LAS VEGAS -- There are no sharks in the desert.
Card sharks, maybe, in Las Vegas' desert oasis that is lathered with casinos and resorts.
Once upon a time, though, there was a shark.
Someone the entire community loved, whether or not they knew anything about basketball.
As the NBA plans to officially discuss expansion at the league’s Board of Governors meeting next week, with serious discussions about Las Vegas and Seattle entering the landscape, I say it's time to pay homage to Jerry Tarkanian, ahem, Tark the Shark.
Bring on the Las Vegas Sharks.
Tarkanian wasn’t just a successful basketball coach, he was the sports figure who helped put Las Vegas on the legitimate sports map. Before the rise of the Runnin' Rebels, this town was known for gambling and entertainment, and was never taken seriously when it came to athletics.
Tarkanian changed that in a huge way by turning UNLV into one of the most exciting and dominant programs in college basketball with a fast-paced, high-scoring style that made the Rebels must-watch TV.
He led the Rebels to four Final Fours and won the 1990 NCAA National Championship with a team still considered by many to be the greatest college basketball team ever.
Tarkanian was to UNLV what John Wooden was to UCLA.
The Runnin' Rebels played like an NBA team and became endearing to basketball fans across the country.
To be fair, at some point in our old-school Las Vegas lives, we all mimicked the lovable little Armenian by chewing on a towel as he did.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
We can agree to disagree, but without the foundation Tark built, it’s hard to imagine teams like the NHL's Golden Knights, WNBA's Aces or NFL's Raiders existng in Las Vegas.
There was a time major professional sports leagues avoided Las Vegas like the plague, all while Tarkanian was proving elite athletics would thrive in the city. And the national media attention grew annually.
Tarkanian didn’t just build a winner in the desert, he changed how Las Vegas was seen in the sports world by laying the groundwork for the city’s transformation into one of the fastest-growing sports markets in the United States.
And I say it's time to resurrect plenty of childhoods, not just mine, and honor the icon who not only brought so many eyes to basketball on the West Coast and laid a foundation in the valley, but also left his fingerprints on the NBA by producing plenty of professional players.
Guys like Ricky Sobers, Robert Smith, Glen Gondrezik, Reggie Theus, Jackie Robinson, Sidney Green, Armen Gilliam, Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, Elmore Spencer and Isaiah Rider were all blessed with the chance to play for Tarkanian before fulfilling their dreams of playing in the NBA.
They weren't the only ones blessed by Tarkanian's presence.
SHARK'S FINAL ATTACK
I'll never forget the night of March 3, 1992, when UNLV played the Utah State Aggies in its regular-season finale.
The Runnin' Rebels likely would have run through the Big West Conference tournament yet again, dancing their way into the NCAA Tournament, but due to improper benefits violations, they were placed on probation and banned from competing in the postseason.
More importantly, that night marked the end of an era for someone who - 34 years and 15 days later - still belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of Southern Nevada sports figures.
Tarkanian's run as head coach on Maryland Parkway was over, and the beloved, raspy-voiced legend I watched inside the Rotunda at the Convention Center was making his way through a makeshift aisle between rows of chairs at the postgame press conference at the Thomas and Mack Center, and I couldn't help myself.
Credential or not, I asked Tarkanian to autograph the final program of his career at UNLV, one on which he was on the cover donning a white tuxedo with red trim, his shiny NCAA championship ring from two years prior jumping off the page.
I wanted to memorialize the night with an autographed program and an unused ticket media members were given, in a matted frame.
I still have it. Still got my souvenir Tark's Towel, too.
When talking about the history of sports in Las Vegas, it starts with Tark the Shark.
I can't think of a better name for an expansion NBA team than the Las Vegas Sharks.
