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          Men's College Basketball Blog

          Former UNLV stars get tattoos to honor Jerry Tarkanian

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 18, 2015, 04:05 PM ET
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          It’s been almost 25 years since UNLV beat Duke 103-73 in the 1990 NCAA men’s basketball championship game in Denver, setting still-standing records for most points and largest margin of victory in a title game.

          It’s been one week since the Runnin' Rebels coach in that game, Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian, passed away at age 84.

          As a way of honoring both their quarter-of-a-century accomplishment and their late father figure, several members of that Rebels team got together Tuesday night in a Las Vegas tattoo parlor to ink themselves in remembrance. Here are some pictures tweeted out by Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon:

          As NBA rookies in 1991, Johnson, Augmon and Greg Anthony all wore No. 2 to honor Tarkanian.

          Also, Wednesday night at 10:30 p.m. PT, following the UNLV-Boise State game at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Las Vegas Strip will go dark for three minutes to honor Tarkanian -- a Sin City honor previously bestowed upon the likes of U.S. presidents (John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan) and Las Vegas icons (Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley) -- after a social-media campaign by UNLV alumni Scott Gulbransen and Tony Cordasco.