Social Reactions: RIP Jerry Tarkanian

RIP Jerry Tarkanian

The college basketball world lost another coaching legend today: Jerry Tarkanian. North Carolina’s Dean Smith passed away over the weekend. 

Much like his legendary UNLV Runnin’ Rebel teams, Tarkanian was a bit of a rebel, in his own way. Tark, as he was often called, was unafraid to take on the NCAA and its arguably tyrannical ways when it came to player eligibility. As author Marc Isenberg tweeted today:

As The Cauldron’s Andy Glockner tweets:

Many will weigh in with their thoughts on Tark, including Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel. I can remember those Tark teams. It was like the college version of L.A. Lakers’ “Showtime”. So much talent on one team. Just five guys on the floor having fun. Unless they were playing your team. Then, well, then you hated them. They HAD to be cheating (see Marc Isenberg’s tweet above), right? 

But, that talent. Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and the rest of those Rebels teams. They were Tark. They embodied who he was. 

As did those towels…and of course, the chair. 

While his legacy extends beyond Vegas, he became a symbol for all that is Vegas and sports:

The Twitterverse reacted today to the news, as only they could. Here are just a select few of the tweets (and videos) for #RIPTark

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UNLV and MWC Reactions

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PLAYER REACTIONS

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MEDIA REACTIONS

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WHEN TARK FINALLY MADE THE HALL

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FAMILY TWEETS

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A FITTING TRIBUTE FROM UNLV

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Posted by Sunny Cadwallader

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