and now tark the shark...

[mscott59]

man i can't remember a week when we lost so many prominent people in sports. jerry tarkanian died yesterday. his health had been failing for a while. not a lot of people know he's a native ohioan (cleveland area) but how many guys who coach college on the basketball court have had their arguments w/the ncaa end up in the supreme court?

i remember him coaching long beach state in the late 60s/early 70s. a guy from one of the legendary hs teams of all time here, ed ratliff from columbus east, played for him there. unfortunately, ucla stood in the way of everyone out on the coast, and long beach never made it out of the ncaa west regional while tark was there. he didn't have the same issues at unlv, making 3 final 4's in a 5 year span and winning the title in '90. his detractors claim he didn't just live in the shadows when it came to the rules, but he fought the authorities (hear that, psu fans?) when he thought they'd crossed the line.

at the height of his career at unlv though, he resigned after pics of 3 of his players lounging around in a hot tub w/a convicted bookie surfaced, and despite jobs in the nba then back at fresno state he was never the same imho. some of his quotes down thru the years are classics...

on his feeling that the ncaa continually targeted him (every program he coached was found guilty of various infractions)... 'i'll resent them forever. that's in my blood.'

on what he called the hypocrisy of the sport; 'in major college basketball, 9 out of 10 teams break the rules. the other one is in last place.'

on why he liked transfers from other major programs; '... because they already have their cars paid for.'

and finally, the best of all; 'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

[beuycek]

Feb 12, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

Great line from a great coach. I always liked Tark but when I read last night that he was from Ohio, I now like him even more.

I grew up a baseball junkie and didn't really pick up basketball until middle school, or just before UNLV hit their stride as a power. When that stride was hit, I was becoming a pretty decent player myself and gravitated to that style of play. The energy, the passion and just the fun they seemed to have always excited me and when they beat the shit out of Duke, my appreciation for the program and Tark skyrocketed. LOL I happened to be recruited by a school that played that style. Well, on offense anyway... we never did learn what defense was but I digress...

I remember a matchup UNLV had with Arkansas back when Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell" was in effect and they both went up and down the court with reckless abandon. Pure outside shooting, tough rebounding and when they happened to get set in a half court offense (which was rare), stellar defense on both ends. I don't recall the score but it was a barn burner and an incredible game to watch.

As you noted, his remarks and continuous battling with the NCAA were legendary but so was his love for his players. I forget the name of the "prodigy" out of the Boston area that had drug problems but he eventually wound up out West with Tark who helped turn the kid's life around. I want to say it was a 30 for 30 documentary but either way, it illustrated the human side that folks seemed to ignore about Tark far too often.

Much like Dean Smith, a great coach taken from the game of basketball but one whose imprint will last a lifetime. RIP Tark.

[mscott59]

Feb 12, 2015 12:54:18 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Feb 12, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

Great line from a great coach. I always liked Tark but when I read last night that he was from Ohio, I now like him even more.

I grew up a baseball junkie and didn't really pick up basketball until middle school, or just before UNLV hit their stride as a power. When that stride was hit, I was becoming a pretty decent player myself and gravitated to that style of play. The energy, the passion and just the fun they seemed to have always excited me and when they beat the shit out of Duke, my appreciation for the program and Tark skyrocketed. LOL I happened to be recruited by a school that played that style. Well, on offense anyway... we never did learn what defense was but I digress...

I remember a matchup UNLV had with Arkansas back when Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell" was in effect and they both went up and down the court with reckless abandon. Pure outside shooting, tough rebounding and when they happened to get set in a half court offense (which was rare), stellar defense on both ends. I don't recall the score but it was a barn burner and an incredible game to watch.

As you noted, his remarks and continuous battling with the NCAA were legendary but so was his love for his players. I forget the name of the "prodigy" out of the Boston area that had drug problems but he eventually wound up out West with Tark who helped turn the kid's life around. I want to say it was a 30 for 30 documentary but either way, it illustrated the human side that folks seemed to ignore about Tark far too often.

Much like Dean Smith, a great coach taken from the game of basketball but one whose imprint will last a lifetime. RIP Tark.

chris herron was the boston kid. he was a hs legend who turned down both uk and coach k to stay at home and play at boston college. the guy had escalating drug issues at bc, at fresno under tark, and all the major/minor pro hoops leagues he played in. a shame, although you hope he's learned to live w/his addiction. you wonder, though, if he'd pulled the trigger on leaving home right away, whether his athletic/personal path would have been different if he'd ended up in lexington or at duke.

[daleko]

Feb 12, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

man i can't remember a week when we lost so many prominent people in sports. jerry tarkanian died yesterday. his health had been failing for a while. not a lot of people know he's a native ohioan (cleveland area) but how many guys who coach college on the basketball court have had their arguments w/the ncaa end up in the supreme court?

i remember him coaching long beach state in the late 60s/early 70s. a guy from one of the legendary hs teams of all time here, ed ratliff from columbus east, played for him there. unfortunately, ucla stood in the way of everyone out on the coast, and long beach never made it out of the ncaa west regional while tark was there. he didn't have the same issues at unlv, making 3 final 4's in a 5 year span and winning the title in '90. his detractors claim he didn't just live in the shadows when it came to the rules, but he fought the authorities (hear that, psu fans?) when he thought they'd crossed the line.

at the height of his career at unlv though, he resigned after pics of 3 of his players lounging around in a hot tub w/a convicted bookie surfaced, and despite jobs in the nba then back at fresno state he was never the same imho. some of his quotes down thru the years are classics...

on his feeling that the ncaa continually targeted him (every program he coached was found guilty of various infractions)... 'i'll resent them forever. that's in my blood.'

on what he called the hypocrisy of the sport; 'in major college basketball, 9 out of 10 teams break the rules. the other one is in last place.'

on why he liked transfers from other major programs; '... because they already have their cars paid for.'

and finally, the best of all; 'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

Not many names left from that era when he started at LB state. Digger & Lefty. John, Al, Ray, Fred among a few that mattered all gone.

[mscott59]

Feb 12, 2015 15:59:55 GMT -5 daleko said:

Feb 12, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

man i can't remember a week when we lost so many prominent people in sports. jerry tarkanian died yesterday. his health had been failing for a while. not a lot of people know he's a native ohioan (cleveland area) but how many guys who coach college on the basketball court have had their arguments w/the ncaa end up in the supreme court?

i remember him coaching long beach state in the late 60s/early 70s. a guy from one of the legendary hs teams of all time here, ed ratliff from columbus east, played for him there. unfortunately, ucla stood in the way of everyone out on the coast, and long beach never made it out of the ncaa west regional while tark was there. he didn't have the same issues at unlv, making 3 final 4's in a 5 year span and winning the title in '90. his detractors claim he didn't just live in the shadows when it came to the rules, but he fought the authorities (hear that, psu fans?) when he thought they'd crossed the line.

at the height of his career at unlv though, he resigned after pics of 3 of his players lounging around in a hot tub w/a convicted bookie surfaced, and despite jobs in the nba then back at fresno state he was never the same imho. some of his quotes down thru the years are classics...

on his feeling that the ncaa continually targeted him (every program he coached was found guilty of various infractions)... 'i'll resent them forever. that's in my blood.'

on what he called the hypocrisy of the sport; 'in major college basketball, 9 out of 10 teams break the rules. the other one is in last place.'

on why he liked transfers from other major programs; '... because they already have their cars paid for.'

and finally, the best of all; 'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

Not many names left from that era when he started at LB state. Digger & Lefty. John, Al, Ray, Fred among a few that mattered all gone.

general knight is still kickin'.

[lz2112]

Feb 12, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

man i can't remember a week when we lost so many prominent people in sports. jerry tarkanian died yesterday. his health had been failing for a while. not a lot of people know he's a native ohioan (cleveland area) but how many guys who coach college on the basketball court have had their arguments w/the ncaa end up in the supreme court?

i remember him coaching long beach state in the late 60s/early 70s. a guy from one of the legendary hs teams of all time here, ed ratliff from columbus east, played for him there. unfortunately, ucla stood in the way of everyone out on the coast, and long beach never made it out of the ncaa west regional while tark was there. he didn't have the same issues at unlv, making 3 final 4's in a 5 year span and winning the title in '90. his detractors claim he didn't just live in the shadows when it came to the rules, but he fought the authorities (hear that, psu fans?) when he thought they'd crossed the line.

at the height of his career at unlv though, he resigned after pics of 3 of his players lounging around in a hot tub w/a convicted bookie surfaced, and despite jobs in the nba then back at fresno state he was never the same imho. some of his quotes down thru the years are classics...

on his feeling that the ncaa continually targeted him (every program he coached was found guilty of various infractions)... 'i'll resent them forever. that's in my blood.'

on what he called the hypocrisy of the sport; 'in major college basketball, 9 out of 10 teams break the rules. the other one is in last place.'

on why he liked transfers from other major programs; '... because they already have their cars paid for.'

and finally, the best of all; 'the ncaa is so mad at kentucky, it's going to give cleveland state two more years of probation.' lol

Perhaps my favorite quote. He was one of the few coaches who wasn't afraid of sanding up to the NCAA. RIP Tark.

[daleko]

Feb 12, 2015 16:21:59 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Feb 12, 2015 15:59:55 GMT -5 daleko said:

Not many names left from that era when he started at LB state. Digger & Lefty. John, Al, Ray, Fred among a few that mattered all gone.

general knight is still kickin'.

Yes he is. Don't how I could have forgot him.