UTEP coach Floyd in rebuilding mode again; Rebels a heavy favorite

When an NBA season was last abbreviated by a lockout, Tim Floyd was following in Phil Jackson's footsteps as coach of the Chicago Bulls. His future in that position turned out to be not so bright.

Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman proved impossible to replace, and Floyd's run with the Bulls never got beyond a crawl.

Chicago went 13-37 in the lockout-shortened season of 1998-99, and Floyd resigned in December 2001 with a record of 49--190 in four seasons.

"I tried to forget all those numbers," he said with a laugh.

It's not exactly deja vu for Floyd, but he's facing a similar challenge this season as Texas-El Paso coach. The Miners lost seven seniors from a 25-win team, and Floyd filled the spots with seven freshmen.

"We are completely rebuilding," Floyd said.

So it's no surprise UTEP (2-4) is a double-digit underdog to UNLV (9-2) at 7 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels are loaded with veterans, and their only rookie is first-year coach Dave Rice.

Floyd was quick to draw a connection between Rice and former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian.

"I think they are headed for great things here. They are well coached, and they play a style the people in this city want to watch," Floyd said. "We're playing an NCAA Tournament team, one of the better UNLV teams since Tark left."

While the Rebels are licking some wounds after recent lopsided losses at 14th-ranked Wisconsin and Wichita State, Floyd sees little reason for concern in Las Vegas.

"I don't think there are five teams in the country that could go in there and sweep those two teams on the road," he said. "I've got a lot of respect for UNLV. This is a legitimate top-15 team in the country."

Rice is not quite as impressed. After watching the Rebels go through the motions in a 62-51 loss to the Badgers on Saturday, he ran spirited practices Monday and Tuesday.

"It was unacceptable … to wait until the second half to start playing. We were very disappointed with our energy and our execution," Rice said. "As disappointed as we are, we can't get that one back. What we can do is we can practice better."

Junior guard Anthony Marshall produced two points and one rebound in 27 minutes at Wisconsin. He said the Rebels "came out sluggish and real tentative," and they plan to change that against the Miners.

"We just didn't come out ready to play. It's very disappointing. I really don't know the issue with that," Marshall said. "But you can find a positive in every negative. For us to be the ballclub we want to be, we can't allow things like that to happen."

Floyd said UTEP has improved in its past two games, mostly because 6-foot-7-inch forward Gabriel McCulley returned from a stress fracture in his left leg. McCulley, the team's only senior, had 18 points and 13 rebounds Sunday as the Miners defeated New Mexico State, 73-69.

"Scoring is a struggle for us. We've added a player, and that always helps," Floyd said. "Rather than rebuilding with transfers, we're trying to build with young guys. We knew it was going to be a difficult year."

Floyd's tenure with the Bulls was tough enough. But after a controversial story led to his resignation at Southern California in 2009, it initially seemed he would have a difficult time landing another college coaching job.

It was alleged Floyd gave $1,000 in cash to Rodney Guillory, who steered star player O.J. Mayo to the Trojans. Floyd denied the allegations and said he resigned because of a deteriorating relationship with then-USC athletic director Mike Garrett. An NCAA investigation cleared Floyd and his assistants.

Floyd, who spent the following year as a New Orleans Hornets assistant before taking the UTEP post last year, said he never doubted he would return to college and disputes any notion his reputation was stained.

"It's not stained in the eyes of the people who know," he said. "I was very confident because I knew that we had not committed any violations. We knew it would happen when the truth came out. We wouldn't be working today if we had done something wrong.

"When I felt I was going to be made a scapegoat, I was not going to stand for that. When I didn't have the support of my athletic director, I decided to take off and do something else. You move on."

Floyd is also pleased to see Stacey Augmon, a player he coached with the Hornets eight years ago, return to college as a UNLV assistant.

"I'm so glad he's back in this game, and I think he's going to enjoy it," Floyd said. "Stacey's one of my favorite guys I've ever coached. He's an absolute winner as a player and a person."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.