Why underachieving UNLV made the right decision firing Dave Rice
One month before the start of a season in which he knew his job was on the line, UNLV coach Dave Rice was as optimistic as ever about his future with the Rebels.
He appeared to sincerely believe the roster he recruited had the proper blend of talent, cohesiveness and depth to secure an NCAA tournament bid and restore the faith of a frustrated fan base.
“I really like our team,” Rice told Yahoo Sports in mid-October. “One of the criticisms I think was fair was that we’ve had a little bit too much turnover at times, so it was really important to me that we had better retention this offseason. We have veterans who can provide leadership. We also have wanted to play faster and press more, and we feel like we have the depth and the personnel to do that now.”
That Rice was once again unable to mold a talent-laden roster into a winning team has cost him his job. Rice resigned under pressure on Sunday night less than 24 hours after a 59-57 loss at Wyoming dropped UNLV to 9-7 overall and 0-3 in the Mountain West.
It’s a shame that UNLV bowed to powerful donors and parted ways with Rice now rather than at the end of the season, but a coaching change was ultimately the correct decision for a program that has underachieved year after year. Rice enjoyed immense recruiting success, but his five-year tenure will be remembered for his failure to parlay that talent into conference titles or NCAA tournament wins.
For the first time since the days of Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV became a destination for elite recruits under Rice, wooing coveted prospects from across the United States and even Canada’s eastern provinces. He and his assistants capitalized on the international appeal of the city of Las Vegas and the brand name recognition of a UNLV program that still resonates with parents and coaches old enough to remember the glory days of the Runnin’ Rebels.
UNLV landed 11 Rivals 150 prospects since 2012 including future first-round draft picks Anthony Bennett and Rashad Vaughn. The Rebels also nabbed numerous coveted transfers including Khem Birch, Roscoe Smith and Ike Nwamu.
Few other West Coast programs had comparable talent during that period, yet UNLV seldom met expectations.
The Rebels never won an NCAA tournament game under Rice, nor did they even come close to making the field of 68 either of the past two seasons. They never won the Mountain West tournament even though it’s played on their home floor and they never finished higher than third in the regular season.
Rice deserves some blame for those shortcomings because he failed to address his strategic shortcomings. Each year UNLV would show promise in non-league play despite a challenging schedule. Each year they seemed to crash and burn in Mountain West play, often in a hail of ill-advised shots, unforced turnovers and defensive breakdowns.
You wanted to believe it would be different for Rice this season because he’s such a dedicated coach and kindhearted man. You wanted to believe the combination of seven returning scholarship players and another talent-laden incoming class would enable UNLV to thrive in the fast-paced, high-pressure system Rice has touted since he was hired.
Alas, the 2015-16 UNLV team turned out to be the same old Rebels.
They started 6-1 with quality wins over Indiana and Oregon, but that success proved short-lived. They’ve lost six of their past nine games as a result of cold-shooting, turnover-plagued offense yet again lacking a competent point guard.
The last straw for UNLV boosters surely was the 0-3 start in a Mountain West that may only produce one NCAA tournament team. The Rebels lost at home against middling Fresno State, squandered a lead at Colorado State and wasted a 22-5 start in their second straight game at altitude against Wyoming.
It will be up to interim coach Todd Simon to attempt to salvage this season. The former Findlay Prep coach has been instrumental in recruiting many of UNLV’s top players the past couple years, but he has no college head coaching experience.
As for Rice, he’ll no doubt seek a fresh start elsewhere. At UNLV, he was a victim of his own recruiting success. He raised expectations to the highest they’ve been since the Tarkanian era and he paid the price for never living up to them.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
