Former UNLV men’s basketball coach lands job as Big 10 assistant
Former UNLV men’s basketball coach Kevin Kruger, four months after being fired, has found his next landing spot.
Kruger was hired as an assistant on Illinois coach Brad Underwood’s staff, the Illini announced Wednesday.
Kruger, 42, was 76-55 in four years at UNLV. He helped the Rebels reach the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals in 2024, notching the program’s first postseason win in 16 years in the process.
UNLV was 18-15 this past year and finished sixth in the Mountain West standings at 11-9. Kruger was fired after the Rebels lost to Utah State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in March.
Underwood called Kruger a “proven winner” in a statement.
“When the opportunity arose to add a basketball mind and a person the caliber of Kevin Kruger to our staff, it was a no-brainer,” Underwood said. “His experience level — not only as a player and assistant coach, but as the head coach — will be invaluable to our team.”
Kruger is continuing to follow in his father’s footsteps with this latest career move. Lon Kruger was Illinois’ coach from 1996-2000.
Lon Kruger then took over at UNLV in 2004. Kevin Kruger transferred from Arizona State to play for his father his final season of college basketball, and ended up leading the Rebels to the Sweet 16 in 2007.
Kevin Kruger then worked under his dad as an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 2016-19. He left to become an assistant at UNLV in 2019 under T.J. Otzelberger and was put in charge of the program once Otzelberger left for Iowa State in 2021.
The Rebels have not made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 and hope Kruger’s replacement, Josh Pastner, can help them end that streak.
Illinois has made it to the NCAA Tournament in five straight years under Underwood and won two Big Ten tournament titles and one regular-season title.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join the Fighting Illini staff and come back to a place that is so special to me and my family,” Kruger said in a statement. “The program that Coach Underwood and his staff have built here is first class in every way. To be in a position to contend year-in and year-out at the highest level of our sport is so special, and I am so fortunate in this role to be able to contribute to the success of the program moving forward.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X