Jerry Tarkanian was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, leading them four times to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, winning the national championship in 1990. Tarkanian revolutionized the college game at UNLV, utilizing a pressing defense to fuel its fast-paced offense. Overall, he won over 700 games in his college coaching career, only twice failing to win 20 games, while never having a losing season. Tarkanian was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Melvin Anderson Ely is an American former professional basketball player who used to be an assistant coach for the Canton Charge of the NBA G League.
Lonnie Duane Kruger is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State University. He has served as the head coach of the University of Texas–Pan American, Kansas State, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Che' Jones is an American basketball coach and retired professional basketball player. He is currently an assistant Men's Basketball coach for the College of Southern Nevada. He played college basketball at the Ohio State University-Newark, where he ended his career as the second all-time leading scorer in Ohio State University-Newark history having scored 1,693 points. Jones finished his career at Ohio State-Newark second in assists and notched the highest free-throw percentage for a season in the 1999–2000 season with 91.9%. He is also the all-time leader in three-point field goals made, as well as steals. The university retired his jersey (#5) on February 26, 2001. Jones also played professional basketball in Cyprus. Over 20 of his former players have moved on to become professional basketball players, from the NBA to other professional leagues around the world such as Brandon Brown and DeWayne Russell. He is currently in his second year as the head women's basketball coach after spending the previous season as an assistant coach to long time head coach Kristi Kincaid at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Arizona. On March 22, 2014, as an assistant men's coach, the Phoenix College Bears defeated Essex College for the NJCAA DII National Championship. The following season the Bears returned to the NJCAA Final Four losing to eventual national champion Ricahrd Bland (VA) in a double overtime thriller, 87-85 2OT. Prior to coaching at Phoenix College he coached at Northern Arizona University, where he also earned his master's degree in Higher Education. He was also the associate head coach at Glen Oaks Community College in Centreville, Michigan. Prior to Glen Oaks Community College he was the associate head coach at Albion College, an NCAA division III college in Albion, Michigan. During the 2007–2008 season he was the head assistant coach at Casper College, a junior college in Casper, Wyoming. He just recently was the head basketball coach of the Las Vegas Venom of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and an assistant coach to George Tarkanian son of famed coach Jerry Tarkanian, with the Las Vegas Stars of the IBL. Che' also coached at Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio. Jones began his coaching career by helping to build Columbus State Community College into a nationally recognized program with longtime friends head coach Anthony Gholson, who is currently the head assistant men's basketball coach at Capital University in Columbus, OH and Anthony Stewart who was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee-Martin until his tragic death on November 15, 2020. also at Columbus State University where his team was ranked number one in the country for the entire season and ended their season at 29-2 after losing to the eventual National Champion in the NJCAA Regional Championship game. He is a long time Las Vegas resident.
Anderson Hunt is an American former basketball player.
Robert Leroy Smith is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As of 2023, UNLV has the seventh-highest winning percentage (.687) in Division I history. UNLV is 33–19 all-time in the NCAA tournament with a 63.5 winning percentage. In July 2008, ESPNU named the program the eighth most prestigious collegiate basketball program in the nation since the 1984–85 season.
The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The school's colors are scarlet and gray.
Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the ninth overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft. After two seasons in the NBA, he continued his professional career for another eight years, mainly playing in Europe.
Daniel George John Tarkanian is an American attorney, businessman and perennial candidate for elective office. A Republican, he has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the Nevada Senate (2004), Nevada Secretary of State (2006), the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. In 2020, Tarkanian finally won his first office, being elected to the Douglas County Commission.
David Wayne Rice is an American college basketball coach and is the former head men's basketball coach at UNLV where he ranks as the program's third-winningest coach. He spent the 2016-2017 season as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada, Reno, and an assistant coach at the University of Washington for the past three seasons (2017–present).
Sydney Justine Colson is an American basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Texas A&M University, where she helped the Aggies win the 2011 NCAA title. She has previously played for the New York Liberty, San Antonio Stars, Minnesota Lynx, and the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, and overseas in Poland and Israel. Colson is a two-time WNBA champion, winning back-to-back titles with the Aces in 2022 and 2023.
John Welch is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously served as assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in New Zealand where in 1988, he earned Most Outstanding Guard and All-Star Five honors playing for Waitemata. Throughout his coaching career, he has worked with or worked under various notable basketball people, including Jerry Tarkanian, Jerry West, Hubie Brown, George Karl and Tim Grgurich.
The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team plays their home games at Michelob Ultra Arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada. The Aces won the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup and WNBA Championship. The Aces also won the 2023 WNBA Championship, becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since 2001-2002, when the Los Angeles Sparks completed that feat.
Freddie Banks is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Banks attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is a member of the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame. Banks was the first pick of the second round of the 1987 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Southern Highlands is a master-planned community located in the southern foothills of the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, United States. The community surrounds the private Southern Highlands Golf Club. It contains a resort, two retail centers, recreational facilities, a country club, spa, multiple parks, two medical centers, a private security department, an office plaza, and a fire station.
The 1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1976–77 season. The team was led by head coach Jerry Tarkanian and played its home games in the Las Vegas Convention Center. This season marked the school's first appearance in the Final Four. The Rebels finished with an overall record of 29–3 and were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll.
The 1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1982–83 season under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its final season of home games at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as the Big West Conference. The Rebels won the first 24 games of the season and ascended to No. 1 in both major polls. UNLV captured the regular season conference title, then defeated Fresno State in the championship game of the PCAA Tournament. The team finished with a record of 28–3. As No. 3 seed in the West region, the Rebels were beaten in the second round of the NCAA tournament by eventual National champion NC State, 71–70.
On March 30, 1991, during the national semifinal of the 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the Duke University Blue Devils played a college basketball game against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Runnin' Rebels at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils, who were seeded 2nd in the Midwest regional bracket, faced the Runnin' Rebels, who were seeded 1st in the West.
