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UNLV Runnin Rebels: Runnin’ Rebels Rapid Collapse did in Dave Rice

By James Fitzgerald

Photo: Casey Sapio, USA TODAY Sports)
Photo: Casey Sapio, USA TODAY Sports) /
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Dave Rice was actually off to a nice start this season with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels going 8-2 through their first 10 games.

Then for some reason the bottom fell out from under his squad and they collapsed going 1-5 through their last six contest.

The collapse in the last six games and the way some of those losses took place within those last six contest is a big reason why UNLV received Rice’s resignation, and rightfully so.

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The UNLV Runnin Rebels’ have a rich basketball history because of the teams that Jerry Tarkanian fielded in the 80’s and 90’s.

The university has gone through a few coaches trying to recapture that mystique but to no avail.

Dave Rice has had some of the best recruiting classes in the country during his five seasons with the school, but it has produced nothing more than early exits from the NCAA Tournament and a decline in the win column each season he has been on the bench.

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    • This season started off great and then went into a free fall as was mentioned before.

    The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels looked to be a team on the rise after they took out the then No.15 Oregon Ducks on December 4th 80-69.

    From there it was a nose dive including home losses to Arizona State and Fresno State.

    UNLV dropped their last three games by a total of six points before hitting the incinerator button on Dave Rice’s hot seat.

    The Runnin’ Rebels need to make a splash with their next coaching hire. They need someone who is going to put an exciting brand of basketball on the court not only for the student body, but also for the tourist who wanted to take the time to see some entertaining basketball.

    It is not like the cupboard will be bare in Las Vegas. Freshman 7-foot center Stephen Zimmerman is developing pretty nicely averaging 9.5 points and a team high 8.1 rebounds.

    Sophomore Patrick McCaw is the leading scorer for the team dropping 13.0 points per contest on the stat sheet and shooting 45.6% from the floor and 36.5% from three-point land.

    As long as they decide to stay in school instead of going into the NBA, the next coach is going to have some nice players to start off with.

    UNLV basketball is basically the only sports show in town and needs to be a big draw. It would be nice to see the Runnin’ Rebels get back to some semblance of the glory days.

    Next: Georgia Tech Win Over No.4 Virginia was Enormous for Brian Gregory and the Jackets

    They are going to have plenty of time to do a thorough search before they bring in their new man.

    Maybe there are some coaches in the NBA ranks that would like a crack at coaching UNLV basketball.