How an NIT run could boost the UNLV basketball program

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 | 2 a.m.

The UNLV men’s basketball team practiced on Monday, and that is a big development for the program because it means the season is still alive beyond the conference tournament.

When the NIT revealed its bracket on Sunday and UNLV was included, it snapped an 11-year postseason drought for the Scarlet and Gray, and while head coach Kevin Kruger conceded that “everyone wants to make the NCAA Tournament,” the team is excited about its first-round game at Princeton today.

“This is a team that played a lot of really good basketball, and knows that watching the selection show, we’re a team that’s right there,” Kruger said.

Kruger and senior wing Keylan Boone both reported that spirits were high during Monday’s session, and the team is aiming to make their postseason last as long as possible.

It may be a consolation to some, but for UNLV, the NIT could be a very good thing — and something worth celebrating.

A look at why an NIT run is beneficial for the program:

More practice time

When the UNLV football team qualified for a bowl game after the 2023 season, head coach Barry Odom noted that the extra practices allotted by the NCAA would allow the team to bridge the distance between the regular season and spring ball, and ultimately make the 2024 team better.

Basketball is a bit different — the NCAA is giving Kruger only two practices to prep for Wednesday’s game — but he still believes more court time is a good thing.

“I think getting that extra time together, playing in a game that has implications of, you win you keep playing, you lose you go home…it carries that weight that you could be done,” Kruger said. “So it provides a lot of opportunities to be in those situations and scenarios with what we feel is going to be a really strong group coming back.”

These NIT practices are not the same as the spring workouts that begin shortly after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament. While those sessions are limited to individual skill work, UNLV is currently holding full, high-intensity practices, with a level of detail and scouting befitting a postseason game.

Freshman guard D.J. Thomas has logged more minutes than any UNLV player this season, and he is still raring to go, so that bodes well for the approach the team is taking in these extra practices.

“It’s more experience, and doing something we love,” Thomas said. “I think that will benefit us a lot.”

Senior sendoff

Five UNLV players are out of eligibility after this season, and for some of them, it could be the final time they play in a meaningful game. So there is a teamwide emphasis on making this postseason a memorable experience for the outgoing seniors.

Senior Keylan Boone said after UNLV was eliminated from the Mountain West tournament that he wanted to continue playing, so he was happy to see the Scarlet and Gray get an NIT nod.

Now, he and his fellow seniors are making the most of it.

“It’s a new adventure for me,” Boone said. “It’s a real blessing. I still get to play with my guys for a couple more games, so I’m not complaining about it.”

Experience for young guys

At the other end of the spectrum, UNLV has a core of young players that could certainly have their development boosted by playing in a tournament atmosphere.

Thomas took his game to the next level in UNLV’s one Mountain West tournament game, totaling 29 points and five assists, so he’s probably good either way. But for guys like junior Rob Whaley and freshman Brooklyn Hicks, it’s an opportunity to build toward bigger roles next year.

Boone wants to see the returning players take full advantage of their NIT experience and carry it forward to 2024-25.

“Experience is a huge thing,” Boone said. “When it comes to college, in that first one- to two-year window, experience is a big thing. You’re still kind of picking up the vibes of college, the highs and lows of it, so to be in a good situation like the NIT and play against historic teams, that will travel with you going into the next year.”

Program morale

It’s been 11 years since UNLV played in a postseason game, and that kind of drought can weigh on a program. It can even perpetuate a cycle of losing, where coaches are hired, fail to meet tournament expectations, and are sent packing after three years, ushering in the next coach and the next cycle, starting from the ground up.

By qualifying for the NIT, the Scarlet and Gray are giving themselves a chance to break the cycle.

Kruger is in his third year, and this NIT run should buy him some more time to build his vision. In 2024-25 he’ll bring back two or three starters, and with his track record of finding veteran gems in the transfer portal, UNLV should be earmarked for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

That would likely result in an extension for Kruger, and some much-needed stability for the program.

It requires a lot of projection, but if UNLV gets back on the right track under Kruger, it will have started with this NIT team.

Thomas sees the value in incremental improvement.

“I think it’s a good step in the right direction,” the freshman said. “We haven’t been to a postseason game in the past 11 years, so to still be playing in the postseason now, it’s a blessing. We’ve earned it, so we’re going to take full advantage of it.”

Kruger kept the focus on his players on Monday, citing Keylan Boone as an example of someone who should be commended for turning UNLV into a postseason qualifier.

“The opportunity to help UNLV get back to the postseason is something he should be proud of and the seniors should be proud of,” Kruger said.

No recruiting downside

A handful of sure-thing NIT teams declined invitations before the brackets were revealed, citing the transfer portal as their reason for passing. The portal opened on Monday, and those coaches wanted to get a jump on recruiting.

Why they couldn’t do both is a mystery to Kruger (and surely the 68 coaching staffs who are busy in the NCAA Tournament right now). On Monday, he said he intends to multitask, prepping for the NIT while monitoring any portal developments.

“We’re going to do our best to do both,” Kruger said.

Kruger knows his way around the portal; since taking over as head coach, he has brought in undervalued power-conference transfers such as Royce Hamm, Donovan Williams, E.J. Harkless, Luis Rodriguez and Keylan and Kalib Boone.

Kruger said the roster is in a good enough place with returners that he won’t have to undergo a full rebuild via the portal. UNLV can select impact players to augment holdovers like Thomas and Whaley.

“We’re at the point where we’ve got a great group of incoming guys, we expect to have a great group of guys coming back, so we won’t be as dependent, maybe, on the portal,” he said.

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