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UNLV head coach Dave Rice hopes roster turmoil a thing of the past

Dave Rice

UNLV head coach Dave Rice instructs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado State on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, in Las Vegas. UNLV defeated Colorado State 78-70. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

AP

In this current era of college basketball roster turnover has become more commonplace, with the number of transfers rising on an annual basis. One program that has made use of the transfer market is UNLV, with head coach Dave Rice and his staff on multiple occasions looking to add players capable of helping immediately.

That approach has resulted in mixed results, because while the program has won at least 20 games in each of Rice’s three seasons at the helm the postseason success hasn’t been there with the Runnin’ Rebels yet to win an NCAA tournament game. 2013-14 was especially disappointing, with a group filled with newcomers struggling with chemistry for much of the year and failing to reach the postseason.

Five players have left the program since the end of the season, and according to Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review-Journal the head coach aims to avoid such roster turnover in the future. The key: recruiting well at the high school level, which is a good place to start given the fact that UNLV welcomes one of the nation’s best recruiting classes.

Expect to see a slowdown in the revolving door of transfers. Rice signed five freshmen — Rashad Vaughn, Dwayne Morgan, Goodluck Okonoboh, Patrick McCaw and Jordan Cornish — to round out a UNLV recruiting class that is ranked No. 4 in the nation, according to Rivals.com.

“I want high school recruiting to be the foundation of our program,” he said. “It’s always going to be a priority to sign high school guys, as many as we can, and supplement our roster with transfers. We’ll be selective in terms of transfers.”


This doesn’t mean UNLV hasn’t added some important transfers heading into the 2014-15 season, with guards Cody Doolin and Jerome Seagears on board provided their waiver requests are approved. Doolin’s the most important addition, as he left San Francisco after four games last season as one of the most productive point guards in program history. And while UNLV was fourth in the Mountain West in assists per game, the offense didn’t always run smoothly with point guard play being a key reason as to why.

The Runnin’ Rebels were seventh in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (all games), which is an area they’ll need to improve in if they’re to not only return to the NCAA tournament but enjoy success once there. After a spring that was anything but smooth given the departures and Rice’s conversations with South Florida, the goal in Las Vegas is to strengthen the foundation moving forward for a program that’s expected by its fan base to succeed.

The hope is that this incoming class and a shift in recruiting tactics will do the trick.

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