UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois has a history of looking for up-and-coming coaches. She might be following that plan as she looks to hire a men’s basketball coach.
Mark Anderson
Reporter
Email: manderson@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 387-2914
Mark Anderson has been at the Review-Journal since January 1999. He covered UNLV football for 17 seasons before moving to the men’s basketball beat in January 2016, and was president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2016. Before coming to the R-J, he covered UNR football for five seasons at the Reno Gazette-Journal and was the high school sports reporter for the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat from 1988-94. He is a native of Tallahassee and a graduate of the University of Florida.
UNR received a seventh seed and will play No. 10 Florida on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 8 Utah State meets No. 9 Washington on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
UNLV basketball players mostly declined to comment or did not return messages about the firing of coach Marvin Menzies. The one player who spoke, Bryce Hamilton, said the team was not happy with the decision.
Three of former San Diego State coach Steve Fisher’s assistants coached teams in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. Two of them advanced to the semifinals.
Marvin Menzies, who inherited a chaotic situation three years ago at UNLV but never appeared to energize the program and fan base, was fired as the Rebels’ men’s basketball coach on Friday.
When UNLV coach Marvin Menzies sat down at the podium after Thursday’s 63-55 loss in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals at the Thomas Mack Center, he had to stifle his emotions. Emotions over a game the Rebels had every chance to win.
Breaking down UNLV’s basketball game against San Diego State at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Boise State defeated Wyoming 68-51 on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center to win its third consecutive Mountain West women’s basketball tournament and fourth in five years. The victory gave the Broncos the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
New Mexico went on a 15-point run, 13 in a row by Vance Jackson, to beat Wyoming 78-68 on Wednesday in the Mountain West Tournament. The Lobos play Utah State at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Junior college running back Darran Williams and prep school cornerback Jamel Hamm signed with UNLV.
Boise State beat Fresno State 89-77 on Tuesday night to make the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament championship game. The Broncos have won the title three of the past four years.
Defense almost helped UNLV beat San Diego State in their most recent meeting. Now the teams meet again Thursday in the Mountain West tournament quarterfinals.
UNLV lost 66-55 to Fresno State on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. That ended the Lady Rebels’ season at 12-18.
UNLV returns its football coaching staff for the first since 2014 under Bobby Hauck, though there was a change made with the strength and conditioning coach. The last time the entire staff that included the strength coach returned was in 2001 under John Robinson.
