UNLV contacts Theus; Rice remains front-runner

No longer is Reggie Theus an outsider looking in at UNLV's search for a basketball coach. But that does not necessarily mean the former Rebels star is much closer to landing the job.

Former coach Lon Kruger left for Oklahoma on Friday afternoon, and Theus finally got a call from UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood late Sunday night.

Livengood, who spent the weekend in Houston at the Final Four, said Monday he has discussed the position with numerous people. He met with former UNLV player Dave Rice for an interview and said he phoned Theus, who has an interview in Las Vegas tentatively scheduled for Thursday.

"Everybody wants something juicy, and at this point I'm just trying to do a tremendous amount of due diligence," Livengood said. "In this day and age, you have to make sure there are no smoking guns out there.

"It's a critically important decision and a critically important process. I do think we have a lot of really good people interested in this job, and that's good for UNLV. There are lots of viable candidates, and that list will trim itself down pretty quick."

Livengood said Bob Knight is not on the list. The former Indiana and Texas Tech coach, retired since February 2008 and working as an ESPN analyst, showed interest in the Rebels' vacancy, but Livengood is looking in a different direction.

Rice emerged as the top candidate over the weekend, according to several sources, and there is no indication that has changed.

He joined the Brigham Young coaching staff in May 2005 and was promoted to associate head coach to Dave Rose in April 2008. Rice has coordinated the Cougars' offense and recruiting. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant at UNLV but was not retained when Kruger was hired in 2004.

Rice was a reserve on the Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team. Theus made his mark as one of UNLV's greatest players from 1975 to 1978.

An assistant for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Theus was an NBA head coach for the Sacramento Kings from 2007-08. He also has college head coaching experience at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

Theus is receiving strong support from some boosters and fans, but more than 48 hours passed between Kruger's departure and Livengood's call to Theus.

Livengood said he did contact Mike Dunlap on Monday afternoon. Dunlap, a St. John's assistant coach, was associate head coach at Arizona in 2008-09 while Livengood was Arizona's athletic director.

Livengood, who is returning to Las Vegas on Tuesday, declined to name other candidates. He said he hopes to have the coaching search concluded "by the end of the week."

He could recommend a new coach at a Board of Regents meeting scheduled for Friday.

"Nobody wants it to happen any sooner than I do," he said.

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