Columnist Ron Kantowski: Why one UNLV hoops coach is happy

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005 | 7:23 a.m.

I was one of the fortunate ones, having grown up in a family where all the siblings were treated equally -- same responsibilities, same allowance and, when the situation was called for, the same number of swats on the backside.

If the Smothers Brothers grew up in our house, they would have had to revise their "Mom Always Liked You Best" routine. It wouldn't have played at 1471 Ohio in Whiting, Ind.

But if Tom and Dick coached sports at UNLV, they wouldn't have to change a thing.

At the recent regents' meeting, four Rebel whistle blowers -- men's basketball coach Lon Kruger, baseball coach Buddy Gouldsmith, men's tennis coach Owen Hambrook and softball coach Lonni Alameda -- received contract extensions and/or raises.

Good for them. Most may even deserve it.

Gouldsmith's team won its third consecutive Mountain West championship, Hambrook guided the tennis team to its most victories (16) since 1997 and Alameda's softballers won 44 games and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996.

As for Kruger, his Rebels had an uneven 17-14 season. But they made it to the NIT and beat Arizona State of the Pac-10 in the first round. Given that he inherited a bunch of knuckleheads, maybe 17-14 isn't all that bad.

UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick pointed out the Rebels have had nine men's basketball coaches in 13 years, and by extending Kruger's contract to 2010, at least recruits can reasonably expect him to be around for their entire UNLV careers (plus a redshirt season). Unless, of course, some school such as Indiana or UCLA dials directory assistance and asks if there's a listing for an L. Kruger on Maryland Parkway.

So it has been a good fortnight for those four members of UNLV's coaching family. It's the others that I worry about. Actually, I don't really worry about them, but perhaps Hamrick should, because within an athletic department, there's nothing that creates discord in a big, happy family faster than money and job security.

As is his policy, Hamrick refused to discuss the performance of his coaches and their contracts (other than to remind me that he also had given raises to women's tennis coach Kevin Cory and women's track coach Barbara Ferrell-Edmonson during the past year). The coaches weren't saying much, either, although there seems to be some agitation within their inner circles.

The inner circle of Lady Rebels coach Regina Miller, for one, is so bent out of shape it has become an inner oval.

The Lady Rebels' record was eerily similar (read: mediocre) to the men's and also produced an NIT bid. When you consider that Miller lost her best player (Sherry McCracklin) before the start of practice, you could make a case for her receiving a pay bump -- especially if Kruger got one after a nearly identical season.

But in that nobody wants to talk about it, let me attempt to do it for them.

I already made a case for Miller. Hamrick might counter by saying that after eight years, which is how long Miller has been on the job, the NIT isn't good enough.

Miller could argue that the program Kruger inherited posted records of 18-13, 21-11 and 21-11 in the three years before he took over, while the one she was assigned went 4-23, 4-23 and 4-21.

Hamrick's retort? He could remind Miller that just the year before he had just tacked on three years to her base deal of $109,000 per year that still had a year to run. Then Miller could remind Hamrick that just the year before he had negotiated a five-year deal for Kruger worth $192,500 per season.

True, Hamrick might offer. But Kruger, who has been to the Final Four, won at bigger schools than this one, etc., etc., etc., is the man we believe is going to turn around our men's basketball program. To which Miller could respond that she has already been there, done that with the women.

That might leave Hamrick no choice but to play his trump card. Backed into a corner with a gun pointed at his head, he might actually admit that the only sports that matter at UNLV, or, with rare exception, anywhere else, are the revenue-producing ones, and that his football and men's basketball coaches are his first priority. End of story.

Until, of course, the Title IX lawyers are notified. Then it might be story continued.

The bottom line is that UNLV has one basketball coach that probably is very happy at the moment. And one that probably is not.

Unless you're part of a guitar-playing brother act that does six shows a week in Branson, Mo., that may not be the ideal situation.