Panel ranks Rebels Top 100

Fifteen years before Jerry Tarkanian arrived at UNLV, where he coached the basketball program to national prominence, there were tumbleweeds and humble beginnings.

There was a coach, Michael "Chub"
Drakulich, a talented guard, Jim Jansen, and no tradition when the Rebels won only five games against a regional schedule in 1958-59, their initial year in existence.

But from the desert sprouted a basketball power, one which transitioned from Nevada Southern University in the 1960s to a national champion.

Twenty years after the Rebels' NCAA championship season in 1989-90, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is counting down the top 100 players in UNLV basketball history.

"We've had some great players, there's no question," said Tarkanian, who led the Rebels for 19 of their 52 seasons. "You start at No. 1, and that's got to be a unanimous choice, I would think. That would be Larry Johnson, without a doubt."

After a selection committee of 25 each ranked their top 100 players, Johnson, the brightest star of the 1990 team, did not win the top spot by unanimous decision. Three other former Rebels received No. 1 votes.

The Review-Journal provided voters with biographical information for 124 players, including the program's 34 1,000-point scorers, who merit consideration for the top 100 spots.

A "Ranking the Rebels" countdown begins today, and each day until Aug. 15 -- when the top two selections and complete voting results are unveiled -- a player will be featured on Page 2 of the Sports section.

"I have about 30 years of history and background with the Rebels," said Brad Rothermel, UNLV's athletic director from 1981 to 1990. "We had a really fine history of basketball even before the Tark era. Obviously, we didn't have 125 great players. But we had 125 pretty good players. The challenging part for me is, who do you exclude out of the top 25?"

Fifty-one of the 100 players, including 17 of the top 20, are from the Tarkanian era (1973 to 1992). Two players on coach Lon Kruger's current roster made the list.

Voters were asked to judge players solely by what they accomplished on the floor at UNLV while ignoring their pro careers and any off-court issues. The process, of course, was an inexact science.

Several members of the voting panel did not see Rebels players from the early years and thus leaned on statistics and team achievements as a guide.

"It's real subjective, obviously. When you publish it, it will be controversial," said Marc Ratner, vice president of regulatory affairs with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. "I started watching the Rebels in the early 1960s.

"Some of the guys who played one year were still great. Other guys played four years. It's a tough thing to rate them, but it was fun."

Bob Blum, radio voice for UNLV men's and women's basketball since the 1970s, and Bob Miller, governor of Nevada from 1989 to 1999, represent two of the most qualified historians.

"A lot of people voting on this probably weren't born when these guys played. I have seen a lot of the older players," Blum said. "But it's tough to try to evaluate some of the older guys with some of these guys today."

Miller said key members of the national championship team "deserve the highest regard," but the players who helped build the foundation should not be underestimated.

"It should not be forgotten the roles Elburt Miller, Silas Stepp and others played in advancing the program," he said. "There have been so many great players that second-guessing who should be where is easy, and by no means do I conclude that I have an exact order, but it was a great pleasure to review names and with them rekindle memories."

After ballots were delivered in early April, voters were allowed about three weeks to complete them. Dick Calvert, the Rebels' game announcer since 1971, said he "wrestled" with some of the rankings for hours.

"I had no idea that I would spend that much time on it," Calvert said. "I was comfortable up until about No. 50, and then it became a chore.

"I would take a Frank 'Spoon' James in one hand and a Reggie Manuel in the other hand and say, 'Who was the better player, who was the better contributor?"

There were wild inconsistencies in where some players were ranked by voters. That was expected, so a panel of 25 was used in an effort to reach a more accurate average. From that point, the highest and lowest vote for each player was thrown out.

"I can't believe how many times I went through this, and I still think it's a very flawed ballot," said Dave Cokin, a local ESPN Radio host and professional handicapper. "Some of the older guys, I didn't have any idea where to put them."

The task was somewhat easier for Royce Feour, who retired in 2004 after 37 years as a Review-Journal sports writer.

"You won't find anyone who has followed Rebels basketball any longer than I have. I covered games in the gym on campus, and I was often the only media member there," Feour said. "I remember the first team."

On that first team was Jansen, who recalled taking two vehicles -- one a Mercury station wagon carrying six players -- to Flagstaff for a game at Northern Arizona in 1960.

"The first season, there was probably 100 people at the games," Jansen said. "There weren't many fans. I would say we had 300 to 350 by the third season.

"That's the way it started. We were definitely the pioneers."

Review-Journal sports writer Adam Hill contributed to this story. Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.