Jerry Tarkanian

[stymeman]

i remember when we played Fresno when he coached, no wonder we've never hardly won in Fresno, he was still a coaching icon there too, too bad he didn't take them farther there, but they did make tourneys on occassion

 

[Wyovanian]

I don't want the guy to die by any means, but as a coach, I have zero respect for Jerry Tarkanian. It may not be a appropriate time for that statement, but whatever.

Agree. He was a win-at-ALL-cost type coach! Fit the Vegas mold perfectly!!!!

Well, you guys are entitled to your opinions, but having known him personally, I can tell you that you are way off base.

Coach Tark was a very stand-up guy and was humble to a fault. The NCAA went after him because he bucked the establishment and took advantage of a situation where a third-tier conference with an auto bid could be dominated by a program with the right resources. There were some issues with donors over-involving themselves with some of his players, some of which resulted in certain donors being banned from even setting foot on UNLV campus, but Coach Tark's players, from Reggie Theus to Larry Johnson were well-behaved and respected members of the community during their time in Las Vegas. Because Coach Tark wouldn't put up with anything less.

Coach Jerry Tarkanian was a coaching great, a legend, one of the best to coach the game, a leader of young men, a great part of the Las Vegas community, and a great family man. My thoughts will be with Lois and Danny and the rest of the Tarkanian family this week, not just because of all the things he was great at- but because he was always a hell of a nice guy and pretty damn entertaining to talk to. I will be raising a Stoli and Tonic to him several times this week...