Tarkanian and the Spurs Reach Point of No Return : Pro basketball: Former UNLV coach is replaced by Lucas less than two months into the season.

Jerry Tarkanian was fired by the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, only 20 games into his first season as an NBA coach.

In announcing the move at a hastily called news conference in San Antonio, Red McCombs, owner of the Spurs, said he and Tarkanian had differing expectations for the team, which took a 9-11 record into its game with the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Tarkanian, 62, had taken the job in April after leaving Nevada Las Vegas, where he coached for 19 seasons. He had previously coached at Cal State Long Beach and at the junior college level at Riverside and Pasadena.

McCombs said that John Lucas, who played for seven teams, including San Antonio, from 1976-1989, will replace Tarkanian. Lucas, the first overall pick in the 1976 draft, was in and out of rehabilitation for cocaine addiction during his playing career, and has devoted his recent life to fighting drug abuse.

Tarkanian left college basketball as the NCAA’s winningest coach of all time by percentage, .836. His 1990 UNLV team won the national championship, and he took the Rebels to the Final Four on three other occasions.

His success at the college level did not translate into immediate success in the NBA, however.

Although the Spurs have been hampered by injuries to several key players, including forward Terry Cummings and guard Willie Anderson, Tarkanian might have hurt himself by failing to grasp the nuances of the NBA game. He reportedly made several noticeable mistakes in calling timeouts and making substitutions.

He might have further jeopardized his position by publicly criticizing team management for failing to bring in a quality point guard.

Vinny Del Negro has been the Spurs’ starting point guard. Lloyd Daniels, the former UNLV recruit who never played a game as a collegian because of a drug problem, is the team’s backup at the position. Daniels underwent rehabilitation at Lucas’ clinic in Houston.

Even Tarkanian’s wife, Lois, was quoted in a San Antonio newspaper recently as saying that her husband would not be successful with the Spurs unless the team acquired another high-caliber player.

Tarkanian, who did not attend McCombs’ news conference, said the point guard issue was the primary reason for his dismissal. He said he sent a letter to McCombs on Monday, pointing out that the team needed a stronger backcourt if it was expected to win a championship.

“All I wanted was a point guard,” he said. “I felt that if we didn’t get a point guard, (the losses) were going to continue to mount.”

McCombs, a San Antonio car dealer, would say only that he and Tarkanian have “a very honest difference of opinion.”

McCombs added that his differences with Tarkanian go far beyond acquiring another point guard.

“There’s just a different level of expectations for the talent that is here between Tark and myself,” he said.

The Spurs finished 47-35 last season, even though star center David Robinson sat out the final 14 games of the season because of a torn thumb ligament. With Robinson healthy, the Spurs won more than 50 games in each of the two previous seasons.

Tarkanian, who has been living in a downtown San Antonio hotel, said losing has affected his health. Earlier this season, he complained of chest pains and underwent a battery of tests. He told the San Antonio Light on Friday that he is suffering from high blood pressure.

“The losses have been really painful,” he said. “It’s really been hard on me. I’ve been taking medication for high blood pressure, and I’ve never done that before.”

As for his future, Tarkanian said: “I’ll never coach again. I’m all done. I probably shouldn’t have gotten into it this time. I’m 62 years old. I probably ought to be out watering the flowers.”

Tarkanian announced in June of 1991 that the 1991-92 season would be his last at UNLV.

That announcement was made shortly after the publication of photographs showing three of Tarkanian’s former players socializing with convicted sports fixer Richard Perry. At the same time, UNLV was responding to an NCAA letter of official inquiry outlining charges of rules violations by UNLV coaches and representatives.

Tarkanian later attempted to withdraw his resignation, saying school officials had waged a campaign to discredit the Rebel basketball program.

Tarkanian’s Record

COLLEGE

Year, School W L Pct. 1969 CS Long Beach 23 3 .885 1970 CS Long Beach 24 5 .828 1971 CS Long Beach* 22 4 .846 1972 CS Long Beach* 23 3 .885 1973 CS Long Beach* 24 2 .923 1974 UNLV 20 6 .769 1975 UNLV 24 5 .828 1976 UNLV 29 2 .935 1977 UNLV 29 3 .906 1978 UNLV 20 8 .714 1979 UNLV 21 8 .724 1980 UNLV 23 9 .719 1981 UNLV 16 12 .571 1982 UNLV 20 10 .667 1983 UNLV 28 3 .903 1984 UNLV 29 6 .829 1985 UNLV 28 4 .875 1986 UNLV 33 5 .868 1987 UNLV 37 2 .949 1988 UNLV 28 6 .824 1989 UNLV 29 8 .784 1990 UNLV 35 5 .875 1991 UNLV 34 1 .971 1992 UNLV 26 2 .929 Totals 625 122 .837

* NCAA tournament record of 6-3 voided for recruiting violations

NCAA Tournament Record: 34-16

NBA

Year, Team W L Pct. 1992 San Antonio 9 11 .450

* A QUICK FIX

Sean Elliott scores 41 points and the Spurs, coached by Rex Hughes, defeat the Dallas Mavericks, 122-101. C14