KRUGER NAMED FINALIST FOR THE JOE B. HALL AWARD
Accolade presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I men’s college basketball
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UNLV men’s basketball head coach Kevin Kruger has been named one of 15 finalists for the 2022 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I men’s college basketball by collegeinsider.com.
The 2021-22 season marked the first for Kruger leading a college basketball program. An assistant for the Runnin’ Rebels for the previous two seasons (2019-21), he was hired as their head coach last March. The point guard on UNLV’s 2007 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Team as a senior under his father, legendary coach Lon Kruger, Kevin returned to Las Vegas after spending three years as an assistant coach at Oklahoma (2016-19).
During his first season at the helm of the program, Kruger led the Runnin’ Rebels to 18 wins – the most for UNLV in four years. The team went 10-8 in Mountain West play, exceeding preseason expectations with a fifth-place finish in the league standings. He and his staff revamped the roster with nine transfers and the team continually improved as the season progressed, advancing 43 spots in the KenPom ratings along the way.
Under Kruger’s leadership, three UNLV individuals earned 2021-22 All-Mountain West accolades: Bryce Hamilton (First Team), Donovan Williams (Sixth Man of the Year) and Royce Hamm Jr. (Honorable Mention).
Hamilton led the MW in scoring with 24.1 points per game and had 19 games with at least 20 points this season. Williams, a transfer from Texas, improved his scoring average almost 10 ppg from a year ago and his 3-point shooting percentage went up over 26 points. Hamm Jr., also a Texas transfer, was second in the nation in defensive rebounding rate this season as he recorded seven double-doubles and saw his rebounds per game increase almost seven per contest, finishing third in the league at 9.3 rpg.
2021-22 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS
Speedy Claxton, Hofstra
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Gerald Gillion, Chicago State
Kevin Kruger, UNLV
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Steve Lutz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Tony Madlock, South Carolina State
Jordan Mincy, Jacksonville
Kyle Neptune, Fordham
David Riley, Eastern Washington
Levell Sanders, Binghamton
Brette Tanner, Abilene Christian
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago
Chris Victor, Seattle
Mike Woodson, Indiana
The full announcement may be viewed by clicking here.