UNLV adds assistant basketball coach, another departs
UNLV is hiring former Southern Methodist assistant basketball coach John Cooper for the same position, sources told the Review-Journal.
He fills one of two vacancies on coach Kevin Kruger’s staff after the departures of assistants Carlin Hartman to Florida and Tim Buckley, who departed for Thursday for South Carolina, a UNLV spokesperson confirmed.
Cooper, 53, spent the last two seasons at SMU under Tim Jankovich, who retired last month. Cooper was formerly the head coach at Tennessee State and Miami (Ohio) and was previously an assistant at Fayetteville State, South Carolina, Oregon, Auburn and Oklahoma State.
Buckley was hired in April of 2019 by former Rebels coach T.J. Otzelberger and retained by Kruger. He leaves to become and assistant under new Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris, who was hired earlier this month.
Before arriving at UNLV, Buckley spent two years as a scout for the Minnesota Timberwolves and nine years as an assistant and later associate head coach under Tom Crean at Indiana.
Kruger still has one assistant coaching vacancy.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter. Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.
