Restricted Recruiting

[Wayne23]

3/5: No one declared for the draft but Will fell out of the top 10 for the Norton Award.

3/6: We play #9 seed Weber ST, 16-12, 6-10 in the quarter finals. We’re the #1 seed. We won by 23 at our place.

3/7: 81-78. WAY too close. We scored the last six points on threes by sub guard Dan Over to steal the win in the last half minute. Starting PG Nic Gram fouled out with 72 seconds left. Over saved us.

#5 seed, #24 ranked Fresno ST, 23-8, 9-7, in the semis. Beat them by 27 at our place but lost by 14 there in Feb. We feel that our inside game is way better than theirs, but it wasn’t last time.

3/8: 93-81. The O was great but the D was terrible. Still, we never trailed and it wasn’t close after the first few minutes. A much better effort. 26, 14 for Jaes, 24, 9 for Hart, 18, 9 for Will, 17 with 6 assists for Gram. +19 RBs.

And now the acid test for the title, #2 seed, #19 ranked New Mexico. We won by 17 at our place. Again, we feel like we’re better inside and about as good outside, but we need to bring it.

3/9: 70-63 and the title! We led almost all the way and the final score was about what the margin was for most of the second half. 17, 10 for Jaes, 14, 11 for Hart. +10 TOs, +8 RBs.

Hoping for a #2 seed but that’s probably unlikely. A #3 would be great and that IS realistic.

3/12: #3 West. We play #14 GA ST, 17-14. This is a good bracket for us.

3/17: 84-56. A walk in the park. 21, 11 for Jaes, 18, 8 for Will. +12 RBs.

#11 seed Savannah ST, 25-6, upset #6 Fresno ST. They’re next.

3/19: 78-71. We led most of the way and all of the 2nd ½ but we didn’t put them away until very late. Not our best effort. 22, 12 for Will. +13 RBs, but 16 TOs.

#2 seed, #8 ranked Ohio ST, 28-5, in the Sweet Sixteen. Tough team. We can play them but we’ll need to play well and stop their SG and SF.

3/24: 70-63. Great win! It was close for 35-36 minutes, then we seemed to get a burst of energy- guys got open for shots, we got 2 steals and 2 blocks on D, and we went on a 9-0 run, building the lead to 11. 15, 13 for Jaes, 16, 10 for Will, 8, 10 for Hart. +17 RBs.

#1 seed, #6 ranked Maryland, 29-6, in the Elite Eight. They’re tough, and their strength is inside, so we will need to be at our very best.

3/26: 74-72! We were down 23 twelve minutes into the game. My third Time Out finally woke us up. We cut the lead to 13 at the half and kept whittling away. With 2:24 left we took our first lead and it went back and forth until the final buzzer. Ged Jaes, 23, 13, 5 blocks, 2 steals, seemed to be everywhere, and he scored our last 6 points, including the winner with 0.5 left. PF Cal Linn, who averages 13.8 min. per game played 24 tonight since all three of our big guys wound up with 4 fouls. He was huge, scoring 12 and getting 5 RBs. We battled their great front line to a virtual draw, and our guards and bench barely edged theirs. A tremendous win and in only my second season here at UNLV we’re in the FINAL FOUR!!!

We’ll play #3 seed, #9 ranked Texas,27-6, in the national semifinal. They are excellent at both guard spots and have a very good PF. We feel like we have the edge at SF and C, and we think our bench is better. But stopping those guards won’t be easy!

On the other side it’s #1 ranked Florida vs. #2 Duke.

4/1: 87-79 and we’re in the title game! Senior Ged Jaes had the best game of his career, 33, 21. He was unbelievable. Their SG had 30, and they had 14 threes to our 3. But we held them to 35.8% shooting and had an amazing 54-23 edge on the boards. We were up 47-20 at the half and the final score was as close as it got. We couldn’t have played much better.

It’s #2 ranked Duke, 34-4, for the title. They have a solid edge outside and we have an equally solid edge inside. It’s probably going to come down to who’s playing better and whether the game is played inside or outside.

4/3: 84-89 in OT. We led early, they led late, SG Gab Cary hit a three at the buzzer in regulation to send it to OT. We turned it over three times in OT and they scored each time, two of them with threes, and we couldn’t quite catch up. 23, 7 for Will, 18, 7 for Jaes, 11, 11 for Hart. We won the battle inside but they won bigger outside. +9 RBs, -7 TOs. Great season! I couldn’t be prouder of my team. We say goodbye to Ged Jaes and starting PG Nic Gram. We have some good guys coming in but those two will be very tough to replace.

4/4: Awards: Rudy Will is POY, Frosh OY, 1st team in the Mountain West with Ged Jaes. Udo Hart makes the 2nd team. I’m disappointed that Gram didn’t make the 2nd. I get Conf. COY.

4/9: I am VERY tempted by an offer from Oregon. $70,000 more in the budget for one thing. I’m going there for a visit…

4/11: This is an agonizing decision…

4/12: After a sleepless night, or two or three, I have decided to stay here at UNLV.

4/16: All 3 assistants leave for better jobs. There goes the budget!

4/19: I got new assistants but it cost me!

4/23: I ask for a budget increase and I NEED it! I got $20.700. Whew!

31-6. Overall, 135-36, .789. Great season. Two great players lost but I think we have some weapons and we are positioned to have a really good season.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #23 in the 1st preseason poll.

West Gold, National Basic.

6/5: No one of interest in the transfer pool.

6/26: 5 scholarships to fill. We need 3 and 2 either way.

8/7: Rudy Will is #20 and Udo Hart #27 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 PFs, and a C.

9/18: Got 3, lost 2. Got a PG, #26, a PF, #32, a PF, #137.

In the Coaches Classic vs. Georgia. Challenging schedule.

9/25: We get a PG, #161. Lose a PG.

10/2: We get a PF, #134, to complete our recruiting.

First day of practice.

11/6: Here’s our lineup:

We open as the #7 seed in the Coaches Classic. We play #10 Georgia.

Frosh Kal Scot starts at PG, and senior Gab Cary is back at SG. Red shirt junior Dan Over will get lots of minutes at guard.

Senior Udo Hart is back at SF. Frosh Jack Lane is at PF. Soph Rudy Will starts at C.

Senior Cal Linn subs at SF and PF, and junior Josh Sand subs at PF and C.

[PointGuard]

Great Season! Since you didn't move on to Oregon, I guess you're looking forward to getting the whole enchilada this coming season.

[Wayne23]

THat's the goal, PG, but I don't think we're going to be strong enough. Secondary goal is to do well enough to take a position at an elite school.

11/13: 76-60. 17, 14 for C Rudy Will, 20 for SG Gab Cary. Good bench play (19, 12, 4).

#15 seed Weber ST upset #2 seed, #19 ranked Wisconsin, so they’re next. I got to watch the game and Weber ST played really well, but I think we’re better inside.

11/15: 78-71. Tough team and it was close all the way. 24, 8 for PF Jack Lane, 16, 14, 4 for Will. Bench gave us some good minutes again.

#14 seed Vanderbilt beat #3 then #6 to reach the semis. They’re good outside and have a very good C. We’ll need to play well.

11/17: 74-84. They shot 50%. Not impressed with our D- or our O for that matter, we shot only 37.7%. +11 on the boards but 19 TOs. Looks like we have work to do, but it’s early.

11/20: Ranked #22. All 5 recruits sign.

12/4: 6-1, #13, RPI #22. Sub big man Josh Sand is playing really well. He’ll get some of Jack Lane’s minutes at PF.

12/25: 11-2, #4, RPI #7. We’ll drop since we just lost at ST. Louis yesterday. +10.0 PPG, +10.8 RBs, +2.2 TOs, but a lousy 13.3. Will leads us with 16.6 and 9.8. Sand gets all of Linn’s minutes. He and Lane are playing about the same amount of time now.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2024: Ugh. 72-75 at Air Force to start the conf. season. Back to back losses. I am NOT happy. We let them hit 12-27 on threes and that did us in. On paper we’re a really good defensive team but it’s not playing out that way.

1/15: 15-3, 4-1, #6, RPI #7. In a 3 way tie for 1st in conf.

1/29: 18-4, 7-2, #7, RPI #8. Alone in 2nd, one back of 1st, one up on 2 teams in 3rd. Rudy Will is #10 and Udo Hart #23 on the Norton list. +9.8 PPG, +10.8 RBs, +2.7 TOs but a lousy 13.7. Not happy with that. Will leads us in scoring with 15.8, and Cary gets 14.3. Hart gets 9.3 RBs, and Will 8.9.

2/12: 22-4, 11-2, #5, RPI #6. Alone in 1st in conf. Rudy Will is #10 on the Norton list.

2/26: We end the regular season on a roll, 8 straight wins. 25-4, 14-2, #4, RPI #5. We win the conf. by 3 games.

[Wayne23]

3/5: Rudy Will is #8 on the Norton list. No one declares for the draft.

3/6: We play #8 seed San Diego ST, 11-17, 6-10, in the quarters. We beat them by 35 here.

3/7: 88-74. We were awful for about 25 minutes and then we woke up. 22, 15 for Will, 19, 12 for Udo Hart, all 5 starters had 10 or more. +15 RBs, +7 TOs.

#5 seed Wyoming, 20-11, 10-6, in the semis. We won by only 10 at our place. If my guys play this should be a win.

3/8: 87-66. We were down by 1 at the half. We won’t get far in the post season if we don’t start playing earlier in the game. 19, 11 for Will, 22, 7 for Gab Cary. +14 RBs but 21 TOs. I’m not happy.

#2 seed Fresno ST, 19-10, 11-5, for the title. We won by 3 there, then by 21 here. We need to start playing right at the opening tap. If we do we should be fine. I really think a win here gives us a shot at a #1 seed. If we lse we could drop to a #3.

3/9: 99-86 and the title. Yet again we were down one at the half. We played really well in the 2nd half. We had 6 players with between 10 and 21. Cary had 21, tourney MOP Will had 18.

A #1 is a long shot but a #2 should be solid.

3/12: #1 West!!! We play the winner of the play in game, #16 seed North Dakota, 16-16.

3/17: 80-57. They doubled Will all night so we found our other guys. 16, 10 for Lane, 12, 13, 4 for Hart, 17 for Cary, 15 for Scot, 15 for 6th man Josh Sand. +11 RBs and only 11 TOs.

#8 seed Stanford, 18-11, in the 2nd round.

3/19: 95-88. They played hard and led us by as many as 13. We never led by more than 8. 17 lead changes, 9 ties. 21, 8 for Lane, 19 for Cary, 13, 12 for Hart. Will had a re really tough night playing only 9 minutes before fouling out. But 6 others were in double figures. +17 RBs.

It’s #5 seed, #18 ranked Cincy, 21-9, in the Sweet Sixteen. On paper this is a tossup so we’d better come to play!

3/24: 90-84. Never more than 7 points between the teams, 21 lead changes and 14 ties, and our biggest lead was the final score. Will finally came out of his funk, leading the way with 25 and 9. 15, 14 for Hart, 4 others with 11 or 12. +24 RBs.

#2 seed, #8 ranked Utah, 27-7, in the Elite Eight. We actually match up better with them than we did with Cincy, but they’re a very good team. If we aren’t at our best the road could end here.

3/26: 69-65. For a change we came out strong and built an early 20 point lead. Utah chipped away but never got closer than the final margin. It was a very strong defensive game with both teams shooting under 40%. 18 for Cary, 13 for sub guard Dan Over, 12 for PG Kal Scot. The front lines banged heads all night and neutralized each other.

A win is a win and we’re in the Final Four for the 2nd year in a row! We play a #4 seed, #16 ranked Kansas, 25-10. It will be their backcourt vs. our inside game. If we can get the game played inside we should be good but if it’s played outside we’re in trouble.

4/1: 61-68. They beat us outside, which was what I worried about. Another defensive game and we didn’t get the baskets at the critical times.

Great season. We’re losing two starters, SF/SG Gab Cary and PF/SF Udo Hart. But we have lots of talent returning and two very good recruits coming in. Would I move to another school? If an elite school came calling I just might!

4/3: #2 Kentucky is the champ.

4/4: Awards: Soph C Rudy Will is 2nd Team All American, Conf. POY, Def. POY, 1st team, along with Gab Cary. C/PF Jack Lane is Conf. Frosh OY. Udo Hart makes the 2nd team and I am Conf. COY.

4/9: I’m going to Ohio ST in the Big 10. They had a 20-14 season and have two great looking guards coming in as well as two transfers. It will be a brief step back but hopefully a big step forward in the long run.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. We get $5500. I’ll take it.

It’s tough leaving UNLV after 2 Final Fours in a year, but it’s time to move on. 32-5, 14-2. Overall, 167-41, .803.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Preseason #13. #9 recruiting class. Midwest Gold, National Basic.

6/5: One spot open for a transfer. We offer to an SG.

6/12: No.

6/26: 5 scholarships. We’d like 4 bigs.

8/7: PG Lee Scot is #33 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SF, a PF, 2 Cs.

9/18: We get 4, lose 1. We get #3, an SF, #18, a C, #28, a PG, #38, a PF. Going for one more big guy. Looks good!

We open at the preseason NIT vs. #10 ranked Georgetown.

9/25: We get the C, #47.

10/2: 1st day of practice.

11/6: 9 man rotation to start but I guarantee there will be changes, esp. up front:

Frosh Lee Scot is our PG. Soph Al Brye backs him up.

Frosh Kal Fleg is our SG. Senior Mark Sits subs for him.

Soph Elo Ming is at SF. Red shirt senior Dave Brue starts at PF, subs at SF. Senior red shirt Irv Mell subs at PF.

Junior Mike Mapp starts at C. Walk on senior Des Lonn subs at C.

Scot and Mapp seem absolutely solid and Fleg seems like a good bet. After that we’ll see!

[Wayne23]

11/13: We start at the NIT vs. #8 seed, #10 ranked Georgetown.

11/14: 76-68. We led almost all the way. 20, 6, 4 for PG Lee Scot, 13 each for SG Kal Fleg and SF Elo Ming. 11 each for C Mike Mapp and sub
forward Irv Mell. Starting PF Dave Brue was a huge disappointment but Mell covered for him. Mapp fouled out in 20 minutes so we didn’t get what we expected inside.

#1 seed, #1 ranked Kentucky in the 2nd round. We are NOT ready for a team of this quality. We hope to be competitive.

11/16: 71-82. We never quit and I’m satisfied that we kept it fairly close. Big foul problems at PF and C. I knew Brue was questionable but Mapp needs to play better. Scot had 23 and only 1 TO. He is living up to our high expectations. Sub guard Mark Sits had 12. Ming and Fleg were fine. I’ll stay with Brue for another 2-3 games but if he doesn’t start playing better we’ll need to make a change.

11/20: All 5 recruits signed.

11/27: Beat #20 FL ST and then #4 Temple, both here. Some changes as of right now: Irv Mell will start at PF. Brue and Lonn will share the sub time inside. Mark
Sits will get all of Brye’s minutes subbing at guard but they will be at SG. Starting SG Kal Fleg will be my backup PG.

We’re 3-1, #17.

12/11: We’re 7-1 Nd most of the wins have been over ranked teams. #7, which is a little high. After the NIT all of our games have been at home.
Scot leads us with 18.0 PPG. Mapp is at 11.3, 9.0, and he’s playing well on D. 13.1 for Ming, 13.0 for Fleg. Mell has given us adequate results at PF.

12/25: 9-1, #6, RPI #2, going to conf. play. +12.4 PPG, +6.1 RBs, +2.7 TOs. Scot leads us with 17.5. Mapp gets 12.9, 9.6.

[Wayne23]

1/1/2025: 11-1, 2-0, #5, RPI #2.

We’re going to lose Lee Scot. Two “Our relationship” things already.

1/15: 13-3, 4-2, #7, RPI #2. In a 4 way tie for 3rd, one game back of Michigan and UConn. It’s a TOUGH conference! +10.8 PPG, +5.9 RBs, +3.3 TOs. My old UNLV team is #8, 13-1.

1/29: 16-4, 7-3, #7, RPI #4. In a 2 way tie for 2nd, one back of UConn. +10.7 PPG, +6.0 RBs, +3.2 TOs but a lousy 14.0. Scot leads us with 16.5 PPG. Mapp gets 14.6, 10.2. 13.3 for SG Kal Cleg, and 12.9 for SF Elo Ming.

2/12: This is a very tough conference. We’re 19-6, 9-5, #6, RPI #4. In a 6 way tie for 2nd, one back of Iowa, with 4 tough games left. It’s anyone’s conf. to win, and we could end up at or near the top, or just in the middle. I’d love to go 3-1 in the last 4.

2/26: We end the regular season at 21-7, 12-6, in a 4 way tie for 2nd, 1 back of Iowa. Not sure but I think we’re the #3 seed. #6, RPI #2. +10.9 PPG, +5.3 RBs, +3.8 TOs.

[Wayne23]

3/5: No one is going pro.

3/7: #11 seed Michigan ST, 14-15, 7-11, in the quarters. Beat them by 14 at our place.

3/8: 70-58. We led most of the way and for all of the 2nd half. 17 for Kleg and all 5 starters had 10 or more.

#2 seed, #9 ranked Indiana, 22-9, 12-6, in the semis. They won by 12 there. On paper it’s a toss up.

3/9: 73-52. We never trailed and were playing really good ball all night, especially on D- held them to 30.3%. 18, 6 for Ming, 16, 6, 3 for Fleg, 11, 8 for Mapp, 13 for Scot. Only 10 TOs.

#11 ranked, #4 seed UConn, 24-7, 12-6. We split with them in the rgular season, losing by 16 there, winning by 25 here. If we play our game I think we should beat them. It won’t be easy though.

3/10: 72-80. We led by 11 at the half and slowly let it get away from us. The final was their biggest lead. Outside D did us in. They were 15-34 on threes.

We’re hoping for a #2 seed but it will be close.

3/12: WOW!!! #1 West!!! Our RPI of #2 must have done it. We go against play in winner, #16 seed MD Eastern Shore, 17-15.

3/17: 70-51 but it wasn’t that close. 22, 4, 7 for Fleg. 12 TOs (+9).

#9 seed UCLA, 19-12, in round 2. We think we’re better, especially in the backcourt.

3/19: 73-66. They led by 9 at the half, then we took over. +14 RBs. 16, 10 for Mapp, 16, 8, 3 for Ming.

#13 seed Jacksonville, 25-7, beat both #4 and #5 to get to the Sweet Sixteen. On paper this one looks easy but they’re hot.

3/24: 86-73. We never trailed by more than 2, and never led by less than 7 in the 2nd half. +12 RBs. 5 guys with between 14 and 17.

#2 seed, #13 ranked, 25-9 North Carolina in the Elite 8. We beat them by 13 at our place in December. We need to contain their backcourt in order to win. We did that last time.

3/26: 82-56 and my 3rd straight Final Four! It went back and forth for 10 minutes and then we went on a 14-3 run and never looked back. 20 for Ming, 17, 6, 6 for Fleg, 15, 5, 4 for Scot, 10, 14 for Mapp. +18 RBs.

#7 seed, unranked Oklahoma, 24-10, in the national semifinal. On paper we are definitely the better team.

On the other side it’s #1 seed, #2 ranked Oregon, 34-2, vs. #3 seed, #9 ranked Florida, 28-9.

4/1: 65-57 and a trip to the title game! They led by as many as 11, early in the 2nd half. Then we finally got it going. It was a sloppy game with 39 TOs- we had 19. 15, 14 for game MOP Mike Mapp, 16 for Fleg, 15 for Ming.

#2 ranked Oregon, 35-2, blew out Florida. It looks like our outside edge vs. their inside edge, but they are TOUGH.

4/3: 67-88. -17 on the boards, and they were just better. 22 for Fleg, 13 for Ming, and Mapp had only 4, but 11 RBs, 6 assists. My guys tried but we were in over our heads.

4/4: Awards: Kal Fleg and Mike Mapp make Big 10 1st team. Lee Scot makes 2nd and I am Conf. COY.

4/9: Would I jump? To an elite school I would, yes.

No decent offers but I’m happy to come back for another year at Ohio ST. We’re losing starter Irv Mell and sub Mark Sits. If Lee Scot transfers, as I fear he will, we’ll be a little short at guard, but we should be excellent up front.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. Wow! We get $90,000!

28-9. Overall I’m 195-50, .796. Looking forward to another great season.