Oklahoma assistant to fill Tarkanian's shoes at Fresno State

<br>FRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ Oklahoma assistant basketball coach Ray Lopes said Tuesday he will replace retiring coach Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State. <br><br>``I look forward to continuing what Jerry has

Wednesday, April 3rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ Oklahoma assistant basketball coach Ray Lopes said Tuesday he will replace retiring coach Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State.

``I look forward to continuing what Jerry has established here,'' Lopes told reporters at the Fresno airport. ``I'm looking forward to a lot of energy, a lot of success and a lot of championships.''

The university scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference Wednesday to make the official announcement.

Lopes has been with Oklahoma eight years and worked with Sooner coach Kelvin Sampson for one season at Washington State. Before that, Lopes, who played for Albertson College in Idaho, coached four years at California-Santa Barbara.

Tarkanian, 71, retired from Fresno State last month after four decades of coaching.

He won an NCAA title with UNLV in 1990 and is the fourth winningest coach in the NCAA, finishing with a 778-202 record. He had 29 20-win seasons, second only to Dean Smith who had 30.

Tarkanian will become a consultant for Fresno State, his alma mater, where he coached the last seven years.

The Bulldogs ended their season March 13 with an 81-75 loss to Temple in the NIT.