 | | Lon Kruger answered questions online on Tuesday, Nov. 3. |
UNLV head men's basketball coach Lon Kruger participated in a live online chat hosted by UNLVRebels.com on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Runnin' Rebels face Washburn on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center for UNLV's lone exhibition game. Opening Night is Saturday, Nov. 14 as UNLV takes on Pittsburg State at 7 p.m. The Rebels return to the court on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. to face UNR. Kruger, who is entering his sixth season as the head coach of the Runnin' Rebels, has led the program to a 78-26 record (.750 winning percentage) over the past three seasons. In fact, UNLV has won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1990-93. The full transcript is below. |
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 |  | UNLV Moderator: Good morning Rebel fans. It's a beautiful day in Las Vegas and we are sitting here with Coach Lon Kruger. UNLV opens its season with an exhibition game a week from tonight against Washburn. Let's get started. |
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| courtney (lasvegas): how will last year's team compare to this years team? and why did scott leave the team? |
 | | Lon Kruger: Scott Hoffman was great in the program. Even though he had a year of eligibility remaining, he had already graduated and had a business opportunity he felt he could not pass up. Know he will do great. With a lot of new faces, this year's preparation is different and it will be interesting to see who assumes roles and minutes vacated by last year's senior group. |
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| Roy Elia, Walla Walla, Wash.: It was great meeting you after one of your radio shows last season - the program that aired the night before your big win over Arizona. Going into the 08-09 season, it appeared that UNLV had the bull's eye on its back - they were picked to win the MWC and had a veteran team returning. This year, the Rebels were picked to finish third in the league and do not have as many starters returning. In light of this, how have the preparations for this season compared to those of a year ago? |
| | Lon Kruger: Regardless of preseason expectations, preparation is always similiar in that you are attempting to have a team that improves consistently and plays as well as possible through the end of the season. Prior to last year, our teams seemed to accomplish that goal. Last year, we did not. |
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| Greg(Greeley, CO): Coach - All of us are very anxious for the games to begin. Do you see this team scoring at a more consistent clip than last years team? See you in Ft. Collins. Good luck. |
| | Lon Kruger: Good hearing from you again, Greg. Believe this team will have more scoring options and should be more consistent on the offensive end. |
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| Jay Ship (Las Vegas): Hi Coach. The NCAA teams a couple of years back had the benefit of some exceptional on the floor leadership with Kevin, the Curtis Terry. Last season despite some very talented players team fell a little bit short of expectations and not conicidently there did seem to lack that leadership. Question is this, is there anyone player that stands out this year that may embrace that role of leader on the floor? The player that is able to hold his teammates accountable? Have a great year. Go Rebels! |
| | Lon Kruger: Oscar and Tre have been the most consistent performers to date. The addition of Derrick Jasper, Chace Stanback and Steve Jones will help with the leadership roles. |
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| Bob (San Diego): Do you foresee anyone redshirting this season? |
| | Lon Kruger: Don't expect anyone redshirting. Could possibly change in next 10 days, but doubtful. |
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| | UNLV Moderator: Thank you for your questions, Rebel fans. Keep them coming. |
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| michael - henderson, nev.: coach kruger - do you think carlos lopez from findlay prep will get playing time this season? |
| | Lon Kruger: Carlos has impressed with early season workouts. Simply needs to add strength and weight as he will become an outstanding player. |
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| Robert (Henderson): Thanks Coach for embracing and celebrating running rebel past, the 20 year ceremony should be great...do the current players enjoy the presence of Larry, Stacey, Greg,Anderson, George and the others around the program? |
| | Lon Kruger: Always great to see the influence former players have on present teams. Our players very much respect and admire all that the former players accomplished to establish the Runnin' Rebel tradition. Really looking forward to the reunion of the National Championship team next Monday and Tuesday. Special group of players. |
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| Jeff (Lenexa, Kansas): Hey Coach, give me some love here in your home state! I'm so excited for the season to start, and can't wait for the KSTATE game! Going into your scrimmage this Saturday, have you settled on a starting lineup? Thanks, and go REBELS! |
| | Lon Kruger: Always great hearing from fellow Kansans, Jeff. If we were to play tonight, we would start Derrick, Oscar and Tre on the perimeter with Darris. Battle for the fifth spot between Matt, Brice and Carlos seems to change daily. Of course, when healthy, Chace Stanback will enter that battle. |
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| Ed (LV): Very curious about this team. Seems like we have alot of depth. Who do you think will be our leading scorers? Thanks Coach. Go Rebels!!! |
| | Lon Kruger: Anticipate Oscar and Tre being aggressive to score. Also, several options and good depth behind those guys. On the perimeter, Kendall, Justin and Anthony all playing extremely well. |
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| Josh (vegas, rebel alum): We've been "soft" in the middle last few yrs. If we hope to make the NCAA tourney, and possibly win a few there, will we be able to compete down low not only in the MTN, but more importantly, outside the MTN against the better, more physical teams? Thx... |
| | Lon Kruger: Always great to hear from a Rebel, Josh. Darris and Brice have given us a more physical presence early in practice and expect that to continue. Darris, especially, has been rebounding the ball extremely well on both ends of the floor. |
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| Jeff ( Indianapolis, IN: What are your feelings about having to vacate the T&M shortly after the regular season begins? |
| | Lon Kruger: PBR and NFR provide big boosts to the local economy and are an important part of Las Vegas entertainment. We understand their value, yet it does make our practice arrangements and game schedule a bit more challenging. |
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| Jay T (Las Vegas): Coach, Kendall looks in phenomenal scoring touch at practice. How big a role do you see him playing and is he any chance to start at SG? |
| | Lon Kruger: Don't see Kendall starting at this point, however, his role to impact the game by making shots is extremely important to our team. |
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| Gabe (Las Vegas): How is Chace experience at big time colleges going to help us in the stretch? |
| | Lon Kruger: Experience of Chace, Derrick and Steve as transfers from other programs is very valuable. There's no short cut to acquiring experience and these guys have all competed in other quality programs. |
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| | UNLV Moderator: Coach has time for a couple more questions, Rebel fans. Thanks for joining us today. |
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| Steve (Henderson): Good Morning Coach! With Chase having been injured much of the pre-season, how soon do you see him playing at full speed? Also, how is his ankle now? |
| | Lon Kruger: Chace participated in all activities yesterday in practice though not yet at full-strength. Probably be the middle of next week before he feels 100%. |
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| Will (Henderson): What is the status of Tre'Von Willis's shoulder? Apparently it bothered him throughout last season. Is it 100% healthy going into the season? |
| | Lon Kruger: Tre's shoulder is fine as he appears to be 100% healthy going into the season. |
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| Jason (LV, NV): Darris seems to struggle keeping his confidence up. Do you as coach spend extra time with him or are there any strategies you use to help him stay focused and disciplined mentally? |
| | Lon Kruger: Darris had a terrific off-season. As he invested more time in preparation it seems his confidence level has risen consistently. His main focus is to rebound the ball aggressively and everything else will fall into place. |
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| Joe (Las Vegas): Coach, How has Matt Shaw recovered from the knee injury? I know ACL's can be difficult to overcome both physically and mentally. |
| | Lon Kruger: Matt has rehabbed very aggressively over the past year and continues to improve his on-court conditioning each day. Should be a valuable addition with his ability to knock down shots. |
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| Chris: Who will be that vocal leader on the court this year. That players will rally around. And who will be that defensive stopper? |
| | Lon Kruger: This group should be very deep with its defensive abilities. Several guys on the perimeter are very good on-the-ball defenders and we should be able to keep fresh people on the court at all times. |
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| | Lon Kruger: Thanks for your interest. It should be a fun and exciting season. We look forward to getting unofficially started with our scrimmage at Long Beach State this weekend. Hope to see you at our alumni reunion next Monday and Tuesday and for our home opener on Nov. 14. |
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| | UNLV Moderator: Thanks for joining us, Rebel fans. Have a great day. |
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