Dave Rice to be announced as UNLV head coach on Monday

Earlier today, CBSSports.com's College Basketball columnist Gary Parrish said that he had received breaking news from a source telling him that the next UNLV basketball coach was going to be Dave Rice and it would be announced on Monday. This was later confirmed by sources at the Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Rice leaves BYU where he was an assistant for 6 seasons. When asked about Rice's departure, here is what BYU head coach Dave Rose had to say on the subject.

"Dave is an outstanding teacher of the game and has always been part of successful programs both as a player and a coach," BYU coach Dave Rose once said of Rice. "Dave possesses a complete knowledge of the game and has done a terrific job coordinating our game plans and recruiting efforts. He is also a tireless worker and a great person."

Rice was one of two leading candidates heading into this morning, Reggie Theus was the other.

 Rice was an assistant at UNLV for 11 seasons after having played for the 1990 National Championship team before getting the boot when Lon Kruger arrived in Las Vegas.

Rice has some obvious recruiting ties, and it has shown up on BYU's recruiting trail, as multiple star players have come from across the west coast. Rice's style of play on both ends of the court isn't much different than what Lon Kruger had previously implemented, so the transition for players should go very smoothly.

Reports are already surfacing that Rice has made contact with Stacey Augmon and Justin Huston about possibly being assistants for his team. Augmon played alongside Rice in 1990 when the Runnin' Rebels won the National Championship.

 

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