April 10, 2008
LAS VEGAS -
The UNLV men's basketball team is receiving some early national respect for the 2008-09 season as two senior writers for national sports news websites have the Runnin' Rebels ranked in their early top-25 polls for next season.
Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com has UNLV ranked 24th in the country heading into next season and wrote, "Lon Kruger is a great coach and most of his good players are returning from a 27-win team, save Curtis Terry. So expect UNLV and BYU to remain at the top of the MWC standings for the third straight year."
Also, Jeff Goodman from FoxSports.com has the Runnin' Rebels ranked 25th. Goodman wrote, "Lon Kruger gets as much as anyone out of his talent. The Runnin' Rebels advanced to the second round (of the NCAA Tournament), and Kruger's lone key loss is that of Curtis Terry. Wink Adams and Joe Darger are back, and UNLV will add athletic big man Beas Hamga, who sat out this season."
UNLV finished the 2007-08 season with an overall record of 27-8 and lost to eventual national champion Kansas in the NCAA Tournament's second round. The appearance in the NCAA Tournament was the second straight for the Runnin' Rebels, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2007 tournament. UNLV finished second in the MWC this past season with a 12-4 mark and won the conference tournament championship for the second straight year. UNLV will only lose two players from last year's team - seniors Curtis Terry and Corey Bailey.
The two articles may be accessed by clicking the following links: CBSSports.com and FoxSports.com
