The basketball world is once again in mourning as coaching legend Jerry Tarkanian, best known for his time coaching a powerhouse UNLV Running Rebels team in the late 80s and early 90s, has passed away. Tarkanian was 84 years old.
Tarkanian’s son, Danny, confirmed the news via Twitter.
Coach Tark, my father, the greatest man I have ever known, passed today, to take his place in heaven. I will miss him every day of my life.
— Danny Tarkanian (@DannyTarkanian) February 11, 2015
“Coach Tark, my father, the greatest man I have ever known, passed today, to take his place in heaven,” wrote Danny Tarkanian. “I will miss him every day of my life.”
According to ESPN, Tarkanian had been hospitalized since Monday with a respiratory ailment and infection. He was taken by ambulance to Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas when his blood oxygen levels hit dangerously low levels.
Tarkanian was a 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. He spent 19 seasons with the Rebels from 1973-92, leading the program to the Final Four on four occasions, and to the NCAA title in 1990. Tarkanian also coached Fresno State and Long Beach State on the collegiate level.
After being forced out at UNLV, Tarkanian briefly coached in the NBA, going 9-11 with the San Antonio Spurs before being fired in a dispute with ownership. He would move on to Fresno State before retiring in 2002.
Tarkanian had many fights with the NCAA including his teams at Long Beach State and UNLV being put on probation. He was suspended by the NCAA for two years, but sued the organization and returned to the bench. NCAA investigators would continue to follow him, though.
Tarkanian liked to tell the story about the time one of his assistants saw an NCAA investigator renting a car at the airport and followed him to a local strip club. Tarkanian got some brochures for the club and mailed them to the investigator, telling him there was a special going on.
Tarkanian used to tell a story of an NCAA investigator who flew into Las Vegas, rented a car, and one of his assistant coaches followed him to a local strip club. Tarkanian sent the NCAA brochures from the club as well as a letter indicating they had new specials shortly afterwards.
“The one thing I’ve done is I’ve fought them the whole way, I’ve never backed down,” he said. “And they never stopped.”
Tarkanian also used to complain about unfair penalties to smaller schools with small reputations, and the unfair treatment they received as opposed to the big schools. He once famously said: “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, it’s going to give Cleveland State two more years’ probation.”
Tarkanian is survived by his wife and four children.
The news comes just days after the passing of North Carolina coaching legend Dean Smith and the two will continue to be linked by common bonds.
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