Kruger cuts loose remainder of Rebels’ coaching staff

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

New UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger has fired assistants Vince Booker, Deane Martin and Dave Rice and said Wednesday he hopes to complete his new staff by early next week.

Booker, who started all of the Rebels' games in 2001-02, had completed his first season as an assistant. Martin, 40, was a UNLV assistant for three seasons, serving as the main recruiting coordinator this past season.

Rice, 35, a player on UNLV's '89-90 national championship and '90-91 Final Four teams, had been a Rebels' assistant coach for 11 seasons. Only Tim Grgurich (12 seasons) has had a longer tenure as a UNLV assistant.

"It was the toughest thing to do," Kruger said. "All were qualified and capable, and they had done a great job. But I'm just talking with some other people who I've known for a while and worked with for a while.

"We want to recruit some different areas, and that's the way we needed to go. It's no reflection on (the previous staff's) abilities."

When Charlie Spoonhour resigned for health reasons in mid-February, UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick gave Spoonhour's son, Jay, the top job in an interim capacity.

At the end of the Rebels' season, Hamrick gave Jay Spoonhour his 60-day notice. Tuesday's pink slips for the rest of the staff were expected by each of them.

Kruger already has hired Marvin Menzies, who had a brief stint on Henry Bibby's University of Southern California staff and is known as an aggressive recruiter.

Lew Hill, Mike Shepherd and Jim Molinari are on Kruger's short list, he confirmed, and Hill and Shepherd are scheduled to visit Las Vegas this weekend for final interviews, and campus and city tours.

Hill was an assistant at Texas A&M in 2003-04, when the Aggies went 7-21 and were winless in 16 Big 12 Conference games. Aggies coach Melvin Watkins was fired at the end of the disastrous season.

However, Kruger said an 0-16 league record was not a reflection on Hill.

"No, not at all," Kruger said.

Shepherd, a former Kansas State player, has served as an administrative assistant on Kruger's staffs at Kansas State, Florida and Illinois.

Molinari, a former Bradley coach, has been an NBA scout for two years and is currently in discussions with Loyola of Chicago about that program's coaching vacancy. Kruger said he didn't know how long Molinari would be talking with Loyola administrators.

"I'm looking forward to solidifying the staff and getting everything in place," Kruger said, "starting individual workouts and completing this transition."