Spoonhour stays busy at Final Four

Steve Addy

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

MINNEAPOLIS -- New UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour hasn't arrived in Las Vegas for good, but he has begun rebuilding the Rebels from afar.

From the Final Four in Minneapolis and his home in St. Louis, Spoonhour spent his first weekend on the job assembling a coaching staff and contacting the Rebels' three-man recruiting class.

The pitch was the same -- c'mon out to the desert and have some fun -- and he'll continue to make that case this week when he moves into the head coach's office at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Spoonhour's hiring was completed in such a whirlwind Wednesday and Thursday, he needed a couple of days to fulfill Final Four commitments and to prepare to move to Las Vegas. He expects to be in town Wednesday.

"We'll probably get part of the staff put together this week," Spoonhour said Sunday. "I'm going to go back and meet with the current (staff and players), and I'm still in the process of finding out what the recruits are thinking.

"It shouldn't take much longer than a week to pull it together."

Among the candidates for the coaching staff are Spoonhour's son, Jay, who coached Wabash Valley (Ill.) College to the national JC title two weeks ago; recruiting specialist Derek Thomas, a scout with the Atlanta Hawks; and Bob Sundvold, former head coach at Missouri-Kansas City.

Spoonhour said he also plans to interview members of UNLV's current staff Wednesday and Thursday.

Jay Spoonhour and Thomas served on Spoonhour's staff at Saint Louis, the job he retired from in 1999 after seven seasons and a 122-90 record. He ended that retirement last week, accepting a three-year contract from UNLV worth $400,000 per season.

The recruiting appointment will be the most pressing, because the spring contact period for recruits begins Friday, in preparation for the April 12 signing date.

"I would like to have that (coaching) spot all set going into the weekend," Spoonhour said.

Spoonhour said he isn't sure how many more scholarships he will award. New NCAA rules limit schools to eight new scholarships every two years, with no more than five in one year. UNLV signed three players in November under coach Bill Bayno, but their level of commitment to Spoonhour is uncertain.

Spoonhour spoke with UNLV signees Marcus Banks and Ernest Turner by phone over the weekend, and plans to continue a dialog. It's unknown if he has contacted prep school center Simplice Njoya from Cameroon, who is aligned with current Rebels assistant Charles Cunningham.

Banks' father, Arthur, said that Spoonhour made a good first impression on his son, a 6-2 guard from Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas and Dixie College in St. George, Utah.

"Marcus told me it was a very pleasant conversation, pretty positive," Arthur Banks said. "I think it was a great start. Coach Spoonhour seems like a very nice guy. I've heard great things about him."

Turner's legal guardian, Rick Barrett, was upset that Spoonhour hadn't phoned until Sunday, and said he wasn't sure Turner will wind up at UNLV. Turner, a 6-2 guard from Somerdale, N.J., had been adamant about wanting Max Good to continue as the Rebels' coach.

"We heard from Spoonhour (Sunday)," Barrett said. "He had been calling the wrong number for three days, but he got hold of us. He told me if Ernest wants out of (his letter of intent), he will let him go. It didn't sound to me like he really wants (Turner). I'll have to see what kind of vibe Ernest got."

Turner hasn't qualified academically. He will take an oral version of the SAT this week.

When Spoonhour arrives in Las Vegas, he also intends to review the current players and other aspects of the program, such as academics and strength and conditioning.

"All it is, is getting organized and working," he said. "There are some basic things you need to find out and decide."