Runnin' Rebel: Shark Tales of "Extra Benefits," Frank Sinatra, and Winning It All

by Jerry Tarkanian, Dan Wetzel, Greg Anthony (Commentaries by), Bob Knight (Commentaries by)

Overview

No matter where his basketball travels took him during his 31 seasons in NCAA Division I college basketball, controversy was never been far behind Jerry Tarkanian. The legendary former coach of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels proved himself to be one of the greatest coaches in the game’s history, however, amassing an incredible overall record of 778–202, more wins than all but a handful of other coaches. His 19 seasons of amazing success and breathtaking teams in Las Vegas are the foundation of Jerry Tarkanian’s revealing and often hilarious autobiography, Runnin’ Rebel, a book poised to reveal the skeletons in the closet of the NCAA and some of the biggest names and programs in college basketball over the past thirty-five years. Runnin' Rebel is Jerry Tarkanian unplugged, dishing his wildest, most ridiculous, and most hilarious recruiting stories, capers, and tales from a colorful career as college basketball’s ultimate loveable rogue. “Tark the Shark,” as fans affectionately called him, details dirty tricks, recruiting battles, and so much more in this one-of-a-kind memoir. A must-have for any college basketball fan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613214213
Publisher:	Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date:	03/20/2013
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jerry Tarkanian was one of the most successful basketball coaches in NCAA history. He began coaching high school basketball in 1956 and moved into college basketball in 1961. Tarkanian is best known for the success achieved while head coach of the Runnin’ Rebels at the University of Nevada. He retired from coaching in 2002.

Dan Wetzel is a national sports columnist for Yahoo! Sports. The award-winning sportswriter, author, and screenwriter has covered all levels of basketball, as well as college football, the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NHL. He was previously national college basketball columnist for CBS Sports online and has won numerous national writing awards. He has also been featured in several editions of The Best American Sports Writing and is the coauthor of the critically acclaimed investigative book Sole Influence. Wetzel graduated with a political science degree from the University of Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Foreword Bob Knight ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 How It Really Goes Down 1

Chapter 2 One of the Guys 6

Chapter 3 Climbin' the Ladder 13

Chapter 4 "Bad Apples" and State Champs 20

Chapter 5 Hittin' the Beach 28

Chapter 6 The Greatest Player I Ever Saw 35

Chapter 7 Wisin' Up 44

Chapter 8 Sweet Redemption 50

Chapter 9 Moneyball at UCLA 56

Chapter 10 Al McGuire 66

Chapter 11 Seduced by The Strip 74

Chapter 12 The Power of the Pen 80

Chapter 13 Frank Sinatra 87

Chapter 14 Runnin' Rebels 93

Chapter 15 Taking on the Big Boys 100

Chapter 16 Hold That Phone 113

Chapter 17 The Lakers 119

Chapter 18 Family Ties 126

Chapter 19 Rollin' Again 132

Chapter 20 Back to the Final Four 139

Chapter 21 You Wouldn't Believe It 146

Chapter 22 …If I Told You 154

Chapter 23 Recruiting the Champs 161

Chapter 24 On the Verge 169

Chapter 25 Sweet Success 175

Chapter 26 Chasing Perfection 185

Chapter 27 Leaving Las Vegas 194

Chapter 28 The Pro Ranks 200

Chapter 29 Beating the System 208

Chapter 30 Not-So-Perfect Homecoming 213

Afterword Greg Anthony 224

Epilogue 227

Appendix 231