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I had a great time in Florida, but both of my teams lost.
At the Florida State-Miami game, we had great seats. It rained, but the Hurricanes basketball coach, Frank Haith, got us on the 40-yard line with a roof over our heads.
The Hurricanes lost in a wild 41-39 game, but we had a lot of fun. Sunday, the Dolphins beat the Chargers. I felt so bad. I’m a big Chargers fan, and it really hurts when they lose.
We stayed on South Beach, at Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Incredible. A friend of mine who is a hotel developer in Las Vegas had a contact there.
Then I went to Mobile, Ala., to give speeches to South Alabama’s basketball and football boosters’ clubs. I’ve known their basketball coach, Ronnie Arrow, for years. He gave me a big buildup.
Ronnie was coaching junior college when I was at UNLV. We got David Butler, Moses Scurry and Spoon James from him.
I sat next to a South Alabama assistant football coach, who was an All-American fullback at Auburn, at their First-and-10 Club function. I told him how much I wanted to see an Auburn-Alabama football game, and he said he’d take care of it.
I don’t know if he will, but I’ve heard there’s nothing like an Auburn-Alabama football game.
Once I get started, I can talk forever. So those functions were fun.
I know some of you have had questions for me, and some are about recruiting.
Someone asked about offering more scholarships than we had. I don’t think that’s ever a good idea.
Tim Floyd did that a lot at Iowa State. You get a lot of kids and you’d wonder, what is he going to do. At the end, it always worked out.
They figure they’ll lose a few. The hard thing, when you do that, is if you don’t lose anyone you have to take a scholarship away from someone.
Coaches do that. They get more commitments than they have scholarships for, figuring it will weed itself out or they’ll weed them out before school.
I would never do that. I don’t have the heart to tell a kid, after I’ve recruited him and have him here, that we have another kid. We never did that.
I don’t think many coaches are doing that.
We were always very realistic in recruiting. We hardly ever recruited the south. The only time we did was when someone contacted us and showed a lot of interest.
Once, a kid in Alabama or Mississippi contacted us. He was highly rated and we recruited him. We lost him, I think, to Alabama.
We never recruited Larry Johnson, a Texas native, until he went to junior college. In high school, we never talked to him. We just didn’t think we could get a player out of the south, unless you bought him.
That was our feeling. The Southeastern Conference was the worst. Coaches down there said that about everyone except Vanderbilt. So we never recruited the south.
A coach at Memphis once told me that I ought to go there, that there were so many great players in Memphis. Per capita, it was probably one of the best spots in the country. I told him we couldn’t go down there and get players.
Nolan Richardson, when he was at Arkansas, was the only one to do that.
We never recruited the Bay Area, either. The only player we got from there was Eric Booker, a transfer. We recruited where we had contacts, like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York City and Southern California.
When I was at Long Beach State, we would recruit Detroit. But then Freddie Stone got an assistant’s job at Michigan, and he was the same contact I had. So we didn’t get anyone out of Michigan.
Anderson Hunt was the exception. I had a speaking engagement in Grand Rapids, Mich., and I was the last speaker. I followed Jim Valvano, the late, great North Carolina State coach.
After the speech, I talked to a half dozen Detroit-area high school coaches and they asked me to join them for chicken wings and beer. I said, yeah, I’m not doing anything.
I had a good time. They said it was the first time a major college coach had done that. Every time, they said they’d have to catch a flight or were doing something.
Perry Watson, at Southwestern High, told me when he got a great player he’d send him to me.
Two or three years later, I read one of those preseason scouting reports and learned that a 6-7 kid from Southwestern had signed with Iowa.
I called Perry and said, you told me when you get a great player you’d send him to me. He said, Tark, he’s really good, but there are a lot like him in L.A. He’s not a difference-maker. I haven’t forgotten you.
When I get a difference-maker I’ll call you.
Two or three years later, he calls and says, I got the difference-maker for you. Anderson Hunt. He signed with us without ever visiting. He visited after he signed. Perry Watson delivered.
Anderson was a difference-maker.
I’ll continue about recruiting in my next piece.
Rob, you should put a link up on the sun homepage to tark's blogs or they'll get lost in the shuffle.
Wow, a bucket of chicken wings led to Anderson Hunt coming to UNLV..
Great work Rob and Jerry, I look forward to reading more.
I'm curious if there was any push to get UNLV into the PAC-10 back then. Even now it seems the more natural fit than the mountain conference.
Too bad it will take more than a bucket of wings to get anderson to come back to UNLV. Where is he now and when will we see him again at the Mack?
We should see him November 11th, as the four Final Four teams are being honored at the Thomas & Mack against Washburn. Once again, thank Lon Kruger, he's a freakin genius.
You know, Mega, I tried to figure out where he was a couple of months back and was just left in a Google odyssey. I'm hoping he's back on Nov. 11, too.
And remember, guys, questions or topics you want us to bring up with Tark, just leave them down here and we'll make sure to ask him ... as long as it's appropriate, of course.
Tark: Comparing Final Four years, was it more fun to coach in the Convention Center Rotunda, or the Thomas & Mack? Which facility had more energy when it was full of rabid Rebel fans?
Lenny, don't worry. Tark's blogs have a site of their own on the UNLV sports page. On the main page, just hit sports, and from there hit UNLV sports, even hoops. You'll see Tark's home on the right side with a cool drawing of him.
I doubt the Pac-10 interest Lenny. Back then, I covered UCLA. When the Pac-10 flirted with expansion, Texas and Colorado were the most-mentioned candidates. I think BYU and Utah were the most seriously considered MWC possibilities.
RPJ, you got it on the facilities. That just went on the list of next questions for the legend.
We'll get him on a podcast or two soon, so you can hear him, and look for him, too, no our "All In" show soon.
Rob, my buddies and I are LOVING the Shark Bytes (and all of the great Runnin' Rebel coverage). Could you ask Shark what the deal was with Greg Anthony going to Portland his freshman year and why he chose to come back home?
Yep, will do Gray.
Thanks for writing and keep doing so.
Just a clarification on my above note. I didn't mean to insinuate that Pac-10 talk involving expansion with BYU and Utah never reached the seriousness of Texas and Colorado, and chatter about the Horns and Buffs didn't really get to a second or third gear. So BYU/Utah was way on the periphery, barely a blip.
I'll be talking with Tark and updating his blogs twice a week, so we'll keep you plenty entertained.
Being a 29 1/2 year Las Vegas Valley resident, I grew up cheering Tark and the Rebels on. When the lights would go out at the T&M, the Jaws theme started playing and fireworks started going off, it was magical. Before the powers that be took the decibel monitors down in the Mack, the crowd routinely topped 100 during player introductions. It was usually the beginning of a great effort from kids that nobody but Tark would give the time of day to. I still am a complete mark when it comes to Tark, I get giddy with the fond memories that he has provided over the years. When his son George coached the RoadRunners at the community college, I would go just to see Tark, Danny and the grandkids, they took over a small section of the bleachers and Tark always took time to interact with the fans. I am overjoyed to see that Coach is back where he belongs, around the court that FINALY bears his name. I think the community owes Charlie Spoonhour and Lon great thanks for rebuilding the bridge that Maxson almost completely burned down. I look forward to reading this blog and the Suns coverage of UNLV sports overall. Great, great thanks to whomever made the call to put some emphasis on this coverage.
You're welcome Lou.
Feedback has been tremendous, and thanks to people like you who cherish that past. That's an awesome intro; the Jaws theme and all. I am sure you and the rest of the faithful enjoy that Kruger so embraces that past. Keep reading and commenting.
Thanks
Tark and his entire Family are pure class