Runnin' Rebel
Shark Tales of "Extra Benefits," Frank Sinatra, and Winning It All
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4.0 • 8 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
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.
Customer Reviews
Valuable perspective, essential for true fans, players, and coaches of the game
This book is a string of many succinct thoughtfully composed vignettes. He kind of sells himself off as a hard luck story, and, in the end, his record, the final few pages of the book, testify to this more than anything else. Obviously he must still rank among the greatest coaches. You couldn’t ask for a better endorsement than Bob Knight, and Greg Anthony is as fine an alumnus whom any coach would be proud of. However, Tarkanian breezily glosses over what went on his practices. He makes an allusion to the amoeba defense and man-to-man defense, but you don’t really nuts-and-bolts what made his coaching so effective other than his qualities of personableness and dogged perseverance. Given the conflicts the seemingly humble Tark recounts, you come away from this with questions about the NCAA and the outsized role and prominence of sports in American life.