As a 40+ year fan of Rebel basketball, I get frustrated with the idea that a good coach cannot turn a program around quickly. There are loads of examples where just that has occurred. No, UNLV was not going to pay for a Jamie Dixon who inherited a 12-21 team at TCU, 2-16 in conference and went 24-15 in year one, only 6-12 in conference, but finishes winning the NIT. Our friend Chris Beard (no I was not a fan of the hire) has Texas Tech in the top 10 in his second season. Let's look way closer to home, more on UNLV's level. Eric Musselman took over Reno after a 9-22 record and 5-13 in the MWC. In his first year at Reno, 24-14 overall and 10-8 in conference. Year 2, 28-7 overall, 14-4 and first place in conference. Year 3 (this year) 22-5 and 11-2 and first place in conference. Good coaches just win. We have huge impediments to winning at UNLV which starts with the Governor, then the Board of Regents and then the UNLV President. I had a pretty big booster tell me a couple of years ago that if people on the top that can make a difference don't really care than why should the boosters. That was very enlightening for me. Yes, that makes success for UNLV athletics very difficult. Having said that, good coaches can turn around a college basketball program faster than 3 or 4 or 5 years. I would like to see it happen at UNLV. I have grown to hope for the best and expect the worst. My expectations have been met!
