UNLV meets with Menzies and Beard, may make decision this weekend

UNLV officials interviewed New Mexico State’s Marvin Menzies and Arkansas-Little Rock’s Chris Beard to become the Rebels’ next basketball coach, and sources said today’s talks went really well and that it was difficult to separate the two.

The sources also said they didn’t know when a decision would be made, whether it would be tonight or Sunday.

UNLV president Len Jessup, athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy and Rebels radio analyst and former standout player Robert Smith are the ones making the call.

Menzies interviewed in the morning, and Beard flew in for talks in the afternoon. UNLV is not expected to interview other candidates.

Menzies, 54, is 198-111 in nine seasons at New Mexico State. The Aggies have won five consecutive Western Athletic Conference tournament or regular-season titles and appeared in five NCAA Tournaments during his time there. He also has experience at UNLV, having coached under Lon Kruger in the 2004-05 season.

Beard, 43, has been at Little Rock just one season, but turned around a program that won only 13 games last season. The Trojans went 30-5, won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships and defeated Purdue 85-83 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Whoever gets hired will try to revive a program that has gone 18-15 each of the past two seasons and hasn’t participated in the postseason since making the NCAA Tournament in 2013.

The new coach also will have to recruit players on the current roster. Some will consider turning pro and others could opt to go elsewhere. Sophomore forward Dwayne Morgan apparently will ask for his release, but UNLV has not sent a news release saying that has happened.

UNLV also has a three-member recruiting class that needs to be swayed to stay committed as well as potential recruits who might consider the Rebels.

And there is the decision about whether to retain either assistant coach Stacey Augmon or Ryan Miller or both. Both also interviewed for the coaching job, and Augmon has been public in his desire to take over the program at his alma mater. Augmon has been responsible for UNLV’s defense, and Miller has been a key recruiter.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65