The hiring Friday of former UNLV coach Lon Kruger by Oklahoma could impact the Arizona Wildcats to varying degrees.

Lon Kruger's move to Oklahoma from UNLV could have an impact on Arizona in various ways (US Presswire photo/Christopher Hanewinckel)

The possibilities:

• Kruger and Arizona coach Sean Miller wanted the series between the two schools to resume, according to the Las Vegas Sun last year. With former Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in the same capacity with the Rebels, a series between the rivals remains a possibility. A game in Las Vegas benefits Arizona from a recruiting standpoint because nationally-recognized programs Findlay Prep and Bishop Gorman High School are in the area.
• Gorman includes Arizona Class of 2012 targets Rosco Allen, Ben Carter and Shabazz Muhammad. Gorman’s head coach is Grant Rice, brother of former UNLV player David Rice, a BYU assistant who has emerged as a top candidate.
• Findlay Class of 2013 shooting guard Nigel Williams-Goss verbally committed to UNLV earlier this season because of Kruger. Williams-Goss told me in November before that commitment that Arizona, Washington and UNLV were his leaders. He said that he maintained constant contact with Arizona’s coaches, especially assistant Archie Miller. He went so far as to say that he hoped to take an unofficial visit of the UA campus. Findlay assistant Todd Simon told me Saturday morning that Williams-Goss “is not sure what he will do yet.”

Kruger’s move also could impact former UA assistant coach Mike Dunlap, currently an aide at St. John’s who is mentioned as a candidate by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Don’t count on Livengood raiding Sean Miller’s staff, namely Archie Miller, who should have his own program within two years. When Livengood underwent a coaching search for UNLV’s football program before last season he purposely stayed away from Mike Stoops‘ staff, which included former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes at the time.

Former UCLA players Chace Stanback and Mike Moser, a former Arizona commit, transferred to UNLV because Kruger coached there. Stanback, who will be a senior, and Moser, a sophomore next year after having to sit out this season, did not attend a meeting with Kruger Friday night.

Moser, a 6-8 forward with a 7-foot wingspan from Portland, committed to Arizona in 2008 but changed his mind when former coach Lute Olson abruptly retired before the 2008-09 season. He played sparingly as a freshman at UCLA in 2009-10 before transferring to UNLV.

How snakebit do you think Moser feels right now?

RELATED LINK AT WILDCATSPORTSREPORT.COM: Las Vegas Bishop Gorman forward Ben Carter recruitment heats up from Arizona and others

LAS VEGAS — Arizona assistant coach Archie Miller could not attend Saturday night’s double-overtime thriller between Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman here because of a prior engagement in Pullman, Wash.

So Miller went to his next-best option knowing that some recognizable coaches would be in attendance at Cox Pavilion, which is adjacent to Thomas and Mack Arena, UNLV’s home arena. Lon Kruger and his Rebels staff were among the many collegiate coaches watching the prospects on the Findlay and Gorman rosters.

More appropriately, these coaches attended Findlay’s 89-86 victory to be seen by the players and the parents or guardians.

With Arizona’s staff in the Palouse coaching the Wildcats to their most important victory in the brief Sean Miller Era, what was their best way to compete against the scenario of UCLA coach Ben Howland sitting courtside next to Jerry Tarkanian?

What was their answer for Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford walking on the court after the game in plain view?

Findlay guard Nick Johnson, a Class of 2011 signee with Arizona, became an extension of the Wildcat coaching staff. He not only had the task of guarding potential McDonald’s All-American Shabazz Muhammad of Bishop Gorman, but also show Muhammad’s teammates — Class of 2012 standouts Rosco Allen and Ben Carter — what could lie ahead if they team with Johnson at Arizona.

“I talked to Archie and he said just go at them,” said Johnson, when asked about playing against the potential future teammates. “Archie said, ‘Make them see what they are still missing.’ I mean, they are young bucks still. We are recruiting them. It would be huge to get them.”

Some of the more optimistic Arizona fans believe the “them” Johnson is talking about should include Muhammad, a slender yet strong 6-foot-6, 205-pound, Class of 2012 wing player who is garnering interest from the nation’s elite including North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Kentucky and Texas. Memphis, coached by former UA player and assistant coach Josh Pastner, is also aggressively recruiting him.

Muhammad contends that he includes Arizona on his list, but even his high school coach Grant Rice insinuated to me after Saturday night’s game that the Wildcats are not in his immediate plans.

“Nick playing against Shabazz tonight was a good individual matchup,” Rice said. “They will probably play each other again in college at some point.”

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Former Marana Mountain View post player Demetris Morant is working on his footwork around the basket and his jump hook as a junior at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of AAU team Dream Vision)

This is an excerpt of a “Nothing but the Notes” package reported by Javier Morales and Anthony Gimino and published at WildcatSportsReport.com

Also: To engage in a poll and to view where Arizona and The Citadel players rate in terms of pro scouts, visit our partner site WILDABOUTAZCATS.com

LAS VEGAS — In the last two to three years, former Marana Mountain View basketball player Demetris Morant has moved from Miami to Tallahassee to Tucson and now to Las Vegas.

“Hopefully, I will be here until I graduate,” Morant, a junior forward at Bishop Gorman High School, said with a laugh Thursday after an individual workout.

Morant, a 6-foot-8-inch, 190-pound, lanky forward with a 7-foot wingspan, worked on his footwork and jump hook with a trainer away from his Gorman teammates. Morant, whose transfer papers from Mountain View recently cleared, cannot join Gorman’s team for workouts until he takes a physical next week. He moved to Las Vegas with his parents, who relocated to the area because of a job transfer.

The Gaels engaged in drills and a scrimmage together in front of college recruiters, including Memphis coach Josh Pastner, the former UA basketball and assistant coach. Pastner has extended a scholarship offer to Morant. San Diego State has also offered a scholarship. Arizona, ASU, Washington State and Utah are among others giving Morant a look.

His training session with former UNLV player Warren Rosegreen on Thursday night made it obvious that Morant’s focus is working on his post moves. After playing youth football for most of his childhood, Morant did not play organized basketball until he was a freshman in Florida.

“It’s kind of hard not staying with one team and getting to know my teammates,” he said. “My freshman year, it was my first year playing basketball, so I didn’t know what I was doing. I hardly played. Last year in Tucson I got better and became one of the best ones on the team. They depended on me.

“This year, with Gorman, I will have a lot of help.”

Most of that help will come from the UA-targeted Class of 2012 recruits Shabazz Muhammad, Rosco Allen and Ben Carter, all of whom are destined to be major college basketball players.

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