I enrolled in Syracuse University same year as JB. I was one those students who walked through deep snow to get a seat on the wooden track to watch in wonder and awe at Dave Bing as a frosh and throughout his career at SU. He was always the best player on the floor (by a ton) and then I stayed to watch a very weak varsity led by a former lacrosse AA Dick Finley (pg) and Carl Vernik (sg?) try to make a respectable showing. They tried.
The book, for those of us who go back that far, is a wonderful trip down memory lane. It is very accurate or I just have the same memories as JB.
I lived in Albany in the eighties with season tickets and was there in the Dome for many of the greatest moments described in the book. Pearl's shot (the loudest noise I ever experienced in the dome) MJ and NC eviscerating a very good SU team, as well as Manley memories, Calvin Murphy scoring at will, the last game in Manley, and all those wins, etc.
There is an amusing story in the book about JB and Rick Pitino recruiting the nephew of Norm Sloan, then HC at NC St. My neighbor in Albany was a banker for Rick and for that matter did financial work with JB and Bernie and took them on several golfing outings. He became quite close to Rick over the years. He relayed the same Norm Sloan story to me (directly from Rick) but with a slightly different twist. In his version (Rick's version) Rick was enthusiastically selling the SU program when the prospect's mother interrupted Rick to ask what he thought of NC St. It was JB who jumped in and said, according to the Pitino version, "Sloan burns out his players in practice, doesn't care about their future and recruits over them no matter what he promises". She then announced, "he is my brother". Either version is a good story.
Another amusing story from the same source that didn't make it into the book that perhaps should have, is another Pitino story about he and JB recruiting. It seems Rick was recruting a big shooting guard in Brooklyn. He called JB all wound up about how great this prospect was. He pushed and prodded JB to come deep into Brooklyn to watch him play in a local high school tournament. Reluctantly JB agreed to come and watch this under recruited, virtually unknown purported phenom play. In the first game of a two game tournament he absolutely stunk out the place. Couldn't shoot (his alleged forte) and didn't do anything else. JB told Rick he was done and leaving. Rick begged, cajoled and whined until JB relented and agreed to return for day two of the tournament. They watched the kid play an even worse second game. JB informed Rick in no uncertain terms that he had no interest in this prospect. What Rick had failed to mention to JB was that he had offered the prospect a full scholarship to SU and he had accepted. The prospect having accepted a full ride to SU had shut down all other recruiters. So Rick desperately scrambled and got the kid a full ride to K State through a contact with the Asst. Coach of K State. The prospect's name, Rolondo Blackman. He went on to be an AA at K State, and a long time NBA player being selected four times as an NBA All Star.
The book is a great read.
The book, for those of us who go back that far, is a wonderful trip down memory lane. It is very accurate or I just have the same memories as JB.
I lived in Albany in the eighties with season tickets and was there in the Dome for many of the greatest moments described in the book. Pearl's shot (the loudest noise I ever experienced in the dome) MJ and NC eviscerating a very good SU team, as well as Manley memories, Calvin Murphy scoring at will, the last game in Manley, and all those wins, etc.
There is an amusing story in the book about JB and Rick Pitino recruiting the nephew of Norm Sloan, then HC at NC St. My neighbor in Albany was a banker for Rick and for that matter did financial work with JB and Bernie and took them on several golfing outings. He became quite close to Rick over the years. He relayed the same Norm Sloan story to me (directly from Rick) but with a slightly different twist. In his version (Rick's version) Rick was enthusiastically selling the SU program when the prospect's mother interrupted Rick to ask what he thought of NC St. It was JB who jumped in and said, according to the Pitino version, "Sloan burns out his players in practice, doesn't care about their future and recruits over them no matter what he promises". She then announced, "he is my brother". Either version is a good story.
Another amusing story from the same source that didn't make it into the book that perhaps should have, is another Pitino story about he and JB recruiting. It seems Rick was recruting a big shooting guard in Brooklyn. He called JB all wound up about how great this prospect was. He pushed and prodded JB to come deep into Brooklyn to watch him play in a local high school tournament. Reluctantly JB agreed to come and watch this under recruited, virtually unknown purported phenom play. In the first game of a two game tournament he absolutely stunk out the place. Couldn't shoot (his alleged forte) and didn't do anything else. JB told Rick he was done and leaving. Rick begged, cajoled and whined until JB relented and agreed to return for day two of the tournament. They watched the kid play an even worse second game. JB informed Rick in no uncertain terms that he had no interest in this prospect. What Rick had failed to mention to JB was that he had offered the prospect a full scholarship to SU and he had accepted. The prospect having accepted a full ride to SU had shut down all other recruiters. So Rick desperately scrambled and got the kid a full ride to K State through a contact with the Asst. Coach of K State. The prospect's name, Rolondo Blackman. He went on to be an AA at K State, and a long time NBA player being selected four times as an NBA All Star.
The book is a great read.
