j. spilotro said:

No.

And it’s not the fault of the fans.

UNLV milked every nanoliter of goodwill of the fan base with a decade plus of not close to an NCAA bid. The seven/eight years prior were acceptable (LK after his first two years through Rice’s first two years yielded something like 6 of 7 years in the NCAAT, 1 NIT). That’s acceptable.

Baynos last year, spoons years and LKs first two years were not acceptable (no NCAA, NIT 5 of six years).

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NIT in a first or second season, followed by an NCAA appearance, acceptable at this stage of where we are at.

Nothing, nothing, back door NIT, nothing…
Pathetic.

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Our 6th in the conference is inflated since we have already played AF, Wyo, and Fresno twice and most of the rest haven't yet.

If you ranked coaches in the conference by knowledgeable hoop people I would think CKK would fall near the bottom. This was a year the MWC was entirely winnable and we likely will finish 7th or 8th. Only Henley could be considered close to what he replaced (LRod). With Hill being so bad after injury, surprised we did not try lineups with 2 bigs more often.

unlove said:

Yeah but look at the progressive improvement year over year. Is that happening here? Any indication things are about to change for the better?

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Yes, there are indications that things about to change for the better. It is every loss that we suffer. That should make a change for the better after the season.

Casimero is done, he can punch, but he's 36, can't make weight at 122, fight dead! Not giving him payday.
Nakatani fights next Monday, maybe in 26 against inoue, I like him to win all belts at 118, all japanese fighters. Tieken promotions with him, up to him.

Inoue not going to 135.

It's poor basketball, even win they win it's not good basketball.

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SilverSpoon said:

I agree about Memphis. They only join with atleast one travel partner. Which means the PAC media deal would have to be massive to offset the added travel expenses. Let's say they get the media deal that would entice two AAC schools, now the PAC would have to come up with a big enough signing bonus to take care of two schools huge exit fees. That's not happening this time around.

Financially it'll be costly, but UNLV is their ONLY face-saving option without absolutely breaking the bank for Memphis & Tulane. They need to save the PAC brand. It's already considered the generic version of the original, however it's the closest you can get to a P5 conference there is out there. If they add any team outside of the MWC or the AAC to complete their conference, their brand will forever be tarnished a failed experiment.

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With the GOR contract signed we've basically given up our media rights to the MWC for July 1, 2026 thru June 30, 2032. So, yes going to the PAC would be financially costly. That plus we lose all our promised incentives. Unless a P4 school comes calling we are not going anywhere. With what we signed away we would be pretty stupid to make that move. It's over. The PAC is a dead dream.

unlove said:

Yeah but look at the progressive improvement year over year. Is that happening here? Any indication things are about to change for the better?

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NO!

I think no fans is an issue when every other poster on revel-net has mentioned there are zero fans at the home games?! There is no home court advantage at the Thomas and Mack at all and isn’t that part of playing home games, I think so!

You can talk about last year and the attendance stats but all that is a result of the nice guy coach and his lack of a plan the last 4 years.

Win and the attendance will change and the game day atmosphere I mentioned will come back, see the football team attendance!

Masked_rebel said:

Yeah, SI is little more than a host site for fan based articles. It got dismantled after going under. It’s no longer the source for sports new it used to be.

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the CNNSI messageboard back in 1997 was the place to be!!

Joe, tripods, myself..we all started out at that place.

TimothyC3 said:

Kelvin Sampson didn’t dance until year 4 at Houston:

Houston Cougars (American Athletic Conference) (2014–2023)​
2014–15	Houston	13–19	4–14	10th
2015–16	Houston	22–10	12–6	T–3rd	NIT First Round
2016–17	Houston	21–11	12–6	3rd	NIT First Round
2017–18	Houston	27–8	14–4	T–2nd	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2018–19	Houston	33–4	16–2	1st	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2019–20	Houston	23–8	13–5	T–1st	No postseason held
2020–21	Houston	28–4	14–3	2nd	NCAA Division I Final Four
2021–22	Houston	32–6	15–3	1st	NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2022–23	Houston	33–4	17–1	1st	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
Houston Cougars (Big 12 Conference) (2023–present)​
2023–24	Houston	32–5	15–3	1st	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2024–25	Houston	20–4	12–1
Houston:	284–83 (.774)	144–48 (.750)

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Yeah but look at the progressive improvement year over year. Is that happening here? Any indication things are about to change for the better?

dcut03 said:

Let's be clear here, there is no one saying that Kevin should be retained at this point. I think it is clear that he isn't the answer. Does this team "deserve" to be so poorly attended? I don't think so, but I get it.
My contention has to do more with last year. Sure it started horribly, but there was quality wins too that did not bring fans back, and of course there were a couple more unforgivable losses along the way.
But it was the best season in a decade, we had very good finish in conference which was arguably the best it has ever been last year. It was at very least the deepest it has ever been.
Because of that, I think Kevin deserved his 4th year. I still feel that way. But he had to do what was necessary to improve off the mistakes of the previous year, which isn't a crazy thing to expect. He didn't, and here we are now.
Finishing 4th in the conference and 7th in attendance is something. Fans are not an issue?
Utah State has been good in 3 consecutive years, with 3 different coaches, with nearly new players every year. They had 8k in Logan show up for their opener. We had an announced 4k (which was obviously significantly inflated) for our opener this year, after our best year objectively in 10 years, with a preseason all conference legacy player returning.
But fans have nothing to do with it?
Here is the burning question, does Utah State do as well with 1500 fans in the building? I would say no. Home court plays a role.
My point being is that Utah State fans show up regardless of opponent. Sure there is nothing to do there, but Vegas is big enough, with a big enough alumni base in the city where you would expect much, much better. But we don't have the diehards anymore.
Fans at this point will only come back with major change in success. It is basically what football used to be at this point. It took a ranking and playoff talk for fans to really show up. I think it will take something similar for basketball, although unfortunately we have seen our team get in the rankings then disappoint so many times in basketball that it will take probably more for fans to show up. A MW crown, or tournament champion (after a good year), and really a win in the dance probably will do it.

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Agree.. Utah St has nothing to do and theres very little competition for their attendance, including on campus support by students.. Also take ticket prices.. You spend 30 bucks for a top level seat at the Mack where you can hardly see the floor, or pay 22 bucks for a ticket at the spectrum where its packed and a close environment with a full arena... makes a huge difference. Back when we were a top 25 team and the arena was full, you had to spend hours waiting just to get a good seat. It absolutely had an affect on the game. A few steals, a 3, a big dunk and all of a sudden were on those 13, 14, 15 point runs to just dominate opponents. It wont be fast, but if we start winning big conference games at home and are in the running for a conference title, it'll draws more students. More students will absolutely make the environment different. Then you follow up one exciting season with another and all of a sudden the year 2 mid-late season crowds start getting to that 10-12k with higher attendance vs Reno, UNM, SDSU.. Realistically competing for a conference title changes attendance.

dcut03 said:

Stay in the MW or go to the PAC it is still Big 12 or bust in my eyes.

The PAC could have added Texas state for a while now. It feels like they are waiting for a bigger fish, and that Texas State is their fall back option. I don't think that Texas State has them by the balls and demanding more, I think it is more the other way around. The PAC are stringing them along

I think we are the more attainable big fish. I know many of their fans think they can still make a run at Memphis, but I don't see it happening. Even if they could pay their fees completely, the per year pay would likely not be much different, if it is better at all, and the cross country travel is not worth it to them. We are one of the few schools that would at least be their current mean, if not raise the total.

I do think that UTSA could be an option still. They don't currently make the full 9 mil like the legacy AAC teams and travel is more manageable for them. UNT could be next for the same reasons.

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I agree about Memphis. They only join with atleast one travel partner. Which means the PAC media deal would have to be massive to offset the added travel expenses. Let's say they get the media deal that would entice two AAC schools, now the PAC would have to come up with a big enough signing bonus to take care of two schools huge exit fees. That's not happening this time around.

Financially it'll be costly, but UNLV is their ONLY face-saving option without absolutely breaking the bank for Memphis & Tulane. They need to save the PAC brand. It's already considered the generic version of the original, however it's the closest you can get to a P5 conference there is out there. If they add any team outside of the MWC or the AAC to complete their conference, their brand will forever be tarnished a failed experiment.

Let's be clear here, there is no one saying that Kevin should be retained at this point. I think it is clear that he isn't the answer. Does this team "deserve" to be so poorly attended? I don't think so, but I get it.
My contention has to do more with last year. Sure it started horribly, but there was quality wins too that did not bring fans back, and of course there were a couple more unforgivable losses along the way.
But it was the best season in a decade, we had very good finish in conference which was arguably the best it has ever been last year. It was at very least the deepest it has ever been.
Because of that, I think Kevin deserved his 4th year. I still feel that way. But he had to do what was necessary to improve off the mistakes of the previous year, which isn't a crazy thing to expect. He didn't, and here we are now.
Finishing 4th in the conference and 7th in attendance is something. Fans are not an issue?
Utah State has been good in 3 consecutive years, with 3 different coaches, with nearly new players every year. They had 8k in Logan show up for their opener. We had an announced 4k (which was obviously significantly inflated) for our opener this year, after our best year objectively in 10 years, with a preseason all conference legacy player returning.
But fans have nothing to do with it?
Here is the burning question, does Utah State do as well with 1500 fans in the building? I would say no. Home court plays a role.
My point being is that Utah State fans show up regardless of opponent. Sure there is nothing to do there, but Vegas is big enough, with a big enough alumni base in the city where you would expect much, much better. But we don't have the diehards anymore.
Fans at this point will only come back with major change in success. It is basically what football used to be at this point. It took a ranking and playoff talk for fans to really show up. I think it will take something similar for basketball, although unfortunately we have seen our team get in the rankings then disappoint so many times in basketball that it will take probably more for fans to show up. A MW crown, or tournament champion (after a good year), and really a win in the dance probably will do it.

UNLVINMD said:

Davis destroyed the champion.
Bivol by UD this week
Crawford going up in weight not active, Canelo is on the slide, Crawford needs his jab to back up Canelo.

Inoue never fighting Davis.
Inoue next fight in vegas Picaso kid from Mexico then to Saudi against MJ guy from Uzbekistan, then up to 126 against Ball WBA champion.

Huge fight Nakatani at tokyo dome, it do 100 million, Nery fight did 67 million in revenue.

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Keyshawn Davis is a gigantic lightweight. He absolutely brutalized the Ukrainian..

Why should Inoue have to move up two weight classes to fight Davis?

I’d like to see Inoue vs Nakatani/Casmemros down the line.

Davis destroyed the champion.
Bivol by UD this week
Crawford going up in weight not active, Canelo is on the slide, Crawford needs his jab to back up Canelo.

Inoue never fighting Davis.
Inoue next fight in vegas Picaso kid from Mexico then to Saudi against MJ guy from Uzbekistan, then up to 126 against Ball WBA champion.

Huge fight Nakatani at tokyo dome, it do 100 million, Nery fight did 67 million in revenue.

Team stinks, style is walk it up, 65 is huge offensive output. If your going to lose at least be exciting, I rater lose 84-82 then crap 61-60 games.

Tell me 1 think this team does well?
Last yr team had talent to win MWC, half decent coach at UNLV wins it. Don't tell me USU had that much better talent?

MWC I'd mid conference. Football getting Odom showed what UNLV can do. No reason to be 14-12 and 8-7 in conference. KK got to go.

j. spilotro said:

Kevin had less pressure than any coach I recall. Nothing was expected, rope was given. You rarely don’t hear boos at the Mack. Spoon got them, Bayno got them, Rollie got them, Lon got them, Dave got them, Marv got them. I think Otz, Grg and KK didn’t get the boos from the home attending crowd. I’m talking about at a noticeable level to where you feel embarrassed. The vitriol at Marv, Bayno, Rice, Rollie was far more intense.

Compare to any other coaches that have been here for 3 plus years …. He’s bunk mates with Marv. Which is really depressing. Spoons teams did not do well, they were NIT teams that made it into the MWCT finals every year. That’s still better.

I don’t think fans have been impatient, they are just very low in number. He hasn’t been supported but there is no palpable frustration with him outside of a few.

We aren’t losing by 22 to mediocre teams because our fans are big meanies. We aren’t dropping 4 in a row because the crowd is sparse. There’s always major deflection from completely unacceptable losses. I don’t get it. If you have no standards, fine, just state it, it’s the only thing that makes any sense to me. The coach lovers who see zero fault ever with a staff and blame the surrounding situation as the primary reason … lol.

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They're more a problem than the fans who verbally and written express their displeasure and frustration at the state of the program. Im tired of a certain portion of the fan base calling out those that are more vocal as lesser fans because we actually give enough of a damn to care that sucking hurts and shouldnt be accepted. Getting told online fans and fan based podcasts are the reason were losing to mediocre teams and that recruits arent signing is exactly what you just said. It contributes more to the slipping of expectations.
I get there's a reality of where we are at. Its not going to change overnight. A good coach and an NCAAT birth will bring back some hope, but its going to take multiple years of wins and competing and not losing games in the last few minutes because of undisciplined mistakes or faulty offenses. But if the expectation isnt to make the NCAAT and be a top 3 program in the MWC every year, then what are we doing?

Winning the last 3 straight obviously UNLV has corrected all its coaching issues and is headed to the final 4 and beyond this year. Being we play New Mexico in the last game thats one of the 3 losses for UNM.

dcut03 said:

Part of the problem is that some of the "legacy" stuff with UNLV really doesn't apply anymore.
Should we be be top 2-3 every years simply because of our NIL budget and our facilities? Maybe, that is a pretty good argument.
But part of the "facilities" is home court advantage, and we haven't had that for a while now.
I do think that the mindset of we should be top 3 in the conference and anything else is failure is hurting. Because anything less that a borderline top 25 team means that no fans will show up.
We are what we are, a middling mid major team is a good mid major league, which is having a down year currently.
We don't "deserve" anything. All of our banner years are so old that the statue of limitations on it mattering have expired.
We need a coach that can be successful in this situation and not skip any steps. I think both Rice and CKK have tried to skip steps. Both actually faired well against OOC opponents, but both have suffered to stay competitive in conference. We have had talent to compete in regular season games. Much less scouting occurs there.
This league is good enough that they will be able to gameplan for you, the year over year scouting matters. So if you keep running the same crap, they will have a template to beat it. Sure the personnel changes year over year, but adjustments are easier.
The next coach needs to have some level of flexibility and structure to adapt. The mindset of "we are going to do what we do, and try to stop us" only works if your are A elite at those things ( we have not been) and or have such better talent to overcome it (we haven't had that either). And there isn't a G5 team that can make that formula work anyway.
Even with a leg up on NIL we are not going to be able to overwhelm with talent alone. Those types of players are going elsewhere. We cannot afford them. We need players that fit in really well for a particular system. Sure try to maximize the budget that we have, but we shouldn't try to chase surefire NBA talent either, we need quality depth.

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I do not believe people are looking for anything at the level of borderline top 25, but it is impossible to support a program that struggles to win over teams not even in the top 100. There is a long ways from the current UNLV program that is not even in the top 100 composite and being in the top 25. It should be a slam dunk to be borderline top 25, but that is an impossibility with the past AD's that ran the athletic department. My expectation is that the current AD will make a hire that would put UNLV into a position to be borderline top 25, or even top 25, but a lot of past fans would consider coming back if UNLV was a top 3 program in the MWC, which isn't really a high expectation considering how far the MWC has dropped!

Masked_rebel said:

To put things into perspective... Kansas is still a top 25 team and is having a down year by record for all intents and purposes, and there is a growing voice online calling for Bill Self to retire.... Yes, that is real... Never let your expectations for where we should be drop because the program hasn't performed the way it should. No reason we can be a consistent top 3 team in the conference middling mid-major or not.

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I don't disagree, but expecting that right out of the gate isn't exactly realistic.
Quality mid majors usually have a system or style of play that allows them to compete well enough in conference. That is tough to do right away.
Kruger has tried to bring in quality transfers and roll the ball out without much of a system. That has failed. He has done nearly zero in terms of building any sort of notable system year over year. The one exception to that maybe his defensive scheme, but it is heavily flawed and easily exploited.
To your point, Reno is having just as bad of a year as us, and their fans showed up for our game.
The lingering idea that we are too good for this league, and we should be dominating it IS a part of the problem. Fan support does help create a home field advantage. We could use a bit of a grass roots campaign with the next coach, it is too late for Kevin now. ANd CKK had better support his first year, so it is possible.
We also have to just accept that actually good crowds will not show up until we do something. Like win a game in the NCAAT.

Masked_rebel said:

and there is a growing voice online calling for Bill Self to retire.... Yes, that is real...

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I can list about 354 D1 schools (maybe all but 10 or so) that would be lined up to take him if KU pushes him out.

To put things into perspective... Kansas is still a top 25 team and is having a down year by record for all intents and purposes, and there is a growing voice online calling for Bill Self to retire.... Yes, that is real... Never let your expectations for where we should be drop because the program hasn't performed the way it should. No reason we can be a consistent top 3 team in the conference middling mid-major or not.

We should be near the top or at the top!

March is just another month for Rebel basketball and Harper cannot be okay with this. I watched the Wichita State vs. Memphis game yesterday and the Shockers have been down for a few years but they beat Penny and crew at home. Now beating Memphis is not a huge deal even though they were ranked and we did not beat them in comparison but what I did notice is the Wichita State home crowd attendance was amazing and raucous. Our crowd in contrast is a joke and it’s not even close.

I look at other teams who aren’t top 25 but the fans still show up because the team they are watching has a chance at least to be exciting while they play, UNLV, not so much. Kevin has a lot to do with the no interest part because of his lack of coaching, recruiting and playing style is not there. There is no interest in basketball heading into March madness and a change is needed.

I hope the trigger is pulled on getting rid of Kevin in a few weeks!