REBELS HAUNTED BY PAST KRUGER REBUILDS IN TARKANIAN'S HULKING SHADOW.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - Just beyond the glitter, flashing lights and booming casinos that pump billions into the local economy sits the house that Jerry Tarkanian built.

You drive in on Tarkanian Way. And if you're Tarkanian, you have rock- star parking courtesy of a lifetime space. Not even UNLV's new coach Lon Kruger parks closer to the doors of the Thomas & Mack Center.

During Tarkanian's two decades at the school, the real action always was several blocks east of the Strip. The Runnin' Rebels and Tarkanian, the popular, bald coach with droopy eyes and a habit of chomping on towels, ruled the town. Four Final Four appearances and a national title in 1990 made Tarkanian an icon.

It seems the school has been paying ever since.

NCAA rules violations forced his resignation in 1992. The good times in Sin City didn't last, and neither did any of the coaches and athletic directors that followed.

Since winning it all, the Rebels have been on probation a total of seven years since 1993. On Sunday, a four-year probation stemming from Bill Bayno's coaching tenure will end.

``I'm in my 10th year, and that shadow has not been easy to lift,'' university president Carol Harter said. ``I think people tend to look back much more at the glory than the scandal. You never need to forget because you always need to be cognizant. You can't take integrity for granted. You have to continually work at it.''

Progress is slow. Kruger was hired last March after the school failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Charlie Spoonhour had taken UNLV to the lesser National Invitation Tournament three times but was forced to resign for health reasons.

UNLV is 2-2 entering tonight's game against Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Rebels had a thrilling last-second victory at Cal, but also a dismal loss at Nevada.

None of it has made anyone forget the past.

``The town folks are hungry,'' said Kruger, well aware Tarkanian went to the tournament in nine consecutive seasons. ``They won big at one time, and they have fond memories of that. They want to do that again. The bar Coach Tarkanian set with regard to winning is extremely high.''

UNLV was predicted to win the Mountain West Conference in the preseason media poll, and with good reason. Senior forward Odartey Blankson, who leads the Rebels in scoring at 17.1 points per game, has NBA potential. Romel Beck averages 15.5. Attendance is just over 12,000, far less than the 20,000 that used to pack Thomas & Mack, but it is higher than previous seasons.

Kruger's first recruiting class, which he signed last month, might be the best since Tarkanian's championship team the featured Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony and Stacey Augmon, all first-round NBA draft picks.

Kruger signed five players, including guard Wendell White (Antelope Valley College) and Davon Jefferson (Lynwood High), the seventh-ranked forward in the country by theinsiderhoops.com.

``Recruiting,'' Kruger said. ``The foundation anywhere is getting good players. We inherited a good group, and we have a good group coming in.''

UNLV officials have made running a clean program a top priority. Harter, who has been UNLV's president since 1994, has final say on athletic department hires, and she has made sure there are stipulations in contracts that make NCAA violations the coach's responsibility. No exceptions.

Still, not everyone is pleased.

Anthony, who works as an NBA analyst for ESPN, has fond memories of the national title in 1990 and the 45-game winning streak. He hasn't been to a UNLV game in several years. He grew up in Las Vegas, idolized the Rebels and had a successful career at UNLV and the NBA. He still has family in Las Vegas. But his feelings for UNLV aren't all fond.

``They haven't reached out to former players,'' Anthony said. ``And if they have, it's been more because they felt they had to. I don't have a clue what their goal is. I know what my goal would've been, and I know I wanted to be involved with the university. I don't know anybody there in the new regime. I'm definitely disappointed in my university.''

Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to a shocking victory over Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA title game, had the unenviable task of replacing Tarkanian. He lasted just two seasons and posted a 36-21 record.

That wasn't acceptable in Las Vegas. In Tarkanian's final three seasons, UNLV lost eight games. That made life uneasy for Massimino.

``It was tough because of the fact that fans and students didn't want to go to games because of what happened to Tarkanian,'' said former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, still a good friend of Massimino's. ``There wasn't the support as well as there should've been. All I would've liked to see is Tarkanian put his arm around Rollie and endorse him. His hatred for the school didn't allow him to do that.''

And so the coaching carousel continued. Tim Grgurich, Howie Landa and Cleveland Edwards all coached part of the 1994-95 season. Bayno had success, winning at least 20 games in three seasons, during a reign from 1995 to 2000. He, too, was fired (extra benefits violations), and UNLV was saddled with more probation.

Volatility in the athletic department has been constant since 1980. UNLV has had 10 athletic directors during that period, including four that held the job for only one year. Even football coach John Robinson pulled double duty for two years. The current AD is Mike Hamrick, who took over in 2003.

Kruger is Hamrick's hire.

``Lon Kruger is a great coach and a great guy,'' Tarkanian said. ``He's done a great job trying to unite the community. I think they're going to be a good basketball team this year and every year from now on.''

Tarkanian, 73, still can rattle off statistics about his career, namely that his teams averaged a 31-4 record over his final 10 seasons as coach. He still attends practices and games.

``Now, if they win 20 games, everyone's excited,'' Tarkanian said. ``One year (1988) I was 28-6, and everyone in town wanted to know what happened. They wanted 30 wins a year.''

Tarkanian, 509-105 in 19 seasons at UNLV, would have gone to the tournament after the 1991-92 season, when his team was 26-2, had the NCAA not banned the school from postseason play after the Las Vegas Review-Journal printed a photograph of three players in a hot tub with a convicted sports-fixer.

After spending less than half a season with the San Antonio Spurs, Tarkanian coached Fresno State for seven years. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament twice but were placed on probation after their star, Tito Maddox, accepted gifts from an agent. Tarkanian retired from coaching two years ago and lives in San Diego.

Anthony was not in the hot tub that day. He knows there probably will never be another UNLV team like the one that went 35-5 and beat Duke for the title in 1990. That there will never be another Tarkanian.

He is hopeful that, one day, the school and the program will glitter again.

``I'm a college basketball fan,'' Anthony said. ``Never say never.''

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Andy Hannan is mobbed by UNLV teammates after his last-second shot recently beat Cal. The Runnin' Rebels, under Lon Kruger, are 2-2.

Dino Vournas/Associated Press

Box:

UNLV at PEPPERDINE

- Jill Painter