Rice, Rice Baby....

Both the LVRJ and LV Sun are breaking that Dave Rice has been selected as the next UNLV Men's Basketball head coach. With the way many in the media have talked over the past week, the eventual winner was really never in question, although post-interviews many thought and hoped Theus had pulled off a coup. None the less, Rice is the chosen one, congratulations to him! Lets all focus on the future.

UNLV has announced the formal introduction (press conference) will be 4pm Monday, and the fan reception @ 5pm. in the Cox Pavilion. I can't make it (but would love to be there), if anyone is planning on going please send all commentary and pictures taken from the event to rebelreign1@gmail.com and I will be sure to post it here, front and center.

As far as Dave Rice's staff, there is additional speculation that his assistants will be Stacey Augmon and Justin Hutson.

                                   

Stacey Augmon

Most should be familiar with Stacey Augmon, former member of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels from 1987 - 1991, member and major contributor to the championship team. Augmon was also a teammate of Dave Rice.

- Augmon went on to become a lottery pick and was taken 9th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He enjoyed a lengthy career in the NBA where he played 15 seasons and 1001 games, ending with averages of 8.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg.

- Augmon also was a member of the 1988 Olympic Team that earned a bronze medal in Seoul (the last team the USA fielded comprised only of NCAA players). 

- He ended his NBA career by becoming the player development coach with the Denver Nuggets. He is still employed by the Nuggets in the same job.

- Stacey Augmon was inducted into the UNLV hall of fame in the class of 2002.

Justin Hutson

Justin Hutson is probably not someone you are familiar with, he currently works for San Diego State University as an assistant coach. Hutson, who is also the team's recruiting coordinator, is instrumental in player instruction, skill development and assisting in all areas of the Aztec's program.

- Was credited in large part for being able to identify and land Kawhi Leonard as well as Chase Tapley.

-  Huston's coaching speciality is guards, in 2007, he helped Richie Williams rank first in the MWC in steals, second in assists and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio. He was also instrumental in Brandon Heath ranking second in scoring, sixth in assists, third in steals and three-point field goals made per game and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. The last three seasons, he has tutored D.J. Gay as he has played in all 103 games (83 starts), we all know how phenomenal he has been this past year.

- Huston has also been credited with helping SDSU with tough-as-nails defense. The last three seasons, Hutson has taken on the role of defensive coordinator and helped the Aztecs rank first in the MWC in scoring defense and steals in 2008-09, and in scoring defense and rebounding defense in `09-10. On a national level, SDSU had one of the stingiest defenses in 2009-10, allowing just 61.8 points to rank 36th among all Division I schools.

- Huston's success existed before SDSU. Hutson served as an assistant coach at Cal Poly. The Mustangs went 10-19 in 2005-06, doubling their previous season's win total. He was responsible for recruiting the 2006 Big West Freshman of the Year and landing two freshmen on the Big West all-freshmen team, along with bringing two first-team all-Big West selections and the defensive player of the year to San Luis Obispo in 2006-07.

- Before arriving at Cal Poly, Hutson served as the head varsity coach at Bakersfield High School where he led it to a CIF Central Section Championship and four appearances in the playoffs in four seasons. His 2004 team was ranked as high as No. 22 in the nation and fourth in California and his 2003 squad finished the season with a 25-5 record and won the section title. Prior to entering the high school ranks, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Cal State Bakersfield, for two seasons (1999-00).