Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Jerry Tarkanian wrapping up stint in California hospital

Jerry Tarkanin Legacy Project

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Coach Jerry Tarkanian and former players Robert Smith, left, and Eldridge Hudson, pose for photos during the announcement of the creation of The Jerry Tarkanian Legacy Project, which includes a statue of Tarkanian and his ubiquitous towel, Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Updated Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | 5:10 p.m.

Former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian was wrapping up an 11-day stay in a San Diego-area hospital after suffering artery blockages and having a pacemaker installed.

The 82-year-old coach's son, Danny Tarkanian, told the Associated Press his father was set to leave Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla on Wednesday. He planned to return to his San Diego-area condominium, a part-time home where he receives in-house nursing care.

"He's doing well and we're glad to get him back home," said the younger Tarkanian.

In addition to the pacemaker, the former coach had some stents put in, his son said.

The stay marked the latest in a spate of hospitalizations in recent years for Tarkanian.

He suffered a heart attack on March 20, 2012, during a doctor's visit, and spent time in the hospital last November, according to his son.

Tarkanian is to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 8. He took three schools to the NCAA tournament but is best known for his teams at UNLV that made four Final Four appearances and won it all in 1990.

Tarkanian won 784 games in his career, 509 of them at UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels won at least 20 games every year but one in his 19 years at UNLV, including the national championship in 1990.

During his career, Tarkanian was frequently at odds with the NCAA and was the subject of several investigations by the NCAA.

In 1998, the NCAA paid Tarkanian $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it singled out the UNLV program for investigation and penalized it unfairly three times.

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