One vote to go: Tarkanian a Basketball Hall of Fame finalist
Former UNLV men’s basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian is closing in on one last, well-deserved honor — one he should have received years ago.
On Friday Mr. Tarkanian was named one of a dozen finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction class of 2013. He needs at least 18 votes from the hall’s 24-member Honors Committee to finally be enshrined alongside the game’s legendary figures. Inductees will be announced April 8 at the NCAA men’s Final Four in Atlanta.
Mr. Tarkanian turned the Runnin’ Rebels into one of the country’s top basketball programs during his 19 years. His UNLV teams won 83 percent of the games he coached between 1973 and 1992, made it to four Final Fours and won the 1990 national championship. Including Mr. Tarkanian’s stints as a head coach at the junior-college level, Long Beach State and Fresno State, he won 990 games.
Beyond all those wins and 18 total regular-season Division I conference titles — which should be enough for induction into the Hall of Fame — Mr. Tarkanian changed the sport by emphasizing up-tempo play.
Mr. Tarkanian is 82 years old and hasn’t coached in more than a decade. He has waited long enough. Whatever made the Hall of Fame reconsider Mr. Tarkanian’s credentials after years of snubs — realizing that he isn’t getting any younger, recognizing that the NCAA is an imperfect governing body that did not always treat him fairly in investigating his programs — is irrelevant at this point.
Mr. Tarkanian should be an easy choice for the Honors Committee. Put Tark in the Hall of Fame.
