This article originally appeared in the April 9, 1990 issue of Sporting News.
DENVER — Sadly, it is impossible to separate Jerry Tarkanian's sterling rise to the top of college basketball from the dark cloud that his programs have brought to the game itself during many of his 22 years as an NCAA Division I coach.
All those seasons of teaching and guidance culminated in a nearly flawless performance by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas against Duke April 2 at McNichols Arena. The Rebels unleased a masterpiece, simply overwhelming the Blue Devils in a stunning 103-73 triumph that gave Tarkanian his first national championship.
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But Tarkanian rightfully wouldn't claim the victory as vindication against the NCAA, which twice has put his programs on probation (Long Beach State in 1973 and UNLV in 1977) and unsuccessfully ordered him to be suspended for two years. Over the years, Tarkanian has won a lot of games — only Hall of Famer Clair Bee has a higher lifetime winning percentage, and that by .0006 -- but at what cost? At one point, his graduation rate was less than 20 percent — he once said he wasn't hired to be an educator — and even now, Las Vegas is waiting the results of another NCAA probe. If the Runnin' Rebels are found guilty of violations, one of the penalties could force them to vacate this title.
Even this season, Tarkanian had to suspend nine different players for one or two games after they failed to do everything from pay hotel telephone and incidental charges to errant student loans. Through the years, the off-court problems hardly have made Tarkanian a sympathetic figure and those difficulties always will detract from his team's accomplishment against Duke.
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When the Rebels were being honored on the court after they had dismantled Duke, any mention of the NCAA drew a loud chorus of boos from the Vegas supporters. And assistant coach Tim Grgurich yelled: "Hey, NCAA, what are you going to do to us now?"
At least those fans in Las Vegas and Nevada love Tarkanian. They call him Tark the Shark and even have changed the school mascot to a shark. This victory, he said, was for those red-clad supporters who flap their arms in a jaw-like biting motion and have made the Rebels' home court at the Thomas and Mack Center one of the toughest in the nation for visiting teams.
And what about this victory?
"It's sweet," he said, "but not because of anything to do with the NCAA. Nevada doesn't have the greatest image and this is great for the state. I just really never thought I could win a (NCAA) title."
Nor would Tarkanian debate how some had cast this game as good, represented by Simon-pure (text omitted). His players laughed at all that too.
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"Tark is willing to take a chance (with players)," said junior guard Greg Anthony. "He not only gives players an opportunity to play but an opportunity to succeed as a person. It's a credit to him. We should have more people like him rather than eliminate kids who don't have high GPAs or test scores and say they are failures."
Added senior forward Moses Scurry: "We just laughed at all the thug talk."
Duke wasn't laughing after this one. After reaching the Final Four for the third straight year — the fourth in five years — and positioning themselves for a shot at their first national championship in eight attempts, the Blue Devils found themselves against a more gifted team playing at its upmost best. Remember, the Rebels were the preseason pick to win the national title — they had five starters back from an NCAA playoff team plus junior forward Larry Johnson, last year's junior college player of the year at Odessa (Tex.) J.C. — and Tarkanian fulfilled those predictions by getting his squad to peak at exactly the right time.
Twice before, Tarkanian had brought Las Vegas to the Final Four (1977 and 1987) but the Rebels were knocked off both times in the semifinals.
"I've never made winning a national championship one of my goals," said Tarkanian, but he admitted he wanted to win this game "very badly." Indeed, he had told his team it was capable of doing something "very big." He just never told it what "very big" was.
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Duke found out pretty quickly. In essence, the game was over in the first 10 minutes. The Blue Devils knew they had to both produce a quality defensive performance and shoot well to have a chance against Vegas. They wound up doing neither, but it really didn't seem to matter what they did. UNLV's performance was at such a high level, any opponent would have been hard-pressed to beat them April 2.
"My team was ready but (Vegas) would not let us play well," said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Their defense was so great, they wouldn't let us play. It was one of the great performances I've seen."
After the game, Krzyzewski told Tarkanian: "It was the greatest performance against any of my teams in 15 years."
The Blue Devils agreed.
"Coach told us the right things to do but they took us out of our offense and we didn't do anything on defense," said center Christian Laettner. "They physically over-powered us, especially on the perimeter. And (Stacey) Augmon seemed to be everywhere."
UNLV set the tone in the opening 10 minutes. The Rebels forced eight Duke turnovers, turning them into nine points. Duke even had trouble making a simple pass. That's how great the pressure was on the Blue Devil guards. On offense, the Rebels made 10 of their first 14 shots, in nearly every conceivable fashion — fast breaks, dunks, three-pointers and routine 12-foot jumpers. Las Vegas jumped to a 21-11 lead, which it never came close to surrendering. The final 30-point margin was the largest in championship-game history and Vegas became the first team to go over 100 points in the title game. The previous high was held by UCLA, which beat Duke, 98-83, in 1964.
The Rebels had too much experience, too much quickness and too much depth for Duke. The Blue Devils had hoped to neutralize the Vegas defense by jamming the ball inside to their two big men, 6-11 Laettner and 6-10 Alaa Abdelnaby. But of those eight early turnovers, half came on inside passes. Once Duke found it was nearly impossible to execute its main offensive aim, the Blue Devils fell apart. They were tentative and out of sync and had no answers to what Vegas was throwing at them.
"They wore us down mentally," admitted Krzyzewski.
This game became an instructional film, reflecting everything Tarkanian has emphasized over the years. He wanted a fast-tempo game, so his team could get enough easy, open baskets. And that's what the Rebels produced. He wanted a defensive effort of such high intensity that Duke would make mistakes and take poor, hurried shots. That happened too. Tarkanian has gone along with the school's Runnin' Rebel nickname, but he's really always been most proud of his defense.
"People may not agree with me" he said, "but over the last eight years, our coaches believe we have played the best defense in the nation."
In this era of the three-point shot, it was especially gratifying to Tarkanian that his team won with old-fashioned, fundamental basketball. Sure, the Rebels made eight three-point shots, including four by Anderson Hunt, the tournament's most valuable player, whose outside accuracy means so much to UNLV's offense. But Vegas scored from inside as well and showed continuity in its motion offense. As a result, the Rebels shot 67 percent from the field compared to Duke's 42 percent.
Everywhere Tarkanian looked, he found heroes. His guards, Hunt and Greg Anthony, combined for 42 points (29 by Hunt). They shot so effectively (17 for 27 combined) that it was impossible for the Blue Devils to sag on the Rebels' inside game. That opened the way for Johnson and Co. to maneuver around the basket.
Johnson, a prototype power forward if there ever was one, became the final piece in the Vegas puzzle this season. He gave the Rebels the rebounding and lowpost scoring they needed, and his maturity pulled the team together. He even tossed in a couple of three-pointers against Duke en route to scoring 22 points.
What's more, he said he won't turn professional, any more than Tarkanian said he will retire. Both claim they'll be back next season. Unless Augmon moves on to the NBA, the only starter who won't return will be senior center David Butler.
For now, though, Johnson wanted to savor this championship. In the locker room, the assistant coaches were urging him to leave but Johnson was having too much fun interviewing teammates.
"Just leave me alone, don't rush me," said Johnson, laughing," or I'll turn pro."
Paul Attner was a Sporting News national correspondent.