Four musts for UNLV’s next basketball coach

By Taylor Bern

Monday, March 21, 2016 | 2 a.m.

UNLV, for all intents and purposes, is in its third month of searching for a men’s basketball coach. As soon as Dave Rice was fired Jan. 10, the speculation and conversations began.

While a couple of internal candidates are on the current staff, most of the focus is on a national search.

No matter who is hired, the task remains the same: shaping the immediate future of the program.

Here are some key aspects of the job.

No. 1: Maintain the schedule

One of Rice’s greatest accomplishments was improving the strength of UNLV’s nonconference schedule. Just because that never translated to a great league performance, scheduling shouldn’t change. UNLV still is in the midst of home-and-homes with Arizona and Arizona State, and the Rebels are expected to play the first college basketball game at T-Mobile Arena in December against Duke. Matchups like that, plus decent early-season tournaments, are essential to creating opportunities for high-quality wins, because teams have no idea how many of those chances they’ll get in league play.

No. 2: Recruit (and re-recruit) players who will stay

Not since Carlos Lopez-Sosa has UNLV had a scholarship player enter as a freshman and use all of his eligibility here.

Rice was fired midway through his fifth season, so he didn’t get the chance to see through the careers of players like Dwayne Morgan and Jordan Cornish. But there were plenty of others who came and left, or were asked to leave, prematurely. Much of UNLV’s troubles can be linked to the constant overhauling of the roster.

No. 3 Find a point guard

Oscar Bellfield. Anthony Marshall. Kendall Smith/Deville Smith. Cody Doolin. Jerome Seagears.

UNLV has had a different primary point guard during each of the past five seasons, and in many ways, performance at that position has dropped off each year.

It would be silly to pinpoint the disappointment of the Rice era on any one factor, but the inability to find an answer at this position certainly played a role.

Incoming guard Jaylen Fisher would be a good place to start looking for the next option. Of course, that requires him to actually follow through with his commitment, and with UNLV’s coaching search up in the air, Fisher’s next move is anyone’s guess.

No. 4 Improve on the road

No one should expect a perfect road record in the Mountain West Conference, as the travel schedule and altitude present significant challenges. But the Rebels aren’t going to win a regular-season title until they get better in places such as Air Force, Colorado State and Boise State.

UNLV has gone 4-11 at those schools over the past five years. A lot of those games were winnable, but UNLV found a way to lose. The tide can’t turn without better results on the road in league play.

The bottom line: Just win

Here’s where we could say a lot about rallying the community, selling the program and increasing attendance and revenue. But really, all of those come down to winning. There are a lot of die-hard UNLV fans, but Las Vegas has even more casual fans who grew up watching other teams and are interested in the locals only when they’re successful. Even some season-ticket holders have threatened to boycott until the program is in a more stable position. The new coach will have a lot to deal with, but much of it can be overcome by success.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.