Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 | 10:30 p.m.
When UNLV's men's basketball coaching post opened up in early April, the buzz about Rebels legend Larry Johnson wanting to be considered for the gig was stiff.
Johnson maintains that he was never contacted by athletic director Jim Livengood and his staff during their search for Lon Kruger's replacement. Apparently, that still doesn't sit well with Johnson almost four months later.
Some comments from Johnson made today in a piece on GamingToday.com show that.
"I don't like those Arizona people (Livengood and a few of his staff members, who came to UNLV from UA) in the administration and they don't like me," Johnson said. "It's not UNLV Runnin' Rebels no more, it's UNLV Wildcats right now."
It was no secret that many members of UNLV's memorable squads from the early 1990s weren't all that happy with the way the program's glorious run came to an end, without any support from its own administration. When Kruger took the job prior to the 2004-05 season, bringing those guys back into the fold and embracing the program's tradition was looked at as a priority.
"Kruger gained my respect for what he was doing and the way he was trying to bring back previous Rebels, who had a bitter taste in their mouths with the University for how the Tark situation was handled," he said. "Lon did an excellent job extending the olive branch. I was attending more games, going to alumni banquets and all the alumni golf tournaments. I was getting back involved.
"People all over town, wherever I went, asked me if I wanted to coach. They wanted me and Stacey (Augmon), knowing he had been an assistant coach. They had to hire him (as an assistant), knowing they would never consider me."
Those are some pretty stiff accusations. Augmon earned his way onto his alma mater's bench, paying his dues as an NBA assistant for the last four years.
It appears that the root of Johnson's angst stems from never being contacted by Livengood. Some will argue that as arguably the greatest player in program history, he deserved that much at least. Others will say that Livengood handled the hiring process in a timely fashion and didn't waste time handing out courtesy interviews. In the end, he made a great hire to the most deserving candidate in Dave Rice.
Where do you stand on Johnson's comments?
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy