What kind of program will the next UNLV basketball coach inherit?

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, March 19, 2021 | 2 a.m.

It’s official. T.J. Otzelberger is officially gone, and for UNLV this is officially the day after.

What to do now? Finding the next coach is the priority, certainly, but what type of program will that next coach be inheriting? Otzelberger wasn't in town long, but the scope of the UNLV basketball job has changed since the last time a head coach was hired.

In that spirit, this is a good time to take a snapshot of the program and assess what kind of shape Otzelberger left it in after his two years on the job.

Roster

Otzelberger didn’t do the next coach any favors with the current roster. He was planning to turn over half the players again and rely heavily on the transfer market to import some instant impact guys for 2021-22, which means the next coach is going to have to do something similar — while being hindered by a late start and a need to put a staff together.

Bryce Hamilton and David Jenkins were unlikely to return under Otzelberger, but perhaps the new coach can reach out and foster a good relationship with those two and persuade one or both to stay and play in the new system. That would be a great start. But if Hamilton and Jenkins leave anyway, this is going to be a near-total rebuild for the next coach.

Recruiting class

This will be an urgent matter of business for the new hire, as UNLV currently holds a letter of intent from one of the best prospects in the 2021 class, forward Arthur Kaluma. Can the next coach persuade Kaluma to stick with UNLV despite the fact that his friend Zaon Collins is no longer coming and the coach who recruited him has already departed? That’s a tough sell, so let’s hope the new coach has a good pitch.

The only other incoming player is 2021 guard Keshon Gilbert. Otzelberger was planning to fill the rest of the holes with transfers, so the new hire will have to hit the ground running and probably bring in four or five players from scratch.

If they can somehow keep Kaluma, the Otzelberger exit won’t have hurt UNLV too badly in recruiting. If Kaluma bolts, though, the cupboard will be pretty bare.

Schedule

As we saw when Marvin Menzies walked into the buzzsaw that was UNLV’s 2016-17 schedule, this can matter a lot. Of course that 16-17 team was always destined to be bad, but it didn’t have to be quite as painful as losses to Arizona State, Duke, Oregon and Kansas by an average of 27.8 points. Menzies never even had a chance to make a good first impression.

The next coach isn’t going to get a slate full of cupcakes in 2021-22. Otzelberger thought he’d be competing for the NCAA Tournament in his third year, so he stocked the schedule with tough games that could prove difficult to navigate if the next coach is going through a rebuilding year.

Things will start with a four-team tournament in Las Vegas that includes Arizona, Michigan and Wichita State, and contests that were canceled this season — UCLA, Cal, SMU, VCU — could be rescheduled to 2021-22. It’s not going to be very forgiving.

Money

If Desiree Reed-Francois nailed one aspect of her Otzelberger hire it was including a buyout clause that will net UNLV $3.36 million for his departure. That leaves the athletic department in great shape, all things considered, to go after his replacement.

Is UNLV flush with cash? No, of course not. The pandemic hit hard, and a full season with no revenue from Thomas & Mack ticket sales was a killer. But between Otzelberger’s buyout and the recent $8 million gift the basketball programs received, the ledger could be infinitely worse. As it stands now, UNLV will have plenty of money to hire a coach at the top of their market.

Fan interest

Attendance was zero this season and the HeyReb! mascot has gone the way of the dodo, but it’s hard to hold Otzelberger responsible for everything that happened during his tenure.

It would have been interesting to see how the fans responded to the 2020-21 season, which was a disappointment on every level. But even given the team’s underachieving record, it seemed like the base was more interested and engaged in Otzelberger’s teams than they were during Menzies’ time on the job, when the Mack was a morgue and prospects for the future were bleak.

In the long run, this fan base isn’t difficult to hook. If UNLV hires a good coach who can capture their imagination, the fans will get excited and the support will be there. Then all he has to do to keep them on his side is win.

Academics

Otzelberger knocked it out of the park in one area, and that’s academics. UNLV just reported three straight semesters of record-high GPAs for the basketball team, including an all-time high of 3.57 for the fall semester of 2020.

There was a time not too long ago when UNLV football had to scrimp and squeeze their academic records in order to keep the football team bowl eligible. The basketball program is in much, much better shape right now, and Otzelberger has to get credit for that. Not all coaches are serious about class work, but Otzelberger made sure his players pulled their weight. We’ll have to see if the next coach is as adamant about education.

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