UNLV adds 2 more players via transfer portal
UNLV’s basketball program signed two more transfers Friday afternoon. And this time, the Rebels went outside the Big 12 to do so.
The Rebels announced the signings of Lamar big man David Muoka and Hawaii guard Justin Webster, giving them six transfer commitments since coach Kevin Kruger was hired last month.
Muoka and Webster both completed their sophomore years in 2020-21 and are expected to have three years of eligibility remaining in the wake of the pandemic.
“We are extremely excited for David and Justin to be joining the Runnin’ Rebel program,” Kruger said in a statement. “David’s proven experience as a player and teammate, earning his former conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award, will be a great addition to our upcoming team. Justin’s ability to shoot the ball and make plays will fit well with the type of basketball we want to play and the team that we are assembling.”
To Kruger’s point, Muoka won the Southland conference’s defensive player of the year award last season and can fill the void left by center Mbacke Diong, who left the program this week.
At 6 feet, 10 inches, he’s a rim protector on defense and a rim runner on offense. He averaged 5.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game last season, including 9.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in league play.
Webster provides shooting and scoring on the wing and is coming off a year in which he averaged 12.3 points per game for the Warriors. He converted 47.7 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 37.8 percent from 3-point range. He’s at his best spotting up and in transition, but is also a capable ball handler.
He handled the ball in pick-and-roll situations on 20.7 percent of his offensive possessions, according to data compiled by Synergy Sports.
UNLV has also signed point guard Jordan McCabe, forwards Royce Hamm and Victor Iwuakor and wing Donovan Williams, all of whom played for Big 12 programs. McCabe played at West Virginia, Iwuakor at Oklahoma and Hamm and Williams at Texas.
Muoka played last season under UNLV assistant Brandon Chappell, who’d coached at Lamar before joining Kruger and the Rebels.
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.