Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JAY SPOONHOUR: Ex-Rebel coach returns

Missouri aide has no ill will over not keeping UNLV job

By STEVE CARP
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Jay Spoonhour, shown coaching UNLV against San Diego State, took over for his father, Charlie Spoonhour, for the final 10 games last season but was not retained. He is now a student manager for Missouri, which meets the Rebels on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Photo by John Locher.

Jay Spoonhour knew the question was coming, and he was ready for it.

No, he's not bitter over not being retained as UNLV's basketball coach despite going 6-4, having his team average 83 points a game during that span and come within a 3-point shot of going to the NCAA Tournament last year.

"That was the most fun I've ever had," Spoonhour said. "The guys were great, and I enjoyed them. I have nothing but great memories."

Spoonhour, 34, returns to the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday when Missouri meets UNLV. He's a student manager for coach Quin Snyder. But Charlie Spoonhour's son could be remembered as a coach who provided some exciting moments for a struggling program.

"Talking about myself makes me uncomfortable," he said. "But I loved my time there (at UNLV), and I'm looking forward to coming back. The fans there were great to me."

The program is in similar shape to the one he took over for his dad on Feb. 17, 2004. The Rebels were in disarray, coming off a 94-60 blowout loss at Missouri, and Charlie Spoonhour resigned two days later, citing health issues. Jay Spoonhour was named interim coach.

This year's team is 9-11, has lost four straight after falling to Utah on Monday, and first-year coach Lon Kruger hasn't been able to get his team to compete the way it did for Jay Spoonhour.

Spoonhour said the Tigers (10-12, 2-7 Big 12) have their own troubles. They've dropped seven of their last eight, and Snyder is playing an inexperienced lineup that includes three freshmen and two sophomores.

"This is a rebuilding year, no doubt about it," Spoonhour said. "We're still learning how to win. We're not quite there."

He's taking a graduate class in problem-solving at Missouri. He can't recruit off-campus, but he performs many other coaching duties.

"I feel like I'm a coach," he said. "Coach Q (Snyder) has treated me great. He listens to me as much as any assistant. Besides, titles don't matter. I learned that from Dave Rice when we worked together at UNLV. He had as much impact as an administrative assistant as he did when he was an assistant on the floor."

Spoonhour had two head coaching opportunities at junior colleges, the level at which he won a national championship with Wabash Valley (Ill.) in 2001. But he turned it down because he said it was important for his career that he remain at the Division I level.

"Once you leave, it's hard to get back in," he said. "But I believe I'll be a head coach again someday."

For now, he'll hang on to the memories of last year. Some of them were painful, most notably losing to Utah in the Mountain West Conference Tournament final in Denver, with Nick Jacobson hitting a game-winning 3-pointer for the Utes.

But some of the memories were exhilarating, such as winning that first game against San Diego State and beating New Mexico in The Pit.

"When I took over for my dad, David and I got Demetrius (Hunter), J.K. (Edwards) and James Peters together after the shootaround and we said, 'The b.s. stops, and we're going to rely on you.' As seniors, we leaned on them.

"Odartey (Blankson) was great. He said, 'We're going to get this right,' and he went out and really played hard. We told Jerel to push the ball, and he became the best guard in the league. Everything started to click."

Spoonhour said his situation probably would have turned out the same even if UNLV had won the MWC Tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament berth.

"I don't want to get into all that again," he said. "I've said what I had to say. But we were playing with a lot of confidence in Denver. We felt like we were going to win every game. There's no telling what we could have done had we beaten Utah."