USC transfer Bryce Jones to take official visit to UNLV this weekend

By Ryan Greene

Friday, March 25, 2011 | 11:30 a.m.

The recruiting season is officially picking up steam for the UNLV coaching staff.

This weekend, Lon Kruger & Co. will host a pair of transfer prospects on campus, with one scholarship still open for next season.

Getting into town on Friday for the start of an official visit is 6-foot-5 guard Bryce Jones, who left USC in January.

Ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 97 prospect in the 2010 class, the Jones averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18 games for the Trojans this season, including 10 starts. In those starts, he averaged 28.1 minutes and 11.2 points per game. However, after highly-touted Fordham transfer Jio Fontan became eligible for the Trojans following the fall semester, Jones was moved to the bench and saw his playing time dip severely to just 11.1 minutes per game.

He played his prep ball at Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft High — the same program that produced UNLV junior-to-be Justin Hawkins.

UNLV has been intrigued by Jones since his mid-season departure, and now appear to be jockeying for position with San Diego State and Gonzaga in the hunt for his services. A formal scholarship offer from UNLV is expected to be laid out on the table this weekend. Wherever he lands, Jones will sit out next season per NCAA transfer rules, then have three years to play beginning in 2012-13.

Jones's departure from USC was a bit rocky, and the reasons behind it seem to vary depending on who you ask, but his talent is tough to deny, and the Rebels are set to have plenty of minutes opening up following next season with four seniors on their way out.

Another option UNLV is taking a look at is College of Southern Idaho sophomore guard Pierre Jackson, who just last weekend led the Golden Eagles to the NJCAA national title in Hutchinson, Kan.

He's expected on campus either by either Friday or Saturday afternoon for an unofficial visit.

The 5-foot-10 point guard scored 22 points in the title game and was named tournament MVP, setting the national tourney record with 46 free throws made. On the year, he led CSI in both points (18.6 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg).

If the name sounds familiar, it's because before Jackson was a star up north, he was a prep standout Las Vegas, graduating from Desert Pines High.

The list of potential suitors for Jackson is long and diverse, as his big weekend at the NJCAA tourney opened up plenty of new options for him. If he wound up at UNLV, Jackson would likely compete with Marquette transfer Reggie Smith — eligible after the upcoming fall semester — for point guard minutes behind senior-to-be Oscar Bellfield. There would also be a big opportunity open in the 2012-13 season after Bellfield graduates.

One incoming visitor that UNLV doesn't have to worry about trying to sell is high-scoring Lincoln County High guard Dantley Walker, who will make his official campus visit on April 15. He committed to UNLV in mid-February.

Walker will graduate this spring, but is headed on a two-year Mormon mission, essentially making him the second member of UNLV's 2013 recruiting class alongside Findlay Prep star guard Nigel Williams-Goss. He averaged 35 points and 10.5 assists this season, and despite having just a thin 5-foot-11 frame, Walker's game has drawn several comparisons to that of BYU sensation Jimmer Fredette.

For more UNLV recruiting news as it develops over the summer months, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.