Prep icon Joe Stein out at Rancho

Nevada boys basketball coaching legend Joe Stein, who was coaxed out of retirement last year, will not return for a second season at Rancho High School, the Sun has learned.

According to Rancho principal Charles E. Jauregui, the school is interviewing candidates to replace Stein, whose coaching career has been highlighted by 564 victories and three state titles.

"I've got four or five final candidates I'll be talking to in the next couple of weeks," said Jauregui, who convinced Stein to return to coaching last year.

"I brought in Joe as my stopgap to get things turned around. The idea was to bring him in and start changing things around while I looked around a little bit."

Stein coached the Rams to an 11-15 record and a sixth-place finish in the nine-team Sunrise Division this winter. Rancho missed the playoffs.

"I haven't been told I'm not coaching, but I know they're looking and it's officially open," Stein said, adding that he would likely stay on as the school's physical education department chairman.

Stein's season at Rancho got off to a rocky start when juniors Cornell Williams and Demetrius Hunter tried to transfer to the school from Green Valley and were denied enrollment.

Williams ended up back with the Gators while Hunter wound up at Cheyenne.

Stein also had to deal with the loss of forward Robbie Cole for part of the season because of a residence eligibility issue after the senior transferred from Las Vegas High School.

Stein spent the bulk of his career at Western, where he racked up 308 wins and captured 3A state titles in 1990 and '91. Before that, he coached at Rancho -- a stint that produced his first 3A championship in 1978.

A 1988 inductee into the Nevada State High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, Stein is best known for his teams' up-tempo style. His 1990-91 Western squad averaged 103 points per game and he once finished on the losing end of a 139-121 score.

"He brought some name recognition and a nice record with him, and even though it was a short-term situation, he brought some stability to the program," Jauregui said.

Jauregui declined to discuss specific candidates for the position, but former Basic coach Mike Dye and former Eldorado coach Cal Wulfsberg reportedly are interested.

Dye, who resigned last month after four years at Basic, worked at Rancho for 15 years as the head girls basketball coach and a boys assistant coach. His girls squad captured five consecutive 3A state titles in the mid-1980s.

"When I went out to Basic, I went to a program that had been down," Dye said. "So I wouldn't have a second thought (about returning to Rancho). I like kids, and kids are the same on both ends of town."

Wulfsberg, who coached Eldorado's boys team for the past two years, was recently replaced by assistant Curtis Heathman.

Rancho assistant John Engel, who has been coaching the Rams' spring league entry, also may be a candidate.

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