La Rocque, UNLV looking to add ‘program players’ via transfer portal
The UNLV’S women’s basketball team is going to have quite a different look next season, with two starters no longer with the program — including the most accomplished player in Scarlet and Gray history.
There is stability in the most important area, however, as Lindy La Rocque is set to return for her fifth year as coach. She is currently working on building another contender for the Mountain West Conference title and playing in a third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
La Rocque will be dealing with a reworked roster in 2024-25. Star forward Desi-rae Young has graduated, taking two Mountain West Player of the Year trophies with her, and starting shooting guard Alyssa Durazo-frescas is in the transfer portal, subtracting a career 41.6% 3-point shooter from the roster.
Senior forward Nneka Obiazor also entered the portal after serving as a key reserve last year (8.4 points, 4.4 rebounds per game).
After subtracting the graduates and transfers and adding the incoming freshmen, UNLV’S roster is left with two openings to fill via the portal. La Rocque said the team has already hosted several veterans on campus visits and that the process should move quickly — especially with the portal set to close May 1.
“We’re looking to add two transfers,” La Rocque said. “A guard and a forward. We’d love to get it done early, but it doesn’t always work like that. You’re trying to find culture fits first, and then skill.”
The personnel shake-up is going to make UNLV a different team next year, but there is still enough high-end talent returning to make it the favorite in the Mountain West. The team’s ceiling will likely be determined by the incoming recruiting class, with an emphasis on La Rocque’s efforts in the transfer portal.
La Rocque believes the program’s recent success makes for an attractive transfer destination. UNLV went 30-3 last year and finished No. 20 in the AP Top 25 poll.
“There are tremendous players in the portal, which is a great thing,” she said. “We want to continue to get better and add talent. We’re pretty picky and selective of who we’re even going to try to talk to. We’re not just going into the portal trying to find starters, but program players.”
UNLV was back on the court this week, working on individual skills and beginning its offseason strength and conditioning regimen.
Point guard Kiara Jackson is set to return for her senior season after earning All-mountain West first-team honors, and reigning freshman of the year Amarachi Kimpson appears to be on a star trajectory as well. Rising senior forward Alyssa Brown played well down the stretch, giving the team a reliable frontcourt presence.
As for the pieces around them, La Rocque wants to increase the overall talent level and believes there are several paths to make it happen.
For the past three seasons, the offense has run through the low post, where Mountain West opponents found Young to be pretty much unstoppable. Finding another player with that exact skill set would be ideal, but La Rocque is willing to tweak the team’s play style to facilitate another NCAA Tournament run.
“Obviously, not having Desi will make things different, but I don’t think we’re going to be totally, drastically different,” La Rocque said. “It’s kind of hard to know until we get exactly who we get. I’m not going to force a square into a round hole. It will be someone else taking a lot of the shots, but we’re confident we have talent on our team filling those holes. Without Desi we can get creative and run some different things until somebody establishes themselves down there (at the low post), but we’re not throwing everything we did out the window.”
Odds are, La Rocque is going to figure it out. She’s got a 102-22 record in her first four years in charge, she’s got veteran stars returning and she’s high on the freshman class. UNLV may win in different ways next season, but the team is going to win.
How far it goes in March will likely come down to the roster’s finishing touches, which will be cemented over the next two weeks.
La Rocque is on it.
“The portal stuff is hard. It’s like speed dating. For a program like ours that is heavy on high school recruiting, you’ve got to do three years’ worth of work in two weeks. You’ve got to get to know the kids and their support systems. You’ve got to move quick, but not too fast. And it’s got to be a fit,” she said.