Inside his Fresno State office, Jerry Tarkanian cradled that landline receiver between his ear and chin, pursuing an agenda with Lamar Odom that seemed to conflict with nature itself: Chasing the nation's No. 1 recruit away from Las Vegas. "What are they going to do for you at Vegas?" I heard Tark ask him. Tark was out of the running for Odom, and wanted to make sure the teenage prodigy's one-and-done NBA lottery talent matriculated outside of his conference – never mind a Runnin' Rebels program that had cast Tark away.