What an unusual day for UNLV, its players, and fans. Mr. Dependability turned out do be spur of the moment, go for the money, forget what I said about staying guy.
I personally found out about this right before lunch and lost my appetite (didn't help that I was headed for a buffet). I've been through all of the stages, I had that sickness in the pit of my stomach.
In a bit of drama, KLAS's (Channel 8) sports anchor Chris Maathuis seemed to change the direction of the conversation for a minute, saying that he had phoned Coach Kruger, and that Kruger was staying (this story 
was released around 1:15pm). Alas, everything I have now seen appears true. Coach Kruger of UNLV is now Coach Kruger of Oklahoma, and has signed a 7 year deal paying $2,000,000 a year.
It appears many UNLV insiders were shocked by the news, especially after reports that he would not even interview with Oklahoma, let alone take the job. According to a news source, it appeared even some of his assistants were caught off-guard. Reports now are that Kruger has phoned several members of the Runnin' Rebels and is on a plane back from Houston to meet with the team, there will be a team meeting tonight.
For those who wanted to believe that Kruger had a lot of reasons to stay, and that his comments were true - it was false belief. I can't speak to whether having a new athletic director played a part it in, although it is becoming a pattern of changing head coaches of the major programs (so far football, baseball, and now basketball).
There is a lot of great things to like about being the coach of the Runnin' Rebels, new practice facility, still one of the best venues in the west to play basketball, a possible new even-larger stadium, excellent returning players, and an exciting group of recruits coming in on the horizon, such as Nigel Williams-Goss and Dantley Walker. Plus Las Vegas has a lot of bang for your buck with the depressed economy, and UNLV is and always will be a basketball school, and a basketball destination. This is why it is shocking to see the coach, the guy that we put on the phonebooks a few years back heading for boring, losing, NCAA violation ridden, football school Oklahoma.
One thing is for sure, the AD - Jim Livengood; you had better score a Reggie Theus, or Dave Rice -- or BETTER. Remember, when we were searching for a replacement for Spoonhour people besides Kruger who were taking a solid look were George Karl, and Rick Pitino. Producing more 20+ winning seasons is key to keeping the recruits we have, and finding new ones in the future. Certainly a lot to discuss in the coming days and weeks.
Want a little satisfaction? Go to this link, there is at least one Oklahoma writer who isn't super enthused about landing Kruger - NewsOK
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