Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

rebels basketball:

UNLV legend remembers Final Four battles with Duke

Greg Anthony

Associated Press

Former UNLV basketball player Greg Anthony has his number retired at halftime of the UNLV/Dixie State exhibition game, Tuesday Nov. 7, 2006, in Las Vegas. Anthony was a member of the 1990 national championship team coached by Jerry Tarkanian.

UNLV-Duke 1991 Final Four

Greg Anthony: Men's Basketball

UNLV standout Greg Anthony throws down a dunk for the Rebels. Anthony helped lead the Rebels to a National Championship in 1990. Launch slideshow »
The Rebel Room

No Sleep til Brooklyn

Las Vegas Sun sports writers Ray Brewer and Taylor Bern go over UNLV's 2-0 start to the basketball season while looking forward to this week's New York trip, plus what's next for the woeful football team.

The UNLV basketball team could play Duke Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y.

That would put the Rebels back in the national spotlight, a place they have rarely been since losing to Duke in the 1991 Final Four.

UNLV was undefeated entering the game and had one of the best teams in the history of college basketball. And, in the 1990 national championship game, they beat Duke by a tournament-game record 30 points.

But Duke pulled off the upset, propelling its program to a perennial national power status and starting the beginning of the end of the Jerry Tarkanian era at UNLV. It’s never been the same in Las Vegas.

But what if UNLV point guard Greg Anthony didn’t foul out in the 79-77 loss? Would they have been two-time national champs?

“We didn’t play as well as we were capable of,” said Anthony, who will be the truTV analyst for UNLV’s two games at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn. “Sports is all about the moment. Every game you could say would have, could have, should have. Would it have been nice not to foul out? Absolutely. But nobody knows if the outcome would have been different.”

The schools haven’t played since, but could meet Saturday. UNLV plays Stanford at 4 p.m. Friday; Duke follows against Temple. If both win, or lose, a rematch more than 20 years in the making would finally be a reality.

“Just to be part of it, you appreciate it more with each day that passes,” Anthony said of the Rebels' back-to-back Final Four appearances. “When you are a kid playing college basketball, you don’t have the perspective, especially historically. Being born and raised (in Las Vegas), I dreamed of the chance of playing for coach Tark.”

UNLV has three tournament wins since its loss to Duke. Duke has four national championships, including 1991.

Until Connecticut of the American Athletic Conference won the national championship last year, no team from a nonmajor conference had won the title since UNLV in 1990. Anthony, who after an 11-year NBA career moved into his job as a television commentator, says UNLV is on the right track to rebuilding its brand. It could be easier said the done, he warns.

“We have to be fair and also have perspective,” said Anthony, who had 19 points and six assists in the Final Four loss. “Jerry Tarkanian was one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. He did something no other coach had done — he built a program from scratch into a national power.

“It’s not fair to ask Dave Rice, or anyone, to get back to that level,” he continued. “Now, saying that, the expectations should be high and always are high at UNLV. It’s a basketball school and Dave Rice has them moving in the right direction.”

Anthony talked with former Rebel teammate and current UNLV assistant coach Stacey Augmon this week, and keeps close tabs on the program. Come this weekend, though, he’ll be objective in calling the games.

And, unlike most UNLV fans, don’t expect Anthony to have anything bad to say about Duke. He raves of the Duke program and longtime coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“I love my school, my city and want them desperately to do well,” Anthony said. “I’m really impressed with Duke and what coach K has done with his career. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he has accomplished in the game of basketball. He’s an amazing person.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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