Dave Rice who made the NCAA tournament in his first 3 seasons, was forced to retire in the middle of his 5th, as the team has struggled to a 9-7 record.
He was given Kruger's team and took them to the NCAA tournament in his first year, and ironically had a Top 10 recruiting class and was in everyone's preseason top 10 this year. Yet, he could not win with his own recruiting class, and they pushed him out.
It is nice to see that schools still have expectations, and hold their coach's accountable. They don't let history keep repeating itself over and over and hope that somehow it will miraculously change.
Rice was a reserve on the Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team. He is a UNLV graduate who stayed in the program as an assistant coach for 11 seasons. But he was fired now because several powerful boosters no longer wanted to support his underachieving program and because Kunzer-Murphy said she was aware that many angry fans wanted him gone.
Rice started with a bang, reaching the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons. In November of his first season, the Rebels upset No. 1 North Carolina. But the team's win totals decreased each season — from 26 to 25 to 20 to 18 — and this season was turning into a bust.
December home losses to Arizona State and Fresno State signaled an alarm, and the team had become "tough to watch" in last week's losses at Colorado State and Wyoming.
Wow, does this sound familiar?
He was given Kruger's team and took them to the NCAA tournament in his first year, and ironically had a Top 10 recruiting class and was in everyone's preseason top 10 this year. Yet, he could not win with his own recruiting class, and they pushed him out.
It is nice to see that schools still have expectations, and hold their coach's accountable. They don't let history keep repeating itself over and over and hope that somehow it will miraculously change.
Rice was a reserve on the Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team. He is a UNLV graduate who stayed in the program as an assistant coach for 11 seasons. But he was fired now because several powerful boosters no longer wanted to support his underachieving program and because Kunzer-Murphy said she was aware that many angry fans wanted him gone.
Rice started with a bang, reaching the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons. In November of his first season, the Rebels upset No. 1 North Carolina. But the team's win totals decreased each season — from 26 to 25 to 20 to 18 — and this season was turning into a bust.
December home losses to Arizona State and Fresno State signaled an alarm, and the team had become "tough to watch" in last week's losses at Colorado State and Wyoming.
Wow, does this sound familiar?
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