UNLV Roster Changes

[LocoRebel]

Now Blake is gone! Instead of gaining talent we keep losing talent. You can’t tell me this is what the staff planned at all. Epic fail!

This is the first loss that I'm fully disappointed in. But leaving in mid may usually isn't a great indicator. And the messaging around it was kind of weird. Interested in knowing exactly what happened here.

Not sure that it is fair to say "instead of gaining talent..." when the metrics we have seen seem to indicate most or all of the incoming players are likely to be on same level or higher as most or all of the exiting players.

I'd have to go through Tyler Bischoff's timeline but he found something that showed all players coming to UNLV but the Lamar transfer ranked above all players leaving UNLV. Im not saying thats my expectation,, but to say that "instead of gaining talent" seems off base.

 

[Rebel Hoya]

This is the first loss that I'm fully disappointed in. But leaving in mid may usually isn't a great indicator. And the messaging around it was kind of weird. Interested in knowing exactly what happened here.

Not sure that it is fair to say "instead of gaining talent..." when the metrics we have seen seem to indicate most or all of the incoming players are likely to be on same level or higher as most or all of the exiting players.

I'd have to go through Tyler Bischoff's timeline but he found something that showed all players coming to UNLV but the Lamar transfer ranked above all players leaving UNLV. Im not saying thats my expectation,, but to say that "instead of gaining talent" seems off base.

We’re not gaining the higher talent we should be. Arthur was the highest recruit we had in quite awhile. Blake was a coveted talent last year.

Couple those losses with swinging and missing on Reeves of Oklahoma and other portal transfers that were “planned” and I feel like if the coaches were honest they would say it did NOT go as planned.

 

[bcvegaspt]

Reeves declared for the NBA!

We lost Wood and Bennett due to that, too. Man, Rice couldn’t keep talent on his roster. (Sarcasm)

Only Kansas, Duke, and Arizona pay enough to keep talented upper classmen from declaring for the draft.

 

[saulpaul21]

So does this make 98 or 99 percent of last years scoring no longer with the team?

 

[JTthe2nd]

So does this make 98 or 99 percent of last years scoring no longer with the team?

That team was less than mediocre. No big loss as far as I'm concerned, even Blake. Best of luck to the outgoing players and a warm Vegas welcome to the incoming Rebels.

 

[saulpaul21]

I do not think this was listed on this thread earlier, Del Cadia went to hoop powerhouse Nicholls State. Thought he got screwed over here last year as he was tough, and could rebound and go to the hoop some. No star, but deserved better on last years team.

 

[MonsterJam]

This is what the staff planned.

 

[Rebel1986]

I will admit in some ways I am a little worried that basically the entire roster quit the team, but in other ways I look at the record of the team over the last couple of years, and see we have a bunch of underachieving losers leaving which may not be all that big of a loss. It does make you wonder in the case of most of the team if the coach staff was pushing them towards the door?

 

[bcvegaspt]

I have a strong feeling that things will heat up starting July 7.

 

[saulpaul21]

Jeff Goodman had an article on top 100 transfers for this year. Hamilton was #50 and Jenkins number 61. Note Jenkins was top 5 or 10 transfer 2 years ago.

Number of transfers in top 100 that Unlv got per Jeff Goodman? 0

Should we worry?

 

[Rebel1986]

The simple fact is the team had a losing overall record in a subpar conference!

 

[JTthe2nd]

Jeff Goodman had an article on top 100 transfers for this year. Hamilton was #50 and Jenkins number 61. Note Jenkins was top 5 or 10 transfer 2 years ago.

Number of transfers in top 100 that Unlv got per Jeff Goodman? 0

Should we worry?

There's plenty to worry about. His coaching ability is unproven, his recruiting ability is unproven. But given how little we were all expecting out of Otz's 3rd year I can honestly say I'm actually looking forward to seeing what Kevin can do.

 

[rebelx]

So does this make 98 or 99 percent of last years scoring no longer with the team?

What was the results with 98% we’ve lost?

 

[MonsterJam]

I think short term, its gonna be a rough ride. How can it not be? But I would like for our university and fans to hunker down and ride this wagon for at least three years before thinking about hitting the reset button again.

If we dump this coach in under three years, I may call it as a fan.

 

[bcvegaspt]

I respect those who are timid given what we’ve been seeing but I also am very optimistic in our current direction.

 

[WarthogRebel]

Positives: Lost a number of players that couldn't contribute to a non-competitive team. Moved on from a coach who seemed to have his mind on other things than UNLV and had a non-competitive roster. Hired a coach with a UNLV background and with important family ties. Gained a team made mostly of players who either played minimum minutes but in a more competitive environment or were regular contributors in a similar environment.

Negatives: Hired a coach with no head coaching experience - something I thought we'd never do after CDR. Hired assistants mostly without proven recruiting chops. Lost nearly all our scoring. Lost our rim protection. Lost Blake, Kaluma, Hamilton (??) Recruited nearly an entire team of unproven players or lower level players.

IMO, it's kind of a wash but leaning to the negative. I hope for a successful year but fear a run for the bottom. A lot will depend on how KK will be able to keep the team playing hard after some inevitable non conference brutal losses. My hopes are on a team that's playing their best next March. You never know but I'm prepared for another crappy year like most of the last 30.

 

[RebelScrub]

I think we’re gonna suck on some epic level proportions in year 1.

We’ll be seeing Kruger offense part 2 which is not friendly on the eyes at all.

Defensively, I think we’ll be a better team.

I look forward to the empty crowds cause let’s face it, Vegas is a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. And rightfully so.

It might be 1995 bad. I dunno.

Gonna be High as a kite on games though to get me through the growing pains.

 

[Couev]

Gonna be a tough season I think--but I also think it will be a good litmus test for how capable this staff is with adapting game plans, developing players, and adjusting and whether they can adapt their system to fit an outlier player with talent (not a strength of Lon--look at that first year and what he ended up doing with Romel Beck and Jerel Blassingame etc). I'm hoping to see we're playing our best basketball come conference tournament time instead of doing that end-of-season fade that we're so used to recently.

 

[Rebel Hoya]

Awesome, another unnecessary “slow build” thanks to gutless shitty recruiting!

 

[Doneoett]

I on the other hand believe that we will be in the top half of the league. The league is weak and with the athleticism of the new guys and what I think will be a strong defensive team we should beat the bottom half and sneak a win or two against the top half.

 

[gripple29]

If I get to go to games next year and hang out with my crew, it's a win.
Going to games since Rice gave up and then fired has sucked. we have just been making lemonade out of lemons for a decade. I don't and can't have any expectations for an incoming team. With Kevin you can see he has a plan to make the Rebels competitive and has brought in some fundamentally sound and athletics players. That's more than Mr Drais or the Hambugler did. Remember we have absolutely no say in any of the decisions, only weather we attend games or not. After covid I would pay to go a Snooker or Cornhole Tournament live.
So my bar is really low, so relax wait for practices to be open and remember pot is legal if it doesn't work out.
Cheers Rebels.

 

[rebelwithacause]

I think its going to be a long offseason. Whatever, we'll see how good the team is a few games into the season. We can speculate and get all excited, but I've done that way too many times over the last 30 years. I hope KK and staff can be effective. I have hope.

 

[NSU67]

Apparently, there are some of you that believe that all Kevin had to do was snap his fingers and bring in a bunch of five-stars.
Yet, you whine that UNLV is a dumpster fire.
Make up your mind.

 

[WarthogRebel]

Apparently, there are some of you that believe that all Kevin had to do was snap his fingers and bring in a bunch of five-stars.
Yet, you whine that UNLV is a dumpster fire.
Make up your mind.

I can't remember the post that said "all Kevin had to do was snap his fingers and bring in a bunch of five-stars." Can you refresh me and point it out?

 

[NSU67]

Maybe it was the "gutless, shifty, recruiting." thing.
Maybe gutless and shifty means that he did ok for having the job for a few weeks.
I probably was wrong.

 

[Rebel Hoya]

Apparently, there are some of you that believe that all Kevin had to do was snap his fingers and bring in a bunch of five-stars.
Yet, you whine that UNLV is a dumpster fire.
Make up your mind.

When you get to hire 3 assistant coaches, yes you can build something like that into the model. He opted to hire some dude from Lamar and keep no recruitin’ Buckley instead. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Rebel Hoya]

Maybe it was the "gutless, shifty, recruiting." thing.
Maybe gutless and shifty means that he did ok for having the job for a few weeks.
I probably was wrong.

You go ahead and make excuses and keep expectations real nice and low. Seems about right. I subscribe to healthy high expectations and that included getting a worthy head coach for the position in the first place. Kevin hasn’t done anything to inspire excellence or excitement.

 

[NSU67]

If you really think that UNLV could have gone out and got a star coach, well...
When you talk about high expectations, maybe you ought to think look at reality.
UNLV has sunk to mid-major, the last few seasons a low mid-major.
It kills me. I have well over half a century of supporting them. And, a decade of actually working to help the program. (Lon got me involved.) My freaking priority number is under 300. So stop the b.s. low expectations.
I am realistic. Not a dreamer. You are right. Kevin hasn't done much. Because he has been head coach for a few weeks. Hasn't even had a practice, much less a game.. I have NOT predicted glory for him. I have said that making judgments at this point are foolish.
He didn't get any blue-chippers yet because you just don't walk in, toss a Rebel uniform at a five-star and get a big hug.
From that, you have already decided to quit not only on this season, but on CKK's career. Will the team struggle? Bet your ass it will. And, you will dog him out.
But, he is to be judged against the two previous bums by you.
And then, when I don't call for his firing because he didn't get to the dance. You will say that I accept losing. I don't. I hate it. But, I believe in reality.

One last point. If you follow recruiting, you know that Kruger is recruiting high level players for '22 and "23. Even a '24. Do some research.

 

[WarthogRebel]

If I was on a conglomerate board of directors hiring a CEO to turn around one of our previously high flying companies I would never consider anyone who wasn't a previous CEO.

Same for a head coach. There are likely more than 100 pitfalls a new head coach can fall in. I wanted a coach that had those stumbles somewhere else. True, dad will be around to help but it's son who will be making all the final decisions.

I never thought we'd get a high flyer. But I was very dissappointed we didn't hire a coach with head coach experience.

 

[NSU67]

Fair enough, Warthog. Truth be told, I agree. There are a couple things, though.
If your company was a mid-size, that had lost money for years, and needed to be rebuilt from design to production to sales, you might have trouble getting a top, experienced CEO. And, the previous leaders you had chosen were failures, thus creating an image of incompetence, it might be more complicated.
But, you did have a VP who was well known and popular with your stockholders, was intelligent, had worked for and knew the company, and was the son of a previously successful CEO, maybe you might take a chance.
The company still needs rebuilding. The best employees are working for more successful firms. Initially, you have to fill the positions with best you can get on short notice. You gave to be able to open shop. You hope that gradually you will pick up more productive workers, and get the firm back on top.
Be aware, that the stockholders will be anxious. They are tired of losing money.
The whole business will collapse if they give up. Being apprehensive is normal. But, there is a chance, with patience. The previous leaders are gone, workers are gone. Saying tgat we are tired of waiting is natural. But, wait we must.

 

[khokhol8]

I don't know what to expect. In year one of Otz it was apparent that his style wasn't going to work unless he had guys that could shoot from outside so we suffered through year one. Year two he brings in a bunch of so called shooters but without a good point guard or a player that can penetrate and without an inside post presence open 3's were tough to come by and when they did get them it was clanked most of the time. Besides losing the Rebels were about the most boring to watch UNLV team I can remember. Now coach KK has really upped the athleticism and the point gaurd position. Still not sure what the post game looks like and the Rebels lost all of their so called good shooters. Some scoring options have come in but it almost feels like a dog chasing its tail. I hope new Krueger basketball is at the least more exciting to watch.

 

[JTthe2nd]

I think we’re gonna suck on some epic level proportions in year 1.

We’ll be seeing Kruger offense part 2 which is not friendly on the eyes at all.

Defensively, I think we’ll be a better team.

I look forward to the empty crowds cause let’s face it, Vegas is a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. And rightfully so.

It might be 1995 bad. I dunno.

Gonna be High as a kite on games though to get me through the growing pains.

I don't remember 1995 being as bad as Menzies 1st year. Was it? In any case I don't think we'll be close to that bad. Hope not.

 

[Rebel1986]

Around and around we go, where we stop nobody knows!

https://media.tenor.com/images/109188865144a20fc16c8bdacb423ab6/tenor.gif

 

[saulpaul21]

Jeff Goodman

@GoodmanHoops
·
5h


San Jose State’s Tim Miles has landed another high-major transfer, this time South Carolina sophomore wing Trey Anderson


Bottom of MW, like San Jose and New Mex, will be better this year. Former Big 10 coaches, while we went the asst route. Hope it works. I know Lon will want his kid succeed so KK is not out there completely by himself.

 

[RBMAN]

Jeff Goodman
@GoodmanHoops
·
5h


San Jose State’s Tim Miles has landed another high-major transfer, this time South Carolina sophomore wing Trey Anderson


Bottom of MW, like San Jose and New Mex, will be better this year. Former Big 10 coaches, while we went the asst route. Hope it works. I know Lon will want his kid succeed so KK is not out there completely by himself.

what is so special about him. He averaged 7.2 minutes a game shot 25% from 3 and averaged 2.5 pts. per game and 1.2 rebounds. If CKK recruited this guy y'all would be outraged. Why is every transfer to an in-league team better than the ones we have gotten.

 

[saulpaul21]

Uh, you are missing my point. I am saying the weak teams in the MW will be better and have coaches that have had some success at a higher level. I know nothing about the guy San Jose got but he is a high major transfer. We got some guys that seem about the same level coming our way.

One thing Otz did was not lose much to teams below his. His quality win level was real light. It maybe a bit harder to beat the bottom feeders this time around.

 

[mrodius]

Only difference between MM and Burgers was, Burgers didn't try and BS EVERYBODY. You knew what we had. MM would of tried to convince everyone, with the local media's help we were a tourney team off to a bad start. Burgers at least knew we were bad and he was outta here anyway, so it didn't really matter.

RUNNIN' REBELS DROP SEASON OPENER TO MONTANA STATE, 91-78, NOV 25, 2020.
RUNNIN' REBELS HANG ON TO SWEEP SAN JOSE STATE WITH 67-64, WIN FEB 21, 2021.
RUNNIN' REBELS DROP REGULAR-SEASON FINALE AT WYOMING 69-80. MAR 7, 2021
RUNNIN' REBELS RETURN AFTER LAYOFF FALL SHORT AT COLORADO STATE, 74-71 JAN 7, 2021
RUNNIN' REBELS FALL JUST SHORT AGAIN AT COLORADO STATE, 83-80 JAN 9, 2021

Those were just a few of the bad losses I got from just glancing at last year( cut and paste). Not to mentioned getting absolutely hammered, destroyed, run out of the gym, pick what you like, against some teams that were only okay teams. 15-20+ point losses. FUNR we lose by 29 fkn points! Give credit, 💪only lose by 10 two days later. 27 point loss against UNC. End the year with a 19 point loss against an okay Utah State.

Let's get everyone to feel better, sorta had a Marvin Menzies bullshit style to it: RUNNIN' REBELS DEFEAT BENEDICTINE MESA 99-45 FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN. JAN 21, 2021.

November 25th, 2020. Is when the ☢️☣️ alarm went off that Burgers had NO clue what the hell he was doing. First game of the year, you knew it was time for new management. Somehow get miraculously bailed out, Christmas morning type stuff and then DRF says, I know we were 12-15, but lets see if we can TRY TO SIGN HIM TO AN EXTENSION so he'll STAY! Clown Show.

QUOTABLE: "I was happy to see how our guys approached this opportunity. I thought our defense to start each half was really sound and we had great focus. It was an opportunity to get a lot of guys playing time that we didn't have early in the year, especially for those freshmen and get some more experience as we continue to move forward in league play. Overall, I was happy with the effort and really pleased to be able to get those freshmen, especially, a lot of game minutes." - UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger. 🦨🦨🦨
👇 👇 👇 👇
Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/25/2020 10:40:00 PM

Runnin' Rebels Drop Season Opener To Montana State, 91-78
Bobcats shot 62.1 percent in the first half Wednesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (0-1) lost its season opener against Montana State, 91-78, Wednesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Bobcats (1-0) had three players score in double figures, led by Xavier Bishop's 22 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

The Runnin' Rebels also had three in double figures, with junior guard Bryce Hamilton leading all scorers with a game-high 27 points.
THE TURNING POINT: Montana State used a 26-8 run to take a 17-point lead at 35-18 with 4:41 left in the first half. The Bobcats led 49-31 at the break.
STAT OF THE GAME: Montana State shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half (18 of 29), while UNLV made just 33.3 percent (10 of 30).

QUOTABLE: "Obviously not the outcome we would like to have. Our effort, energy and competitive spirit wasn't where it needed to be. We talked a lot about generating our own energy without fans and a crowd in the gym. We didn't do a great job of that tonight and it is something we are going to continue to work on and drive home because we have to be a lot better than we were from an effort and competitive standpoint from start to finish." - UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger 🦨🦨🦨
NOTES:
- The game was played without any fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Freshman guard Nick Blake scored 16 points in his collegiate debut on 5 of 7 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. This is what really sucks about losing Blake!
- Hamilton made a game-high 10 shots and grabbed a game-high-tying eight rebounds. He also dished out a career-high-tying four assists. It was the 11th time he has scored 20 or more points in his career.
- Caleb Grill scored a career-high 13 points.
- UNLV started the game 0 of 8 on 3-pointers.
- UNLV shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second half (15 of 25) and 61.5 percent on 3-pointers (8 of 13).
- Montana State finished the game shooting 55.6 percent from the field (30 of 54) and from 3-point range 10 of 18).
- Montana State led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
- The Bobcats outscored UNLV in points in the paint 38-18.
- Montana State improved to 2-1 all-time vs. UNLV.
- UNLV fell to 49-14 all-time in season openers and 41-8 when opening the season at home.

 

[bcvegaspt]

That was utterly embarrassing. Montana State had better talent than we did. That was obvious from the start. But, I mean, we could pass...

 

[LVRebel2000]

I have a strong feeling that things will heat up starting July 7.

What happens on July 7th? I mean, you're not wrong, it will be really hot by July 7th, but I'm not sure what that has to do with basketball.

 

[LocoRebel]

What happens on July 7th? I mean, you're not wrong, it will be really hot by July 7th, but I'm not sure what that has to do with basketball.

From SI website:

The NCAA has tabbed July 7 as the withdrawal date for the 2021 NBA draft, according to CBS Sports's Jon Rothstein. Any player who previously declared for the draft will have to announce their decision to return to school by July 7, 10 days after the completion of the draft combine, if they don't wish to turn pro.