Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Kruger already hard at work

The lights of the Strip had already been sparkling outside his hotel room window for several hours on Monday night but Lon Kruger was hardly ready to slow down and call it a night in his first official day as UNLV head men's basketball coach.

Despite a whirlwind schedule that started with a breakfast with UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick, included his late morning introduction as UNLV's 10th full-time men's head basketball coach, a lunch with prominent boosters and some informal meetings with players who stopped by his new office, Kruger was still busy working the phones late into the night.

"Just getting a chance to return some calls to the media and also some people calling about (assistant) coaching positions," said Kruger, 51. "One of the first things I'd like to get done is to get one of two assistants aboard as quickly as possible so we can get on with recruiting."

Kruger plans to take an NCAA-mandated test on recruiting rules and regulations today, a test he must pass before he can begin contacting prospective recruits. Then on Thursday he will likely attend a Board of Regents meeting in Las Vegas where his five-year contract, which will reportedly pay him in the range of $750,000 a year, is expected to be approved.

A crowd of about 100 boosters and administrators attended Kruger's introduction in the Board Room at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday morning. And one of them was the Rebels coaching legend against whom Kruger will ultimately be measured -- Jerry Tarkanian.

"I think Lon is a great coach," Tarkanian said. "He's done a great job every place he's been. You know he took Florida to the Final Four. And he's done a great job every place he's been at."

Tarkanian said he's followed Kruger's career since meeting him before UNLV's 82-65 loss at Kansas State back in 1982.

"He and (former UNLV athletic director Brad Rothermel) are real close," Tarkanian said. "He was an assistant for Jack Hartman. We got to hang out with him when we were back in Manhattan that year. And I was very, very impressed with him at the time. I've followed his career because of his relationship with Brad. I think he's a great coach and a great guy. I definitely think that he can succeed here."

Kruger's college coaching resume would seem to back up Tarkanian's assessment.

UNLV will be his fifth college coaching stop. A former two-time Big Eight Conference player of the year (1973 and 1974) and Dean's Honor Roll student at Kansas State, Kruger began his coaching career at Pan American University in 1982. After going just 7-21 his first season, his team improved steadily each year before going 20-8 in 1985-86.

Kruger than returned to his alma mater in 1986 as head coach where he was 81-46 (.638 winning percentage) in four years and took the Mitch Richmond-led Wildcats to four consecutive NCAA tournament berths.

He was then lured away by Florida to try to transform a struggling Gators basketball program. After going 11-17 in his first year in Gainesville, Kruger led the Gators to back-to-back NIT appearances. The following season, 1993-94, he guided the Gators to the NCAA Final Four and a school-record 29-8 mark. He twice was named Southeastern Conference coach of the year in his six seasons with the Gators.

Kruger then moved to the Big Ten and took over at Illinois in 1996-97. He led the Fighting Illini to three NCAA tournament appearances in four years and led the school to a share of its first conference title since 1984 in in 1997-98.

Following a 22-10 mark in 1999-2000, Kruger was lured by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks where he was fired after three seasons. He spent part of this past season as an assistant coach for Don Chaney and the New York Knicks.

When former Rebels head coach Charlie Spoonhour stepped down Feb. 17 because of health reasons, Hamrick said he began putting together a list of potential replacements. Kruger's name immediately shot to the top of the list.

"When I first talked to Lon Kruger, (I asked) 'What do you want for UNLV?' " Hamrick said. "(He said) 'I want to win a national championship, Mike. Coach Tarkanian did it. It's been done. We know it can be done.' And from that moment on I knew we were headed in the right direction.

"If you really look at the resume and the qualifications of (Kruger), you'll find every criteria we set out looking for," Hamrick said. "We wanted a successful college coach, a coach that had won and been successful at more than one place. We found that. We wanted a coach that knew what it took to get into postseason play. We found that. ... We wanted a coach that knew how to get to the Final Four because that's our goal, our aspiration to get this program back to the Final Four. We found a coach who has been to the Final Four. ... But most importantly, we wanted an individual that had class, that had integrity, that did everything the right way."

Hamrick said he conducted a national search but refused to disclose how many other camdidates were actually interviewed.

"I talked to many people," he said. "But it just kept going back to one place. If you can get (Kruger) now, get him. And we did."

Among the highlights of Kruger's statements:

"We feel with this group, pushing the basketball and keeping pressure on the defense, is exactly the way we want to play," Kruger said.

"Southern California has to be the recruiting base," Kruger said. "That's the way it's been."

"Blassingame is as nifty and tough in putting pressure on the defense as anyone I've seen in a while," Kruger said. "Beck's a big-time shooter. Blankson is a warrior."

"Putting the right staff together might be as important as anything we can do," Kruger said.

Interim head coach Jay Spoonhour will continue to coach the Rebels in the National Invitation Tournament starting on Wednesday night at Boise State.

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