USC assistant interviews with Kruger

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 | 9:48 a.m.

USC assistant Marvin Menzies, who over the years has developed a reputation for his strong recruiting ties in talent-rich southern California, spent Tuesday in Las Vegas interviewing for an assistant coaching position with new Rebels head coach Lon Kruger.

Menzies went to USC last year from San Diego State where he had a hand in recruiting such players as all-Mountain West forward Randy Holcomb, 2003 MWC freshman of the year Evan Burns and current Aztecs star Marcus Slaughter.

"There's nothing to report," Kruger said Tuesday night. "Marvin's a guy a lot of people had good comments about. We just want to try and continue to evaluate the best possible candidates for the jobs."

Kruger said he would probably not hire an assistant coach until next week. He said it could be up to a month before he completes his staff.

"Hiring a staff will probably be stretched out for a while," Kruger said. "Part of the reason for that is I'd like to spend some time getting to know the current staff here. It may be a month before the staff is completed."