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Saturday, October 6, 2007

Recruit Thomas to visit UNLV

By Gary Bedore

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Don't discount UNLV as a possible destination for blue-chip basketball recruit Quintrell Thomas.

Thomas, a 6-foot-8 senior forward from St. Patrick High in Elizabeth, N.J., plans to visit the Las Vegas campus next Friday through Sunday.

He already has visited his other finalists - Kansas University, Maryland and Rutgers.

"People were wondering why we're taking that visit, and it's true, their conference (Mountain West) is not as strong as the rest, but UNLV went 30-7 last year and made it to the Sweet 16," Thomas' AAU coach, Derrick Bobbitt told Rivals.com.

Thomas is expected to pick a school a few days after the UNLV visit.

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Comments

jpstrayer (anonymous) says...

Let's see....Mountian West and Sweet Sixteen versus Bix XII (3-4 Big Monday games, plus several nationally televised games and exposure) and annual deep runs in the NCAA tourney....

Doesn't seem like a hard decision to me...unless you are looking for prosititues on the Las Vegas strip.

October 6, 2007 at 8:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

fivemog (anonymous) says...

If you were 18 years old and a high school senior, wouldn't you take a free trip to Vegas. It's Vegas baby, Vegas!
Rock Chalk!

October 6, 2007 at 3:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

I like to tout KUs strengths and virtues as much as anyone, but dissing UNLV and Kruger doesn't seem very wise, even though UNLV was once a den of basketball iniquity under Tark the Shark.

Which school, KU or UNLV, won the most recent ring? UNLV. 1990.

Which school, KU or UNLV, presently has a coach who coached in the L for 4 years? UNLV: Kruger head coached the Hawks for three years and assisted with the Knicks for one.

Which school, KU or UNLV, presently has a coach who cleaned up and built up the Illinois program that the other school's coach took over and road his coat tails on? UNLV: Kruger cleaned up the Illini after Lou Henson and returned them to respect. Self followed him.

Which school, KU or UNLV, has a coach who more recently took a team to the Final Four? UNLV: Kruger took Florida to the Final Four in 1994.

Which school, KU or UNLV, has a coach who, as a player, was named Big 8 player of the year two years in a row? UNLV: Kruger in 73 and 74.

Of course, KU IS twice the program UNLV will ever be, but UNLV is no slouch, Kruger is an exceptional coach, and Las Vegas, is not only gambling central, but one of the most economically dynamic second tier cities in the USA.

When QThomas has been interviewed, he has seemed a very intelligent, independent thinking person. His selection of Maryland, KU and UNLV tells me this young man is smart enough to know who the solid citizens and smart basketball men in college basketball are, even if the Roys and Howlands don't want him. He's not being fooled by the Caliparis, Calhouns, Pitinos, and Huggins of the world who probably do want him. He wants to play for principled coaches in a venue that will garner him some attention to advance his career. Self, Gary Williams and Lon Kruger all seem like very decent men to me, along with being winners in coaching. I don't know anything about Rutgers, but I'm guessing there must be a pretty decent man there as coach, also, or QThomas would not be considering the Scarlet Knights in his backyard.

I hope we get him, but I sure wouldn't be ashamed, if we lost him to UNLV and Unibrow, the second best Eddie Baller of his generation.

October 6, 2007 at 7:03 p.m. ( | suggest removal )