Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Kruger: UNLV in ‘good spot’ with roster, transfer portal

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Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger applauds his players during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against the Air Force Falcons Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in Las Vegas.

The transfer portal has quickly become instrumental to building a college basketball roster, and that goes double for UNLV.

In the two years since hiring Kevin Kruger as coach, the program has brought in 13 Division I transfers (seven in 2021 and six in 2022), relying on the portal to stock the starting lineup and key bench roles alike. And the trend will surely continue this offseason.

The program has already lost four players to the portal and three to graduation. With only two incoming recruits on the ledger so far — prep guard Brooklyn Hicks and junior college forward Rob Whaley — that leaves Kruger with five open scholarships for 2023-24. That’s more than a third of a roster, and the number of openings could increase.

UNLV fans may be fretting, wondering when the program will start adding pieces, but Kruger doesn’t view it as a race.

“I think we’re in a really good spot with the group coming back,” Kruger said. “We just want to make sure we add the right pieces. We don’t feel the need to rush just because we have roster spots. With Brooklyn and Rob coming in, we feel we can add pieces we want to a group we like.”

There is an NCAA-mandated dead period from March 30 to April 6, during which coaches cannot contact players in the portal. Once that moratorium is lifted, Kruger expects the portal action to heat up.

As of now, sophomore Keshon Gilbert, senior Victor Iwuakor, freshman Keyshawn Hall and senior David Muoka have decided to try their luck elsewhere. Gilbert was a starter last season and will leave a particularly big hole; Muoka started 24 of 32 games. Add in UNLV’s losses to good old-fashioned graduation (leading scorer E.J. Harkless), and there are plenty of holes that would best be filled by experienced players.

As far as specific roles, Kruger knows that point guard is a particularly glaring need at the moment.

“That is certainly one of our needs going into the spring,” Kruger said. “Somebody with experience who has been relied on every day in a decision-making and leadership position, I think, without a doubt, that’s something we want to add.”

UNLV had been recruiting Pepperdine transfer Mike Mitchell, a sophomore point guard who scored 11.4 points and dished out 5.0 assists last season, but he committed to Minnesota on Wednesday. Kruger is likely to cast a wide net in search of his next floor general.

Kruger said he and the coaching staff plan to prioritize ball security after UNLV posted a middling 17.1% turnover rate last season.

“The most important thing we have to do is take better care of the ball next year,” Kruger said. “That’s a topic of discussion every day, making sure that we do a better job of emphasizing protecting the ball. Not just the guys coming in, but the entire team.”

When the portal really starts cranking up, Kruger thinks he’ll be able to attract impact players. The program has a short but strong track record of taking in transfers, giving them expanded roles and allowing them to thrive.

Kruger is confident he can find the next Donovan Williams or Royce Hamm (team leaders from his first season in 2021-22) and build a competitive 2023-24 squad around them.

“Having the proof on paper of guys that were looking for a bigger role is something that makes UNLV an appealing place,” he said.

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

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