Columnist Jeff German: Was deal for Kruger slam dunk?

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 | 10:51 a.m.

Lon Kruger may be a "perfect fit" for UNLV's basketball program, as President Carol Harter said this week.

But you could make a case that the process that selected the new coach has been less than perfect.

The latest concerns stem from the secrecy surrounding Kruger's estimated $750,000 compensation package, which could include as much as $200,000 from private donors, some of whom participated in the coach's courting.

The regents are being asked to approve the contract on Thursday but, as of late Tuesday, Athletic Director Mike Hamrick had not given them any details, which brings back memories of the mess UNLV officials created when they kept secret a supplemental contract for Rollie Massimino 12 years ago.

"I have a problem approving anything that I haven't read or digested before voting," Regent Steve Sisolak said. "This has to be an open and aboveboard process."

He's not alone in his opinion.

For weeks, fans have bombarded reporters, regents and UNLV officials with calls and e-mails complaining that Hamrick wasn't giving other candidates a fair shot at the job.

At the last home game, university officials, in a blatant violation of the First Amendment, confiscated signs from fans backing former Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl.

The kicker came last Friday when UNLV officials got an item to approve Kruger's hiring placed on the agenda of this week's regents meeting, two days before Hamrick said he formally offered Kruger the job.

Hamrick has been telling reporters he didn't reach an agreement with Kruger until Sunday, after UNLV's loss to Utah in the Mountain West championship game ended the team's chance of making it into the NCAA tournament.

The agenda item supposedly was requested Friday to comply with the state's open-meeting law so that, assuming Kruger accepted the job, the contract could be approved quickly by the regents and the coach wouldn't lose valuable recruiting time.

Though I have no reason to doubt Hamrick's word, it all sounds very presumptuous. I am further troubled by his story because key boosters in the know have told me they are reasonably sure the deal with Kruger was reached long before Sunday.

Whenever the deal was struck, Hamrick must have had some anxious moments during the Utah game, which came down to a last-second shot. There's no way he could have announced Kruger's hiring this week if UNLV had won and interim coach Jay Spoonhour was leading the team into March Madness. Even worse, Hamrick would have faced pressure to name Spoonhour the new coach, and the deal with Kruger could have collapsed.

Is it possible that UNLV's own athletic director was silently rooting for Utah last Saturday?

As for Kruger's still-secret compensation package, let's hope Hamrick doesn't keep it a secret much longer.

The regents have a right to know exactly how much Kruger is making and how his salary is being supplemented. That means naming the donors offering to help and how much they're contributing.

Hamrick wasn't around in 1992 when UNLV officials gave Massimino an extra $375,000 a year under the table. When the private contract came to light 18 months later, heads rolled -- including Massimino's.

I can't imagine the regents will let history repeat itself on Thursday.

If I were Hamrick, I'd be prepared to account for every dime Kruger is getting.