Cleveland Edwards

Men's Basketball

Former Runnin' Rebel Coach Cleveland Edwards Passes Away

Edwards was a Runnin' Rebel assistant coach from 1984-90, then again in 1994-95 also serving as interim head coach for 14 games.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Former UNLV men's basketball coach Cleveland Edwards passed away Saturday in Las Vegas.
Edwards was an assistant coach under legendary Runnin' Rebel head coach and Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian from 1984-90. During that time, UNLV made NCAA Tournament appearances in each of those six seasons, including two Final Fours and won the 1990 national championship.

Edwards served a second stint as an assistant coach for the program during the 1994-95 season on Tim Grgurich's staff and became one of three UNLV head coaches that season. He was UNLV's interim head coach for that team's final 14 games.

Edwards played collegiately at Robert Morris Junior College in Pittsburgh (1967-69), earning All-America honors, then attended the University of Pittsburgh where he earned three letters from 1969-72, playing under Grgurich.

Edwards began his coaching career at the high school level following graduation from Pitt in 1972 before becoming an assistant at Robert Morris (1973-75). He then moved on to become an assistant coach at Pitt (1975-80). He also coached at Marshall (1990-93). 

After coaching, he served as an NBA scout with the Seattle Supersonics and Portland Trailblazers (1995-99), Milwaukee Bucks (2000) and Phoenix Suns (2001-05).

Edwards moved from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas and became an assistant football and basketball coach for Bishop Gorman High School. The school won both the basketball and football state crowns in 1983-84 with Edwards on staff.

Edwards was inducted into the Robert Morris Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. 

A native of Pittsburgh, he was born on Feb. 5, 1948. When he retired, he made Las Vegas home. 

Information regarding services is pending.




 
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