Those exhausting walks in high-altitude arenas

Jerry Tarkanian

Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 | 9:30 a.m.

The one thing that makes the Mountain West Conference such a tough league is playing road games against high-altitude schools such as Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming.

Even if those teams are having a down year, it's a challenge going into their buildings and coming out with a win.

That's what makes UNLV's victory against Colorado State on Wednesday so impressive. They adjusted to the altitude and were able to stick with their pressure defense and running game.

I had the same type of game plan of being a running team during my time at UNLV. But, whenever our teams played in the high altitude, I would let the elevation change bother me.

I always liked to take a walk around the arena before the game, and at those high-altitude schools, I would get tired. So I know it was a factor. If I was exhausted after a simple walk, how would my guys feel?

My assistants would tell me to stop thinking too much into it because I was psyching out the kids. But I had every reason to be concerned because you want your team to come out with great intensity.

Playing at the high altitude, however, makes you a step slower. I always had the feeling that my guys were getting tired, so I would run guys in and out to give them a break.

As for this year's UNLV team, I have seen just about every one of their league games. They aren't in bad shape, and they have played pretty good on the road.

Because of the altitude, it's important to win your home games. Those are the ones you have better control over.

The kid Tre'Von Willis is playing like a superstar for UNLV. He does everything and has been so impressive. And the UCLA kid Chace Stanback has been good lately. He's going to be a good player.

They have a big game Saturday against TCU and should win. It could be tough, but I think they can pull it out.

I'm sure everyone has heard about the negative comments I made last week about the NCAA while I was speaking in Arkansas.

I was paid to make a speech for about 30 minutes, and at the end, they opened it for questions. I shouldn't have made those comments about the NCAA, but I am still so bitter toward them. I wanted to just talk basketball, but I couldn't control myself.