What Keshon Gilbert’s transfer means for UNLV basketball

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Monday, March 20, 2023 | 2:27 p.m.

It’s safe to say the offseason is fully underway for UNLV basketball — and for the third year in a row, it appears as if it’s going to bring about a complete roster overhaul.

The team has had two players enter the transfer portal in the last two days, as freshman forward Keyshawn Hall left the program on Sunday and sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert followed on Monday.

Gilbert announced his intention to transfer via Twitter.

Gilbert’s departure is a tough blow for a rebuilding team. He started 29 of 31 contests and was UNLV’s second-leading scorer at 11.4 points per game. Had he stayed, he would have been the Scarlet and Gray’s top returning scorer and assist man, and second-best 3-point shooter (38.4 3FG%).

Gilbert, a St. Louis native, took a leap as a sophomore and was especially impressive in non-conference play, averaging 13.5 points and 3.7 assists per game. He tailed off against Mountain West competition (9.9 points, 2.8 assists), and he was ejected from the finale at UNR on March 4 for head-butting an opponent.

The Mountain West tacked on an additional one-game suspension, which kept Gilbert out of UNLV’s game against Air Force in the play-in round of the MWC tournament. Head coach Kevin Kruger chose to bring Gilbert off the bench in the next game, and he posted just seven points and two assists in a season-ending loss to Boise State.

Considering Gilbert’s size (6-foot-4), defensive impact and developing 3-point shot, he’s likely to draw significant interest in the transfer portal.

What Gilbert’s exit means for the program:

New backcourt

Gilbert was UNLV’s main building block moving forward, but now that he’s out, Kevin Kruger could be looking at the possibility of having to cobble together an entirely new backcourt next year.

Senior shooting guard and leading scorer E.J. Harkless graduated and is out of eligibility, as did third guard Eli Parquet. The guard who took over the starting role when Parquet got injured was senior Justin Webster, and though he does have a year of eligibility remaining, he sounded noncommittal at best when asked about his future plans following UNLV’s final game.

Sophomore Jackie Johnson is set to return; he averaged 6.3 points in 25 games (all off the bench). And sophomore Shane Nowell has some ballhandling skills, though he’s more of a wing than a pure guard. And that’s it for returning players.

Now that Gilbert is gone, UNLV desperately needs starting-caliber backcourt players. A lot of them. Look for Kruger to lean into the portal for at least two veteran guards, and probably three or four.

Identity crisis

Several times this season, Kruger made a point to say that UNLV’s identity was built around Gilbert’s style of play. And that’s how Kruger wanted it.

Gilbert’s defensive intensity and all-out effort was contagious when things were going well, especially in non-conference play. Whether it meant getting down in a stance, chasing a loose ball or not helping up a fallen opponent, he set a very particular tone.

UNLV means to be a defense-first squad that wins with toughness, and those characteristics were plainly evident in Gilbert’s approach. Who can Kruger point to now as the standard for the way he wants UNLV to play? Senior wing Luis Rodriguez scraps on defense, as do senior forwards David Muoka and Victor Iwuakor, but there’s no guarantee they return, and even if they do, they’re one-year players. Gilbert was supposed to be a long-term piece.

As Kruger adds players via the portal this offseason, it’s worth considering not just their statistics, but what intangibles they bring to a team.

Scholarship situation

UNLV now has five players leaving this offseason, with three seniors graduating and two underclassmen (so far) opting to enter the transfer portal.

Kruger has only inked two incoming recruits, which means the rest of the scholarships will most likely have to be filled via the transfer portal. And Hall and Gilbert are probably not the last to leave.

It’s going to be another busy offseason, with lots of roster traffic moving in both directions.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.