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Jerry Tarkanian to be honored by Fresno State on New Year’s Day

Jerry Tarkanian, Bill Walton

Inductee Jerry Tarkanian, below, receives a warm welcome from the crowd as Hall of Famer Bill Walton, top, applauds during the enshrinement ceremony for the 2013 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

AP

The honors are continuing to roll in for Jerry Tarkanian, the former national champion coach who amassed more than 700 victories (more if you include junior colleges) in his 30-year coaching career at Long Beach State, UNLV and Fresno State

The latest recognition comes from the school he played his collegiate ball for (1954-1955) and the final team he coached, Fresno State. The university announced on Tuesday that Tarkanian will be honored on January 1, 2014 at noon. Later that afternoon, the Bulldogs host UNLV, the school Tarkanian led to the 1990 national championship.

“Jerry Tarkanian is one of the true legends in the coaching profession,” Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said in a press release. “He has been successful at so many different levels in college basketball and his induction to the Hall of Fame is yet another accomplishment in Coach Tarkanian’s illustrious career.”

Tarkanian, 83, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in April. That became official in September. In October, UNLV unveiled a bronze statue of “Tark the Shark” sitting on the bench, biting on his trademark towel.

The New Year’s Day game between UNLV and Fresno State begins at 3 p.m. The release says that the first 1,000 fans inside the Save Mart Center will get a free Tark Towel.

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