Kruger sees UNLV as contender with portal additions: ‘I like our roster’

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 2 a.m.

For UNLV basketball, it is officially time to start looking forward to next season.

UNLV completed its roster a week ago with the addition of Florida transfer Julian Rishwain, who claimed the 13^th and final scholarship spot for 2024-25. Rishwain is one of four Division I transfers joining the team next season, along with a pair of incoming freshmen, a juco transfer and six returners.

With the transfer portal closed and all roster spots accounted for, this is the team UNLV will put on the floor on opening night.

Coach Kevin Kruger believes it’s a step forward.

“I thought we had a great portal season,” Kruger said. “We made some great additions, along with our incoming [freshmen] and our returning players. I like our roster.”

UNLV started slow in 2023-24, dropping five of its first nine nonconference games, but Kruger had his squad whipped into shape by the time Mountain West Conference play rolled around. The Scarlet and Gray went 12-6 in conference play and earned a bye in the first round of the MWC Tournament.

That was good enough to earn an NIT bid, and UNLV won two games in that tourney before getting bounced in the quarterfinals.

Kruger believes that momentum can carry over into 2024-25 because unlike in recent years, he’s not building a new roster from scratch.

While some other Mountain West teams were stripped of their most effective players, UNLV was able to retain point guard D.J. Thomas, one of the nation’s top freshmen last year. The team was also able to hold onto starting forward Rob Whaley, scoring guard Brooklyn Hicks and backup big man Isaiah Cottrell.

Senior forward Jalen Hill was also granted a medical redshirt, giving him a sixth year of eligibility, and forward Jacob Bannarbie will be activated after taking a redshirt as a true freshman.

Thomas is the crown jewel and may be the Mountain West’s best returning player after posting 13.6 points and 5.1 assists as a frosh.

While Thomas could have entered the portal and instigated a bidding war among power-conference programs, he decided not to test the market and stick with UNLV, where he has a healthy NIL deal already in place.

Kruger was always confident that his key players would return, but he admitted there were some tense moments in the final days as he waited for the portal to close.

“There’s always going to be a level of anxiety,” Kruger said. “I would love to see that be something the NCAA could change or take a look at, with something being binding on the players’ side, so if they say they’re coming back, it’s an agreement.”

New Mexico in particular got blindsided at the last minute when freshman forward J.T. Toppin entered the portal 24 hours before the deadline.

“There were a lot of examples this offseason of guys saying they were going back, and then they end up changing their mind in the span of a week or two,” Kruger said. “Until that game ends, you’re always going to be a little anxious about who might be calling from other programs.”

Because Kruger was able to retain multiple starter-level players, it allowed the UNLV staff to focus on using the portal to fill gaps and augment the roster. Kruger identified length and shooting on the perimeter as top needs and brought in transfers who fit that profile.

Senior Jailen Bedford is a likely starter after averaging 14.6 points per game at Oral Roberts last year, and Jaden Hensley (DePaul) could push for the starting five as well. Boise State transfer Jace Whiting shot 50.0% from 3-point range last year, and Rishwain was a productive marksman at San Francisco before playing one injury-shortened season at Florida.

Bedford, Hensley and Rishwain are seniors, while Whiting is a junior who has experience in the Mountain West.

“We feel those guys have great experience,” Kruger said. “They are day-in, day-out guys. That’s something we were really looking for in the portal, and we were very deliberate and exact and precise in the guys we went after.”

Asked whether he thinks the group he has assembled can vie for the top of the Mountain West next season, Kruger was decidedly optimistic.

“I think so,” Kruger said. “With our returning group, with our additions, I think we’ve formed a very good roster. I think they will challenge each other every single day and be a pretty good team.”

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