My first memory of March Madness is of these UNLV basketball teams. They were, by far, one of the best and most feared teams in college basketball, then and ever since. They included Greg Anthony running the show, Stacey Augmon as their defensive specialist, Anderson Hunt as a deadly shooter, and, of course, Dallas’ own Larry Johnson.
Simply put, it was the first time I watched basketball, saw two teams in warm-ups, and knew a game was over before it even started.
In a 34-game span, they won by an average, AN AVERAGE, of 27.3 points per game. They would smash on people in the Big West Conference, smash on folks in the bigger conferences, so either way you looked at it, they were the real deal. The only other team that comes to mind, given them being in a small conference but still smashing on big schools, is the 2008 Memphis Tigers. Had they finished the job last year (I’m is still sick about that finish), they might have had the torched passed to them. Anyway…Their swagger was that authentic; they were just that gangsta. The orchestrator of this collection of talent was Tark the Shark, Jerry Tarkanian. He was able to get the most out of all his players, allowing them to hoop and play at a pace that flustered, frustrated, and pretty much pissed off all their opponents, and even when the mainstream would hate on them (same thing that happened with the prior Georgetown Hoyas and Fab Five Michigan team soon after), he had his player’s backs. Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas Razorbacks legend, says UNLV is the best team he’s ever seen, and is not sure that anyone else is even close. The Duke Blue Devils, the team most people love to hate (me included), had to see UNLV in the tournament twice. Even as much as I hate Duke, I’ve never accused them of being scared of anybody…except for those UNLV teams back in the day. UNLV destroyed them in the title game in 1990, but came up short in the semi-final the next year. To this day, I’m convinced UNLV lost that game, partly because they didn’t take Duke seriously.
So for me, this is my favorite time of the year, because it allows us to see great teams, great players, great stories, and it allows us to reminisce, and take trips down memory lane, and it’s impossible to take that trip without acknowledging one of the most dominant runs in modern college basketball history.
Be easy.
-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com
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Comments
6 Responses to "Intimidation 101: The 1990 and 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels"i remember i used to always tell my grandparents when they made there trip to vegas to bring me back larry johnson and greg anthony's autographs but all they brought me back was the jersey of both players and the hat to match...i loved that team...because they pounded teams and laughed at you while they were doing it
growing up in Vegas and being in high school at the time, i can say they ran the town for sure. I also say they threw the game with Duke.
They ABSOLUTELY threw that Duke game.
They were the best. I remember when Larry Johnson left Dallas' Skyline for UNLV. I thought he was crazy...but he made history. Wow that was a great team.
Stacey Augmon was a guy I used to think was amazing. It's crazy how that talent didn't fully translate when he went pro.
Only half of the team threw the game, which is why they looked tentative and confused...
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