Madison Square Garden celebrates 75th anniversary of college basketball with top 10 moments
By: Dick Weiss; courtesy of New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/12/10/2009-12-10_ccny_for_memories.html
Madison Square Garden celebrated its 75th anniversary of college basketball Wednesday with an announcement of its all-time top 10 moments.
As magical as Syracuse's six-overtime victory over Connecticut in last year's Big East Tournament was, it paled in comparison to the accomplishments of the 1950 CCNY team. Coached by Nat Holman, that team stole this city's heart when it became the only one to ever win both the NCAA and NIT championships in the same year. Both tournaments were held at the old Garden.
Floyd Layne, a star on that special but sadly scandal-plagued team, was touched by the recognition. "It felt like it was Christmas," he said.
Layne and teammate Ron Nadell were there, along with an unexpected but legendary guest in 81-year-old All-American forward Irwin Dambrot, the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament from Taft High. Dambrot was a first-round draft pick of the Knicks but chose a career in dentistry instead.
Dambrot arrived for this special occasion from a rehabilitation center in Berkeley Heights, N.J. In an emotional moment, he was taken to the stage in a wheelchair by his former wife and primary caretaker, Catrin, and his son, Jonathan.
"I can't explain what it means to have him here," Layne said, starting to cry "He's my brother. My lefty. I still remember all the times he was yelling to me, 'Floydie, I'm free. I'm free. His left hand was always cocked."
Just a few months ago, Dambrot was shooting baskets in his backyard.
That was before he fell and broke his hip in July.
"Nobody in this room has worked harder to be at this event than Irwin," Catrin said. "After he broke his hip, he looked like he was on his way to recovery. The doctors told us he was walking a little bit and he'd be okay.
"We received a letter from the Garden about this event Sept. 23. A week later, out of the blue, his condition became worse. He developed pneumonia, blood clots and needed three transfusions and those were just the simple complications.
"At that point, Jonathan and I took on the most difficult coaching job when he ended up in the hospital and two other facilities. We took the letter from the Garden to the doctors and they were told their marching orders were to get Irwin here today. We wanted something to keep him going."
This was Dambrot's first trip outside the facility.
"He has Parkinson's disease but he understands everything," she assured.
He was part of a group of neighborhood kids from PSAL schools such as Taft, Clinton, Boys, Erasmus and Franklin that represented the ultimate in March madness.
CCNY finished the regular season with a 17-5 record and was the last team invited to the 12-team NIT. The Beavers stunned top-seed San Francisco in their opening-round game, then struck a blow for civil rights in the sport when they just crushed Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky team, 89-50, after several Wildcat players refused to shake hands with Holman's black and Jewish players. CCNY stunned Bradley, 74-68, in the championship game.
A few days later, the Beavers were a late addition to the NCAA Tournament and again pulled a shocker, defeating Bradley, 71-68, in their second championship game in three weeks. Dambrot played a major role. Trailing 69-68, Bradley guard Gene Melchiorre intercepted a pass and raced for the basket. Dambrot caught up with Melchiorre under the basket and after a collision - and a no-call - came up with the ball. Dambrot then fired a full-court pass to Norm Mager for a layup to lock up the win and set off a wild celebration and a parade down Fifth Ave. the next day.
Eight players from that team are still alive. They all have their memories, good and bad. A year after the twin titles, CCNY's seven core players - Floyd, Dambrot, Ed Warner, Ed Roman, Mager, Al Roth and Herb Cohen - were arrested and charged with conspiring to fix three games during the regular season. Players at several other local schools and both Kentucky and Bradley were also named.
CCNY began deemphasizing basketball the following season.
But 59 years later, the 1950 Beavers are still the most celebrated college team in the history of the city.
MSG Celebrates 75th Anniversary of College Basketball With the "All-Time Top 10 College Basketball Moments at Madison Square Garden"
In honor of the 75th Anniversary of College Basketball at Madison Square Garden, the "All-Time Top 10 College Basketball Moments at Madison Square Garden" we're officially announced today.
Since hosting its first game on December 29, 1934, generations of college basketball fans have packed "The World's Most Famous Arena," from the old Garden on 8th Avenue to its current location. The memories are countless, not just for the athletes and coaches, but for the fans as well.
Narrowing down the many moments was given to a panel of local basketball insiders, including past and present sports reporters, broadcasters, coaches and game officials. The comprehensive ballot itself highlights the storied history of Madison Square Garden's college basketball tradition.
The Garden began its countdown on Nov. 16 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament and continued revealing each moment in-arena and on ESPN.
Below is a list of the "All-Time Top 10 College Basketball Moments at Madison Square Garden."
# 1. CCNY WINS NCAA AND NIT – MARCH 1950
It's rare that a college team can captivate a city like New York. City College of New York did on the way to making college basketball history. The Beavers, led by head coach Nat Holman, won the NCAA and NIT titles in 1950 at Madison Square Garden. They are still the only team to get the double; something that can no longer be accomplished.
# 2. SYRACUSE WINS SIX-OT THRILLER – MARCH 12, 2009
The sellout crowds at the Big East tournament have come to expect great nights in Madison Square Garden. Nobody ever expected a night like Syracuse's six-overtime win over Connecticut in the 2009 semifinals. The game nearly took four hours to complete, and at the end the Orange won 127-117 in the longest college basketball game ever played at Madison Square Garden. There weren't many empty seats when the game ended at 1:22 a.m.
# 3. BILL BRADLEY'S 41-POINT EFFORT – DECEMBER 30, 1964
It wasn't quite one against five, but the years have made it Bill Bradley against top-ranked Michigan, featuring Cazzie Russell. There were other Princeton players in that 1964 Holiday Festival semifinal, but the Garden crowd was clearly focused on Bradley.
The future U.S. senator totaled 41 points prior to fouling out with 4:37 left and the Tigers led by 12 points. Without Bradley as the focus of its passing offense, Princeton struggled against the more athletic and taller Wolverines, and Michigan advanced to the finals with an 80-78 victory.
# 4. McNAMARA'S BIG EAST HEROICS – MARCH 2006
Some stories stretch believability very thin. Gerry McNamara wrote one of those stories in the 2006 Big East tournament.
Madison Square Garden has been home for the Big East Tournament for over 25 years, and McNamara's stellar play will go down as one of the best individual performances the famed building has ever seen.
Syracuse was the No. 9 seed, and the Orange got to New York with its senior point guard stung by local criticism. McNamara knocked that idea down over and over in a four-day performance that ended with a conference title for Syracuse and a place in Garden history for McNamara.
# 5. BERRY'S BLOCK AT THE BUZZER – MARCH 8, 1986
The 1986 Big East tournament championship game still ranks as one of the best ever at Madison Square Garden.
Ron Rowan hit a 14-foot jumper with eight seconds to play to give St. John's a 70-69 lead over Syracuse. Everybody expected the Orange to call a timeout. Instead, Coach Jim Boeheim left the ball in the hands of Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, the rubber-like point guard who had already set a tournament record with 14 assists.
With the entire Garden on its feet, Washington drove to the basket and St. John's Walter Berry, the national player of the year who was hardly known for his defense, came across the lane and blocked the shot.
# 6. "BIG O" 56, SETON HALL 54 – JANUARY 9, 1958
In the days before nationally televised games, the place where players made their impact was Madison Square Garden. To this day, no player has matched the debut of Oscar Robertson.
A high school star in his native Indiana, Robertson was a sophomore with a big reputation in the Midwest when Cincinnati faced Seton Hall on Jan. 9, 1958. Robertson scored 56 points, two more than the entire Seton Hall team. The Bearcats won the game, 118-54, and Robertson won all the hearts of those in the building, going 22 of 32 from the field and 12 of 12 from the free throw line.
# 7. LAPCHICK GOES OUT ON TOP – MARCH 20, 1965
The legendary Joe Lapchick had already announced he would be retiring after the season, capping 20 seasons over two stints that saw St. John's win 334 games. A team that had bounced back from a disappointing end to the regular season was making waves with solid performances in the NIT. The championship game – Lapchick's last win or lose – was against Villanova and Madison Square Garden was packed.
St. John's point guard, Jerry Houston went to the free throw line with seven seconds left, making two free throws for the final margin, 55-51.
Lapchick was carried off the court, not just by his players, but the fans.
# 8. ST. JOHN'S DEFEATS #1 MICHIGAN – JANUARY 2, 1965
Most people thought St. John's didn't have a chance when it faced top-ranked Michigan and Cazzie Russell in the championship game of the annual Holiday Festival. Their thinking looked to be on the money when the Wolverines took a 68-52 lead with 9:35 remaining.
No deficit is erased quickly, but the Redmen kept chipping away and Kenny McIntyre hit four straight jumpers, the last of which tied the game at 70 with 2:25 to play.
St. John's took the lead for good at 74-72 when Jerry Houston drove the baseline with 1:37 left. He added a free throw with 28 seconds remaining that offset a late tip-in by Michigan, the Wolverines' only field goal over the final 10 minutes.
# 9. "THE SWEATER GAME" – FEBRUARY 27, 1985
St. John's Chris Mullin was leading a team of very talented local kids in his senior year and was looking at Patrick Ewing and Georgetown as the roadblock in the conference and the country.
The last of their eight regular season meetings was drawing all the attention it deserved with the Redmen ranked No. 1 and the Hoyas No. 2.
Before the game, St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca was upstaged by his counterpart when John Thompson pulled open his jacket to reveal a T-shirt in the same design as the lucky sweater Carnesecca was wearing during a 19-game winning streak. The move, and the laughs it drew, did a lot to calm down an excited Garden crowd.
Georgetown won the game going away, 85-69, to even the regular season series. The teams would meet two more times in the Big East title game and the Final Four, both Hoya victories.
# 10. LIU'S STREAK SNAPPED AT 43 – DECEMBER 30, 1936
It was going to take a special performance to snap Long Island University's 43-game winning streak. Hank Luisetti gave one nobody from the East had ever seen – the one-handed shot.
Every teacher of the game taught players to set themselves and shoot the ball with two hands. Luisetti and his Stanford teammates arrived at Madison Square Garden playing at a pace that was considered frenetic at the time, and shooting the ball not only with one hand but their feet were moving.
Luisetti finished with 15 points in Stanford's 45-31 victory that ended what, at the time, was the longest winning streak in NCAA history. A sellout crowd at the Garden left stunned at the loss and how it happened. College basketball took one of its biggest steps that day. Those on the East Coast realized their style of defense and ball control would have to adapt to the tempo and movement coming from the West.
In addition to the top 10 moments and to further highlight the season-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary, Madison Square Garden has commissioned a commemorative basketball, which will be autographed by every coach whose team will play at The Garden this upcoming season. Fans will also notice 75th Anniversary logos placed on the basketball court throughout the season and special vignettes will be played on Gardenvision during each game.
Additionally, a special commemorative 75th anniversary book that highlights the top 10 college basketball moments at Madison Square Garden has been created.
A number of industry leading companies will partner with MSG for the season long celebration of the 75th Anniversary of College Basketball at Madison Square Garden. Delta Air Lines, Aéropostale, Coca-Cola, Cushman & Wakefield, Foot Locker, Optimum and Traveler's Insurance will all receive prominent exposure via MSG's unique array of assets, including digital courtside signage, promotions, Gardenvision and experiential benefits.