Columnist Dean Juipe: Tark was simply a refreshing character

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 15, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

I like people who like newspapermen and no one in sports likes newspapermen like Jerry Tarkanian.

For that and several other reasons, I'd have to say that Tark ranks at the top of the lengthy list of athletes, coaches and personalities that I have ever come across in sports.

That he has closed out the Fresno State portion of his coaching career and has willingly or not slipped into an apparent retirement is sad in some respects. It would have been far more fitting to see him go out on top.

Which is how all unique characters should go.

His coaching record of 778-202 speaks for itself, of course. So does the fact that he repeatedly took young men that other coaches saw in an unfavorable light and molded these players into winning -- and sometimes nationally prominent -- teams.

It wasn't just luck. Tark could relate to his subjects and he could coach.

He knows basketball and he knows people.

But it's his personality that attracts me and never fails to bring a smile.

Beyond his hound-dog appearance and the absurdity of the watery towel that was his game-time companion, Tarkanian has an honesty that's all but disarming. If he feels comfortable with you, he'll tell you exactly how he feels on any given subject.

Athletes, let alone coaches, frequently struggle when it comes to dealing with the media. In most cases they prefer secrecy and guard the details of their thoughts (and deeds) as if it were an entitlement.

They tend to not tell you much about anything, especially if they enjoy a high profile or are perceived as a legitimate star.

But Tark, he's a different story.

"This is off the record" or "Don't quote me on this" often precedes a response he's giving or a diatribe he's about to launch. While that contingency may have kept many of his most searing comments out of the paper and away from public view, it also allowed the writer to proceed accordingly and tailor his piece with an insider's knowledge.

If you had anything to do with one of Tark's teams, you always knew how he stood.

Refreshing as that is, it came with a caveat. If he thought or believed you had made a mistake, he would tell you.

He reads the papers and takes them seriously.

I can still recall Tarkanian calling me at home early one Sunday morning a dozen or so years ago and getting me out of bed. "What's this s--?" he asked incredulously, speaking from McCarran airport and obviously holding a Sun in his hand.

I forget what I had written and it's incidental today, but he was taking offense and wanted some immediate retribution. He made it clear that he wasn't happy.

But -- and boxing promoter Bob Arum is like this, too -- he isn't the type to hold a grudge and whatever it was that drew his ire was quickly forgotten, or, at the very least, never discussed again.

We've gone on to enjoy a wonderful relationship, albeit in recent years with conversations that are sporadic. But when we would talk, he would inevitably say he was tired and weary and ready to retire.

Railroaded at UNLV in the greatest mistake that school has ever made, Tarkanian departs Fresno on similar, uncomfortable grounds. Perhaps he had worn out his welcome.

I'm sorry that his career ends this way but I'm not the least bit sorry about liking this man and defending him through the years. It isn't that he can do no wrong, it's just that he has done so many things right.