As Katin Reinhardt and his dad, Ernie, run on the beach in preparation for his advancement to college basketball, Katin knows he made the right decision, despite it being a gamble at first.

Last August, while Reinhardt was looking for a new school that would fit him perfectly, he took a chance by choosing UNLV and head coach Dave Rice over big time programs like Texas, Syracuse and Baylor.

Coming from wildly successful Mater Dei High School in Los Angeles, the combo guard with a ton of swagger and confidence took some ridicule from the locals in the LA area for passing up on the big names and heading to a "mid-major" like UNLV.

Less than a year after he proudly made his decision, Reinhardt is getting the last laugh, and there is certainly no more teasing when he wears Runnin' Rebel gear to the gym these days.

Reinhardt said of the difference in perception, "When I committed, they were like, 'Well, Reinhardt is going to a mid-major school.' Then, we beat North Carolina and other schools. We get the great recruiting class and everyone was like, 'Wow, you guys are a top 10 team in the country.'"

"People come up to me and say, 'Man, I'm excited to see UNLV.'"

Of course, much of the credit goes to Rice's passion for the program. It was that vision that Rice relayed to Reinhardt that sold the No. 38 prospect in the nation to make his commitment.

Once the charismatic Reinhardt bought in, he knew that he could go out and help Rice bring in other top players and begin the transformation that both believed in last summer.

"I was talking to the (UNLV) coaches before I committed and they talked about wanting to build a powerhouse program and get UNLV back on the map," Reinhardt said. "When I committed I knew their hopes were to build a big program, so I knew if I committed I could start helping get other players."

And that's exactly what Reinhardt did. In fact, he hasn't stopped yet. He was instrumental in getting the Rebels' most recent commit, Savon Goodman, fired up in the same manner that Rice did for him.

Despite living on the opposite coast throughout high school, Reinhardt used his connection with Goodman, who is ranked No. 72 in the 2012 class, to help persuade the high energy forward from Philadelphia.

"I've known Savon since about 12 (years old)," Reinhardt said. "I talk to him everyday about coming to play. Him and I are real cool with each other and I just told him, 'You can be a part of something that is real special.'"

"I think he's excited, as well as everyone else, that UNLV is on the rise and going to go real far this year. I think he wants to be a part of that. He tells me he loves the school."

Goodman is the latest addition but this has been a whirlwind of a year for the Rebel program in recruiting circles. In fact, if you take in consideration transfers like Khem Birch and Roscoe Smith, this could very well be the top recruiting class ever for UNLV.

The highlight of the class is man-child Anthony Bennett, who is ranked No. 7 nationally and the No. 1 power forward. Bennett and Reinhardt don't have many ties but they were the two highlights of the Best of Las Vegas event last summer, where each of them put on a show for the Rebel faithful in attendance.

Although Reinhardt knew that UNLV was going all out for Bennett's services, he was still just as pumped and elated as any fan of the program when the five-star declared for the Rebels.

Reinhardt said, "I was shocked. When (Bennett) dropped Kentucky, I knew he was going to come to UNLV. I was ecstatic. To have a player like that in my class to come in and be a factor right away, it's great."

With the complete overhaul of the roster and eight very talented new faces, the stage is set for the Rebels to become just what Rice and Reinhardt spoke about less than a year ago.

The only thing that could hold back this group now is ego and a possible discontent when not getting the playing time one desires. That's going to take a dedication from the entire unit not to destroy team chemistry and stay committed to the same goal.

That doesn't sound like it's going to be an issue, according to Reinhardt. He says that it is already being addressed and talked about by the players themselves.

"I keep in contact with a lot of the players," said Reinhardt, who isn't due in Las Vegas until after the July 4th holiday. "Anthony Marshall and Mike Moser are the two people I've gotten close too. I also talk to Bryce (Jones) and Justin (Hawkins) a lot.

"Everyone is on the same page. Everyone on this team wants to win a national championship, which is key, especially for the coaching staff. It helps that we have a whole city behind us, too."

The goals are lofty and expectations are going to be at their highest since the days that Jerry Tarkanian roamed the Thomas & Mack sidelines. Reinhardt noted that he's excited to be one of the first to start the transformation but that Rice is only going to continue to get better on the recruiting trail continue to build UNLV into a national power every single season.

"From being one of the first to commit, it's just huge. Now, it's not even just the 2012 class. You know the 2013 and years after that are even going to be better."

For more in-depth information, be sure to check out Rebel-Confidential.