RIP Jerry Tarkanian

For the second time in less than a week the world lost another legendary college basketball coach with the passing of Jerry Tarkanian at the age of 84 today. In 31 years coaching Division I college teams; Long Beach State, UNLV & Fresno State, he went 729-201 making him the #21 coach in collegiate wins. During that time he won 20 or more games a season 29 times, went to four Final Fours (all at UNLV) and won a National Championship in 1990 while with UNLV.

Besides the superior UNLV teams of the 80s & 90s The Shark is known for his towel chewing, which became his trademark of sorts and was eventually memorialized in statue form on the UNLV campus, and for his constant battles with the NCAA. He even spent some time coaching in the NBA with the Spurs in 1992 going 9-11 before being fired due to conflict with the owner.

 

Tarkanian has plenty of official cards by Press Pass, Donruss and Upper Deck plus a couple of cards from his NBA coaching days. He also has plenty of licensed autographs as well as some IP/TTM autographs and pricing runs from around $5 and up with the licensed cards selling more in the $20 and up range.