Tark, still The Shark

By Rick Alonzo, On-line Forty-Niner

March 24,1998

Note to athletic directors seeking to improve their men's basketball programs: Hire Jerry Tarkanian and win more games. Then be prepared for an NCAA investigation.

It's common knowledge. Yet, recently Mike Wallace and "60 Minutes" aired an investigative piece about the Fresno State program. Last time I checked, it was no secret Tark's recruits have had troubled pasts. It was no secret he has been in trouble with the NCAA, more than once.

Recently, Bulldogs Avondre Jones and Kenny Brunner were arrested and booked for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft. The NCAA will be all over this one.

But does that make Tark any less of a great coach? No. He is still The Man.

Sure, Tark's players have made wrong, and sometimes dumb, choices. After all, this is a team that saw six players suspended last season.

OK, so Tark has problems. But I love that guy anyway.

He takes mediocre programs and immediately makes them winners. He did it at Long Beach State. He did it at UNLV. And he's doing it at Fresno State.

And that's what it boils down to. Period. Either a coach wins, or he doesn't. That's what people talk about.

Case in point, 49er Coach Wayne Morgan. Is anyone talking about how nice he is, how well he treats his players, how much he smiles or how well he gets along with the media? No.

Everyone is talking about his 10-19 record. That's it.

I'd take Jerry Tarkanian over Wayne Morgan every day of the week. If Long Beach had Tark again: The 49ers would win. There's no denying it.

Tark is a legend. He took control of a mediocre 49er program that had little success in the 1960s. The 49ers won just 47 percent of their games during the previous 8 years, 95-109. Not exactly a hoops powerhouse.

But Tark made Long Beach a winner almost overnight. He coached at Long Beach from 1968 through '73 and his record was 121-20, an .858 winning percentage. Excellent. Who wins as much? No one.

In 1973, the 49ers were ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation. That's right, the nation. Not the Big West's Western Division, third in the nation. And the NCAA was quick to notice. Rumors started swirling. How could a program rise to the top in such short time? The NCAA wanted to know.

But Tark is a smart guy. He knew he was facing problems and took the vacant job at UNLV. Although the shadiest 49er was gone, The NCAA hammered Long Beach with five years of probation for the trail of wrongdoings (the nature of which were unconfirmed by Long Beach Athletic Director Bill Shumard, who was then sports information director) that Tark spearheaded.

After Tark escaped Long Beach, he went to UNLV and began his first of 19 seasons in 1973. John Bayer, the Runnin' Rebels coach prior to Tark's arrival, went 44-36, winning 55 percent of his games. That's OK, but not great.

But Tark takes over and the team goes 20-6, after going 14-14 the year before. That's why he is a great coach.

He would go on to build a dynasty at UNLV. He finished his career 509-105 (83 percent). Nobody wins like that.

Although it seems like decades ago, Tark built one of the greatest basketball teams in the history of college basketball. His Runnin' Rebels of 1989-90 and '91 are legendary. After having won the title in '90, the Rebs went 34-0 in '91 before Duke upset them in the national semifinals.

Then came the final blow to Tark's legacy as a Rebel. A photograph taken of two UNLV players and Ralph "The Fixer" Perry, who was convicted of fixing sporting events, was released to the media. Just one year after winning a national championship, the NCAA charged UNLV with a string of allegations related to the basketball program.

Ironically, current Long Beach State President Robert Maxson was then president at UNLV. He made the decision to fire Tark, ending his tumultuous tenure. But Maxson's decision was very unpopular. Tark, along with many games, had won friends, too. Wanting to get out of the media cesspool that was UNLV, Maxson made a move to The Beach.

Many criticisms can be leveled against Tark, but that can't take away from his accomplishments.

Is Tark guilty of anything at Fresno? Maybe. But I have a hard time believing that an old grandpa that sits around biting towels is guilty of anything.

And where are the Bulldogs right now? In a nice little tournament called the NIT, held in New York. Don't get me wrong, it's not as big and prestigious as the Big West Tournament, held in Reno. Anyone can see that. After all, Reno is the biggest little city in the world.

But as I sit back and savor the all of the 49er wins last season, all 10, I will be hard pressed not to wonder how Tark

is doing in New York. Despite the loss of Jones and Brunner, the Bulldogs (21-11) has advanced to the semifinals and will face Minnesota (18-15) tonight.

Despite intense pressure amid the media scrutiny, he's still winning. Something he's done everywhere he has gone.

'Winning,' something that happened 10 times around Long Beach last season.

Tark and his towel or Wayne and his smile? I have one question: does he prefer cotton or polyester?