Probably my most favorite college basketball (and for that matter all of basketball) coach of all time passed today. I loved watching his teams play, I loved watching him coach the game. Might be one of my most favorite teams of all time, the 1990 team that won the national championship, beating Duke by 30 in the title game. It was the year after I graduated from BYU. A couple years earlier I drove up to the Huntsman center hoping to get tickets to a sold out double header and was lucky enough to get them from a very nice lady at the will call window when 3 people called and said they weren’t able to use their tickets. Sat in the Kansas St. section at mid court about 10 rows up and got to see UCLA play Wyoming and UNLV play Kansas State… Reggie Miller, Fennis Dembo, Eric Leckner, Mitch Richmond, Freddie Banks and Armon Gilliam.
One of the top memorable basketball experiences of my life.
RIP Jerry Tarkanian, one of the greatest college basketball coaches in the history of the game.
After following this idiot school and its basketball program I am glad to comment. They ran the dirtiest program in all of sports. You will wonder why I followed them, because it brought as much satisfaction when they lost as when the Cougars win. I was the last fan in the seats in the converntion center when Ainge and the boys beat them. Tarkanian prostituted the black players(many gifts and no diplomas). However, I don’t blame him as much as the locals who knew and allowed this filthy, rotten, dirty, ugly program to exist. This is not a hit on Jim, I respect and absolutely enjoy his and all the comments on this board.The last time i commented Scot supported my rant and I appreciated that.
Obviously you haven’t heard of the belief that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Tarkanian is in the college basketball hall of fame and he was NEVER convicted of any of the accusations levied against him. He did a lot for the poor, disadvantaged kids from the inner city among others. You know, the ones that would have been out commiting crimes…
So Floyd… no proof that he ever cheated, exonerated by the US supreme court, college basketball hall of fame, personable human being who cared more about others than he did himself. I know that is beyond the ability of many to comprehend or understand but that’s what it is. Commenting on his “ethics” is both short sighted and uninformed. No worry though, you are not the only one(s).
Let’s wait to see what Greg Anthony has to say or Dave Rice or some of the others who know him a lot better than any of us do. As for me, I try to look past what others say about a person or how we humans judge those around us and find what is good in a person. I think that is the way the Lord would have us do it.
I have no problem with your opinion but I’m thinking much of it is probably based on a lot of conjecture and jealousy. Not from you but from those you choose to believe… press, people who didn’t know him, etc. We all know that worse things have been said about people like Joseph Smith, etc. It is interesting the perspective that very imperfect people have and take when we really have no clue. I guarantee that my perspective and opinion is just as valid and accurate as you think yours or Floyd’s is. Thankfully the Lord will judge him and what he was doing… (prostituting is a strong word) and I think a lot of us will be surprised at the outcome.
None of us knows what his in his heart but I have heard enough to believe myself that he was a good man who truly cared about others, had no ego issues, and wanted what he thought was best for those around him.
He was NEVER found guilty of the things he was accused of by the ncaa…
Anyhow, what was your rant last time? I know I can be critical sometimes but I do so only in the hopes that things will improve… and I’m not sure commenting that Scott supported your rant is a “good” thing.
It is PROVEN Jim that he allowed booster to violate the rules of recruitment, he embraced it… He cheated to get the players he did. But I guess as long as you like them, then it ok.
The reason he sued the NCAA was because they went overboard and tried to drive him out of college basketball.
There are two types of “Crimes” Jim, legal and moral… While Tark may not have broken any legal laws, sure as heck broke several moral laws.
Sorry you can not see what a sleaze bag he is…
So now I am confused, You say " try to look past what others say about a person or how we humans judge those around us and find what is good in a person" but when I mentioned anything good about a Utah coach or player, you always seem to judge them without any proof.
A name you would know Jim, Lou C…Ring a bell? Coach C, Santa Clara. Wore a $5,000 Rolex and lived very well on a private Catholic salary back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Coach C’s kid went to UNLV about the time the Rolex showed up on Coach C’s wrist. Just saying.
Then, there was the year when he was coaching football back in the 60’s, sent game film to S.P.'s coach, Joe Zeno. Zeno didn’t return it. Didn’t watch it. But, because he still possessed it, Coach C called CIF and let them know that Zeno had film of another team. Guess who didn’t go to CIF playoffs that year?
I don’t think Coach C and Joseph Smith have anything in common. And using the Prophet to prop up Coach C? Really Now, I don’t agree with Floyd and others are a bit harsh on the man.
Whatever, I guess you could probably slam anyone and everyone who ever walked on a court or a field. Probably Duke haters are going to hate Mike K. None-the-less Tark was a great coach and at this time of his death he should be remembered for the good things he did and forgiven for all else imo.
We are talking about Jerry Tarkanian, not Coach C. So your story is kind of irrelevant. By the way, his kid rarely saw the floor at UNLV.
I maintain the position I have regarding Tarkanian.
He basically turned UNLV from a junior college into a major university with some legitimate degree programs by putting them on the map with the basketball program. He also saved lot of kids from life of crime or worse.
Some people can’t see the forest for the trees…
Of course he made them into a winning school. You can buy anything with money, Rolex watches and big houses. Surprised more of Santa Clara players didn’t go there.
So, of course C is relevant in establishing ethics of Tarkanian.
Aside from that, he was a great coach and as most every coach in college, he was a help to straighten out the eventual thugs of the NBA
Yeah, wait for a comment from c anthony( review journal with him setting in a spa with a convict gambler). This is not conjecture or jealousy. I have observed players coming out the front convention enterance doors before starting warmups selling handfulls of tickets to those who couldn’t get them at the ticket window, because they were soldout. I have to many personal observation. Floyd is right there are moral laws that need to be met, which the coach or school didn’t meet during the guys tenure.
Are you the same girl that told me to go back home and change out of my sweat pants and into “acceptable attire” so I could get my student activity card before my first semester at BYU? - morality police
Or maybe the guy that followed my brother and I home from school one day and “remembered” the next morning when his car bra was missing from his car that we were probably the ones that took it because he remembered us "looking around nervously as he followed us home the night before. - morality police
Or maybe you were just a student at UNLV… and current BYU fan that is upset that UNLV destroyed Duke and every other team the year they won the championship. They shouldn’t have been allowed that because somebody sold tickets before a game? - morality police
There is obviously more to the story than I know but I’m not a deputy in the “morality police” and I recognize that we all have had our personal morality problems so I don’t cast stones. I try to see the bigger picture and the good that Tarkanian did in helping many of these kids get a chance to have a better life. Like I said, way more to discuss and debate than we can do here on a chat board. While I would be interested to know more, I really don’t think it would change my opinion of what the man accomplished, which was more than just ncaa title. By most accounts he was a players coach and took time to talk with any and everyone. He cared about people and in today’s world, that is something that is not prevalent.
Substitute Vern for Elizabeth. When players can miss classes and their opposition studys late and goes to classes, its obvious who would be better prepared if all you had to do was play basketball.I wonder how many of Tarkanian’s players were able to drive around in Z Nissan cars when they mostly came from the ghetto’s. The Sark must have been more than a great coach, he was able to make realestate investments that resulted in high yields after freeway ramps were built to front his properties. Others could have done the same if they had insider information like he and Harry Reid, but alas, this is only conjecture, these poor kids that Tarkanian was helping in developing high character seemed to lose touch after leaving the reservation where they weren’t protected anymore, Spider Man Burns is just one of many examples.If he would have built the same character in his players as he did his own children, I would have more respect for his accomplishments. His son Danny would have been a good Senator in replacing Reid, if guys from the east like M Lavine hadn’t support the woman republican candidate, who lost the Reid.
Now, I don’t agree with Floyd and others are a bit harsh on the man.