Lavin keeping his focus on job in ESPN studio

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 | 9:57 a.m.

It was only one statement -- actually, two -- on one T-shirt, but UNLV graduate Mike Villa wanted to be heard, and seen, Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

On the front of his shirt, in block letters, he wrote "Steve Lavin, '04-05." On the back, he wrote, "Get Well Soon, Spoon!"

"A lot of my friends and I want to see Lavin direct the team," Villa said. "He's fresh-faced and hard-nosed. He took UCLA to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16, and that's where we want to get back to, to set us up for another national championship."

In the immediate wake of Charlie Spoonhour's resignation Tuesday afternoon, Lavin appeared on assorted insiders' lists as a top candidate to become the Rebels' coach.

Lon Kruger, who guided Kansas State to an Elite Eight appearance and Florida to a Final Four, and Lavin were in the first wave of speculation about the possible direction of Rebels athletic director Mike Hamrick's search.

Lavin, 39, was ousted as UCLA's coach after last season, when the Bruins finished 10-19. He had directed the Bruins to five Sweet 16 appearances in the previous six years, matched only by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during the same time. Lavin had a 145-78 record in Westwood.

Moreover, Lavin and Hamrick share a mutual friend, who is also close with Spoonhour. When Hamrick interviewed for the UNLV position last summer, he supposedly asked the mutual friend to put in a good word for him with Spoonhour, who was on that AD search committee.

Hamrick said Tuesday that he will seek someone who has experience as a head coach, which would exclude former Rebels player and current Louisville assistant coach Reggie Theus.

Another fan held a homemade Theus-touting banner during UNLV's victory against San Diego State on Tuesday night.

Villa, a Las Vegas native who works in the automobile and telecommunication industries, and his friends would be quite happy with Lavin, which Villa wanted to convey at Tuesday's game.

"We think he'd be a great fit, a great fit for the Rebels and a great fit for Las Vegas," Villa said. "Hopefully, they do the right thing and get someone proven, like Steve Lavin. The program's at another crossroads."

Reached Tuesday night at ESPN's studios in Bristol, Conn., Lavin spoke about the UNLV position in general terms.

"A basketball coach would be intrigued, or have his interest piqued, in the position at UNLV for obvious reasons," Lavin said, "because of its tradition, recruiting base, potential resources and location."

Above all, like he said on the air Tuesday, Lavin's main concern, and prayers, were with Spoonhour and his family. Spoonhour, 64, abruptly left the job Tuesday afternoon. In a statement, he cited health concerns.

Spoonhour's son Jay, a UNLV assistant, was named interim coach.

Lavin also said he has been enjoying his tenure as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and is indebted to his superiors at that cable network. He works in the studio three nights a week, and he is a color commentator at venues for Saturday games.

"My focus has been solely on my work with ESPN as a college basketball analyst," Lavin said. "At this point, no one has contacted me."

Longtime Spoonhour assistant Derek Thomas took the top job at Western Illinois after last season and clarified that he's focused on building the Leathernecks program, but he'd listen if Hamrick calls. Western Illinois is 3-21.

"I'm very fond of the people (at UNLV)," Thomas said. "If they want to talk to me, we would talk. But it isn't something I would pursue. I'm close to the players there and looking out for their well-being, but I have something here to fix and I'm very committed to that."