Former assistant Carlin Hartman emerges as candidate for UNLV head coach

UNLV Rebel Assistant Coach Carlin Hartman talks with Cheiekna Dembele and center James Hampshire (30) during practice in Mendenhall Center at UNLV Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Photo by Steve Marcus

Could UNLV’s search for a new head basketball coach lead the program back to a familiar face?

Florida assistant Carlin Hartman has emerged as a candidate to replace Kevin Kruger, who was fired on Saturday after four years leading the program. Hartman has been contacted by UNLV, according to a source, and another source confirmed Hartman is interested in pursuing the job. It's unknown how many candidates the university is in contact with.

Hartman spent one year at UNLV in 2021-22, serving as a top assistant on Kruger’s first staff. Prior to that, Hartman logged five years as an assistant under Lon Kruger at Oklahoma, where he developed a reputation as a strong recruiter and player-development guru.

Hartman left UNLV after one year to become a lead assistant and associate head coach at Florida, where he has spent the past three seasons.

Florida’s status as a title contender could be a complicating factor in Hartman’s availability. The No. 3-ranked Gators just won the SEC title and head into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and one of the favorites to win the national championship. Florida begins its tournament push today against No. 16 seed Norfolk State.

Hartman, 52, has never been a head coach at the college level but appears to be ready for the move to the top spot after more than two decades as an assistant.

Hartman played at Tulane from 1991-94 and enjoyed a short stint as a pro in the new-defunct Continental Basketball Association. He then joined the coaching ranks as an assistant at Rice in 1996-97 before moving on to assistant jobs at McNeese State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Richmond, James Madison, Columbia, and Rice again before arriving at Oklahoma.

Following his lone season with Kevin Kruger, Hartman was lured to Florida to join newly hired Todd Golden and given the title of associate head coach.

Under Golden, Florida has sported the best offensive attack in the country this season, ranking No. 1 in KenPom’s adjust offense metric. The Gators are No. 3 in scoring at 85.4 points per game and No. 28 in 3-point attempts (27.9 per game), but they also generate a ton of points via the glass, ranking eighth in offensive rebound rate (36.9%) and 31^st in extra scoring chances (4.1 per game).

The prospect of bringing that high-powered playbook to UNLV makes Hartman an intriguing candidate, as does his ability to connect with players.

Victor Iwuakor was initially recruited to Oklahoma by Hartman and ended up following him to UNLV as a transfer, and he credits his former coach for developing his game.

“He was not just a coach, he was like my dad with the way we bonded,” Iwuakor said. “Literally after every practice we had a workout. He always took care of the bigs and I think he helped me a lot. He wanted me to succeed so much.”

Iwuakor, who is now playing professionally in Finland, believes Hartman is ready to lead his own team as a head coach.

“He’s been around a lot of great head coaches,” Iwuakor said. “He’s been in big programs and he knows what it takes to win and how to hold players accountable. If he was a head coach, I would have loved to play for him.”

It is not known how many other candidates UNLV has contacted. Athletic director Erick Harper said in a statement that he would conduct a national search but did not set out a timeline for making a hire.

An expedient conclusion to the process would benefit the program. The transfer portal opens on Monday and four UNLV players have already entered their names, including the team’s two leading scorers, sophomore D.J. Thomas and junior Jaden Henley.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.