Enjoyed watching his towel chewing, NBA-in-waiting teams.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12309855/hall-fame-coach-jerry-tarkanian-dies
Interesting that him and Dean Smith pass away in the same week. Kind of the yin and yang of college basketball in many ways.
A great coach. A lot of different ways to set up a program. But still a great coach.
@bobivry 26m There was the time Tark convinced his team the thin air at 7,200 feet in Laramie, Wy., wouldn't affect them because the game was indoors.
RIP Tark
He was one of my all time favorites.
Heard Chris Herren talking about him on the radio today. Sounds like Tark was geniune guy, loved by his players. Lost a good one today.
If you haven't seen the 30 for 30 on Chris Herren, it's a must see. Crazy story.
If Tark hasn't been forced out at UNLV:
Mitch Moss @MitchMossRadio 50 minutes ago
The #UNLV starting lineup in '92 could've been:
1 Jason Kidd
2 Anderson Hunt
3 J.R. Rider
4 Ed O'Bannon
5 Shawn Kemp
Per @stevecarprj. Wow
Seth Davis wrote a great book about John Wooden called "Wooden: A Coach's Life". There are some great anecdotes in there about Tark back when he was coaching, I believe, Long Beach State, and how he was always complaining that Wooden had an unfair advantage. I also really enjoy Jimmy Kimmel talking about growing up in Vegas where Tark was considered a deity. Definitely one of a kind who made the game a lot of fun to watch.
He played a role in one of MU's high points as a program. When we beat UNLV in 1978 MU ended up with what I am pretty sure is its last no 1 ranking. As I recall the players lobbied to be turned loose rather than the normal controled offense they ran and they simply ran UNLV out of the building. UNLV was highly ranked that year and that win got us to number 1 in both polls IIRC. Then we promptly got upset by Notre Dame.
The guy could coach, and his teams were fun to watch.
RIP
Tark was not a demon and Smith and Wooden are not saints just yet. Even Al probably does not get into heaven on a first ballot.