Rebels face stiff competition for prep star Kopono

Steve Carp

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 11 a.m.

The regular season still is a month away. But the other important season, the recruiting campaign, is in full swing.

UNLV coach Bill Bayno's wish list has yet to be filled. But he's getting close.

It starts with Jason Kopono, the 6-7 swingman from Artesia High School in Lakewood, Calif. Kopono has narrowed his list of schools to UNLV, Missouri, North Carolina State and Utah.

Word in Southern California is that Kopono is leaning toward the Rebels. That would be a huge coup for Bayno, who is going head-to-head with the likes of Rick Majerus (Utah), Herb Sendek (N.C. State) and Norm Stewart (Missouri) for Kopono.

But the biggest shock is who's not on Kopono's short list. Stanford was the morning-line favorite. Then the Cardinal received a verbal commitment from Casey Jacobsen, who plays the same spot (small forward) as Kopono. So Kopono crossed Stanford off his list.

Then UCLA got involved. But sources close to Kopono said he wasn't enamored with Bruins coach Steve Lavin or the UCLA players.

Southern Cal, which also had been involved with Kopono from day one, still thinks it has a shot. But Kopono apparently was never serious about USC and they are not in the picture.

Meanwhile, another SoCal kid, Verbum Dei's Dalron Johnson, wasn't ready to pull the trigger Monday and commit to UNLV. The 6-9 Johnson visited UNLV last month and has the Rebels high on his list.

But Johnson told Bayno Monday he intends to take his official visit to California before making a final decision. The Golden Bears are making a strong push at Johnson and even though UNLV is right there, that can't be perceived as a positive for Bayno.

What was positive was Steve Hunter's official visit to UNLV this past weekend. Hunter, a 6-10 forward from Maywood, Ill., is considering UNLV, DePaul and Illinois.

Bayno is prohibited from commenting on prospective student-athletes. But he said he's still pleased overall and he's hopeful come Nov. 11, the first day of the early signing period, he'll have good news come over the fax machine at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"I think we're in good shape," he said. "But you never know what's going to happen."

Hoop du jour

* GONDO NAMED SCOUT: UNLV broadcast analyst Glen Gondrezick has been hired by the Denver Nuggets as a regional scout. Gondrezick will continue to work UNLV games on radio and television while scouting for the Nuggets. "I always wanted to get back into basketball in some capacity," Gondo said. "It's my foot in the door to bigger things and it allows me to stay in Las Vegas as well as continue as a broadcaster, which I enjoy." Nuggets director of scouting Kim Hughes said: "Gondo has terrific talent evaluation skills and knows what it takes to play in the NBA. He will be instrumental in assisting with our preparation for the draft."

* GERG TO BLAZERS: It hasn't been officially announced, but former UNLV coach and assistant Tim Grgurich is back at work. Grgurich, who had been with the NBA Seattle SuperSonics from 1992-94 and again from 1995 until July, has moved down Interstate 5 to Portland, where he will serve on head coach Mike Dunleavy's staff with the Trail Blazers. He will be reunited with several former Rebels, including Stacey Augmon, J.R. Rider and Mark Warkentien, who serves as the team's director of scouting. Former UNLV assistants Ron Adams and Tates Locke also are Blazers scouts.

* BAYNO HOLDS COURT: The 3rd annual UNLV basketball clinic for women, better known as "Bayno Holds Court," is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Monday in the Si Redd Room. The clinic, which will give insights into the game and Rebel basketball, is free. And while the program is geared toward women, men also are invited. For more information, call 895-3295.

* TIMES SET: All starting times have now been set for the 1998-99 basketball schedule. The Dec. 12 game at UCLA will tip-off at 2 p.m. and the Jan. 2 game at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo will start at 7.