4-Star James Evans just committed. He told me yesterday, but was waiting until today to make the decision. Thanks all for the support. Evans still has a lot of untapped potential. We got a dawg.
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James Evans Commitment
- Thread starter lobbybuu
- Start date
I don’t follow AAU at all but a quick google search looks like Evans and Compton player together U16. Hopefully still tight.
I will tell you now that they are very close. DJ, Evans, and Compton are all very very very close.
Great pick up kudos to Kruger for kicking up recruiting. Now hopefully he can coach them! But getting the talent is a great start.
I'd go in and ask for an extension from our AD ASAP! Strike while the iron is hot!
This is sarcasm. I'm not saying that an extension is deserved at this point, just trying to be funny. Although, there could be some truth to what I'm saying, too.
Every recruit that I've talked to that is even considering UNLV has made it a point to be clear about Kruger's genuineness in recruiting. The whole staff traveled to Arizona to watch James play at Section 7. They were front row for all 4 games spread throughout a couple of days. Evans has been the #1 target at the wing position. Yes, the #1 target over Taj Degourville. Shout out to Taj, but this is who the staff zeroed in on.
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The 2024 class is going to be loaded with talent coming in to program... if 1 or 2 more of these 4 star kids sign up to play with Dedan the team will be primed for longer term success than blind squirrel transfer portal success
If ya’ll love to see these kind of recruiting results, remember to support UNLV MBB NIL. Every little bit helps.
Personally, wasn't sure we get any high major recruits for 2024 considering this feels like a hot seat year for Kruger. If things go the way of last year (worst-case scenario) does anyone see him making it? Again, I have no inside information, just prognosticating. ... And don't come for my head! Just looking for quality debate.🫣😇💯
I think recruiting went well, on paper. I do think it’s a hot seat year though, even with recruiting being better. An incoming recruiting class (2024) won’t save a coach, and you never know what part of a just completed season roster will remain at school, so you can’t rely on that either.
The AD pulled the plug on Arroyo after a poor, but historically “average” UNLV football year and he was quick to do it and it appears he made a quality hire. AD’s make their name by hirings and firings. They typically remain loyal to those they hired and are shorter with those that they inherited.
I’d say it’s more of a warm seat. If he makes the NIT, I think it’ll be warm and and no telling what Harp would do, but you’ll have Lon lobbying on Kevin’s behalf which is strong. If it’s no post season, I think he will get the ax. This isn’t 2001 where you have more patience because you are limited by recruiting restrictions. You can flip a crappy team 100%. You can break every single egg and replace them. Loyalty (player/coach, coach/player) isn’t a thing anymore. Players use schools, schools use players. Everyone looks out for self, there is no family, no unity, the sorts of things that used to endear … it’s not just college sports and it’s not just basketball.
I’m happy scheduling is up because it was absolutely horrendous last year and some fans were fooled by it. I’m glad recruiting seems to be up because even last years “stud” team (before the ball drops, we are deep, loaded with talent at all positions, we are so deep that the only question is how we get everybody the minutes they actually deserve) … until the games start and then we are small, not quick, mentally weak and not just that talented and we battle for 6th place in a mediocre conference.
I really do think we significantly improved the roster, but I’ll wait and see how they mix and what they actually are. I’m doubtful of the “studs” who are projected to hit that magical 12 pts and 7 rebounds (which almost always ends up being closer to 7 and 5) and the 5 others who are capable of scoring 20+ per night (usually ends up being maybe one guy, not five).
I guess I’ve seen it all before and it always ends up less, usually far less, than what we expected.
I hope UNLV does something. There aren’t any valid excuses for failure at the levels we’ve had. Everyone else in the city seems to be able to do something significant, even Lindy turned around a joke of a program to something respectable in a short period of time at a young age and no experience. We will see what Odom does but I suspect it will be more than we used to.
Great reply! That last paragraph hit home on so many levels... So many 😑
From the LA Daily News on the top wings in the LA Metro area: Evan’s is the first junior mentioned.
www.dailynews.com
Dusty Stromer, Brady Dunlap, James Evans top the area’s basketball wings to watch
Tarek Fattal gives his analysis of the wings in the Daily News area for the 2022-23 season. These are some of the best playmakers on the perimeter, highlighted by James Evans, Brady Dunlap and Dust…
www.dailynews.com
IMO the 3 years and move on is exactly why UNLV basketball has been a mess. It hasn’t worked. Unless there is a complete collapse, and a Greg Marshall type has committed to take the job, what are the options? Another unproven assistant on the cheap and start from scratch? Rinse and repeat.
KK is here to stay. HIs staff is put together. Only their second year together and Covid hammered the program with masks and empty stadiums. On paper, Dedan Thomas was a top 10 point guard. Yes he is small but everyone wanted him. Quick feet, great passer, finishes with the floater etc. I think he will do fine. Brooklyn is quick also and along with the proven guards we have will be able to mature ala Arizona, Gonzaga,, St. Mary's etc. We will need to recruit some bigs but what is wrong with a freshman heavy team with great recruits. They are fun to watch. Besides next year we have Cottrell and Thomas and Nowell and Brooklyn, and Whaley. This is not an empty bench or a bad starting five. With one in the fold, KK and staff will continue to attract high value players.
I always think this is an interesting take that I sort of recognize as logical even though the evidence doesn't really support it. We fired Spoon after 2.5 years, and after him moved to Krugs which was a pretty positive direction. Krugs had 6 years, then Rice had 4.5 years. Marv got 3 years, Otz was poached despite being sub .500 for 2 years.
I think instead of trying to say 'the impatience of 3 years and moving on hasn't worked', I think you have tack on the caveat: If you're going to fire a guy then you better have a rock solid plan in place.
In general most of our malaise comes not from moving on from an underperforming coach too soon, but doing so and not having a rock solid plan to execute. The post Rice debacle was more a factor of missing on so many targets when you perform the mid-season firing. We get Cronin or Beard or Dixon in any of those situations the early firing looks like a great move. It's having to settle for third or fourth options after doing it that really hurts the program and forces you into a cycle where you simply can't afford from a money standpoint to let things stick around and develop. When the women's basketball team is more financially solvent that the men's basketball team, you put yourself into that hot seat.
I think looking back, really Rice is the only guy I probably would have given a little longer to figure things out, even if you dip further back and include Rollie (2 years) or Grg/Cle/Howie (1 year). I think Marv sort of showed that he was a pretty good recruiter but his teams didn't really play a pleasing or effective style of basketball. Even though his teams had more talent and athleticism than the other MWC teams, we would lose lots of games we should not have.
I just don't buy into the sunk cost fallacy in general.
Isn’t that what I posted? If there is going to be an arbitrary 3 year time line, you better have a plan in place. Not just another untested assistant. I will expand. Additionally, a nation wide coaching search and hiring some search agency that just sends you a list of their clients will not work.
On Spoon, there is more to the story because there was a plan in place and that was exactly what happened. Brad Rothemel was brought as a special assistant to the AD, traveled to NY and had Kruger committed to take the UNLV job in December. The supposed coaching search including George Karl who threw his hat in the ring was just window dressing. Kruger was a done deal that actually worked. Why? Because there was a plan In place to hire a veteran coach who had a track record of success. But even with LK there was the same and very much arbitrary HOT seat going into year 3.
Also, if LK didn’t leave Rice with a talented roster and he was forced to start a rebuild from scratch year 3 his seat would have been HOT! You don’t agree? Whether you do or not, Rice was actually fired 2 and 1/2 years after making the NCAA’s and with no replacement in place resulting in a total dumpster fire.
Then there’s Menzies who was fired for finishing 4th in the MWC after 3 years. Additionally, you don’t think the same making the ncaa in year 3 HEAT would not have applied to OTZ? Heck, the seat was getting WARM year 2 after his terrible recruiting class.
On Rice, I agree. Mistakes were made by both Rice and the administration. But that is another thread.
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Not a huge sample size.
But Harp showed with his first big fire and hire - he had a plan in place and it moved quickly, he zeroed in and got UNLV something that they haven’t had since 1998 …. A guy who was a head coach with RELEVANT D1 experience.
I could be wrong, like I said, small sample size, but he (apparently) drastically improved us with one swift move.
I highly doubt he would stray from the same formula with basketball.
If he doesn’t make the tourney, I would not be surprised if he cut rope. And I’d be fine with that. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he kept him if we were an NIT team and I’d be fine with that as well. Kevin does have his father in his corner and if it’s a borderline type of thing, he has the type of influence that can save it, the other guys on the borderline didn’t have that influence in their corner.
But if we significantly improved our roster (I think everyone agrees we have) and we don’t make a big leap forward, it would be massively disappointing and I don’t think a couple of decent 2024 recruits or DTJ or any other expected returnees would save the day (it didn’t for Rice, they didn’t care that we had a complete roster coming in to join existing talent).
Re: Rice, his second year was better than his first with LK players and the crux of that second team was his guys (Marshall was big for them, QT, JHawk and Lopez were just fillers). I’d have to say that Bennett, Birch and Bryce were the difference in that team (Rice guys).
And Lon would never play uptempo with his squads here. They were solid defensively, basic offensively. Rice gave those first year guys a ton of freedom and emphasized pushing. Just a guess based on his history here, LK would have tried to slow down and steal one from UNC instead of shoving it down their throat and being the aggressor that looked every part of the better team in that game (non fluke win).
So I do think Rice’s first year philosophy is what helped make the difference. Plus, he was able to keep everybody but Grandy Glaze, who he didn’t want anyway. How often do you see that? Even LK himself lost a several guys his first year that he couldn’t keep and that’s with a strong resume on his part (former NBA coach, success in the NCAAT). And even with the guys he managed to keep that first year … he lost half of them by January (not physically leaving, but “lost them” as players/a team). Because there was talent there on his first squad, in fact, weren’t they picked to finish 1st or 2nd in the MWC, a MUCH tougher MWC? LK inherited a better returning roster than Rice did and he did nothing with it. There was a huge first year difference between the two.
Otz was definitely going to be on the hot seat year three. No doubt about it. How he was “poached” having no success here and no promise down the road is beyond me. Makes you realize it was part of a plan. He failed upward. It was written.
Munchies inherited the worst situation. A tough schedule (it was mostly Rice’s schedule, that’s why it was tough) and he retained garbage. Not completely his fault, in fact, not his fault. Tina fkd this program royally, kids left skid marks leaving here because she made it a flaming pile. So that Menzies couldn’t retain them isn't on him, it’s on Tina. And Munchies couldn’t benefit nearly as much with quick flip of the roster as today. You could to a smaller degree than today, but pickings were slimmer and Party Time did a good job recruiting in that second year. Some dead ass bums, but some good players too, talent.
His problem is winning wasn’t his top priority, trying to mold the perception and playing victim and blaming everything else for losses and playing up poor wins … he was more interested in crafting narrative and catch phrases than winning. Imagine that, it’s the entire world we live in today. He Smolletized the program.
His problem is winning wasn’t his top priority, trying to mold the perception and playing victim and blaming everything else for losses and playing up poor wins … he was more interested in crafting narrative and catch phrases than winning. Imagine that, it’s the entire world we live in today. He Smolletized the program.
He had a stellar class coming in as well and that was before the Portal really took off... he would've had a big year and moved on anyways... think about where Kevin finished with Bryce and add Kaluma and Collins(had he not been an absolute idiot) and that team runs the MWC that season... oh well...
3 years in today's game is plenty of time to change a programs trajectory. Why are we trying to say we're different than any other program that has done it in that time frame. If he can't win with the talent that will be on the court next year, he's not going to win. Period... Harper won't hesitate and he'll have a bigger name than we expect ready to go in the wings, just not anyone we might be talking about(see Odom)
Our teams, whether we have the guys or not, are always going to run the MWC. Until early to mid December, then we are forced to reassess and go way down. But last year, it was thought that because we were 10-0 or whatever in non-con. But that was all weak scheduling.
Might be a national team with those guys. DJr is the catalyst. Wow, we need some more help to win the whole damn thing.
I as
I assume when you say win the whole damn thing you're talking about the conference because while landing recruits is fun and all, jumping from not making tournament in 10+ years to "Win the whole thing" is a bit of a steep step...
Looks like Dedan is really out there helping the coaching staff pick up players! Well at least Evans
I assume he also helped on Jacob Barnnabie as well...
Interview with Evan’s. Some insight on Pharoah Compton and Zion Sensely.
247sports.com
Three-star wing James Evans breaks down his commitment to UNLV
James Evans chooses UNLV
247sports.com
