Only in Vegas could the Black Sox have gotten away with it

I watched with disappointment as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Running Rebels were exited from the NCAA tournament this past weekend. It was the first time since 1992 that I was interested in the outcome of the tournament.

When I was in high school my favourite college basketball team was the UNLV running rebels. They were dominant from the beginning of the 89-90 season, and they routed everyone they faced in the tournament. The start of 90-91 season was no different. The Rebels were undefeated heading into the tournament, and were ranked number 1 the entire year.

In the 1990-91 national semi-final game, playing against Christian Laettner and the Duke Blue Devils, the Rebels stumbled. They got to a point where they hadn't been all season long - a close game. Compared to the rest of the season, their shooting percentage was awful. They were in foul trouble, their defence was brutal - they were playing like a totally different team. With seconds left, the Rebels had two chances to win - and inexplicably, they missed both easy shots with wide open options to pass off to. In the end, Anderson Hunt threw up a hail mary when he had three wide open teammates.

Despite remarkably long odds, Duke won the game, and it was heralded as the greatest upset in NCAA history. The Rebels- true to their name - shrugged it off and didn't seem visibly upset - and why should they be, as they had already won the whole enchilada once before. Duke went on to defeat Kansas in the Final- beginning the Duke Dynasty that is only now sputtering out.

I was stunned. I almost started to cry. But I cheered myself up knowing that UNLV's graduating class would dominate the NBA draft. I was right - with all five starters being selected. Larry Johnson won rookie of the year with Charlotte, Stacie Augmon lifted Atlanta into the playoffs, Greg Anthony had a long career with the Knicks, Anderson Hunt was recruited by Boston and George Ackles began my 15 year obsession with the Miami Heat. Though Hunt and Ackles would never be NBA superstars- The Rebels represented the first team in NCAA history to have four starters drafted into the NBA - a feet later emulated by the Fab-Five Michigan Wolverines (though they did it over three years - not in one draft).

UNLV's coach Jerry Tarkanian was also vindicated for his past sins, being offered the position as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. As a coach, he had been previously suspended by the NCAA (and he litigated it all the way to the Supreme Court) for illegal recruiting practices.

And then out of the blue, barely 20 games into his first season, he was fired from his job as the Spurs' coach. His biography is worth reading on Wiki.

A few weeks later, a picture was published on the front page of a Las Vegas news paper. It had Hunt, Ackles and two other players in a hot-tub with a known mobster and point shaver. This wasn't what started the whispers, but it certainly didn't slow them down.

Six months later, UNLV agreed to a voluntary suspension from tournament play for the next two years. No reason for the suspension was ever given.

There is only one conclusion that could be drawn, and given where they lived their dreams, it made a lot of sense. Here are things that we know -

Not everyone on the Rebels was going to be a millionaire in the NBA.

Everyone on that team (except one freshman - Everett Gray) had already won an NCAA title.

Many NCAA scholarship athletes don't learn much during their degrees and have fairly limited employment prospects outside of their chosen sport.

With 15 years of history to look at, and having watched the game more than once since then, it is understood by most experts that the game never actually happened. The fix was in from the start, and whether everyone on the team was in on it or not is irrelevant. It remains a black mark on the program, but the mark it left on some of the players was another. Larry Johnson played five all star seasons, and then quietly played five seasons for the Knicks before retiring without fanfare. The others, had moments of brilliance, but never really took off.

When it came time to be free agents, most GMs had concerns they could neither prove nor substantiate. You know, that feeling in the back of your mind. After a meandering career in Europe, Anderson Hunt works in a Casino as a cook.

Watching Vegas over the past couple of weeks reminded me of the feeling I had as a teenager. It also reminded me of the greatest team in NCAA history that time has forgotten because of yet unproven allegations. I wonder why it was never more vigorously pursued - I bet it is because it happens a lot more than more NCAA executives are willing to admit.

And, we wouldn't want to tarnish that perfect Blue Devil image, now would we?