"We need to change that and get UNLV back. That's the thing we've got to do." SHAWN MARION Phoenix Suns forward and former UNLV star. Photo by The Associated Press. UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger, left, looks at freshman Marcus Lawrence while giving instructions during a recent practice at Cox Pavilion. Kruger is in his third season as coach. photo by John Gurzinski.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Second in a two-part series examining UNLV's basketball program and whether it can regain the level of success it had from the 1970s to the '90s.

Everything about UNLV appealed to Shawn Marion. So after an enjoyable visit to Las Vegas, he committed and turned down North Carolina.

Eight years later, the Rebels are trying to get in position to win those recruiting battles again. Everyone agrees that for the basketball program to return to prominence, it needs to attract a premier player and get more to follow.

UNLV has not won an NCAA Tournament game in 15 years, and the program was placed on NCAA probation shortly after Marion jumped to the NBA.

"There's a part of me here," said Marion, a first-round draft pick by the Phoenix Suns in 1999. "I definitely had a great time here, and it changed since I left.

"We need to change that and get UNLV back. That's the thing we've got to do."

The Rebels have not been relevant nationally since Jerry Tarkanian was forced out as coach in 1992. There have been some good seasons, but success is measured by NCAA Tournament victories, not trips to Boise, Idaho, for the National Invitation Tournament.

"Not just nationally, we just weren't much of a factor regionally," said Greg Anthony, point guard for the 1990 national championship team.

Once a feared force in college basketball, UNLV has faded as programs such as Gonzaga, UNR and Washington have stepped up to challenge West Coast powers Arizona and UCLA.

What will it take for the Rebels to return to elite status?

And some wonder if that's even possible, considering times have changed, Tarkanian is not coming back to the bench and UNLV competes in a mediocre Mountain West Conference that gets little national-TV exposure.

"You don't do what Tark did overnight," said Charlie Spoonhour, who coached the Rebels to a 54-31 record from 2001 to 2004. "But one thing you do know is that it can be done because it has been done."

The formula is simple to define and difficult to execute -- winning the conference and reaching the NCAA Tournament improves recruiting, and everything else should fall into place.

Lon Kruger saw the challenge and was eager to chase it.

Kruger took teams at Kansas State, Florida and Illinois to the NCAA Tournament, guiding the Gators to the Final Four in 1994. He arrived at UNLV in 2004 fully aware of the high demands of his position.

"That should be the expectation and goal for this program -- to get into the NCAA Tournament every year," said Kruger, 35-27 in his third season. "Everyone wants it to happen as quickly as possible, and so do the players and coaches, and there's nothing wrong with that.

"That was one of the intriguing things, to come here and see if we can get that accomplished."

The first thing the Rebels must do, Kruger said, is win a conference in which San Diego State, Air Force, Brigham Young and Utah are considered superior to UNLV this season.

Reaching the NCAA field of 65 in March is a step that cannot be understated in its importance. If the Rebels get there, and win a game or two, Kruger expects recruiting will get a boost.

Marion's eyes opened wide with genuine surprise when told the Rebels have not been in the NCAA Tournament since 2000, when former coach Bill Bayno's team was blown out 89-62 by Tulsa.

"You've got to get the top players to come here, and you've got to have a reputation of getting to the tournament," Marion said. "Players want to be on a big stage."

Bayno, who recruited Marion from Vincennes (Ind.) University, did not have problems bringing talented players into the program. Bayno did have some issues with staying out of trouble.

He was fired as coach in December 2000 after the NCAA placed UNLV on four years' probation for recruiting infractions.

"I feel Coach Kruger has a lot of respect for the program," said Sidney Green, who played for Tarkanian from 1979 to 1983 and is the school's No. 2 career scorer. "He is very knowledgeable of the game and he has high integrity."

Seldom spoken but still present in every mind is this fact: The challenge to win big is greater when bending the rules is not an option.

"We'll get the players and we'll get back to that level," said UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick, who took over in 2003 and hired Kruger the following year.

"I think with Lon we're becoming more stable. Our recruiting is getting better and better. Once you get it going, it's easier to keep it going."

Some fans and media might question if Kruger and his staff can get the job done. There is no doubt he has plenty of knowledgeable basketball people in his corner.

At the tail end of his 11-year NBA playing career, Anthony was a free agent in search of employment. He met with Kruger, then coach of the Atlanta Hawks.

Anthony signed elsewhere, but said it was not because Kruger failed to impress him.

"I was blown away by the human being. He is such a class act and such a quality human being," Anthony said. "It's kind of hard to say no to a guy like that when he's in your home talking to your parents."

So when will Kruger hook the big-time high school prospect who can put the program back on an upward swing? All Star Sports recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons predicted it will happen soon.

"I think it's just a matter of time before they get that first one," Gibbons said. "If a kid wants to make it to the pros, Lon's got that pro experience and he knows what it takes. It's not mission impossible because you've got Las Vegas and it's an exciting place for kids.

"Right now he's relying on junior college players and transfers. I think he's ultimately got to make the switch to get some high school impact players. If he can do that, he's going to have the level of talent that Tarkanian had during his heyday."

San Diego State coach Steve Fisher faces a recruiting challenge similar to what Kruger does at UNLV.

"It's tough because every player that's really good says, 'Who are the top 10 programs in America right now?' '' Fisher said. "And that's who you're fighting against.

"I think Lon Kruger has proven that he can coach and that he will win."

Kruger has the support of an administration that appears committed to winning.

But he needs help, Marion said, and that means everyone -- including former Rebels players -- getting involved.

"I think everybody has a part in it. It's not on one person," Marion said.

"When recruiting starts, you've got to have everybody calling players. I'll make a few recruiting calls myself. I'll do that and I have no problem with that if they want me to call some players and get them out here."

Marion said he has not been asked to pitch the program and make an impression on recruits since he left UNLV.

For many of the past 15 years, the program has been caught in a tangled web of administrative blunders, coaching changes and rules infractions, all contributing to a general lack of direction and negative atmosphere.

But while Kruger has made the effort to turn the picture into something more positive, there is a continuing skepticism among some fans. That is evident whenever the Rebels play home games in a half-full Thomas & Mack Center. The season-opening 73-59 victory over Hawaii on Friday attracted a crowd of 9,284.

"We've got to put a product out there that people want to come and see," Hamrick said.

Cliff Findlay, who played for UNLV from 1967 to 1970, is one of the program's top financial boosters. He said he has been frustrated by the "continual slide" of the program.

"I think we've got the right guy now," Findlay said of Kruger. "I think we bottomed out and we're on the way back up.

"The people who were used to us winning 25 or 30 games a year, when we didn't do that for three or four years, they abandoned the program. People in Vegas are very fickle and they want to win, win, win."

Findlay called this a "crucial year" for the Rebels because progress needs to be obvious to people and not just promised.

Kruger, who won 17 games in each of his first two seasons, said the time to win 20 games is now.

"With five seniors, we need to take advantage and turn the corner," Kruger said. "That's why this is an important year. It's important to really be consistent in our progress."

As the cycle works, Kruger said, once UNLV gets to the NCAA Tournament and wins, it's realistically easier for the coaching staff to recruit the premier players.

"Winning is a deodorant. If you're not winning like people want you to, everything stinks," Hamrick said of ridicule from fans. "I hear it from people, how we've got to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and I know that. You want your expectations to be high."

The Runnin' Rebels of the 1980s and early 1990s are a fading memory, but as Fisher pointed out, the influence of those powerful teams is still felt.

"Vegas has a different set of standards for everything, and you're not going to be what Tarkanian was, no matter what you try to do, and for a whole host of reasons," Fisher said. "Jerry did a phenomenal job with great, great teams, and I don't think in our lifetime we'll see that.

"If you're trying to compare to the Tark era and say, 'We've got to get back to that,' that's a pie in the sky and that's not going to happen. That's like winning the World Series of Poker. That won't happen."