Despite the UNLV athletics department’s self-admitted financial issues, they could no longer stay the course in college basketball.
On Saturday, the school announced that they are moving on from men’s basketball head coach Kevin Kruger after four seasons. Son of former coach Lon Kruger, Kevin was never able to replicate his father’s success in Las Vegas, failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in all four years. With UNLV’s drought at March Madness going on 12 years now, the university decided another direction was necessary.
With UNLV clearly having higher aspirations for their basketball program, the candidates for their next coach will reflect that goal. They do not want to go through this saga again in four years, so finding someone with a proven track record of success is crucial. Nailing this hire, whether UNLV knows it or not, is imperative for the short and long-term health of the program.
Here are a few names UNLV should have circled:
Craig Smith, formerly Utah
Saying UNLV wants a winner only for the first candidate to be fired from a Power 5 job sounds contradictory, but there is plenty of reason to consider Smith.
Despite the end results, Smith turned Utah into a respectable program. With a 65-62 record and looking at a third straight winning season before his ouster, it is hard to consider Smith the primary problem for a school that lacks the resources to be truly competitive. Most in the college basketball world think the decision to fire Smith is a head-scratcher, so UNLV does not need to worry too much on that front.
Prior to Utah, Smith found great success in the Mountain West. He lead Utah State to three straight postseason berths in each of his seasons at the helm. He also served as head coach of South Dakota in the Summit League, which is the same path that former UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger took prior to coming to Las Vegas.
If UNLV is willing to overlook Smith’s Utah tenure as the product of a lack of resources, his candidacy becomes much more appealing.
Will Wade, McNeese State
The groans from the college basketball purists are evident, but UNLV is certainly not in a position to clutch their pearls.
In 2022, Wade was fired from his head coaching position at LSU due to the NCAA formally serving him a Notice of Allegations due to recruiting violations. There is also the possibility that North Carolina State is looking to bring him in to their own program. However, that job is still undecided and, should the Wolfpack go in a different direction, that opens the door for UNLV to swoop in and make their pitch.
Since leaving Baton Rouge, Wade has since gone on to mid-major dominance at McNeese State. With two straight Southland Conference championships and tournament berths, Wade continues to win at every level he has ever coached. If UNLV is looking to bring in an established option, there are few candidates with his pure upside.
Wade checks every box UNLV is looking for in their head coach, so long as he is willing to meet them at the table.
Eric Olen, UC San Diego
Olen is the definition of a program builder.
Serving as head coach of UC San Diego since 2013, Olen has guided the Tritons through the transition from Division II to Division I. The team has found their groove at the highest level of college basketball, finishing in the top two in the Big West in the last two seasons. In their first year of postseason eligibility, Olen has taken the Tritons to the NCAA Tournament this season, which is a remarkable achievement.
While not having the high-major success Wade has had, Olen checks every other box UNLV is looking for. He knows how to make more with less, his coaching style brings a level of excitement Kruger’s teams sorely lacked and he knows how to bring a lesser-known program to national relevance. While top programs out west will certainly meet with him, they may want to first see how he can handle a job where more resources are available.
Olen should stand out as one of the favorites to land the UNLV job, and securing him would be a home run for the Rebels program.
Alan Huss, High Point
While Olen is working his magic out west, Huss is bringing up similar results on the other side of the country.
Since taking over at High Point in 2023, the two seasons Huss has been at the helm have been the two best in program history. This year, however, Huss finished the deal by helping the Panthers win the Big South conference championship, securing the program’s first-ever tournament berth. Despite this being his only stint so far as a head coach, Huss has already cemented himself as one of the nation’s brightest young coaches.
Huss also served six seasons as assistant coach at his alma mater in the University of Creighton. so he has seen what it takes to build a successful program at a high level. Similar in the case of Olen, UNLV would provide Huss with more resources at his disposal. While there are some Power Five jobs that could want Huss, they might also prefer to chase more established options first.
While Huss still needs to develop, what he has done with a lesser-known program is something UNLV should not discount.
Rodney Terry, Texas
There is no chance Terry goes from Austin to Las Vegas, unless that choice is not his to make.
Terry captured the imagination of Texas and the college basketball world in 2022, when he took over for Chris Beard and guided the Longhorns to the Elite Eight that season. He has continued to impress, but injuries and inconsistency have become a common theme in Austin this time around. If the Longhorns are on the wrong side of the bubble come Selection Sunday, Texas might decide not to exercise patience and replace Terry with a more exciting option.
If that is the case, UNLV needs to make Terry one of the first calls they make. With his success at Texas and Fresno State prior, Terry knows what it takes to win at the highest level and in the biggest markets. The bright lights of Vegas would certainly not be too bright for him, and having an in on some of Texas’s pipeline is far from a bad idea.
UNLV has plenty of options to cycle through already, but Terry instantly has a case made for him if he becomes open.
