JJ3 and Gilbert are the young bucks at 19.
It will be interesting to see how CKK’s approach to roster construction plays out next year. But it is apparent he is not following the slow build model by bringing in a group of freshmen and a juco or two.
Next, I looked at the age of the current UNLV roster and it appears CKK has adapted and taken advantage of the rules and UNLV will field a veteran and much older roster next year than they normally would by focusing on freshmen. Also, we know first hand there is little benefit to recruiting 4-5 star players if they don’t play as juniors and seniors. A look at the age of the current UNLV roster when the season starts: McCade 24, Rodreguez 23, Parquet 23, Harkless 22 turns 23 during season, Iwuakor 22 turns 23 during season, Webster 22 turns 23 during season. Williams and Cottrell at 21 and JJ3 and Gilbert are the young bucks at 19.
It will be interesting to see how CKK’s approach to roster construction plays out next year. But it is apparent he is not following the slow build model by bringing in a group of freshmen and a juco or two.
