| Re: Worst team in Basketball
Here is that Ernie D article in its entirety-
One of my most pleasant memories takes me back over thirty years, when one man was the most imitated sports icon in southern New England. I know this to be true because I was one of those kids trying to emulate him. Let me explain what it meant to be a fan of Ernie DiGregorio and the Providence College Friars, who back in 1973 went to college basketball’s Final Four. Providence College, led by Ernie DiGregorio, was the premier program in the region at the time. What he accomplished on the court is legendary in this part of the country.About a month ago someone mentioned to me that they knew Ernie D. No need to say the last name. That was all it took to get my full attention. If you were a sports fan in the early seventies then Ernie DiGregorio was your idol. A starting guard for the Providence College Friars, Ernie DiGregorio was, in my opinion, the most exciting player I have seen in the college game. This was at a time long before the University of Connecticut had risen to national prominence and New England domination; a time when Providence College ruled the hard courts in this region. When I was told I could get an autographed picture of Ernie D, now working for Foxwoods Casino as a celebrity host, my mind drifted back to those earlier years.Back in 1972 we would be sitting around the television watching channel ten with play by play man Chris Clark calling the action. How we loved to see the diminutive Providence College guard who could shoot the lights out and make passes that were hard pressed to describe, never mind duplicate. If there were three point field goals back then, Ernie DiGregorio would have owned every record associated with them. As deadly a shooter as he was {he averaged over 20 points for his college career}, it was his passing that I remember most of all. He threw a pass in the 1973 Final Four against Memphis State that is still the most splendid assist I have ever seen. Ernie D threaded a three quarter court bullet pass between three defenders to teammate Fran Costello for a lay up. What’s the big deal? He threw it behind his back between three disbelieving defenders! When March rolls around and they show the Final Four highlights of years past, watch for this and you will see what I mean.Ernie DiGregorio made my friends and I, along with a plethora of other kids, so gung ho to play basketball that we would watch Providence College play and then go out to where we had installed a floodlight at a neighbor’s house and play until the wee hours of the morning. If it snowed we would shovel the court, much like a young Ernie D used to do at the playground. Out in the cold we would go at it until we could no longer feel our fingers.Ernie led Providence College to that Final Four in 1973 where they lost in the semifinals to the Memphis State Tigers. With the game a seesaw affair in the first half, Providence College lost star center Marvin Barnes to a leg injury. The Friars eventually succumbed to the Tigers but not before Ernie DiGregorio did his best Davy Crockett imitation, single handedly trying to hold the fort with his 32 points and numerous assists, including the aforementioned behind the back pass. Despite his effort the Friars lost by a score of 98-85, a result that is still one of the biggest disappointments of our lives.Ernie DiGregorio went on to a solid pro career with the Buffalo Braves, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1974 and teaming with ultra quick guard Randy Smith to form a dynamic backcourt tandem. His autographed picture now sits in my office and the fact that the person who obtained it for me said that Ernie is one of the nicest people you could ever meet made it more special. How good was Ernie DiGregorio? In one game he shook loose along the base line under the basket for a reverse lay up, an incredible display of body control negated by the referee, who had mistakenly called him for traveling. After the game, this referee got Ernie off to the side and apologized for blowing the call. He couldn’t believe anybody could do what Ernie had done without traveling, but replaying it in his head he realized that he hadn’t. He should have asked the legions of Ernie DiGregorio fans throughout the area. They knew there was nothing he couldn’t do on a basketball court.
 | 
04-02-2006, 10:02 PM
Re: Worst team in Basketball 
Linear Mode
