“It was a mild heart attack,” son Danny Tarkanian said. “He said he feels pretty good, but he was scared.”
“He was very alert, and he sounded good. Hopefully he’s going to be OK for a while,” Danny Tarkanian said. “As a family, we feel pretty relieved at this point.
Tarkanian was one of the best college coaches of all time, however his long time battle with the NCAA overshadowed his sideline accomplishments. Here’s to a timely recovery by Tark the Shark.
There have been a rash of early season upsets so far. Cleveland State over Vanderbilt, Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State over UCLA, and Pittsburgh being taken down by Long Beach State. Now the number one team, the stacked and talented North Carolina Tar Heels were stunned by UNLV, 90-80.
These may all turn out to be fluky early season wins, but the Tar Heels are expected to contend for the national title this year. It’s only one game so I won’t make too much out of it since everyone has a bad night. I’m not making excuses for the Heels, but it was practically a road game for them. It was played at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Eventually the road catches up with you.
I won’t pencil the Tar Heels in for a championship, but I won’t be surprised if they win it all. But for now let things play out early in the season before handing out rankings like Halloween candy.
In the aftermath of not even getting a courtesy call for the head basketball coaching job, former UNLV great Larry Johnson isn’t too happy with the athletic adminstration at the school.
“I don’t like those Arizona people (AD Jim Livengood came over from the University of Arizona) in the administration and they don’t like me,” Johnson said. “It’s not UNLV Runnin’ Rebels no more, it’s UNLV Wildcats right now.”
Outside of Stacey Augmon getting a job as an assistant to new coach to new coach Dave Rice, players from the Tarkanian era, most notably from the late 80’s/early 90’s, are getting the cold shoulder from the Arizona contingent.
“Outside of gambling, we put Las Vegas on the map,” said Johnson, who at age 42 is a successful businessman with a 15-year-old son, Lasani. “I was bitter for years at the way they treated us and Coach Tark. The administration looked at us as villains. Tark was like my father. If they messed with him, they messed with me.”
I agree somewhat, but Tark put Vegas on the map. They already had a solid program that could compete with the national powers. LJ and crew just took it to another level. They were like the Miami Hurricanes of college basketball. They were looked at as villains, but they were just a supremely talented basketball team.
Johnson had some other things to say about the state of the program,the “Arizona Connection” and how former coach Lon Kruger won him over.
“Kruger gained my respect for what he was doing and the way he was trying to bring back previous Rebels, who had a bitter taste in their mouth with the University for how the Tark situation was handled,” Johnson said. “Lon did an excellent job extending the olive branch. I was attending more games, going to alumni banquets and all the alumni golf tournaments. I was getting back involved.”
“People all over town, wherever I went, asked me if I wanted to coach,” Johnson said. “They wanted me and Stacey, knowing he had been an assistant coach. They had to hire him (as an assistant), knowing they would never consider me.”
“It’s all about recruiting and identification with past performers at the school,” Johnson said. The administration turned its back on us and consequently players have left for Texas, Duke and other top national programs. Today, I would probably do the same.”
I don’t know about coach rice, but maybe he could extend the olive branch to Johnson, being an ex-teammate of his. I’m not taking sides, but he was one of the greatest Rebels of all time. Maybe it’s time to embrace who brought you to prominence.
Former UNLV great Larry Johnson has expressed an interest in the vacant coaching job at his alma mater. His comments about it were kinda comical if you ask me.
“I’m definitely a scientist in this. It wouldn’t be no problem at all. You recruit and get some good people around you.”, when describing his qualifications for the job. I don’t think he’ll be seriously considered but it would be interesting to see how it would turn out. I never thought that Johnson would call himself a scientist at anything.
While the UNLV Rebels search for a coach there are candidates that are rumored to be interested in the job. Former Rebel Reggie Theus and BYU assistant Dave Rice are the leading candidates.
They might have company. A report in the Detroit News is saying Bob Knight is interested in the UNLV job. This is a key hire for the Rebels to sustain momentum to get back to the heights they were at when Jerry Tarkanian was coach. Knight and UNLV would be an odd mix, but he did make it work at Texas Tech.
Another person that is showing interest is former Rebel Larry Johnson Arguably the greatest player in Rebels history, has said that he would love to take on the job. He discussed the idea with Tarkanian and started doing some self promotion.
“I would love to do it,” Johnson said. “This situation is just like ideal. It’s close to my heart. If they hire me, we would get back to being the Runnin’ Rebels.”
“I’ve turned down several assistant jobs in the NBA that I just didn’t feel good about. I would love it at UNLV.”
He also mentioned that former teammate Stacey Augmon would come on board as an assistant.
“He’s willing to jump at the opportunity,” Johnson said, “but he didn’t have much faith in what’s going on there.
“We can put butts in the seats and we definitely can recruit. There’s no growing pains I would have to go through, and if I have the right cast around me, I believe I can do it. And I really believe the city would be behind me.”
There are questions about the lack of experience Johnson has coaching but he believes he could get the job done if given the right staff. That remains to be seen. I think Rice will end up being the next coach of the Rebels. They need a coach not someone who has a name and will fill seats.
Various reports are saying that Oklahoma will name UNLV’s Lon Kruger as its men’s basketball coach. Oklahoma says they will hold off on the announcement until the players at UNLV are informed. Kruger has told CBSSports.com that he hasn’t seen the report.
Say anything to soften the blow. Kruger said he was staying at UNLV as recent as yesterday and now it’s looking like he has a change of heart. It’s known that coaches will always do that. Say one thing and do another. It’s in their DNA. As far as Kruger goes he’s becoming another version of Larry Brown. He can’t ever get comfortable in one place. He’s not a bad guy, just a rolling stone.
This is a good hire for Oklahoma and a big loss for UNLV. He’s won everywhere he’s been, except the NBA. There’s never been a hint of scandal anywhere he’s been and he is a class guy. He should have the Sooners back to respectability in a few years.
UNLV might have to turn to a former Rebel to take over (Dave Rice, Reggie Theus). This is going to be a key hire for the program. They’ve built up some momentum after being irrelevant since the mid 90s. They need someone to keep the ball rolling, not a big name seat filler.
Since it’s March Madness time, I decided to do a little research and came up with a list of the top teams that never won the NCAA tournament. I’ll say this, my list won’t be one that most agree upon , but I think it will be tough to dispute. This list comes from 1980 to present day.
5. 1991 Arkansas Razorbacks– The Razorbacks were deep, talented, and athletic as any team in the nation which includes the dominant UNLV team that failed to win that year. They just didn’t have UNLV’s mental toughness. Led by Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, big man Oliver Miller, and coached by Mr. 40 minutes of hell, Nolan Richardson.
For all the talent they had, for some reason they couldn’t put it together come tournament time. Arizona State gave them all they could handle in the second round and people started questioning whether Arkansas had what it takes to make it to the Final Four. They seemed to answer that question when they dismantled Alabama, a team that gave them fits in the SEC. Then they ran into a hot Kansas team and it looked like the Razorbacks tried to out-talent the Jayhawks instead of outplaying them.
Everyone figured it would be UNLV vs. Arkansas for all the marbles but both teams came up short. The Hogs finished 34-4.
5a. 1991 LSU Tigers– Any team with Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Jackson (Abdul Mahmoud Rauf), and Stanley Roberts belong on my list. The Tigers underperformed most of the year finishing with a 23-9 record. The supporting cast wasn’t that bad either outside of LSU’s big three. The problem was that Dale Brown couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag. I know he did more with less previously, but when he had serious talent he couldn’t win.
The Tigers bowed out in the second round of the 1990 NCAA tournament to Georgia Tech and Lethal Weapon 3 (Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver, and Kenny Anderson) in a 94-91 thriller. What I remember from that game was Shaq and Stanley blocking every shot Georgia Tech’s centers put up and Jackson missing an off balance three that ended the season of a team that started ranked number two in the country.
A serious waste of talent as Jackson went pro and Muslim, Roberts flunked out and went overseas and Shaq saw zone defenses for two more years.
4. 1993 Michigan Wolverines- The Fab Five was at full strength for two years and ran roughshod over the college basketball world. Although they looked undisciplined at times these kids could flat out play.
After falling short against Duke in the 1991 finals as freshman, it was predetermined that the championship was theirs for the taking as long as they were in Ann Arbor.
When the Wolverines won the Maui Invitational, beating eventual national champion North Carolina and Final Four participant Kansas, many figured the Wolverines would run to a top seed and Big Ten title. They got a top seed but not a Big Ten crown, being edged out by Indiana twice by one point.
In the tournament they got a second round scare, having to go to overtime against UCLA and close games against George Washington and Temple. Somewhere John Chaney is still seething. After beating Kentucky in the semifinals, I figured that Michigan had the title in the bag. The game against Kentucky was one of those games where everyone says “the winner of this game will win the championship”. Well, we all know what happened in the championship, close game, the timeout that wasn’t, ballgame thanks for coming. Michigan lost to North Carolina 77-71 to finish 30-4.
Chris Webber left for the NBA and the fabs were no more.
3. 1991 UNLV Runnin Rebels- It was a close call to put this team at number three. They were one of the most dominant teams to ever hit the hardwood. Others will point out that they played in the Big West, but when they went out of conference they blew them out as well, Check out the scores over NCAA tourney teams Louisville, Michigan State, Princeton, Rutgers, Florida State, and Arkansas. The Arkansas game was a 1 vs. 2 matchup on the road and the even though the score ended up 112-105 the second half wasn’t that close.
It was only a matter of time before the college basketball world crowned Jerry Tarkanian and the Runnin Rebels for a second straight year. They won in dominant fashion, but they didn’t blow everyone out like they did in the regular season. The Tarkanian’s worse fear happened. They played Duke in the semis, a team they steamrolled by 30 in the championship game the year before.
Duke knocked off the Rebels 79-77 in one of college basketball’s biggest upsets. I think it’s one of college basketball’s biggest shams. I don’t know which players were responsible, but someone shaved some points or outright threw the game. And I’ll die believing that until I’m convinced Duke won straight up.
The Rebels finished 34-1 and haven’t tasted the success they had since Tark the Shark was ran off campus.
2. 1985 Georgetown Hoyas- It pains me to put the Hoyas at number two, since they also were the most dominant of that year. Led by Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas smothered teams on defense and were efficient on offense. They had a two game slide when they were knocked off by St. John’s and Syracuse in back to back games, but later avenged both losses.
The Hoyas had really had no top notch competition as they ran through all comers until the Georgia Tech game in the Elite Eight. Then they had the misfortune of trying to beat a Villanova team for a third time. Georgetown escaped the Wildcats twice in the regular season but couldn’t complete the sweep as they fell to Villanova 66-64 in the finals.
Georgetown finished 31-3.
1. 1983 Houston Cougars– Yes youngsters, the Houston Cougars made Final Fours and actually have a proud history, they’ve yet to restore. I place Houston at number one for one reason. They made three straight Final Fours and came up short each time. Houston’s failures were based on bad timing, defections, and a cinderella miracle finish.
In 1982 they played North Carolina in the semis, led by James Worthy, Michael Jordan, and Sam Perkins. They lost shooting guard Rob Williams to the NBA after that season. And in 1984 they went up against a Patrick Ewing led Georgetown team and lost Clyde Drexler to the league after the ’83 season. Which means I have to explain 1983.
This team had serious talent, even with the loss of Williams. Drexler, Larry Michaeux, Michael Young, and a young Hakeem Olajuwon, when he was still Akeem. Take this into account, Olajuwon barely played in ’82. Coach Guy Lewis championed the dunk calling it a high percentage shot and Houston dunked so much they started a fraternity called Phi Slamma Jamma.
The Cougars went 31-3 that year, but they were the most entertaining, high octane team in college. They played in an epic semifinal game against Louisville’s Doctors of Dunk and won 94-81. Another game in which the “winner of this game should win it all”. There was a fly in the ointment called North Carolina State. The Wolfpack slowed the game down and controlled tempo. Drexler was hit by early foul trouble and Houston couldn’t get it going. When they did get it going, they went up by five until Guy Lewis went all Thomas Hearns on me and slowed it back down ( check the first Hearns vs. Leonard fight, when Hearns started boxing and let Leonard back in the fight), going four corners and playing right into N.C. State’s hands.
The came the coup degrace, when the Wolfpack’s Dereck Whittenburg threw up a long airball only to have Lorenzo Charles dunk in the miss. What a way to lose. By your favorite weapon. No matter what I’ll always love Phi Slamma Jamma.
Honorable Mention- 1981-1983 Virginia Cavaliers, 1980-1981 DePaul Blue Demons, 1992 Indiana Hoosiers, 1999 Duke Blue Devils
Just Sports & Just Us 