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Editor's Note: Legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian is sharing his thoughts exclusively with the Las Vegas Sun through the course of the college basketball season in the form of columns, podcasts and television interviews, about what he’s up to in his life, what games he’s attending and his general musings of the sports world.
I know many people will find this ironic. Someone visited the house the other day and laughed about me living on Justice Lane. At first, I laughed.
I’ve lived here since 1974. Not too many people say anything, but with all the battles I’ve had with the NCAA I can understand the irony.
My son, Danny, came home one night recently and couldn’t believe I was watching Fox News. It’s either that or CNN. I watch them more than ESPN now. I’m not very worldly, but I’m getting that way.
I’m into the presidential race. I tell you what, I probably shouldn’t say it, but I like that (Sarah) Palin. She hunts and fishes, and she’s a hockey mama. And she’s a JUCO; she went to a junior college. I’m a JUCO.
When did we ever have a JUCO in the White House? She is not typical. It’s wonderful. I think she’s great.
I also think UNLV basketball will do very well this season. Whenever I’m in town and they’re playing a good team, I’ll go. I love watching the Rebels play.
What turned everything around for Lon Kruger is when his kid went there. They were just an average basketball team until his kid went there, and Wink Adams was a sophomore then.
Kevin Kruger and Wink, a great backcourt. It made the difference, and they went to the Sweet 16.
The same thing happened to me before Danny. We were 16-12 before Danny came and we turned everything around. We won 20 games, and he was the catalyst.
Kevin even wore No. 2, the number I wore when I played at Fresno State. Somebody from a newspaper called to start up a controversy. I said I was very happy and proud of that. That kid was a helluva player.
Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson all knew I wore that number so they wore it their first seasons in the NBA. I don’t even know how they found that out.
Al McGuire told me he would never coach one of his kids again. He advised me not to do it. It takes a special kid to make it work. He has to be totally unselfish. If he’s a scorer, teammates will get selfish.
He has to play as hard as anyone. Danny won almost all of our wind sprints. It wasn’t because he was the fastest. It just meant more to him. That’s what it takes.
And you have to win. If not, it’s the coach’s fault and the kid’s fault. But it worked out great for us.
I hope to get to some of UNLV’s practices this season. It’s just not easy for me to get around so much now. With 10 grandkids and four of my own children and my wife, I don’t go out much. I’m always doing something with my family.
I will definitely get to some games this season, though, especially the big ones.
I think this is the most talented team Lon has had in five seasons in Las Vegas. They have a lot of big men, Wink is back and there aren’t many better than him at his position.
René Rougeau is an absolute winner. He goes after every ball and plays as hard as you can play. That’s what I love about Lon’s team – they always play hard.
Thing is, they play tough defense. That’s what it takes.
I really like that kid they got from Memphis, Tre’Von Willis. I watched him in high school in Fresno and I thought he was the best player in the valley. I’m happy they got him.
I went to one of their workouts before they went to Australia, and he came and sat down next to me. We had a nice chat. He’s a good kid.
He has good quickness and good size for a guard. He can score. I don’t think he’s a great shooter, but he’s a great scorer.
Billy Gillispie, the coach at Kentucky, is a good friend of mine and he said he hated like heck to lose Derrick Jasper. Billy thought Jasper would be a great player for them.
But Jasper will redshirt at UNLV and be eligible next season. Those are two good guards and they’re both big. I’ll tell you, it’s nice when you’ve got big guards.
I don’t have that itch yet. It’s only October. I usually start itching for basketball in November.
I heard from Tim Grgurich, one of my former assistants at UNLV, a little while ago. He saw that July feature in the Sun about me and told me he felt bad. He told me, you can’t feel like that.
I told him, Tim, I’m feeling fine. So now he calls me every week. It’s great to hear from him.
And you’ll read more from me soon.
Go Rebels.
Thanks for everything coach... we all love you and it means a lot to everyone to see you are still at games and still involved with the program.
Thank you run.
Got anything in particular you'd like Tark to address in an upcoming piece? He enjoys exchanging ideas and thoughts with fans and would love to answer any of your questions.
We will try to do this twice a week through the end of the season, so keep checking the Shark's blog.
Tark is a legend. He gets a standing ovation every time he sets foot in the Mack and rightly so!
Rob, how about a piece centering on Tark's theories and approach to recruiting? What were the key points he looked for in the search for prospects and how did he convert their interest into signatures.
Awesome, Lenny. I will inquire with him about those topics. Look for them soon. Thanks
Gotta love Tark! I swear everytime he says anything these days I get choked up.
I think it would be great if tark could give us more commentary about the current players. Maybe he could check in after games to give us his take.
But honestly, any words at all from the shark is good enough for me.
Hey Rob I really want to thank you for your commitment to covering the Rebs this year. Its really appreciated!
Tom
This is an incredible blog. Thank you Las Vegas Sun!
You are welcome tom... and john
You ain't seen nothin' yet... Look for Tark's updates about twice a week, unless he gets bogged down traveling or busy with some of his other ventures. But he loves this as much as you do. I'll pass on those requests to him, tom, and keep them coming.
Tark said he's really going to enjoy interacting this way with fans and he very much appreciates how so many people are still interested in him and what he's up to.
Tark,
Glad to hear your getting fair and balanced reports from Fox News. Go Mcain/Palin!
Fox news fair and balanced? Ha ha, you're joking right? Fox news is state TV.
Folks, let's keep this on sports. Tark diverged a little bit, but even he prefaced it with, I shouldn't go here ... and it was only in relation to JUCOs. Pure Shark! This blog is absolutely, definitely not the arena for any political jousting.
Let's keep this fun and sports-related.
thanks