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The Runnin' Rebels, 20 years later

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Piotr Rasputin, Apr 1, 2010.

  1. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    I know, I know . . ."We already have a college basketball thread!"

    Yes we do.

    Hope you all enjoy this story. A fascinating read.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/2010/columns/story?id=5045144
     
  2. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Still sticks in my craw that Ball State didn't beat them.
     
  3. Chef2

    Chef2 Well-Known Member

    Great read.

    Honestly thought Tark was older than 80.
     
  4. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    Damn. Time flies.
     
  5. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Just a little defiant, aren't they? And entirely too proud of it.
     
  6. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    And this is a problem because?
     
  7. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    As hypocritical and scummy as the NCAA can be, for the organization to be that dogged into going after the University of Nevada-Las Vegas ... let me just say that where there's smoke, there's fire.

    UNLV smashed Duke for the '90 national title. Then, for some unknown reason, the NCAA decided to delay punishment for the school when it had its ducks in a row for the '90-'91 season. Guess the NCAA didn't want the controversy and sales of UNLV gear to dry up too quickly. Too bad Duke ruined their run at perfection.

    Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch. And they're STILL b_tching about it 20 years later. Enjoy the fact that Jerry Tarkanian is still living, beloved in the community and won a settlement. That Larry Johnson has plenty of money and lots of bitterness. That Greg Anthony still feels slighted ... guess his network gigs have made him miserable.
     
  8. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    So . . . in another thread, Sam dismisses the idea that UNLV's rumored point-shaving contributed to the loss to Duke in 1991, yet is all too eager to drive the Rebels' name into the dirt here.

    Sorry Sam, it's just that all I read in your last post was "They put a curbstomping on Duke, so I will stubbornly withhold any respect."
     
  9. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    You read that completely wrong, Piotr. Vegas smashed Duke in '90, and earned it ... and please try to prove where I said or implied ANYTHING otherwise.

    Devils were exhausted after surviving Nolan Richardson's 40 Minutes of Hell. Bobby Hurley was sick, and everyone else on the team not named Christian Laettner looked like it wanted to go home. The Rebels were very good, but Duke acted like it didn't give a flip and got steamrolled. That was Duke's problem, not Vegas's. Would the Devils have beaten Vegas had it possessed a little more energy and care in that game? No ... but I don't think it would have been a 30-point blasting, either. But again, that's Duke's problem.

    Duke didn't allow it to happen two years in a row. And, again, if UNLV was so eager to throw the game, it wouldn't have been ahead five with two minutes to go? Can't make Duke score six or more points in two minutes, especially not after giving every ounce of energy trying to slow that train down throughout the game (well, that and George Ackles was not covered when he wandered more than 10 feet away from the bucket offensively ... at that point, Duke's extra defender gave poor Greg Koubek a hand with Larry Johnson, who was wearing Koubek like a drenched sweatshirt).

    No bitterness toward Duke getting beat in '90. But yeah, no love lost toward that Vegas team, either. Did you read that story, Piotr? Call it slanting by the writers all one wishes, but Tark and the UNLV players were residing in Bitterville throughout the piece. Too freaking bad.
     
  10. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    "Bitterville . . . . "

    Your last post was all about how Duke "didn't give a flip," after a tough battle against Arkansas. I stand by what I said earlier: you don't want to give this Rebels team its due. If you thought they were crooks, then the whole point-shaving thing shouldn't be too much of a shocker or easily dismissed . . . unless you are a Duke fan who doesn't want to diminish that first title. Maybe adding Grant Hill made them that much better, who knows? I don't know that they were point shaving, and I don't know that the program was as dirty as the NCAA wanted it to be. But if I thought they were trouble (and the hot tub photo is pretty damning), it would be easy to believe they got caught in a point-shaving scandal as`well.

    As for bitterness, Tarkanian and the players spent their entire time at UNLV with the NCAA breathing down their necks due to Tarkanian's history at Long Beach State. Can't blame them for still being in the mode of not being able to enjoy their accomplishments.
     
  11. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Sheesh, Piotr ... you read better than this.

    Vegas earned that title on the floor in '90. Duke wouldn't have beaten the Rebels if it had played better. For whatever it might be worth, I'm simply saying that it probably wouldn't have been so embarrassing had the Devils had a little more energy or Bobby Hurley hadn't been running to the bathroom as quickly as he wanted to run 94 feet a few times a game. The Arkansas game took it out of Duke, while UNLV was a little more prudent in energy usage when it dumped Lethal Weapons 3. Yet, you're somehow reading this as I'm taking Vegas' title in '90 away from the team. I'm not.

    And Tarkanian was still bending rules during his tenure at UNLV. Obviously didn't learn a thing as he did the same at Fresno State, which is why the school distanced itself from him even though it so badly wanted a winner. Very similar to John Calipari's current situation, the defenders can claim witch hunt. The critics on the other side of the fence claim that that much smoke usually means a fire.

    What don't you understand, Piotr?
     
  12. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    Sam,

    I just think that when you say "Where there's smoke, there's fire," I don't understand how that doesn't also include the rumors of point-shaving in the loss to Duke.
     
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