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NCAA basketball: Ranking the 25 best college basketball coaches ever

By Nate Williamson

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Best college basketball coaches ever
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 23: Jerry Tarkanian

Spending 31 seasons as a head coach over five decades and being the head man for three different schools, Jerry Tarkanian is best known for his time spent with the University of Nevada Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels.

After playing as a guard at Fresno State, Tarkanian climbed his way up the ladder, and after a few stops, successfully climbed his way up from the high school game, all the way to the head man for UNLV. The rest is history.

Tarkanian led the Rebels to the Final Four four separate times, winning the 1990 national title, all while revolutionizing the game at the collegiate level, installing a high-pressing defense, paired with a nasty fast-paced offensive attack.

For those of us who have supported a program, other than those like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, et al., we know how tough it can be to win 20 games in a season. Well, if you were a UNLV fan during the Tarkanian era, you rarely had to worry about that. Tark the Shark’s teams only missed the 20-win mark two times, while never having a losing season.

This prolific ability to win led Tarkarian to over 700 wins in his career, finishing with a 706-198 record overall. He was the UPI Coach of the Year in 1983, while winning the same award for the WCAC and the WAC in 1975 and 2001, respectively. In 2013, he became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Also a bit of a badge of honor, Tarkarian, despite having 50 games vacated already, once sued the NCAA and was awarded $2.5 million. Truly, a man of the people.