Two days after their coach was fired midway through his fourth season, having lost six of their previous eight games and sitting at 0-3 to begin Mountain West play, UNLV basketball players were implored by their new leader to run.
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UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy was answering questions Sunday evening about the firing (with a capital F) of Dave Rice when the future was mentioned, specifically if the school will commence a national search to identify a new full-time basketball coach.
Whenever UNLV fires a basketball coach or a football coach, two things pop into mind when it comes to speculation about their replacements.
I remember the telephone conversation, the optimism in his voice and determination to build a winning basketball program and excitement about coming home. Dave Rice was talking from his car that afternoon, en route with his family from Provo, Utah, to Las Vegas.
At the same time UNLV called a news conference to announce that Dave Rice had been fired — er, came to a “mutual agreement” with his athletic administration that he would step down as Rebels basketball coach — people were parking their cars and SUVs for “Disney on Ice” at the Thomas & Mack Center.
It has reached the point of big picture thinking, far beyond losing to another inferior team and blowing yet another big lead and falling to 0-3 in a terrible conference without yet playing any of the best teams in said terrible conference, beyond appearing to have no answers on how to improve what is an offense that can only be described as UNLOLV.
The most important basketball game in Dave Rice’s career as UNLV’s head coach and for others around him takes place Saturday in the southeastern part of Wyoming, a place west of Cheyenne that can be found at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287.
In the bowels of a chilly Moby Arena, on a long wooden bench outside his team’s locker room Wednesday evening, Ben Carter lowered his head and sobbed. A teammate emerged to try to console him. Then a student manager. None could do so.
There was an Instant Classic on ESPN on Monday night, and then on Wednesday morning, there was this, in bold, black letters, on the University of Oklahoma athletic website: WEST VIRGINIA, KANSAS MBB GAMES SOLD OUT.
Patrick McCaw must play better. He must score more. He must produce.