Page 79 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Magazine Winter 2022

UNLV

“I HAVE PROUDLY REPRESENTED THE

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM AND

TO NOW HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO LEAD IT,

I REALLY AM SPEECHLESS. THIS IS HOME

FOR ME AND MY FAMILY..."

-KEVIN KRUGER

Kruger has a smaller sample size as of this writing, but
quickly had his team off to a 3-0 start, winning close games
that most likely, previous Rebel teams would have lost. Fans
and media were quick to offer assessments that the team
was playing hard and with energy.

To understand the coaches and how they go about their
business, it’s important to understand their backgrounds.
Both were considered hard-nosed players and decisive in
their actions. They are both intense.

La Rocque, the daughter of legendary Las Vegas high school
coach, Al, helped lead Stanford to four straight NCAA
Final Four appearances, while playing for the Cardinal.
She then coached at her alma mater from 2017 until she left
for UNLV. As an assistant, she helped lead the Cardinal to
NCAA Tournament appearances in each season, including
two Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight and won the Pac-12 Conference
Tournament Championship in 2019. From 2017-20, Stanford
had an overall record of 82-22 and was 43-10 in conference
play. “I would say she’s intense, but she’s intense with a pur-
pose,” UNLV player and 2020 conference defensive player
of the year Bailey Thomas said in a Review-Journal article.
“Everything she says is instructive. She just wants to get
the best out of you.”

Kruger began his collegiate playing career at Arizona
State, where he earned his criminal justice degree in 2006,
before transferring to UNLV. As the starting point guard
for his father, Lon, he helped lead UNLV to 30 wins and that
Sweet 16. He earned All-Mountain West Third Team hon-
ors and was named to the conference's all-tournament team.

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