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JERRY TARKANIAN TO BE HONORED AT ANCA-WR BANQUET
http://asbarez.com/114824/jerry-tarkanian-to-be-honored-at-anca-wr-banquet/
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
Jerry Tarkanian confers with his players during a game in 1997
GLENDALE-Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
announced on Tuesday that it will honor legendary basketball coach
Jerry Tarkanian with the "People's Champion" Award at its annual
banquet taking place on Saturday, November 30 in Hollywood, California.
The date was September 7, 2013. "Tark The Shark," as he had come to be
known throughout his 43-year coaching career, was finally inducted
into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Certainly,
the honor was a decade overdue, but Tarkanian finally got what
he deserved. It was a proud day, not only for Tarkanian's family,
friends and grandchildren, who all surrounded their "papa" on that
momentous day, but also for the collective Armenian people, a people
which Tarkanian never forgot as he rose to fame and became one of the
best all-time coaches in basketball history. Just as Lois Tarkanian,
Jerry's wife noted that all the work that had led to Jerry's honor
was a family achievement, Jerry's success is an achievement for our
greater Armenian nation as well.
Jerry Tarkanian was born August 8, 1930 to Haighouhie "Rose" and George
Tarkanian. Haighouhie and George were both born in Armenia. As was so
poignantly stated during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Tarkanian
described himself as "the eldest son of an Armenian immigrant, whose
mother fled her homeland on horseback with only the clothes on her
back after her father and brother were beheaded by Turkish soldiers"
during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Haighouhie eventually met her
husband in Lebanon, where they married and immigrated to Euclid,
Ohio and had their first-born child Jerry.
Jerry attended Pasadena City College and later transferred to Fresno
State where he played basketball for the Bulldogs in 1954 and 1955.
After graduating in 1955, he pursued higher education and earned
a master's degree in educational management from the University of
Redlands. His children speak fondly of stories passed down by their
father of fellow Armenians in Pasadena and elsewhere who assisted him
in various ways when he was a young unknown and in need. Tarkanian's
appreciation for the loyalty of his fellow Armenians has never wavered.
His early career consisted of coaching high school basketball in
California in 1956. From 1959 through 1961, he coached at Antelope
Valley Joint Union High School in Lancaster, California. From 1961
through 1968, he coached college ball at Riverside City College
and then Pasadena City College. Impressively, he coached his teams
to four straight California junior college championships. Tarkanian
moved to Division I basketball as coach at Long Beach State from 1968
through 1973, where he was among the first coaches to pioneer the use
of junior college athletes. Under his leadership, Long Beach State
soon became a regional power.
Tarkanian's fame rose to great heights when he went on to achieve
immense success at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV),
coaching the Running Rebels from 1973 to 1992, where his teams were
known for their remarkable defense and up-tempo styling. He took his
UNLV teams to four Final Four Regional Championships in 1977, 1987,
1990 and 1991, as well as a 1990 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
Championship. The ambitious kid who grew up the child of Armenian
immigrant parents had made it!
In 1977, Tarkanian was offered the Los Angeles Lakers head-coaching
job, but declined, opting instead to continue coaching college
basketball, where he was known to take chances on talented, yet
troubled players who no one else would believe in. He also had a
short stint coaching the San Antonio Spurs before returning to UNLV.
At the end of his coaching career, he returned to coaching to lead
his alma mater, Fresno State, to six straight 20-win seasons before
retiring in 2002 and concluding a coaching career that garnered
international fame and glory.
As the ANCA-WR prepares to honor him, there is a famous quote of
Jerry Tarkanian worthy of mention. In the 1991-92 season, which was
Tarkanian's last year at UNLV, various sports writers were constantly
hounding him. Tarkanian in his last four years at UNLV had recruited
an Armenian-American, Bryan Emerzian, on the UNLV basketball team,
on a basketball scholarship. Tarkanian was asked by one sportswriter
why he had Emerzian on his team, since he was a bench warmer and saw
little playing time. The reporter continued by asking whether Emerzian
was on the team because he was Armenian, implying favoritism.
Tarkanian in his typical form responded, "Why of course not! It is
because I am Armenian."
"The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is honored
to bestow Coach Jerry Tarkanian with the ANCA's "People's Champion
Award," not only for his well-deserved Hall of Fame induction, but
also as a proud son of Armenia who has used every opportunity to remind
the world about how the Armenian Genocide has deeply affected his own
family and how he has channeled that experience into perseverance
and a sense of justice in accomplishing so much in his own life"
said Nora Hovsepian, Chairwoman of the ANCA-WR."
Just as his mother who fled the Armenian Genocide, Tarkanian has lived
his life and has always been accomplished in overcoming long odds. He
stood up for his players in good times and bad, never caving in when
battling the NCAA for what he believed was right, and delivering
a winning team to the UNLV, which before his arrival in the early
1970's was not even conceivable. Many credit his ability to connect
withinner-city youth and make them winners to his open, accessible,
and non-judgmental nature.
Jerry Tarkanian is married to Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois
Tarkanian. Together, they have four children and 11 grandchildren.
One of their sons, Danny Tarkanian, was an Academic All-American
Honorable Mention college basketball player while playing for Jerry
at UNLV. Together with his father, they started a basketball school
in Las Vegas named "The Tarkanian Basketball Academy." His colorful
autobiography, "Runnin' Rebel: Shark Tales of "Extra Benefits,"
Frank Sinatra and Winning it All" was released in October 2005 and
was a major national seller.
The ANCA-WR banquet will take place on November 30 at The Ray Dolby
Ballroom, the site of the Oscar's Govenors' Ball. Legendary chef
Wolfgang Puck will be catering a special menu for the ANCA-WR Bamqut.
Individuals who are interested in attending the banquet and Grassroots
Conference are encouraged to contact the ANCA-WR office at (818)
500-1918 or purchase tickets online at ItsMySeat.com/ANCAWR.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
From: Baghdasarian
http://asbarez.com/114824/jerry-tarkanian-to-be-honored-at-anca-wr-banquet/
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
Jerry Tarkanian confers with his players during a game in 1997
GLENDALE-Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
announced on Tuesday that it will honor legendary basketball coach
Jerry Tarkanian with the "People's Champion" Award at its annual
banquet taking place on Saturday, November 30 in Hollywood, California.
The date was September 7, 2013. "Tark The Shark," as he had come to be
known throughout his 43-year coaching career, was finally inducted
into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Certainly,
the honor was a decade overdue, but Tarkanian finally got what
he deserved. It was a proud day, not only for Tarkanian's family,
friends and grandchildren, who all surrounded their "papa" on that
momentous day, but also for the collective Armenian people, a people
which Tarkanian never forgot as he rose to fame and became one of the
best all-time coaches in basketball history. Just as Lois Tarkanian,
Jerry's wife noted that all the work that had led to Jerry's honor
was a family achievement, Jerry's success is an achievement for our
greater Armenian nation as well.
Jerry Tarkanian was born August 8, 1930 to Haighouhie "Rose" and George
Tarkanian. Haighouhie and George were both born in Armenia. As was so
poignantly stated during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Tarkanian
described himself as "the eldest son of an Armenian immigrant, whose
mother fled her homeland on horseback with only the clothes on her
back after her father and brother were beheaded by Turkish soldiers"
during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Haighouhie eventually met her
husband in Lebanon, where they married and immigrated to Euclid,
Ohio and had their first-born child Jerry.
Jerry attended Pasadena City College and later transferred to Fresno
State where he played basketball for the Bulldogs in 1954 and 1955.
After graduating in 1955, he pursued higher education and earned
a master's degree in educational management from the University of
Redlands. His children speak fondly of stories passed down by their
father of fellow Armenians in Pasadena and elsewhere who assisted him
in various ways when he was a young unknown and in need. Tarkanian's
appreciation for the loyalty of his fellow Armenians has never wavered.
His early career consisted of coaching high school basketball in
California in 1956. From 1959 through 1961, he coached at Antelope
Valley Joint Union High School in Lancaster, California. From 1961
through 1968, he coached college ball at Riverside City College
and then Pasadena City College. Impressively, he coached his teams
to four straight California junior college championships. Tarkanian
moved to Division I basketball as coach at Long Beach State from 1968
through 1973, where he was among the first coaches to pioneer the use
of junior college athletes. Under his leadership, Long Beach State
soon became a regional power.
Tarkanian's fame rose to great heights when he went on to achieve
immense success at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV),
coaching the Running Rebels from 1973 to 1992, where his teams were
known for their remarkable defense and up-tempo styling. He took his
UNLV teams to four Final Four Regional Championships in 1977, 1987,
1990 and 1991, as well as a 1990 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
Championship. The ambitious kid who grew up the child of Armenian
immigrant parents had made it!
In 1977, Tarkanian was offered the Los Angeles Lakers head-coaching
job, but declined, opting instead to continue coaching college
basketball, where he was known to take chances on talented, yet
troubled players who no one else would believe in. He also had a
short stint coaching the San Antonio Spurs before returning to UNLV.
At the end of his coaching career, he returned to coaching to lead
his alma mater, Fresno State, to six straight 20-win seasons before
retiring in 2002 and concluding a coaching career that garnered
international fame and glory.
As the ANCA-WR prepares to honor him, there is a famous quote of
Jerry Tarkanian worthy of mention. In the 1991-92 season, which was
Tarkanian's last year at UNLV, various sports writers were constantly
hounding him. Tarkanian in his last four years at UNLV had recruited
an Armenian-American, Bryan Emerzian, on the UNLV basketball team,
on a basketball scholarship. Tarkanian was asked by one sportswriter
why he had Emerzian on his team, since he was a bench warmer and saw
little playing time. The reporter continued by asking whether Emerzian
was on the team because he was Armenian, implying favoritism.
Tarkanian in his typical form responded, "Why of course not! It is
because I am Armenian."
"The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is honored
to bestow Coach Jerry Tarkanian with the ANCA's "People's Champion
Award," not only for his well-deserved Hall of Fame induction, but
also as a proud son of Armenia who has used every opportunity to remind
the world about how the Armenian Genocide has deeply affected his own
family and how he has channeled that experience into perseverance
and a sense of justice in accomplishing so much in his own life"
said Nora Hovsepian, Chairwoman of the ANCA-WR."
Just as his mother who fled the Armenian Genocide, Tarkanian has lived
his life and has always been accomplished in overcoming long odds. He
stood up for his players in good times and bad, never caving in when
battling the NCAA for what he believed was right, and delivering
a winning team to the UNLV, which before his arrival in the early
1970's was not even conceivable. Many credit his ability to connect
withinner-city youth and make them winners to his open, accessible,
and non-judgmental nature.
Jerry Tarkanian is married to Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois
Tarkanian. Together, they have four children and 11 grandchildren.
One of their sons, Danny Tarkanian, was an Academic All-American
Honorable Mention college basketball player while playing for Jerry
at UNLV. Together with his father, they started a basketball school
in Las Vegas named "The Tarkanian Basketball Academy." His colorful
autobiography, "Runnin' Rebel: Shark Tales of "Extra Benefits,"
Frank Sinatra and Winning it All" was released in October 2005 and
was a major national seller.
The ANCA-WR banquet will take place on November 30 at The Ray Dolby
Ballroom, the site of the Oscar's Govenors' Ball. Legendary chef
Wolfgang Puck will be catering a special menu for the ANCA-WR Bamqut.
Individuals who are interested in attending the banquet and Grassroots
Conference are encouraged to contact the ANCA-WR office at (818)
500-1918 or purchase tickets online at ItsMySeat.com/ANCAWR.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
From: Baghdasarian