Repeat Offender: Tark One of Three Sharks With Two Separate NCAA Vacates

"We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." - Air Force honor code

In the aftermath of North Carolina's academic scandal, college presidents finally seem to be paying at least a little more than just lip service to proposals for upright athletic programs. But the well-worn cliche "cheaters never prosper" isn't quite valid for coaches who didn't exactly abide by the aforementioned Air Force honor code.

Fool me once, shame on thee; fool me twice, shame on me. Shouldn't the three coaches - John Calipari, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Valvano - in charge of two different schools when they were forced to vacate NCAA Tournament records be viewed as damaged goods rather than being canonized as they are in some quarters?

One man's trash is another man's treasure. It shouldn't be any surprise that Calipari and Valvano have a significant number of suspect characters among the list of "Bad Boys of College Basketball" assembled by CollegeHoopedia.com although their contributions to men behaving badly pales in comparison to the coddling of college cons by recently-deceased Tarkanian. You need one of Tarkanian's fashion-show towels to munch on to avoid saying something you shouldn't when reading ESPN's "tell-the-entire-story" obituaries describing him as "complicated" and "misunderstood." It's easy to comprehend that none of this is complex at all amid the dim-the-Strip-lights barrage of amusing anecdotes about Tark the Shark.

As for Calipari, six of his UMass players each reportedly received $12,000 to settle invasion-of-privacy complaints when their "alarming" grades were leaked to the media. After all, we can't have a serious discussion regarding scholastic standards; now can we? By the way, was that a high enough figure for welfare payments to DI players to satisfy an ambulance-chasing lawyer such as ESPN's Jay Bilas? If the NCAA is indeed serious about draining the swamp, the governing body should embrace academic standards forcing the NBA to establish a reform school division in its developmental league. Studies have shown that a college education does not appear to diminish the probability of an eventual pro player getting in trouble with the law.

Rattling skeletons, following is the short but dubious list of repeat offenders among coaches who probably have support from shills thinking any transgression was worth it because they each won an NCAA championship during their careers:

Was a suspect character such as Bill Cosby and other Vegas headliners more attracted to UNLV's dunk-show hoop entertainment than "drugged" by his own alma mater (Temple)? Tarkanian's complete disregard for scholastic standards in his Sin City halfway house and two other Wild West outposts (Long Beach State and Fresno State) resulted in him also recruiting two celebrated centers - Richie Adams and Clifford Allen - making a transition from slam dunker to winding up in the slammer after murder/manslaughter convictions.

A 1989 conviction for larceny and armed robbery led to a five-year prison term for Adams, a two-time Big West Conference Tournament MVP. Following his parole, Adams was convicted of manslaughter in September 1998 after being accused of stalking and killing a 14-year-old Bronx girl in a housing project where both lived. The girl's family said Adams attacked her because she rejected his advances. Adams, nicknamed "The Animal" because of his intense playing style, was considered a defensive whiz and led the Rebels in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots for their PCAA champions in 1983-84 and 1984-85. "I used drugs occasionally, when I wanted to do it," Adams said. "When I went to play basketball, if I needed a pain reliever, I would sniff some cocaine." His trouble with the law escalated in 1985, a day after he was drafted in the fourth round by the Washington Bullets, when the two-time All-PCAA first-team selection was arrested for stealing a car. In high school, Adams and several teammates allegedly stole their own coach's auto.

As for Allen, the November 1985 J.C. signee by the Rebels was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading no contest to second-degree murder as part of a plea bargain in the 1989 death of a man in Milton, Fla. Allen, a native of Los Angeles, said in a recorded statement that he used a steak knife to kill a 64-year-old guidance counselor after the man allegedly made sexual advances in the counselor's trailer. Allen, driving the victim's auto when he was arrested, enrolled at several jucos and also reportedly considered an offer to play for Tim Floyd at New Orleans.

Hiding behind a helping-hand routine, it's shameful that self-indulgent coaches are willing to pursue dim-bulbed recruits boasting questionable pasts without conducting any meaningful background check or simply ignoring known criminal activity by their soon-to-be mercenaries. The partnering by coaches in the deceit and dishonesty is an incalculable affront to their counterparts who attempt to abide by the rules. It's only "complicated" drivel when trying to discern if former ESPN analyst Greg Anthony should be on the following alphabetical list citing an assortment of other sharks in Tark's Tank:

Rafer Alston - Pleaded no contest in 1997 to assaulting his former girlfriend and was arrested for violation of parole in 1998 the same year he set Fresno State's single-season record for assists. Alston had two brushes with the law in August 2007 - charged with misdemeanor assault and public intoxication in Houston and charged with stabbing a man at a Manhattan nightspot. He was sued stemming from a brawl in July 2010 for allegedly hitting a fellow Queens strip club patron with a bottle. Alston was suspended by the Miami Heat for the final portion of the 2009-10 campaign after an unexplained absence from the team.

Jimmie Baker - Claiming he had a sugar daddy while attending UNLV (setting a school single-game rebounding mark of 26 against San Francisco and career rebounding average record of 12.8 rpg in 1972-73 and 1973-74 before transferring to Hawaii), he also said he was introduced to cocaine by a teammate as a freshman and eventually moved on to heroin. After Baker, associating with the wrong crowd, was run down by a car (incurring a fractured neck and permanently paralyzed left arm), shot in the thigh and stabbed on Christmas Eve 1977, he was smuggled out of Hawaii and returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he went "underground" for another decade or so afflicted by drug and alcohol abuse.

Lewis Brown - Beset by an arrest history including charges for drugs, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 national third-place team spent more than 10 years homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., before passing away in mid-September 2011 at the age of 56. According to the New York Times, family members said he used cocaine at UNLV. "Drugs were his downfall," said his sister.

Kenny Brunner - Served some jail time for an alleged armed robbery of Los Angeles City College coach Mike Miller. In 1998, Brunner was booked in Fresno on a felony complaint of assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft. Previously, Brunner led Georgetown in scoring, assists and steals as a freshman in 1997-98 before leaving school because of "emotional difficulties." Despite his series of problems, coach Jim Harrick recruited him for Georgia before Brunner was denied entrance.

Lloyd Daniels - In 1987, the playground prodigy with suspect academic credentials (attended three high schools in New York City, two prep schools outside the state and never graduated from any of them) had his UNLV career end before it started after he was caught buying cocaine from an undercover police officer. The buy at a North Las Vegas crack house was videotaped by a local TV station covering a sting operation. He was also identified as a suspect in the theft of five Final Four tickets from school arena offices. Daniels, known as "Sweet Pea," almost died about a year later after being shot in front of his home in Queens, N.Y., in what police said was retaliation for a drug debt stemming from him allegedly stealing drugs after beating up younger pushers. "A jump shot like Larry Bird and a handle like Magic Johnson," a sportswriter wrote about Daniels. "The only thing he couldn't do with a basketball was autograph it."

Antoine Davison - Chicago product signed with the Rebels but never made it to Las Vegas. Instead, he got 16 months in prison for armed robbery and theft. After junior college, he played for Utah in 1991-92 and set a school single-season record for highest field-goal percentage.

Daymond Forney - Quit Fresno State late in the 1997-98 campaign shortly after he was reinstated following a drug-related suspension and arrest for breaking a student's jaw.

Chris Herren - His alcohol and drug abuse escalated until December 2004 when the two-time All-WAC selection was charged with possession of heroin and driving under the influence with a revoked license in Portsmouth, R.I., after being found unconscious with 18 packets containing heroin residue along with drug paraphernalia. In mid-2008, Herren attended multiple drug rehab facilities to get sober after he was found unconscious over the wheel of his car after it crashed into a telephone pole in his hometown of Fall River, Mass., with a bag of heroin on the passenger seat. Dismissed from Boston College's squad after failing drug tests, Herren attended a treatment center during one of his seasons with Fresno State.

Anderson Hunt - The second-leading scorer for the Rebels' 1990 NCAA champion pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with marijuana found in his possession during a traffic stop in October, 1993. In September, 2002, he was sentenced to probation and fined more than $1,300 for attempted embezzlement after acknowledging he kept a Las Vegas rental car beyond its due date. In May 1991, the local newspaper published photos of him with teammates David Butler and Moses Scurry in a hot tub with known sports fixer Richard Perry. Hunt never married and is the father of five.

Frank "Spoon" James - Found dead in early June 2008 in a cell at the Las Vegas city jail. James, who averaged 9.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 1983-84 and 1984-85, had been detained for various traffic violations.

Avondre Jones - Convicted in December 1998 of threatening a man with a Samurai sword in his apartment just hours after a Fresno State home game in the NIT. Gangsta rapper wannabee also was convicted on a felony charge of having a gun while on probation (for gun possession) and a misdemeanor marijuana charge. Jones, sentenced to six months in jail, was acquitted on six charges, including theft, extortion and assault with a deadly weapon.

Bobby Joyce - One of two men who robbed a disabled Vietnam vet of $880 as he waited in a Santa Ana, Calif., bus stop in his wheelchair in the spring of 2011. In March 1993, an arrest warrant was issued for Joyce in Nevada in connection with a bar robbery. California court records show he pleaded guilty in 1997 to a felony for unlawful possession of a controlled substance (spending 16 months in state prison for that offense) and another felony in 2000 for attempting to possess a controlled substance (getting eight months in state prison for that crime). He pleaded guilty again in 2005 for unlawful possession of a controlled substance and then again in 2007 (felonies both times). In 2008, he pleaded guilty to two felonies: receiving stolen property and abuse of a spouse/cohabitant. Averaging only 2.1 ppg and 2.3 rpg with the Rebels in 1990-91 and 1991-92, perhaps his most memorable moment as a college player was leading a team protest after a Nevada Regent allegedly said Tarkanian recruited too many "ghetto kids."

Robert "Jeep" Kelley - Pittsburgh high school legend served prison time in 1984 for selling heroin to undercover police detectives. Averaged 6.7 ppg in half a season with Hawaii in 1976-77 after dropping out of UNLV before his career there began. "You don't want to be in jail," Kelley said. "Believe me, it's no picnic."

Dennis Nathan - Convicted of possession and distribution of crack cocaine in June 1998 in Portland, Ore., before joining Fresno State. Nathan was averaging 5.6 ppg and 2.3 apg when he was suspended from the Bulldogs' squad in February, 2001, for conduct detrimental to the team.

Roscoe Pondexter - All-PCAA first-team selection in 1972-73 and 1973-74 for Long Beach State was fired as a prison guard in August, 1996, for alleged brutality. Less than two weeks after the dismissal, Tarkanian hired him at Fresno State to serve as a mentor to student-athletes. Pondexter, known as "Bonecrusher," testified under a grant of immunity for the prosecution in 1999 in a criminal trial of Corcoran State Prison guards. "A lot of things I did then I would never do now," he said. "But that's the mentality of the place. I didn't care if someone got raped or if someone got killed by staff. It was just another day's work. Pushing paper and we're off again. Bit by bit, I lost my conscience."

J.R. Rider - In the fall of 2011 he was arrested on a parole violation in Arizona stemming from an incident the previous year when he fled police after they attempted to stop him from driving erratically. His chronic legal problems included an arrest at 5 a.m. in July, 2006, for felony cocaine possession at a home in the Oakland area. Bail was set at $2 million in six months earlier in Marin County (Calif.) following his arrest for kidnapping and battery of a female acquaintance. Rider also faced an outstanding warrant for resisting arrest in Alameda County. In May 1997, he was convicted of marijuana possession and later pleaded no contest to possessing unregistered cellular phones. There had been questions whether Rider, an All-American for UNLV in 1992-93, did all the work in an English summer correspondence course allowing him to maintain his eligibility for Rollie Massimino's first season with the Rebels.

Moses Scurry - A key backup player on the Runnin' Rebels' 1990 NCAA champion was sentenced to two years in prison in December 1994 for his role in a carjacking that left the driver shot in the thigh in the parking lot of a Las Vegas lounge.

"Sudden" Sam Smith - J.C. recruit, the Rebels' second-leading scorer for 1977 Final Four team, was arrested and charged with two counts of selling crack cocaine in mid-February 1997.

Mark Wade - All-PCAA first-team selection, who dished out an NCAA playoff record 18 assists in 1987 national semifinals, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $15,000 during 2006-07 in his former job as an assistant coach with UC Riverside. He was accused of depositing into his personal bank account the proceeds from two university checks and one electronic fund transfer. Some of the money was supposed to cover team expenses during road games over the Christmas break.

Barry Young - Member of UNLV's 1990 NCAA championship club was arrested on a drug charge in Clark County (Nev.) upon being seen smoking marijuana in early summer of 1991.

The arenas at Fresno, LBSU and UNLV aren't anywhere near full capacity without Tarkanian. But for what it's worth these days, their academic integrity meter probably registers a mite higher.