It's been a long time, too long, but we know what it's like to perform on the big stage and under the spotlight. In fact, we've been there four times already. We belong there, that stage has our name on it. In contrast, UNR got to the sweet 16 twice and wilted under the pressure each time. They didn't belong there and they knew it. They were frauds. So, how do we compensate for being sentenced to the G5 and rejoin the elite of college basketball ?
A successful program has three elements: 1. money 2. excitement 3. future promise. Without sufficient money, steps 2 and 3 are not possible. Money determines coaches salaries, the scope of our recruiting, and what's needed to market the program besides cheap hot dogs.
Metaphorically, most G5 programs are forced to shop at Marshalls or Ross and hope that they find something good off the rack or a project with potential on one of the shelves. Menzies did most of his shopping at these stores and at African flea markets. Brandon McCoy fell into his lap and Juiston was a solid pickup. We know where to find the players who will be difference makers and propel the program back to prominence. They are at the Forum Shops and The Fashion Show Mall. Unfortunately, we only have a Boulevard Mall recruiting budget. Some coaches, such as Muss, have done well luring transfers to their programs while others just inherited another teams problem. I'll label transfers as returned items resold at a discount and that market should always be scrutinized.
Back in the day, we had boosters with deep pockets who wanted the Rebels to be successful because that translated into Las Vegas being successful. The movers, shakers, and casino owners of that era looked upon UNLV basketball as an effective way to advertise their product to a national audience and wanted the program to be successful. It worked real well until Robert Maxson arrived and blew everything up.
Since then, corporations have taken over the strip and the landscape has changed. 6 to 5 blackjack, resort fees, forty dollar buffets and eighteen dollar parking are today's reality. They have erected magnificent hotels built T-Mobile, and have a stadium under construction for the Raiders and by extension UNLV. Make no mistake though, we are the ugly stepchild in this scenario.
The hotel and casino executives of today are a different animal. They are not from Las Vegas and have no loyalty to anyone but their shareholders. Frankly, they don't give a rats a-- about UNLV and it's athletic programs. They would rather use that money to buy back their stock than invest in our community. So given all of that, how do we get to where we want to be ?
Lets not reinvent the wheel but instead, utilize a method that has had spectacular results. Like him or not, agree with his policies or not, the Bernie Sanders campaign has raised a tremendous amount of money from small donations. If every Rebel fan worldwide would send $25 earmarked for recruiting to UNLV we can put the Boulevard Mall in our rear view mirror and go after what we need and be releventl on the national stage again. Davey Pearl, Irwin Molaskey, Sy Redd, Tom Weisner, Wildcat Morris, etc. can't help us anymore so we have to be proactive and get it done ourselves.
A successful program has three elements: 1. money 2. excitement 3. future promise. Without sufficient money, steps 2 and 3 are not possible. Money determines coaches salaries, the scope of our recruiting, and what's needed to market the program besides cheap hot dogs.
Metaphorically, most G5 programs are forced to shop at Marshalls or Ross and hope that they find something good off the rack or a project with potential on one of the shelves. Menzies did most of his shopping at these stores and at African flea markets. Brandon McCoy fell into his lap and Juiston was a solid pickup. We know where to find the players who will be difference makers and propel the program back to prominence. They are at the Forum Shops and The Fashion Show Mall. Unfortunately, we only have a Boulevard Mall recruiting budget. Some coaches, such as Muss, have done well luring transfers to their programs while others just inherited another teams problem. I'll label transfers as returned items resold at a discount and that market should always be scrutinized.
Back in the day, we had boosters with deep pockets who wanted the Rebels to be successful because that translated into Las Vegas being successful. The movers, shakers, and casino owners of that era looked upon UNLV basketball as an effective way to advertise their product to a national audience and wanted the program to be successful. It worked real well until Robert Maxson arrived and blew everything up.
Since then, corporations have taken over the strip and the landscape has changed. 6 to 5 blackjack, resort fees, forty dollar buffets and eighteen dollar parking are today's reality. They have erected magnificent hotels built T-Mobile, and have a stadium under construction for the Raiders and by extension UNLV. Make no mistake though, we are the ugly stepchild in this scenario.
The hotel and casino executives of today are a different animal. They are not from Las Vegas and have no loyalty to anyone but their shareholders. Frankly, they don't give a rats a-- about UNLV and it's athletic programs. They would rather use that money to buy back their stock than invest in our community. So given all of that, how do we get to where we want to be ?
Lets not reinvent the wheel but instead, utilize a method that has had spectacular results. Like him or not, agree with his policies or not, the Bernie Sanders campaign has raised a tremendous amount of money from small donations. If every Rebel fan worldwide would send $25 earmarked for recruiting to UNLV we can put the Boulevard Mall in our rear view mirror and go after what we need and be releventl on the national stage again. Davey Pearl, Irwin Molaskey, Sy Redd, Tom Weisner, Wildcat Morris, etc. can't help us anymore so we have to be proactive and get it done ourselves.
