Columnist Dean Juipe: Adras lets it be known he’s interested

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, March 28, 2001 | 9:57 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

Ben Howland had just gotten off the phone with Mike Adras when I called Adras in Flagstaff at his Northern Arizona University office.

After renewing acquaintances with the personable coach and Las Vegas native, I asked him about Howland's interest in the UNLV basketball coaching position. Howland, coaching now at Pittsburgh, preceded Adras as head coach at NAU and was expected to be in Las Vegas this week to assess the situation with the Rebels and, perhaps, get his foot in the door.

Adras said Howland was interested in UNLV but that moments earlier Pitt had told him it would not let him out of the remaining three years on his contract.

Howland's travel plans were suddenly on hold and one could surmise that he was out of the UNLV picture if Pitt is going to stick to its demand. While he may be a decent coach and an otherwise viable candidate at UNLV, the groundswell of support on his behalf is unsufficient to buy out the remaining years on his Pittsburgh contract.

Adras had a number of fine things to say about Howland, mentioning that he was "from the (Rick) Majerus mold" and that Howland was getting by in the Big East on his ability to adjust to the conference's style.

Adding that "I talk to Ben more than anybody," Adras felt Howland could succeed here because of his West Coast ties (developed while at NAU and, before that, Cal State Long Beach) and he said it wouldn't be a bad fit if the contractual roadblock hadn't emerged Tuesday.

But then the conversation switched gears and Mike Adras, 39 years old and with one great (20-11 and an NCAA Tournament berth) and one respectable (15-14 in spite of losing two of the school's three greatest scorers of all time) season behind him at NAU was very much interested in the UNLV job himself.

"How could I not be?" he said, the enthusiasm radiating in his voice. "I can't hide it. I love UNLV basketball and have for 30 years.

"How can I say I wouldn't be interested in coaching the team I've always loved?"

Admitting that he's entering the sweepstakes a little late, Adras -- who earlier coached at Bishop Gorman High School for seven years -- nonetheless threw his hat in the ring.

"Shoot, if (Cal State Northridge's) Bobby Braswell is being considered, I should be, too," he said.

And why not, given the lack of passionate candidates for a position that all but requires a passionate approach?

Adras asked a few questions about UNLV's current situation and agreed that it's far from hopeless.

"The pieces are still in place there," he said. "I could deal with the scholarship situation and now the Rebels are eligible again for the (NCAA) tournament. The Thomas & Mack is still the best facility on the West Coast and UNLV still has a national reputation.

"With the right coach, UNLV could jump back into the thick of things."

Given the conversation, it struck me that Adras and not Howland seemed to be the (new) right man for the job. His mother thinks so, too.

"She'd be ecstatic," Adras said, bubbling at the possibility.