I haven't a clue as to what assumptions I supposedly made about some issue and how I purportedly rushed to a judgement about said issue. I certainly agree, and have agreed from the get go, that Tarkanian and rebel basketball brought valuable national visibility to UNLV.
Not sure who my cronies are but I assume you are talking about Maxson, and the parade of presidents that have followed him. I don't think any of that train of people would consider me, a mere professor of physics, a crony, but I don't mind you putting me in that group.
I vehemently disagree with the notion that the university was screwed up by "my cronies." The university is far, far better academically than it was when I arrived 45 years ago. And I will give myself a modicum of credit for being part of the team that helped unlv improve as a university. As far as athletics being screwed up at unlv, basketball and football, have certainly been a major, major disappointment, but not sure I would paint all of athletics with that same brush.
The number of people that have wittingly and unwittingly contributed to the current state of unlv basketball is long, and if you think I am part of that list, so be it. But that downfall happened because people on campus and off-campus worked at cross purposes. And seem to still be working at cross purposes.
For me, the first step in rebuilding the basketball program is to stop using the Tarkanian years as the basis for judging the current state of basketball, which is admittedly pretty downtrodden. If those golden years are going to be what teams and coaches are compared to, then we are doomed to be forever dissatisfied. I am too optimistic a person to spend the remainder of my life ruing the state of unlv basketball.
Happy Presidents' Day.