Columnist Ron Kantowski: Lady Rebels switch to backup plan

Tuesday, April 7, 1998 | 9:04 a.m.

BASED ON WHAT little is known -- and therein probably lies the problem -- of the candidates who were vying for the UNLV women's basketball head coaching vacancy, the Rebels had to switch to Plan B over the weekend.

But "B" probably is too forward a letter in the alphabet when it comes to categorizing Regina Miller, who today will be named the Lady Rebels' new coach.

No disrespect toward Ms. Miller, but hers isn't exactly the type of name to generate immediate interest in the moribund Lady Rebels program.

Neither, for that matter, was Royce Chadwick's. But at least Chadwick looked good on paper. He had guided Stephen F. Austin to a lusty 102-21 record and four post-season appearances in as many seasons at the Texas school.

Literally and figuratively, he was the man among the apparent finalists for the Lady Rebel job. Alas, Chadwick declined when UNLV tendered its offer.

He must have had his reasons. We can only hope the quality of life in Nacogodoches, Texas, as compared to that in Las Vegas wasn't among them.

So now it's Miller time.

Miller used to play at Old Dominion, which is a plus. Everybody's familiar with the Lady Monarchs, who perennially rank among the queens of women's college hoops. But Miller hasn't scored a basket since 1984.

In the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department, she guided the Western Illinois Westerwinds (thankfully, the WIU women's teams have dropped the "Leathernecks" monicker used by the men) to an 8-18 record in the marginal Mid-Continent Conference. It was Western's second straight losing season.

The Westerwinds last blew into the NCAA Tournament three years ago.

Miller's credentials smack of those of recently deposed Lady Rebels coach Ladonna McClain, who essentially parlayed one decent season (after a handful of lousy ones) at Austin Peay into her UNLV assignment.

McClain lasted a grand total of two seasons during which the Lady Rebels sank to new depths. Put another way, when James Cameron was researching Titanic, he might have stumbled upon the Lady Rebels' program on the poop deck.

Perhaps that's why when this job came open, virtually nobody, save for the above pair and a few assistants at middle-of-the-road NCAA programs, even bothered looking into it.

But if it's an assistant the search committee was after, why didn't it pursue one of Pat Summitt's at Tennessee, Leon Barmore's at Louisiana Tech or Geno Auriemma's at UConn? You could build a WAC dynasty with the recruits their programs reject.

Likewise, the familiarity quotient provided by former Lady Rebels great Misty Thomas, who applied for the job a second time, should have been considered. Thomas' jersey hangs from the Thomas & Mack rafters. But her interview was of the bargain basement variety, according to an insider.

Still, at a time when Summitt's craggy mug is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and interest in women's basketball seems to be on the upswing, UNLV's priority should have been to hire a proven winner, or a dynamic personality who could butts in the seats -- or both.