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| Two vastly different men, who both touched and changed college basketball(Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com) |
Written By: Nathan Skinner (@Canedude08)
Canes Rising Contributor
Every once in awhile, an event happens that marks the passage of an era. In college basketball, an era ended this week. No, a dynasty isn't collapsing, but the sport did lose two titans, Dean Smith and Jerry Tarkanian. While both hadn't coached in over a decade, their impact on the game stretched far beyond their coaching tenures. Their contrasting styles helped make college basketball a national game.
Following Dean Smith's death, pundits all over the world raced to tell the world about the gentleman who led North Carolina to two national championships. Dean Smith was more than a basketball coach, he was an ideal. A man who not only won on the basketball court, but was a true leader of men. Dean Smith's 'Heels never ran into serious trouble with the NCAA, student-athletes graduated at an impressive 96% clip, and he coached some of the best players in the game's history. That's an impressive resume for any coach, especially one that may have not been allowed to remain at UNC, had he been coaching in today's "win now" world. Smith started his career at UNC following a successful run by Frank McGuire, a run that saw the 'Heels win, but also saw the program run afoul of the NCAA. Dean Smith was promoted following McGuire's resignation and was tasked with the job of rebuilding the program. It's safe to say he succeeded in his task. While his 879 wins, 11 Final Fours, and induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame are important, it's his dedication to civil rights that will be his enduring legacy. At a school in the former Confederacy, Smith not only signed the first African-American student athlete to play at UNC, he forced local businesses and organizations to treat Charlie Scott in a manner befitting a Tar Heel. His coaching tree has more African-Americans than most legendary coaches, he was unafraid to give a former player a chance to become a member of the coaching fraternity. It's those kinds of acts that made Smith a mythical figure in the eyes of many.
There's fewer coaches who fit their institutions better than Jerry Tarkanian. UNLV is an institution that due to its location is always on the cutting edge. Tarkanian was a cutting edge coach that loved to gamble in regards to players, and the program. In a basketball world in which teams raced to copy Dean Smith's four corners offense, Tark the Shark ran an uptempo offense rarely seen since John McLendon roamed the sidelines. In a basketball world in which junior college players were seen as a last resort, Tarkanian put them at the top of his recruiting chart, finding gems like Larry Johnson in the process. In a basketball world in which kids from the inner-city were muzzled, and forced to assimilate into the mainstream, Tarkanian allowed those kids to express themselves, creating some of the most interesting, and dynamic teams in NCAA history. The Runnin' Rebels were literally running, and literally rebels in every sense of the word. That rebellious spirit led the team down some dark roads at times, but it also led to four Final Fours, and a national championship.
One can say that Tarkanian's success came at a price. He was never afraid to skirt the rules, never afraid to look at college basketball as an exercise in hypocrisy. Tark's battles with the NCAA are legendary and were the first shots in a war that continues to this day. The NCAA does a horrible job of enforcing the rules, and are selective in regards to punishing institutions. While a school like SMU gets the "Death Penalty", a school like Alabama gets probation. Tarkanian was the first to publicize this, writing a series of articles in which he pointed out that larger, more influential schools are allowed to flout the rules, while smaller institutions are made an example of. This created controversy, and also made his program the choice of those who dared to be different. UNLV was to college basketball, what The U was to college football: a brand for those who refused to conform. Tark wasn't your typical college basketball coach, he was something different. He may have not had the squeaky clean image Dean Smith had, but his courage was something the game needed. The game needed someone who was unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom, unafraid to take chances on young men, young men who needed someone to believe in them. I know that somewhere, Chris Herren, Larry Johnson and others are thankful that Jerry Tarkanian gave them a chance, and stood by them at all costs.
It's sad to think that two legends of the game are no longer with us, but we have to look back at their lives and realize that we had two extremely different people sharing the spotlight for almost two decades. Their differing styles made college basketball interesting, a sport that is now struggling to remain relevant. While we may be able to name some active coaches, how many are as polarizing as Tark, or as universally loved as Dean?
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