Rebels guard Marshall on board with Rice

Over the past 10 days, Anthony Marshall experienced a wide array of emotions, beginning with shock and sadness. The UNLV sophomore guard lost the coach who recruited him and he was left to speculate about the future.

"It has been a whirlwind," he said.

Marshall, from Mojave High School, never considered leaving Las Vegas as a transfer. He accepted the sudden desertion of Lon Kruger, who bolted April 1 to become coach at Oklahoma, and waited for a replacement to be named.

Marshall's initial emotion Sunday was excitement after learning Dave Rice, Brigham Young's associate head coach and a former Rebels player, will be UNLV's next basketball coach.

"I knew he played here, and from what I've heard he's a great coach," Marshall said. "I'm pretty excited. We're looking to take UNLV to another level and start a new chapter."

Marshall said he traded text messages with teammates and they all welcomed the news of Rice's hiring.

"It was pretty shocking to everybody what happened with Coach Kruger's departure. I was saddened by it, but I knew he made a business decision," he said. "We all tried to stay positive. Now we're ready to start getting to work."

Rice inherits a team with four returning starters -- Marshall, point guard Oscar Bellfield and forwards Chace Stanback and Quintrell Thomas. The Rebels finished the season 24-9, including two losses to BYU.

Marshall is familiar with the Cougars' up-tempo offense, coordinated by Rice.

"We're going to be doing a lot of running," Marshall said, "and I'm looking forward to it."

UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood and deputy athletic director Jerry Koloskie met with the players last week to hear their thoughts and offer an update on the coaching search.

The list of four finalists also included Reggie Theus, a former NBA player and head coach and one of the greatest players in Rebels history. Marshall said he was not choosing sides.

"I really didn't know (Theus), but I knew of him. If they would have gone either direction it would have been a win-win for us," Marshall said. "We knew the staff at UNLV would make a good decision on picking a coach.

"They kept us very informed with what was going on. They didn't leave us in the dark."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.