RIP Jerry Tarkanian

[Big Circus]

Bad month for hoops coaches.

Jerry Tarkanian, Las Vegas icon and Hall of Fame basketball coach, dies at 84 - Las Vegas Sun News

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

It will be interesting to see how his obit is played. UNLV in its heyday was a hell of a story.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I'd guess 75 percent of fans, maybe more, now feel about the NCAA the way Tark has been telling us to feel since the 1970s.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

Damn. Hell of an entertaining guy. I came really, really close to covering him.

RIP Tark.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

I don't think teams like Mason, VCU and Wichita State make Final Four runs without UNLV becoming so good under Tark. Mid-majors would still be fighting for respectability if the Running Rebels didn't kick down that door a quarter-century ago.

 

[poindexter]

He is an sj.com hero, for he originated the often-used Cleveland State joke.

 

[Songbird]

Few things I wanted more as a teenager than for Long Beach State to beat his UNLV juggernauts. Rarely happened.

Tark's Runnin' Rebs are forever an icon of American sports.

 

[Vombatus]

Chewed that towel like a dog toy. RIP.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

With Smith going a few days ago and now this, there must be a pretty big game somewhere that needed coaches.

 

[Boom_70]

The Rebel has stopped running. RIP. What a show in it's heyday. Always made it a point to catch game
when I was in Vegas. Amazing. 1990 Championship game against Duke was the beatdown to beat all
beatdowns. Rarely see a college team put 100 points.

I'll take that all day over the slow down iso dribble drive **** you get today

 

[EStreetJoe]

RIP Tark the Shark.
Remember watching him on TV chewing that towel during tournament games.

Hate to be morbid, but they say things happen in threes. Which college coaching great is next?

 

[JackReacher]

I think Dean Smith, Ed Sabol, and Tark is enough for one week.

 

[Small Town Guy]

For a work project, had a chance to write a bit about Tark's Long Beach State days. His 1971 team should have beaten UCLA in the tourney. Ed Ratleff got screwed on his fifth foul. It's at the 14:30 mark of this video.

1971 UCLA VS. Long Beach State - YouTube

Ratleff hasn't gotten over it, that's for sure, although he has some great stories about UCLA boosters from that game/era. But it was a blast going back to those days because the recruiting tales were just insane, and Tark was actually outgunned a few times when it came to gifts and benefits.

 

[MileHigh]

I was a HUGE Tark/UNLV fan. Loved watching them play and would see them often during their trips to SoCal to play the Titans, 49ers and Anteaters. Ahead of his time, especially when it came to saying F-you to the NCAA since everyone else now says F-you to the NCAA.

The 1990 title game remains one of the most relished sporting moments for me. As much as I'm still pained by the 1991 Final Four debacle.

RIP to a giant. The Strip should go dark tonight for a moment to mark his passing.

 

[Small Town Guy]

The story of him not becoming the Lakers coach is quite the tale too, MileHigh. Wonder if we'd be remembering five LA titles in the 80s.

 

[EStreetJoe]

I think Dean Smith, Ed Sabol, and Tark is enough for one week.

I was so focused on it being 3 coaches I overlooked Ed Sabol as being part of the three famous sports world figures.

 

[MileHigh]

I love the photo in the L.A. Times obit by the always awesome Chris Dufresne just for the typewriter in the background that I and many others used back in the day to type out the play-by-play. Also won four state JC titles in California. And had a season at Redlands High School, one of my high school's main rivals, where the towel chomping began.

Jerry Tarkanian, Hall of Fame coach at UNLV, dies at 84 - LA Times

 

[Boom_70]

I think Dean Smith, Ed Sabol, and Tark is enough for one week.

That's quite a group. All with significant contributions to my sports viewing pleasure in the past 50 years or so.

 

[MTM]

I love the photo in the L.A. Times obit by the always awesome Chris Dufresne just for the typewriter in the background that I and many others used back in the day to type out the play-by-play. Also won four state JC titles in California. And had a season at Redlands High School, one of my high school's main rivals, where the towel chomping began.

Jerry Tarkanian, Hall of Fame coach at UNLV, dies at 84 - LA Times

A look at Tark's days in the IE

ALEXANDER: The Tarkanian story began right here:

 

[MileHigh]

Good stuff from Jim, including this nice pull that I had forgotten about:

Late arrivals stood outside the gym and listened to the game broadcasts on the old KPRO/1440, with current Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler calling the play-by-play.