His Life’s Too Fast In The Fast Lane Grgurich Tries To Recuperate After Exhausting Month At Unlv

UNLV basketball coach Tim Grgurich said he thought he had to go “100 miles an hour” when he took over the troubled Rebels program in November, and it nearly wrecked his health.

“I was at the end of my rope,” he said of his hospitalization earlier this month for symptoms related to exhaustion. “It was time to take a rest.”

Doctors have advised Grgurich to spend six weeks away from the game, but the coach told a news conference Wednesday he was unsure when he would return.

“Right now I’m just trying to get myself healthy,” he said. “I’m not saying anything about the future.”

Grgurich has been sidelined since Jan. 6, and spent a week undergoing tests at an undisclosed California hospital. He refused to discuss his medical condition, saying “That’s between me and the doctor.”

An assistant under former Rebels coach Jerry Tarkanian, Grgurich returned in November to take over when UNLV bought out the contract of coach Rollie Massimino.

A week into practice, Grgurich signed a three-year contract, leaving a job as an assistant with the Seattle SuperSonics.

UNLV said Grgurich was the man to return the program to national prominence. The pressure apparently was too much.

“I was trying to do this thing 100 miles an hour,” Grgurich said. “I was thinking it was the only way it could be put together. I came in here thinking I had to work until I fell over.”

Grgurich met with his players Saturday night after returning to Las Vegas and met with his coaching staff Tuesday.

UNLV interim president Kenny Guinn talked with Grgurich on Tuesday.

“I just told him we’d support him in whatever he decides,” Guinn said. “I’m very supportive of him taking the time off because the No. 1 thing is his health.”