Jerry Tarkanian was born on this date in 1930, in Euclid, Ohio. "Tark the Shark" began his playing career at Pasadena City College before transferring to Fresno State. His coaching career began immediately thereafter. First, he coached high school ball for five years before moving on to Riverside City College and then Pasadena City College. His team's won four straight JUCO championships.
He parlayed that success into the head coaching job at Long Beach State. He made his mark in five seasons at LBSU by recruiting JUCO athletes and playing predominantly black starting lineups.
Then it was on to Nevada Las Vegas where he found his ultimate success. In 20 years at the helm he led the Rebels to four Final Fours, and won the National Title in 1990, establishing a record for winning margin (103-73 over Duke).
His recruitment of a troubled guard from New York City – Lloyd Daniels – would end his days at UNLV. An investigation discovered that Daniels had been steered to UNLV by a gambler named Richard Perry. After a photo surfaced of several UNLV players in a hot tub with Daniels, Tarkanian was forced to resign.
Three years later he returned to coaching at Fresno State, where he led the team for seven successful seasons. But after he retired Fresno State was put on probation for violations committed under Tarkanian's watch.
After retirment, Tarkanian filed suit against the NCAA claiming harassment throughout his career. The NCAA settled out of court for $2.5 million, closing the chapter on this enigmatic coach.
Another troubled coach, Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson was born on this day in 1937. Sanderson played small time college basketball at Abilene Christian and Florence State. But he made his mark as a coach. He spent 33 years at Alabama as an assistant coach and then the head coach. As head coach he was the SEC Coach of the Year three times, and the National Coach of the Year in 1987.
For fifteen of those years he was having an affair with his secretary. And then in 1992 she filed a sexual harassment suit against him. She claimed he had punched her, and he claimed he stuck out his hand while defending himself, and she ran into it giving her a black eye. Regardless, they settled out of court and Sanderson was out at Alabama.
Other birthdays include: Togo Palozzi 1932 (Holy Cross), Woody Durham 1941 (North Carolina – Announcer), Bo Ellis 1954 (Marquette), Dwayne Morton 1971 (Louisville), William Avery 1979 (Duke), and Raymar Morgan 1988 (Michigan State)
