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Jerry Tarkanian

Success At Long Beach State



In his five seasons at Long Beach State, Tarkanian compiled an impressive record of 122-20. The Long Beach State team never lost a home game while under his direction. In 1970 Tarkanian coached the Long Beach State squad into the NCAA Tournament, boasting that his entire first string was made up of former junior college players, a class of players that had long been considered second-rate material by coaches at other four-year colleges. It was at Long Beach that Tarkanian first developed the now-popular 1-2-2 zone defense. Of his defensive coaching skills, Wayne Embry, general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, explained to the Akron Beacon-Journal: "Tark is a hell of a coach. People think that all he does is roll out the balls and let them run. Forget it. He is one of the best defensive coaches in the country."



Chronology

1930 Born in Euclid, Ohio, on October 8
1955 Graduates from Fresno State
1956 Earns master's degree in educational administration from University of Redlands
1956-57 Coaches basketball at San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno
1958 Coaches at Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California
1959-60 Coaches at Redlands High School
1961-66 Coaches at Riverside Junior College
1966-68 Coaches at Pasadena City College
1968-73 Coaches at Long Beach State College
1973-92 Coaches at University of Nevada, Las Vegas
1992 Coaches San Antonio Spurs
1995-2002 Coaches at Fresno State
2002 Named senior development consultant for Save Mart Center at Fresno State

Awards and Accomplishments

1964-67 Coaches Riverside Junior College to California Junior College Championship
1966-67 Coaches Pasadena City College to California Junior College Championship
1976-77 Coaches UNLV to NCAA Final Four
1979-80 Coaches UNLV to fourth place in National Invitational Tournament (NIT)
1983 Named Coach of the Year by United Press International
1986-87 Coaches UNLV to NCAA Final Four
1989-90 Coaches UNLV to NCAA Championship
1990-91 Coaches UNLV to NCAA Final Four
1995-96 Coaches Fresno State to NIT quarterfinals
1997-98 Coaches Fresno State to NIT semifinals

Tarkanian's troubles with the NCAA first surfaced during his tenure at Long Beach State. In 1972, shortly after the coach had written a column critical of the NCAA in a local newspaper, the giant athletic association launched an investigation into the college's basketball and football recruiting practices. In March 1973 Tarkanian took over as head basketball coach at UNLV. A month later, the NCAA submitted to Long Beach State an official inquiry listing alleged violations of NCAA rules. Supplemental allegations were submitted in August, September, and November 1973, and in January 1974 Long Beach State was placed on three years probation and penalized because of alleged rules violations. Tarkanian, now coaching at UNLV, denied the violations as they applied to Long Beach State's basketball program and protested that the findings were made without his participation in the hearing process.

Jerry Tarkanian, center

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBasketballJerry Tarkanian Biography - Helps Coach High School Team, Success At Long Beach State, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments