UNLV’s Marvin Menzies makes the rounds at AAU tournaments
It may seem like the 2017 basketball recruiting season is just underway, but because he wasn’t hired until April 22 from New Mexico State, UNLV coach Marvin Menzies is having to do some catching up.
“We’re not caught up by far,” he said Thursday. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’re still trying to create relationships against guys who had relationships for two or three years. You’ve got to remember, the upper-echelon players have been recruited for three of four years by the top-25 programs. I didn’t recruit a lot of the players we are recruiting right now at New Mexico State.”
Menzies and his assistant coaches are all over the Las Vegas Valley this week taking in the various AAU tournaments. They not only are recruiting for the 2017 class, but also for 2018 and 2019.
“I think being in front of those guys is critical,” Menzies said. “It’s as much about them seeing you support them as it is seeing them.”
UNLV still has one scholarship to offer for this year, and said there are possibilities out there. Menzies most likely would take a graduate transfer who could play right away and not take a scholarship spot next year.
ESPN has reported that Southern Illinois’ Bola Olaniyan is considering UNLV as well as Houston, Georgia Tech, Alabama and Iona.
Southern Illinois transfer Bola Olaniyan told ESPN he is looking at Houston, Alabama , Iona, Ga Tech, UNLV. Hoping to graduate, play ASAP.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 19, 2016
■ QUOTABLE —“The program has had a lot of growth because we’ve just had kids that are willing to do things they’ve never been asked to do. We’ve decided that we want to build our program off of developing bonds and relationships with our kids. They work a whole lot harder when they know that you love them.” — Las Vegas Knicks Director Lamar Bigby, a former UNLV basketball player who started one of Southern Nevada’s most successful AAU programs in 2011.
■ WHERE’S WASHINGTON? —Findlay Prep’s P.J. Washington, who is the No. 16 overall recruit in the ESPN 100, is one of seven players ranked in the top 27 who are representing the U.S. this week at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in Chile.
The team also features No. 3 Mohamed Bamba, No. 4 Michael Porter Jr. and No. 12 Hamidou Diallo, a UNLV target.
■ BACK FROM SPAIN —Gary Trent Jr., who announced his intentions to transfer to Findlay Prep on July 15, is one of several players competing in Las Vegas who helped the U.S. U-17 team beat Turkey to win the gold medal in Zaragoza, Spain on July 3.
The team also featured Centennial High’s Troy Brown Jr. (No. 28), Wendell Carter (No. 2) and Kevin Knox (No. 7).
■ BACK IN TOWN —Texas Tech coach Chris Beard, who coached UNLV for all of a week in April, returned to Las Vegas for the AAU tournaments. He was spotted by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who posted of a photo of Beard in Twitter, writing, “Hey UNLV fans. Guess who is back in Vegas?”
Hey UNLV fans. Guess who is back in Vegas? pic.twitter.com/uZlP8t4nsS
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 21, 2016
■ IN THE STANDS —NBA All-Stars Derrick Rose and James Harden made appearances at the adidas Summer Championships at Cashman Center on Wednesday.
Rose, the 2011 Most Valuable Player, was there to watch his squad, Team Rose, down the Michigan Mustangs, 69-43.
Harden, who signed a 13-year, $200 million endorsement deal with adidas last year, sat courtside in another afternoon game.
Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay, the seventh overall pick in last year’s NBA draft, was seen at the Fab 48 at Bishop Gorman.