Runnin’ Rebels sign 6-10 center from Houston

UNLV’s basketball program has enjoyed some recruiting success in the Houston area in recent years including guards Wink Adams and Michael Umeh.

Runnin’ Rebel head coach Lon Kruger can only hope that lanky 6-foot-10 center prospect Henry Buckley measures up to that standard before he’s done.

The senior from Wheatley High School in Houston, who quietly took an official recruiting trip to UNLV this past weekend, signed a national letter of intent with the Rebels on Tuesday.

Buckley, who averaged seven blocks and 7.3 rebounds en route to first team all-District 22-4A honors in Houston, received a late recruiting rush following a strong showing in several Texas spring events.

“He had several mid and high major schools interested in him but I don’t want to name them,” Keith White, head coach of the Houston Hoop Stars AAU team, said. “UNLV is getting a kid who really works hard and wants to get better. He’s a shot-blocker who runs the floor well and also is a really good rebounder and team player.”

The one knock on Buckley is that he tips the scales at just 200 pounds. For that reason he will attend prep school for a year, most likely The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., before enrolling at UNLV in the fall of 2010.

“He’s pretty thin right now and needs to get stronger,” White said. “He needs more experience. He’s a late-bloomer. But he’s a kid who will work really hard to get better. I think he’s going to be a really good player before he’s done there.”

On the surface Buckley sounds like another raw shot-blocker who eventually starred for Kruger at UNLV … Joel Anthony.

“Joel was much bigger and stronger when he came here (from junior college),” Kruger said. “But Henry has a lot of upside to him. The thing that is impressive about him is that he has such a great attitude and realizes that he is going to need to work hard to get to where he wants to be. He just needs time.”

Buckley’s stock shot up during the recent spring “Ice Breaker” Tourney in Houston. Eteamz.com called Buckley “the state’s best kept defensive weapon.”

“He had several games where he had double digits in both blocks and rebounds,” White said.

ESPN.com’s Insider gave the following evaluation of Buckley last October:

“October, 2008: Buckley is an extra long and thin athlete. He has good bounce, runs the floor with ease and changes shots with his length on the defense end of the floor. He finishes over defenders by extending over them with good touch and body control around the basket. He is active and a good rebounder on both ends. In the post he showed a right hand jump hook over his left shoulder. Buckley has good upside but must add strength to raise his level of recruiting. Overall a very intriguing prospect.”

White said Buckley will play for his Houston Hoops Stars team in the Reebok Invitational Tournament in Las Vegas on July 22-26.