UNLV basketball courting Las Vegas native Isaacs on recruiting trail

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, July 11, 2021 | 2 a.m.

If you want an example of Kevin Kruger taking control of the UNLV basketball program and building it to match his vision, look no further than this class of 2022 recruit.

Under previous coach T.J. Otzelberger, the program had no interest in point guard Richard “Pop” Isaacs, a Las Vegas native and 4-star, top-40 prospect. Kruger, however, has quickly corrected course and has made Isaacs a priority for his first full recruiting class.

Isaacs has bounced around during his high school career. He began with a promising freshman season at Coronado in Henderson before moving to Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah) for his sophomore and junior years, and he’ll finish up his senior campaign at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). But what hasn’t changed during that time is Isaacs’ status as a premier point guard.

As a junior at Wasatch last year, Isaacs posted 14.1 points and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 53.3% from the field and 44% from 3-point range. He is rated the No. 34 recruit in the nation by 247 Sports.

Otzelberger never reached out to him, but Isaacs said Kruger wasted little time in making him feel wanted.

“I started hearing from UNLV right when coach Kruger got the job,” Isaacs said. “I didn’t get recruited by the previous staff for some reason. That was kind of odd. But right when coach Kruger got the job, he prioritized me.”

The fit appears to be natural, based on Kruger’s comments about the type of offense he wants to run. The first-year coach has said he wants point guards who can create off ball screens, and who possess “an ability to play in the pick-and-roll and attack advantages and get downhill and create advantages and opportunities for somebody else. That’s going to be our main pillar offensively going forward.”

Isaacs can do that. At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, he has the quickness to get inside the defense, and he said he has made pick-and-roll offense a focal point this summer as he plays for his AAU team, Y Not.

And as for his jump shot, his percentages speak for him. Isaacs can hit from the outside at a high level, making him one of the nation’s most well-rounded offensive point guards.

“I’m a point guard,” Isaacs said. “I can score, I can pass, I can do both at an elite level. Anything you really need me to do on the basketball court, I can do.”

One area where Isaacs is definitely not lacking is personal instruction. Isaacs has worked with a who’s who of top-tier trainers with Las Vegas ties, from Impact Sports czar Joe Abunassar to legendary former UNLV assistant and current Detroit Pistons assistant Tim Grgurich, and his father, Richard Isaacs Sr., is a former AAU coach and grassroots guru with connections across the country.

Though Isaacs Sr. has seen it all when it comes to the recruiting game, he said he is allowing his son to make his own decisions.

“I really tried to give him freedom to build his own menu of schools that he has an interest in,” Isaacs Sr. said. “I’ve got a lot of friends in this business, so it wouldn’t be fair of me to get involved. Some of my friends are recruiting him, but ultimately he’s the one that’s got to play for the team, he’s got to live at the school — I don’t.”

That said, Isaacs Sr. definitely has opinions about what would be best for his son and will offer guidance.

“If he has a question, I try to answer it,” Isaacs Sr. said. “He’ll come to me with a question about the pace the school plays at, because they’re all going to tell you they’re going to play fast. I simply look at the stats and that will tell you how a team plays. I think for him, he needs to play in a program where the court is more wide open so he can take advantage of his speed and quickness. I also think the ball screen has to be a big part of the school’s offense. If you’re going to have him bring the ball up, throw it to the wing and run to the opposite corner, it’s not the right place for him.”

Isaacs recently took an unofficial visit to UNLV, and he has been on official visits to Oklahoma State, Creighton and Arizona State.

Isaacs is impressed with the way Kruger has already put his stamp on the UNLV program, and he said the coaching staff has delivered a simple message while recruiting him.

“Just to come in and be that guy to help turn around the program,” Isaacs said. “They’re doing some really good things over there as far as culture-wise, and they can see me coming in and having an impact on the program in getting it back to where they want it and where it needs to be.”

Isaacs lists winning the Peach Jam tournament with his AAU squad as his No. 1 goal for the summer, and once that tournament is concluded (July 25) he will begin to narrow down his college options.

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