CCSN poised to hire another ‘Tark’

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001 | 10:24 a.m.

If all goes according to plan, the stars will align correctly in 2002 and Community College of Southern Nevada will become the perfect Juco feeder program for UNLV basketball.

After years of the Rebels relying on Dixie College and far-flung junior colleges for manpower, having a productive Juco program in their backyard could come in especially handy.

For now, those suppositions will have to wait, but CCSN is quickly moving toward its program launch, and it is ready to name George Tarkanian as basketball head coach, school sources said.

The announcement will come Tuesday at a local restaurant, in conjunction with another vital piece of CCSN news: Tim Chambers will add the athletic director's job to his duties as coach of the Coyotes' highly regarded baseball program.

Chambers and Tarkanian declined comment Tuesday, but CCSN sources indicated both hirings are certain to occur.

By hiring Tarkanian, the school will be getting more than the son of former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, the most recognizable figure in Rebels history. They'll be getting a coach who has been successful in his own right in the junior college ranks.

George Tarkanian, 38, is coming off three years as head coach at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. After advancing to the California state semifinals in 1999, his 2000 team went 26-11 and lost to Porterville College in the state finals.

Last season the team went 27-5, but was ruled ineligible for postseason play by the Central Valley Conference because of rules violations regarding players' housing.

Tarkanian left College of the Sequoias in July for a faculty position in the CCSN English department, but said he hadn't been promised the coaching job.

However, Sequoias athletic director Mike Vogt said Tuesday, "It was a foregone conclusion around here that he was going there for both a faculty job and the coaching job of a start-up program. He was a fine coach here."

CCSN will compete in the 11-team Scenic West Athletic Conference, which features longtime basketball powers such as Dixie College and College of Southern Idaho.

Chambers will become athletic director and remain coach of CCSN's baseball team, which he has led to a 99-19 record in two seasons. The athletic post has been vacant since the resignation of associate VP Mike Meyers on Aug. 30.