Rebels have their eyes on three among the hot prospects in town

Steve Guiremand

Monday, July 26, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

New UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger and assistants Marvin Menzies and Lew Hill could be spotted the past few days at various high school gyms around the city scouting some of the nation's top prep talent playing in the Reebok Big Time, Nike Main Event and adidas Super 64 tournaments.

With more than 700 teams in town, there are a lot of players to evaluate. But Kruger, armed with six scholarships to award, knows his first recruiting class will be key in building the foundation for an NCAA tournament-caliber team.

And early indications from some of the top players in town this week are the Rebels could be on the verge of a top-20 recruiting class.

Sylvester Seay, an athletic 6-foot-10 forward of Winchedon (Mass.) Prep School who is originally from San Bernardino, Calif.; slick point guard Jovan Adams of Gulf Shore High School in Houston; and Marcus Johnson, a talented 6-foot-6 swingman from Westchester (Calif.) High School, all said they are strongly considering the Rebels.

Seay, who connected on three 3-pointers and stopped the game when he broke part of a rim with a monster jam en route to a game-high 26 points for Inland I in an 86-59 win against Shepherd Sports at Basic High School, said he plans to take recruiting trips to UNLV as well as Arizona State and Colorado.

"They're definitely in my top four or five," Seay said of the Rebels. "I want to stay close to home because I've been in private school way back East the last couple of years. I took an unofficial trip there last month and I think it's definitely what I'm looking for in a college. Their big men are going to be gone in a year so I can step in and play right away."

So just how good is Seay? Well, respected national talent scout Bob Gibbons of Lenoir, N.C., says he is "the equivalent of a top-40 national player.

"He has to be rated one of the top six post-graduate players in the nation," Gibbons said of the 19-year-old prep schooler. "If you compared him with just high school players he'd definitely be in the top 40 in the nation. And overall I'd say he's one of the top six power forwards in the nation."

Gibbons was also high on Johnson and Adams, who is also being recruiting by Arkansas, Texas A&M, Houston, Kansas State and others.

"I think UNLV leads for Adams," Gibbons said. "I think he's the kind of point guard that Lon Kruger can really build his program around. He has good quickness, can score inside or out, and is an excellent shooter. I think he's one of top 'real' point guards in this class. He has the ability to score but looks to pass first and is a good floor leader."

UNLV also is making a late and strong run at Johnson, who Gibbons calls a "top-25 caliber" player.

Syracuse, UConn and Louisville are among the schools also recruiting Johnson. Johnson had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in leading the Southern California All-Stars to a 67-47 victory against the Michigan Hurricanes 16s on Sunday morning at Coronado High School.

"UNLV just started to recruit me lately," Johnson said. "They're definitely in the picture. I've known Marvin Menzies for a while. Everywhere he's been before he's always recruited me and now it's at UNLV."

Do the Rebels really have a chance against Big East powers UConn and Syracuse, who just recently won national titles, or a Louisville team that already has commitments from two of the top prospects in Southern California -- point guard Andre McGee and forward Amir Johnson?

"I'm going to look for what I think is the best situation for me," Johnson said. "It's not who won a national championship lately or anything like that. It's going to be the place where I feel the most comfortable."