Former University of Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian died on Wednesday after being hospitalized earlier in the week for a respiratory illness. He was 84.
His son, Daniel, confirmed his father’s passing to USA Today Sports and also announced the news on Twitter.
"To me, he's the greatest man I've ever met," he said by phone Wednesday. "I mean that not only about what he did in his profession but also what kind of family man he was. He was great with the media, was great with the players and, other than one or two other coaches, he was great with the coaches. He got along with everyone. I will miss him every day of my life."
Tarkanian was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and led the Runnin' Rebels to the Final Four a total of four different times. The team won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 1990.
Despite what "Tark the Shark" accomplished on the court, he will also be remembered for his long drawn-out battle with the NCAA. Tarkanian took on the league and won a suit claiming that the association tried to push him out of coaching college basketball. He was awarded over $2 million.
But there are also many great recruiting stories he should be remembered for. As Yahoo Sports chronicled, one of those stories is when he actually sent Frank Sinatra to a recruit’s home because he had an Italian mother. Or when he planned to keep a recruit away at a lake cabin until signing day, only to find out that another school had already sent that recruit to Waikiki Beach first.
He also coached Long Beach State, Fresno State University and had a brief stint with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
Image shared via Twitter by UNLV Athletics