For Rebels fans, coaching changes are big frustration

Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 | 11:41 a.m.

UNLV basketball fans came to Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday night with mixed emotions.

Responding to news that Rebels coach Charlie Spoonhour was stepping down immediately because of health reasons, UNLV students showed their support at the Rebels game, wearing homemade T-shirts featuring the phrase, "Get Well Soon Spoon."

Other students looked toward the future, with one wearing a shirt that said, "Steve Lavin, 04-05," a reference to the former UCLA coach, now an ESPN analyst, as his choice for the head coaching job.

In a statement, Spoonhour, 64, cited his health and said his resignation "has nothing to do with basketball or anything surrounding the program."

But to longtime fans the resignation is another setback for a program that was once nationally known as a formidable contender in the NCAA tournament, and Spoonhour's announcement came during what has been a disappointing season.

It also means another coach for UNLV, which hasn't been able to recapture the success it had under longtime coach Jerry Tarkanian, who left in controversy in 1992.

Spoonhour's son, Jay, took over as the interim head coach and becomes the eighth coach to lead the Rebels since Tarkanian left.

"We've had so many (coaches) in here, and every time you get a new coach, it sets us back," said longtime fan Dick Semler, who watched the Rebels' 68-65 win Tuesday night over San Diego State. "We won't get back to that momentum until we get a new coach that sticks around for a while. It's not Spoonhour's fault if he is sick, but it's unfortunate."

Dick Zeiter said he was disappointed because he thought Spoonhour was doing a good job. Zeiter said he was now looking ahead.

"I think one, we need a coach that we can keep for a while and two, a coach with a name behind him," Zeiter said. "You need a name behind you to recruit."

Semler said it would take a while to get the program back on track but hoped that "in time they could get most of it back."

Royce Murrah, a Rebels fan since 1968, said he had high hopes for the elder Spoonhour.

"I thought he was going to be the one to pull things back together for them," Murrah said. "He had such a great record with with Saint Louis (University) and taking teams to NCAA tournaments."

In his two-plus seasons at UNLV, Charlie Spoonhour compiled a 54-31 record. The team was 12-9 under him this year. The team earned bids to the the National Invitational Tournament in both full seasons.

But this season, the team has struggled. Tension on the team this year became public when Odartey Blankson blasted the program after a loss to Utah on Feb. 9. That came in the middle of a three-game losing streak, which ended Sunday with a nationally televised drubbing at University of Missouri.

Murrah said Spoonhour's resignation only further dampened his hopes to pull the Rebels out of their slump.

"I am discouraged, but I've been discouraged all season," he said. "They are going to need a big name coach to get things going again. They keep going through coaches all the time. That part is discouraging too."

Wilson Matos, who graduated from UNLV in 1972, said losing Spoonhour might be good for the program.

"In the past he was a good coach," he said. "But he is not with the times now. Just because you were a good coach for one team doesn't automatically make you a good coach for another, and that's what happened here."

Matos said he is optimistic about the program's future.

"If they could find the right coach, they will be in good shape," he said. "I hope they can get things back to the Tark days. I'd like to see the seats full. A full house will get the players going."

University officials said they would go on a national search for a replacement.

Student Andy Shelton, 22, said while the loss of Spoonhour will affect the program, it shouldn't end all hope.

"Charlie was doing a good job, but he is sick and he has to quit," he said. "There's nothing anyone can do, so the best thing is to just move on and hope for the best. Everything happens for a reason and the same may as well go for coaches.

"I've already heard the search is on for a new coach, and cost is no option. I really do think they'll pull it all together. We can get these seats filled back like the Tarkanian years one day."

Others aren't so confident.

Jen Meyer said Spoonhour's resignation is "a new low" for the Rebels.

Meyer's friend, who gave his name only as Mike, was more skeptical about a return to the glory of the Tark era.

"Those days are gone," he said. "The great days for UNLV are gone like the days the mob ran Las Vegas. Those days will go down in history, but we won't see them happen again."