Ten top priorities for new UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, March 27, 2019 | 1:01 p.m.

With UNLV’s announcement that T.J. Otzelberger will be the next men’s basketball coach, it’s time for him to hit the ground running — never mind that his introductory press conference isn’t scheduled until Thursday afternoon.

If Otzelberger is passing the time during his flight from South Dakota to Las Vegas by putting together a list of priorities, these 10 steps would be a good place to start:

Re-recruit Amauri Hardy

Amauri Hardy averaged 13.1 points and 3.5 assists as a sophomore last season, and the former 4-star recruit can absolutely be a star in Otzelberger’s up-tempo system. The problem is, Hardy entered his name into the transfer portal earlier this week. Hardy seems open to staying at UNLV, however. In his statement announcing that he was beginning the transfer process, he called it “Plan B,” which means he could remain a Runnin’ Rebel — pending the pitch from the new coach. Otzelberger should connect with Hardy soon to sell him on his vision; having a star point guard in the fold will make the next two years much easier for the coach.

Staff up

Otzelberger has a reputation as an ace recruiter, but does he have ties to the west coast or Las Vegas? For the UNLV program, those two regions are important pipelines, and the easiest way to tap into them quickly would be to hire an assistant (or two) who is well-connected in those areas. There are still plenty of good, uncommitted prospects in Las Vegas and SoCal from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes — hire some staffers who know how to land them.

Win over the fans

It’s been tough times for UNLV fans in recent years. The combination of losing, unexciting play and other sports options in the market has combined to sap some of the spirit that Rebels’ supporters are known for. Heading into the 2019-20 season, the fan base is disinterested at best, fractured and angry at worst. Otzelberger has to get out there and do something to try to win them over. What exactly can he do? No idea. But this program needs an injection of goodwill and positive vibes, and as the head coach, he sets the tone for everything. That has to start immediately.

Start scheduling

Soft scheduling was a weakness of the previous staff, and the program paid for it with unsustainably-low attendance figures. Much of the 2019-20 schedule is already in place, but Otzelberger should start arranging the 2020-21 and 2021-22 slates as soon as possible. UNLV has to play a schedule worthy of an NCAA at-large bid in both of those seasons; anything less than that and it will be almost impossible to keep the fans’ interest.

Re-recruit Shakur Juiston

If Otzelberger wants to avoid the kind of bottoming-out in Year 1 that Menzies endured, convincing Shakur Juiston to stick around would be another big move. Juiston only has one year of eligibility remaining, but he would make for a perfect bridge to Otzelberger’s first full recruiting class in 2020 while also keeping the Rebels competitive in 2019. Otzelberger’s game plans will look a lot smarter if he knows he can count on Juiston to put up double-doubles every night.

Reach out to Julian Strawther

One of the best prep players in the entire country is right in UNLV’s backyard, as 6-foot-7 wing Julian Strawther just finished his junior season at Liberty. He’s rated as the No. 37 player in the nation according to 247Sports, and he has the Rebels in his top 10. His sister plays for the Lady Rebels. UNLV should have a reasonable shot at keeping him home, but Otzelberger is going to have to play catch-up.

Reach out to former Rebels

After the firing of Dave Rice and the fiasco that followed, a lot of former Runnin’ Rebels greats thought the program abandoned them. Otzelberger should roll out the red carpet, so to speak, and welcome all the old-timers back into the fold. Have former players at practices, invite them to games, retire their jerseys. Celebrate their accomplishments and incorporate that attitude into the present. Great programs have tradition, and UNLV shouldn’t ignore its past.

Introduce yourself to Grant Rice

Every season, Grant Rice coaches some of the best talent in the entire country at Bishop Gorman. For example, junior big man Isaiah Cottrell announced his top 8 recently and included UNLV despite the fact that the Rebels didn’t even have a coach at the time. Developing a good relationship with Rice (and his recruits) could make Otzelberger’s life so much easier. Just make sure someone tells Otzelberger that UNLV fired Rice’s brother a few years ago, as to avoid any faux pas.

Shed the dead weight

The reality is that UNLV has dedicated too many scholarships in recent years to players who will never see the floor for the Runnin’ Rebels. Menzies had to fill spots during that crazy, rushed 2016 offseason, and some of the freshmen he brought on board did not develop into Division-I caliber players. The new coach will have to gently explain the situation to them and encourage them to transfer to schools where more playing time could be a possibility. Is it callous? Yes. Is it a necessary evil if UNLV wants to be a really good college basketball team? Also yes. It won’t be easy, but Otzelberger will have to play the bad guy and prune the roster.

Who can you bring?

Otzelberger did a pretty good job recruiting to South Dakota State, to the point where he may actually want to bring some of his Jackrabbits along with him to Las Vegas. SDSU guard David Jenkins averaged 19.7 points per game as a sophomore while hitting 45.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, and incoming 2019 recruit Caleb Grill is a 3-star point guard. It may be considered “shady” or “low-class” or “underhanded” to poach your own players, but Jenkins and Grill would look pretty good in scarlet and gray.

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