Rice welcomes three recruits

A couple of notable recruiting targets escaped UNLV coach Dave Rice’s grasp, but he received letters of intent from three high school seniors on Wednesday as the early signing period opened.

Rice, who was hired in April, said each player in his first recruiting class will shape the basketball program’s future in different ways.

Demetris Morant, a 6-foot-8-inch forward from Bishop Gorman High, is the Rebels’ lone local signee and was the last to orally commit in late August.

“We need big guys who can run and jump and catch, and Demetris can do all those things. Our transition game is a lot better with guys like Demetis who can run the floor,” Rice said. “We think he’s got a bright future here.”

Morant, who moved from Tucson, Ariz., to Las Vegas before his junior year, said he chose UNLV over San Diego State.

Rice is holding two more scholarships and said he likely won’t sign another player until the spring. What is certain is the Rebels finished as runners-up in Rice’s pursuit of Bishop Gorman stars Rosco Allen (Stanford) and Ben Carter (Oregon).

Morant is joined by guards Katin Reinhardt of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High and Daquan Cook from St. Frances High in Baltimore.

“We’re excited about Katin. He’s a fearless competitor and a really confident player. We think he’s got a chance to be a special player at UNLV,” Rice said.

“Daquan is the perfect point guard for our running system. He’s a fierce competitor and he’s a pass-first guard who’s really quick. He’s also a capable scorer. I think when you recruit, you recruit to your system, and that’s what we did in the case of Daquan.”

Cook turned down late offers from Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Washington. Reinhardt, also recruited by Texas, is considered one of the top shooting guards on the West Coast.

The first player to commit to Rice over the summer was 6-5 shooting guard Bryce Jones, a transfer from Southern California. Jones is practicing with the Rebels and redshirting this season.

“We’ve talked about protecting our home recruiting base, which is Las Vegas, but I extend our home recruiting base to southern California,” Rice said. “With Bryce and Katin, we feel like we got the two best available wing players out of L.A. the last two recruiting classes.”