Tarkanian upbeat after treatment

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

Judging by his reaction and outlook after the first day of what will be eight weeks of radiation treatments, Jerry Tarkanian might come through his prostate cancer ordeal just fine.

Calling from his room at a Scripps medical facility in San Diego, the legendary former UNLV basketball coach was in good spirits Tuesday and said he shared his doctors' optimism.

"I feel real good and the doctors feel good," Tarkanian said. "Today was only the first treatment, but every indication is that we caught this early.

"They're using a new method (IMRT) that zeroes in on the prostate and has less chance of affecting other tissues and organs."

Tarkanian, 71, said he was initially warned of a potential prostate problem last August.

"I found out about it then, but the doctor said not to worry about it and that I'd probably die from something else," he said. "The thinking was, we'd just keep an eye on it.

"But then a friend of mine recommended seeing a specialist and he said, 'If it was up to me, I'd say let's clean it out.' He convinced me it was better just to get it cured because if you're just keeping an eye on it, it could still slip out and get into your bones."

Tarkanian, who retired this year after six seasons as coach at Fresno State, has a condominium in San Diego but will return to his home in Las Vegas on weekends during his eight weeks of Monday-Friday treatments. "I'll have my weekends free," he remarked.

"I know he's been nervous about this, but he said he didn't experience any pain today and the doctors said his trouble was contained," said Tarkanian's son Danny, the former Rebel point guard.

Jerry, Danny and George Tarkanian -- head coach of the new men's basketball program at the Community College of Southern Nevada -- are committing their energies to establishing a permanent youth basketball academy in Las Vegas. Toward that goal, they will be holding a series of clinics later this month.

"It'll keep me involved in basketball and we'll have a lot of former Rebels helping out," Jerry Tarkanian said. "It'll be for kids and we'll emphasize the girls as much as the boys."

The first camp will be July 19 at the Warren Walker Upper School (1165 Sandy Ridge Ave. in Henderson), followed by another July 20 at Christ the King Catholic Community School (4925 S. Torrey Pines). A third camp is set for July 21 at the YMCA on Meadows Lane and a fourth will be a two-day camp July 26-27 at CCSN.

The camps are open to youngsters in grades 4-10. Fees range from $40 to $75 (for the two-day camp). Interested parties can call 400-7653 for reservations and more information.

"If we can get this going well, within a year we hope to have a permanent site," Danny Tarkanian said of plans for a year-round basketball academy. "I wanted to move back to Las Vegas (from Fresno, where he was an assistant coach on his father's staff) and this looks like a good thing to do.

"It'll be modeled after a similar academy in Reno (run by former Las Vegan Jason Glover). That one has been successful and we have way more kids here than they do there."