It's been ten years since the UNLV Runnin' Rebels last made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Since then, they've gone through five different head coaches with the latest being Kevin Kruger. He is the son of former UNLV coach Lon Kruger who actually had a winning record with the team at 161-74. UNLV used to be a basketball powerhouse especially during the early 1990's with legendary head coach Jerry Tarkanian at the helm. On Sunday, they took a major step in the right direction landing the commitment of hometown kid Dedan Thomas Jr. Dedan Thomas Jr. is the first 2024 commit for UNLV.
All roads lead home❤️🖤 #committed #gorebels pic.twitter.com/H4WIbXdUnl
— Dedanthomasjr (@dedanthomasjr) May 14, 2023
Dedan Thomas Jr. to UNLV is significant in that he is one of the absolute best point guards in the country. He was highly sought after by several of the nation's top basketball schools. He chose UNLV over offers from Arizona, Gonzaga, UCLA, Florida, Houston, Cal, LSU, Miami, San Francisco, Stanford, USC and Washington State.
His father Dedan Thomas Sr. also played for UNLV for three seasons from 1991-1994.
Thomas is an elite level point guard with phenomenal playmaking ability and a penchant for scoring the basketball. He will be playing his senior season at Liberty High School in Henderson, NV although there has been chatter about him possibly reclassifying to the class of 2023 and playing college basketball a year earlier.
UNLV scored a few major wins in the transfer portal so far with the additions of Jalen Hill from Oklahoma, Khalib Boone from Oklahoma State and Keylan Boone from Pacific. They still lacked a true point guard, however, and if Thomas does end up reclassifying, he is the missing piece for them.
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