Columnist Ron Kantowski: This is the AD’s time to make his mark

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 | 9:52 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

The search for Dave Rice's new boss is officially under way.

Rice was the smart guy on the end of Jerry Tarkanian's bench during the halcyon days of UNLV basketball and is the only link between the program's glorious past and its mediocre present. UNLV has had seven head or acting head basketball coaches since Bob Maxson succeeded in running Tark out of town in 1992, and Rice has coached under six of them.

In a profession where an incoming coach's loyalty to his assistants is nearly as important as a slick haircut and an expensive suit, Rice's longevity at UNLV is amazing.

Rollie Massimino is the only one of the UNLV short-timers who couldn't find a spot for Rice, and for that, Rice should be thankful. Yet, I don't think Mike Hamrick is going to seek Rice's input as he embarks on finding Charlie Spoonhour's replacement.

When Spoon put a fork in himself Tuesday afternoon, it also ended Hamrick's six-month grace period as Rebels athletic director. Since returning to Las Vegas from a lengthy penance at East Carolina, about all Hamrick has done for public consumption is hire a volleyball coach and listen to guys like me tell him what's wrong with the athletic program.

Not that a sit-back-and-analyze-it approach is the worst one, because the last thing a new AD wants to do is come in and make a bunch of cosmetic changes that only wind up ruffling feathers in his own department.

But naming a new basketball coach isn't a part of the Revlon game plan. Whether it's fair or not, most athletic directors ultimately are judged by only two criteria: the success of their football and basketball programs, and the men they hire to guide them.

Hamrick had to know that Free Parking was going to end sooner or later. So today, his token is on Chance, staring down the board at about four houses on Illinois Avenue. Which is appropriate, given that's where Lon Kruger made his name.

Trouble is, it might take a hotel or two, maybe even literally, for UNLV to land a semi-big name such as Kruger. For that reason, perhaps Hamrick and UNLV marionette -- er, president -- Dr. Carol Harter aren't the ones holding the dice.

Doesn't matter. When it's all said and done, Hamrick is the man who will be held responsible by the chat room poster boys. It's a tough spot to be in, but hey, this is what he gets paid the semi-big bucks for. And in talking to him, I think he would be the first to agree.

So what will Hamrick do? Since he succeeded Harter -- I mean, Charlie Cavagnaro -- as athletic director, I feel like I've gotten to know him as well as anybody in the media. I've met his charming wife, Soletta, talked football (and girls) with his twin sons, and between the two of us, we've figured out every Hot Stove League move our beloved Cubs should be making.

Yet, when it comes to the important stuff, like his basketball coach short list, I haven't a clue. Sort of like when the Cubs traded Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio.

All I've got to go on is Hamrick's record. At East Carolina, he hired a coordinator from a big-time school (John Thompson, the former defensive coordinator at Florida) to run his football team and an up-and-coming coach from a mid-major conference (Drexel's Bill Herrion) for the basketball team.

The results, at least so far, have to be classified as only mildly successful. With the emphasis on mildly.

But it should be noted that although UNLV and East Carolina are both middle-of-the-road programs in middle-of-the-road conferences, that's where the similarity ends. For instance, the Greenville Visitors and Convention Bureau Wednesday was touting something called the On the Farm Agricultural Tour on the home page of its website.

Not to disparage Greenville, as I'm sure it's a good place to be from. But they don't have a national championship banner hanging from the rafters and Paris Hilton sipping martinis at the Ghost Bar.

You get the idea. In hiring a basketball coach here, Hamrick will have a lot more resources with which to work. The trick is tapping into them to find the right guy. And it must be easier said than done, because we haven't had anything up our sleeve on the basketball court since Tark moved on.

But if I could offer my .02 of advice, it would be this: When the next savior of the basketball program sends his wife to town looking for a place to live, don't drop her at the airport curb and drive away, hoping that her flight is on time.