Basketball great Jerry Tarkanian hospitalized with breathing problems

University of Nevada Las Vegas college basketball coaching great Jerry Tarkanian has been hospitalized for the third time in 10 months, suffering from breathing problems and an infection, the Associated Press reported.

The 84-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer’s son told the AP that his father was transported Monday to Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas after his blood oxygen fell to a dangerous level. Danny Tarkanian said his father’s condition is “minute by minute” and that doctors were working on identifying his infection and stabilizing him.

Tarkanian was hospitalized for pneumonia in November and suffered a heart attack in April.

One of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, Tarkanian guided UNLV to the NCAA title in 1990 in a victory over Duke that saw the largest margin of victory in the championship game’s history. He led the Rebels to three other Final Four appearances, in 1977, 1987 and 1991.

Known as “Tark the Shark,” he retired from Fresno State in 2002 with a career coaching record of 729-201. Prior to his career at UNLV, he coached at Long Beach State from 1968 through 1973.