SAN ANTONIO -- Jerry Tarkanian, who resigned under pressure at Nevada-Las Vegas, will return to coaching in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs next season.
Bob Bass, the interim head coach as well as the team's vice president of basketball operations, will remain the coach through the playoffs this season, the club announced Wednesday. Bass has been the coach since Larry Brown was fired Jan. 21.
Tarkanian received a multi-year contract, with the financial terms not revealed. He was making just over $200,000 a year in base salary at UNLV, plus significant perks and lucrative outside endorsement deals.
Tarkanian said he will bring some of his Runnin' Rebels philosophy to the Spurs.
'We hope to come in here and get our running game going,' he said. 'Maybe make the Spurs the 'Runnin' Spurs.''
Although Tarkanian won't be coaching until next season, he will have a role in the upcoming college draft. He was scheduled to head to Orlando Wednesday night, where many of the nation's top college players are taking part in the All-Star Classic.
Spurs' owner Red McCombs said he got a great coach.
'He is a great human being, the kind of guy that understands what our community is about,' said McCombs. 'We think that is equally significant.'
While no one would mistake San Antonio for the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas, Tarkanian said he sees a similarity.
'I'm excited about the fact that this is the big thing in town,' he said, 'just like the Runnin' Rebels were in Las Vegas. There is a lot of interest and it is something I think can really be a lot of fun and I think the potential there is to really, really have an outstanding team. '
Tarkanian, 61, had a major-college record of 625-122 in his 19 years at Nevada-Las Vegas and five seasons with Long Beach State. His .837 winning percentage is the highest in college basketball history.
Tarkanian has been a coach for 31 years overall. Including stints with the Riverside and Pasadena City Colleges, he has a record of 837- 148, a percentage of .850.
It was at Nevada-Las Vegas that Tarkanian gained his prominence. His teams won at least 20 games in 18 of his 19 seasons, and four times had at least 33 wins, including tournament games. Nevada-Las Vegas won the national title in 1989-90, and was 31-0 the following year until losing to eventual champion Duke, 79-77, in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
UNLV was 26-2 this past season, which was expected to be a rebuilding year. The Runnin' Rebels closed the season with a 23-game winning streak, the longest in the nation. Because of an agreement with the NCAA, Nevada-Las Vegas was ineligible for post-season tournaments.
Tarkanian's success at UNLV came despite nearly constant feuds with the NCAA the past 14 seasons. In recent years he had also been at odds with the school administration.
Tarkanian announced June 7, 1991 he would coach just one more year for the Runnin' Rebels, but 10 days before he was to step down he rescinded that resignation. However, school president Robert Maxson said he would hold Tarkanian to his original decision.
Tarkanian left UNLV with the basketball program on NCAA probation and the target of 29 new NCAA infraction allegations. The coaching job was turned over to long-time Villanova head coach Rollie Massimino on April 1.
Since the end of the Rebels' season, Tarkanian had been working as a television analyst for Los Angeles Clippers' games.
There had been considerable speculation in recent years that Tarkanian would try coaching in the NBA, with the Clippers and Dallas Mavericks mentioned most often as the likely teams. Ironically, a possible opening with the Clippers was filled by Brown.
