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After six seasons as Dave Rose's right-hand man on the BYU Basketball bench, Dave Rice is "going home."
A former UNLV player and assistant coach, Rice is returning to Las Vegas to replace Lon Kruger as the head coach of the Runnin' Rebels.
"We were blessed to spend six great years at BYU with Coach Rose and a terrific staff and players," Rice shared with me via text on Sunday afternoon. "We will always be so proud of our time as Cougars."
On Monday, Rose released this statement:
"I'm very excited for Dave and his family. UNLV has hired a great coach. Dave is very deserving of this opportunity and he'll do a terrific job. He has been a huge part of our success over the last six seasons. He has a great mind for the game of basketball.
I'm grateful for all he's done for BYU and our program. We will miss Dave and Mindy and we wish them the very best at UNLV."
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As a player, Rice played for UNLV's 1990 national championship team and 1991 Final Four squad. He later coached 11 seasons on the Rebel bench as an assistant. Following a single season with Stew Morrill at Utah State, Rice began his run at BYU, joining Rose in 2005 and spending six seasons with the Cougars--the last three as Associate Head Coach.
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Rice had served as Rose's offensive coordinator since coming to BYU, and after working primarily with the guards and wings, Rice's positional duties shifted to the frontcourt during the 2010-11 season.
Rice's acumen as an offensive tutor and mentor for the big men came into sharp focus this past season. He benefited from coaching BYU's greatest ever scorer in Jimmer Fredette, but he was challenged by personnel issues up front, as first Chris Collinsworth and then Brandon Davies were lost to the team.
Rice was preternaturally positive in the face of adversity, always looking for the silver lining in every dark cloud. Even as BYU was forced to re-draw its offense after Davies' departure, Rice was looking for ways to make the Cougars' new approach pay dividends. When it came to forging ahead, neither Rose nor Rice gave any quarter.
Rice's cerebral nature and mellow countenance masked a competitiveness that drove the BYU offense to dizzying heights, as the Cougars annually paced the MWC with a never-slow-down attack. His contributions as an offensive guru of sorts have set a high standard, and Rose's choice to replace Rice will have sizable shoes to fill.
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Here is UNLV's press release announcing the hire:
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"Pending the approval by Nevada's Board of Regents, UNLV Athletics Director Jim Livengood has offered the UNLV men's basketball head coaching position to Dave Rice and he has accepted the offer.
No further information will be available until a press conference, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Monday, April 11, in the Board Room at the Thomas & Mack Center. Only credentialed members of the media are invited to attend the press conference.
Following the press conference, a Runnin' Rebel Fan Reception to welcome Rice back to UNLV will be held at 5 p.m. in the Cox Pavilion, which is adjacent to the Thomas & Mack Center. All fans are invited to the event, which is free and open to the public."
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