Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian still in hospital but improving

Jerry Tarkanian Inducted into the Hall of Fame

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian receives a standing ovation during his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013, at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.

Jerry Tarkanian

Former UNLV Men's Basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian bites his nails during a press conference. Launch slideshow »

Former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian's health has improved although he remains in a Las Vegas hospital.

Tarkanian's son-in-law, Zafi Diamant, says Tarkanian was wide awake and talking Friday at Valley Hospital. He was sedated a day earlier.

The 83-year-old Tarkanian was feeling weak, having trouble breathing and struggling to keep his eyes open when he was taken to the hospital Wednesday.

Diamant says doctors are still trying to determine what's behind Tarkanian's ailments.

Tarkanian was inducted last year into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. 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.

The coach won 784 games in his career, 509 of them at UNLV.

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