Local Coaches vs. Cancer event stirs Kruger’s passion

Of all the charitable causes that stir Lon Kruger's passion, the fight against cancer might move him the most.

UNLV's basketball coach calls his involvement in the Coaches vs. Cancer program "very personal" because of his family's connection to the disease.

Kruger's father, Don, died of complications from skin cancer in 1998.

Kruger has assisted Coaches vs. Cancer for many years, and this year he is the driving force behind the organization's inaugural Las Vegas Golf Classic on May 13 and 14.

Several college basketball coaches will attend the event, presented by the American Cancer Society and Nevada Cancer Institute.

Registration is open to the public.

"It's for a great cause," Kruger said. "Everybody has been touched by cancer."

Coaches vs. Cancer, the signature charity of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has raised more than $25 million since its inception in 1993.

Former Missouri coach Norm Stewart, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1989, helped to found Coaches vs. Cancer. Stewart is to participate in the Las Vegas event.

Kruger said Southern California's Tim Floyd and Utah's Jim Boylen are among the coaches committed to attending.

The first day of the golf outing is at TPC Summerlin, and a party at the Palms Casino Resort will follow. The event's second day will be held at the Southern Highlands Golf Club.

The cost of a golf foursome is $10,000, or $2,500 for individual players. The cost to attend only the Palms party is $250 per person.

For more information or to register for events, contact Melissa Stemmle, events manager for the American Cancer Society, at 798-6877, option 3, extension 21.

• AUSTRALIAN EXHIBITIONS -- A six-game schedule is mostly set for the Rebels' summer tour of Australia.

UNLV will begin exhibition play with three games in three days in Sydney. The Rebels open against the Sutherland Sharks on June 26, followed by two tentatively scheduled games against the Australian Junior National Team on June 27 and 28.

In Brisbane, UNLV plays the Southwest Metro Pilots on June 30 and the Brisbane All-Stars on July 1.

The Rebels' trip concludes in Cairns, where they play the Cairns Marlins on July 2.

"It should be good competition for us against good college-level teams," Kruger said.

The NCAA allows teams to take one foreign tour every four years. The Rebels went on a three-day trip to Canada before the 2004-05 season, Kruger's first at UNLV.

The Rebels are allowed 10 practices before leaving for Australia on June 23. Kruger said the first practice will be June 10.

• SCHEDULE ALMOST SET -- Kruger said UNLV's schedule for the 2008-09 season should be finalized soon, but it will not include games against Gonzaga or Kentucky, as rumored.

The Rebels open the season at home against San Diego, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and also host Arizona for the second straight year.

An unnamed eight-team tournament to be played after Thanksgiving will replace the four-team Duel in the Desert tournament. The field includes California, Cincinnati and Florida State.

UNLV has road games against Louisville, Fresno State, Texas-El Paso and UNR. The Rebels are seeking an opponent for a game at the Orleans Arena in December.

• RECRUITING UPDATE -- The first day of the spring signing period is Wednesday. UNLV expects to get letters of intent from Oscar Bellfield, a point guard from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, and 6-foot-10-inch Brice Massamba from Findlay College Prep.

Two players signed in November -- Deshawn Mitchell, a 6-6 forward from Monmouth Academy in Howell, N.J., and 6-8 forward Darris Santee from Midland (Texas) College.

One scholarship remains for the Rebels' 2008 recruiting class. Malcolm Thomas, a 6-9 forward from Pepperdine, has expressed interest in transferring to UNLV. Thomas averaged 12.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Waves.