Jerry Tarkanian: the NCAA's least favorite coach

Throughout the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, it was a common site during tournament time to see a balding coach with hush puppy dog eyes in a short sleeved shirt and loosened necktie chewing on a towel...it was the one and only Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV...

During his career, Tark took four teams to the Final Four and 13 teams to the Sweet 16 but his name was always surrounded by controversy and NCAA investigations...for some he was "what was wrong with college basketball"...for others, like me, I cheered for Tark...one of Tark's biggest supporters is former coach Bob Knight...

In 1990, Tark finally broke through with a most deserving national title...after 22 years as a head coach, Tarkanian was finally a national champ as his Rebels thrashed Duke 103-73 in the finals...the Rebels finished the season 35-5...

Even though they were sure fired NBA lottery picks, All-Americans Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon both returned for their senior season in a attempt to win back-to-back titles...with an impending NCAA probation facing the Rebels in 1991, in an uprecidented move, the NCAA agreed to a compromise which allowed UNLV to defend its title, but would see the Rebels banned from the 1992 tourney...

Johnson and Augmon's decision almost paid off as the Rebels went 34-0 before Duke got revenge on them from the previous year's shalacking...led by Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner, Duke burst Tark's bubble of a perfrect season by winning 79-77 in the semi-finals...that would be the last time Tark would be on center stage in The Big Dance...Tark would coach the Rebels to a 26-2 mark in 1992 but was forced to resign amid all the NCAA problems...

Years later, Tark sued the NCAA, claiming it had harassed him for over two decades...he stated the harassment started after he wrote a newspaper column alleging that the NCAA was more willing to punish less-prominent schools than big-name schools...the NCAA never admitted guilt but settled out of court by paying Tark $2.5 million...

Tarkanian is married to Las Vegas city councilwoman Lois Tarkanian...his son Danny, is currently seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Majority leader Harry Reid...Tark's granddaughter Dannielle Diamant plays for the Northwestern women's basketball team...

Tark also started a basketball school in Las Vegas, named The Tarkanian Basketball Academy...its mission is to provide opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills, work ethic, commitment, honesty and integrity through sport...it works with kids from kindergarten to 12th grade...