Top 40 guard Katin Reinhardt chooses UNLV

On the same day he rose to No. 36 in MaxPreps.com's Class of 2012 Top 100, Katin Reinhardt of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) made a verbal commitment to head coach Dave Rice and Nevada-Las Vegas.

"It was about opportunity and the coaching staff and what they are trying to do with the UNLV program right now," said Ernie Reinhardt, Katin's dad. "Style of play probably trumped all those and Coach Rice's success at BYU. It's an offense that is very conducive to his skills and they have some really good players on the roster."

Reinhardt was one of the breakout stars of the 2010-11 high school season. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound shooting guard averaged 17.4 points per game to help Mater Dei go 32-3 and capture California's Division I state title. He erupted for 28 points in a nationally-televised blowout win over Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.) at the City of Palms Classic last December.

"It's a good fit," said Dinos Trigonis, Reinhardt's Belmont Shore club coach. "Dave Rice is a very, very good offensive coach for guards, as you saw with Jimmer Fredette. I think that was very appealing to Katin and his dad."

Last month in Las Vegas while playing with Belmont Shore, he showed signs of being able to play a lead guard role.



"My ballhandling has gotten better but that is something I'm going to have to improve at the next level," Reinhardt told MaxPreps in July."

"I think he has the capability to play any of the three perimeter spots," Trigonis said. "He is better on the ball than people give him credit for. He's a very versatile player."

Reinhardt, who previously made a pledge to USC before opening things up early in the summer, joins point guard DaQuan Cook of Digital Harbor (Baltimore, Md.) in UNLV's 2012 recruiting class. Rice and the Rebels also have a commitment from 2013 forward Christian Wood.