UNLV basketball increasing recruiting effort in transfer portal

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, April 3, 2022 | 2 a.m.

It's been an eventful few weeks since UNLV's season ended in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament, and the traffic has been heading in one direction. In addition to Bryce Hamilton confirming he will forgo his final season of eligibility in favor of a pro career, junior wing Donovan Williams also declared for the NBA Draft. And on Thursday, assistant coach Carlin Hartman left the program to be an assistant at Florida.

Those departures have not been augmented by any arrivals — yet.

UNLV has been active in recruiting the transfer portal, with coach Kevin Kruger and his remaining staff reaching out to a slew of talented players who could help the 2022-23 team. No commitments have been secured, but it's only a matter of time before UNLV begins adding instead of subtracting.

So far, most of the team's recruiting efforts appear to have been focused on point guards, but there are needs across the roster. 

A roundup of players that have been connected to UNLV via the transfer portal:

POINT GUARDS

Jaelin Llewellyn, Princeton

One of the most varied scorers in the transfer portal as of now, Llewellyn led Princeton at 15.8 points per game this season. He made 45.5% of his shots from the field and 39.6% from 3-point range, and he has the skill set to step in and take on a lead role in the UNLV offense next season. Llewellyn has two years of eligibility remaining.

Ethan Anderson, USC

Anderson is an interesting (and familiar) name in the portal. He initially committed to UNLV under then-coach Marvin Menzies, but when Menzies was fired he pulled his pledge and elected to stay close to home at USC. In three years with the Trojans, Anderson has started 49 of 90 games and posted 5.2 points and 3.0 assists. The former 3-star recruit and Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year has yet to shoot 40% from the field in any of his three collegiate seasons.

Justin Hill, Longwood

A 6-foot-1 guard, Hill has vastly outperformed expectations since committing to Longwood as an unranked prospect in the Class of 2020. As a freshman he scored 11.0 points per game, and this season he upped his production to 14.2 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 34.3% from 3-point range.

Note: Hill has since committed to Georgia, so cross him off the list.

Mike Saunders, Cincinnati

Another familiar name for UNLV, Saunders considered the Scarlet and Gray last offseason when he considered transferring in the wake of Cincinnati’s coaching change. He decided to stay put, and he took a step forward as a sophomore this season, averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 assists while hitting 35.9% from long range.

Note: Saunders is also a goner, as he pledged to Utah.

Camren Wynter, Drexel

One of the most experienced players in the country, Wynter has started 112 of his 114 college games and averaged 35.3 minutes per night. So while the 6-foot-2 catalyst only has one year of eligibility remaining, you know what you’re getting: Wynter has averaged between 15.7 and 16.2 points per game in each of the last three seasons while dishing out 4.6 to 5.1 assists and making between 43.4% and 45.9% of his shots.

Rob Phinisee, Indiana

Another experienced point guard option, Phinisee played in 111 games during his four years at Indiana. His best campaign came in 2019-20, when he posted 7.3 points and 3.4 assists while making 33.3% of his 3-pointers. The former 4-star recruit has one year of eligibility remaining.

WINGS

Shane Dezonie, Vanderbilt

Dezonie decommitted from Arizona amid that program’s turbulent 2021 offseason and landed at Vanderbilt, where the combo guard put up 2.4 points in 11 minutes per game. A former 4-star recruit, he was rated No. 100 in the Class of 2021 by 247 Sports and would bring an athletic, versatile defensive element to the UNLV backcourt.

BIG MEN

Isaiah Cottrell, West Virginia

Cottrell is still something of a mystery at this point in his career. A top prospect in the Class of 2020, injuries and a lack of playing time have kept the one-time Bishop Gorman star from having the kind of impact in college that many expected. Still, he’s huge (6-foot-10, 240 pounds), athletic and possesses a soft touch around the rim.

Cottrell started 28 games as a sophomore this year but only managed 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. UNLV took on a similarly underused big man last year in Royce Hamm and extracted a near-double double season out of him; could Cottrell be positioned to follow a similar script?

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