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I can really sense that UNLV basketball is getting back to where it once was, and coach Lon Kruger is a major reason why the Rebels are mattering again.
I’ve been asked so many times about those days not so long ago. That era really was unique.
So was Gucci Row. Someone recently asked if Gucci Row will ever come back, and I’m not so sure about that. When they first set that up, I was shocked.
I think they were getting $2,000 a seat, for each of 15 or 16 games. I just could not believe it. You can’t believe how many people would call me for those seats.
Friends and boosters called. “Help me get on Gucci Row!” They didn’t care how much it might cost. My friend Freddie Gillespie had four of them. So many games were televised, it became a fashion show.
Guys would take their girlfriends or wives, and they’d dress up so they could go home and watch themselves on TV. They loved it. There were so many boosters. Didn’t care what it cost.
TV is what made it a big thing. It was a special time.
Four times Frank Sinatra said he was going to come, and we had a special area roped off for him, but he didn’t come to any games.
Dean Martin I didn’t know, but Frank took special interest in us. He’d always be the first one to call to congratulate us on a big win or something.
When we won the national championship, his was one of the first calls we got in the hotel room in Denver.
The son of Jilly Rizzo, Frank’s bodyguard, was on our pass list. Then we got a new athletic director who eliminated the pass list. We were going good, it was about 1974.
Frank could have raised $100,000 in a single night. One night my wife, Lois, and I went to one of his fundraisers at Caesars Palace, his favorite place.
So Jilly’s son, who worked in a casino, went to the games every year until this new athletic director, Al Negratti, eliminated the pass list.
I told him you can’t eliminate the pass list. You can’t do that, Al, Sinatra’s bodyguard’s son is on that list. Everyone pays, he said. Nobody gets in for free. He stood fast on it. I called Jilly the next day.
Frank’s secretary called me and said, Frank wants you to know he understands about your problem with the new athletic director and he wants me to tell you he has all the confidence in you. He knows you’ll get that straightened out. And he wants to thank you beforehand.
That was it.
I went to the college president and we overruled the AD. Frank was happy. That was the big thing.
Someone wrote to me about my granddaughter, Danielle Diamant.
Both UNLV and Fresno State showed interest in her. About everyone did. Duke. She visited Vanderbilt, Cal and Santa Clara.
But I’m happy with her choice, Northwestern, where she will go next season. She is a senior forward at Bishop Gorman High this season and I’ve had a lot of fun watching her.
She wanted to get out of here, which I don’t understand. It blows my mind. I don’t like to see them go that far from home, but if that’s what they want to do … I’m sure I’ll visit her.
I watched her a lot when she first started, and she’s just gotten better and better. It’s been very enjoyable watching her improve. She has good hands and she can shoot the ball.
I think she’s getting quicker. She’s worked hard on quickness, and she’s going to be very good. I’ve very proud of her. She’s done a great job.
I had nothing to do with her college choice. She liked the coach and players, and it’s a great school. Her mother, my daughter Jodie, and her dad (Zafi Diamant) are happy with it, so we’re all happy.
I just got back from the Alabama-Ole Miss football game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., so I’m a bit tired. Next time, I’ll tell you about that game, some of my thoughts about the Hall of Fame and the amoeba defense.
Nice to see you at practice coach.
I can read your writing all day. I remember these stories from the Runnin Rebel book, yet I still laugh when I read it here. Thanks coach.
Great post Coach! It seems like I'll have to grow deep pockets and get real lucky to get seats on Gucci Row! Coach, I heard that one of your sons was coaching basketball at a Central California juco at one point and was doing real well. I even heard he has a run and gun style of coaching like you did in Vegas. Did I hear right? Is he still coaching?
If Gucci Row returns, Traval, might have to tap what's left in that 401(k)! We are doing some television work with Tark today, so you will be able to watch him talk about some grand past victories and Rebels' history soon on various shows. There's also a big surprise a few weeks away. Can't spill the beans, but we'll keep you informed. thanks
Rob, what would mark the return of Gucci Row? I thought it never left, although the seat value has certainly changed within the last 18 years.
Grayback, I think it's more of a general atmosphere type of aura, you know? It appears a boost in season tickets could help pump average attendance, and winning could boost that to an impressive figure. If UNLV can average at least 15,000 fans this season, that would be a first since 1991-92, Tark's farewell season.
That would be a realistic goal. Don't you think it's more of a state of mind, of the program hitting an upper level where the most desired seats are again ogled???
Although that could be a symbol of that era, when those Sat night games were televised and pumped to Los Angeles (how I first saw the Rebels) and it all looked so glamorous and stylish.
What do you think?
Rob, you're right. I guess in my own head it never left. That's what Gucci Row used to be, but that changed. Singing Runnin' Rebel fever in my second-grade class with the teachers and watching the title run as a fifth-grader has always had an impact on my perception as an adult :)
Ha ha ha! That's awesome grayback! You caught it in the second grade! THAT's the type of story we should prep for the near future, how THAT team affected the city and still does. Bravo.
I remember the title run in 2nd grade! I lived in Fernley (northern Nevada) and we used to get the UNLV games on UPN. I had the NC basketball at school two days after the game. I remember when they would play UNR in reno and I got to see them in person...it was awsome!
I am thrilled w/ what Lon Kruger has done to bring the Runnin Rebs back!
And I love this Tark blog.
Lol, indeed I did Rob! My second grade teacher let us have a free day when the Rebels played Iowa in the '87 Elite Eight. Our only assignment that day (besides watching the game) was to draw our favorite Runnin' Rebel -- I drew Freddie Banks. If that story comes to fruition, you could tap me anytime for tons of good info.
I was wondering. There is a famous quote out there attributed to Tark about, "The NCAA was so mad at (big time program) they put (small time program) on probation."
I've seen it in many variations. Out here in California it's, "The NCAA was so mad at UCLA they put Cal State Fullerton on probation."
I was wondering if the quote was true, first off, and what were the programs he actually cited in the quote.
As always, great stuff.