First memory of Manley Field House?

[orangebob]

Mine was a '70 or '71 BB game against UMASS. Back then there was not a lot of dunking, definitely no highlight reel stuff,
and it was 8 or 9 years before ESPN / Sports center. So when this guy stole the ball and came down and took off from the freethrow line and threw it down everyone was like, WOW, what was that? Who was that? Later to find out it was some guy named Julius 'Dr. J' Erving. No one had heard of him yet.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Mine was a '70 or '71 BB game against UMASS. Back then there was not a lot of dunking, definitely no highlight reel stuff,
and it was 8 or 9 years before ESPN / Sports center. So when this guy stole the ball and came down and took off from the freethrow line and threw it down everyone was like, WOW, what was that? Who was that? Later to find out it was some guy named Julius 'Dr. J' Erving. No one had heard of him yet.

I was at that game too. Actually, there was buzz about him before the game. I don’t think he had acquired the nickname Dr J yet, although I might be wrong. Just a tall skinny kid who was from another planet, skill wise.

It was ‘71…I think…and it was the greatest college performance I ever saw. Julius had over 30 points and over 30 rebounds as I recall. Just insane. So happy to have seen him even though he was on the other team.

Dunking was illegal at that time, however.

 

[orangebob]

I was at that game too. Actually, there was buzz about him before the game. I don’t think he had acquired the nickname Dr J yet, although I might be wrong. Just a tall skinny kid who was from another planet, skill wise.

It was ‘71…I think…and it was the greatest college performance I ever saw. Julius had over 30 points and over 30 rebounds as I recall. Just insane. So happy to have seen him even though he was on the other team.

Dunking was illegal at that time, however.

Yep. Dr. J was a one man team. Stats says 36 points 32 rebounds 7 assists. Beat us by 15.
Maybe the dunk was in warmups. I like my version / recall better though.

 

[85SUAlum]

My first year as a student was in 1980 so I've only seen SU basketball in the Dome.
The only basketball game I saw there, and my first memory of Manley, was my high school's team when they played for the Section III championship at Manley in 1976 (I was in 8th grade at the time and my cousin was on the basketball team). Unfortunately they lost.
Have a lot of memories though of Manley as a freshman at SU as I was a walk-on for the SU track team and that's where we practiced/trained. so I spent a lot of time there that year.

 

[Stevenson]

I was a squadron commander in Air Force ROTC and we had some sort of end of term cadet review parade in there. Like the one at the end of Stripes.

Never saw a game there

 

[Stevenson]

My first memory occurred my freshman year in 1975. After selecting classes at Archbold and wondering how professor Tba could teach that many courses I eventually made my way to Manley to play a pickup game of basketball.

I always thought I was pretty good as I could shoot and dunk anything I could palm. So I played one on one with a 6’5” guy on the freshman team (I sure wish I could remember his name). When he had the ball at the foul line he’d just shoot over me or if I pressed up he’d drive past me and throw it down. It wasn’t even close. It was then that I realized how unbelievably big the gap in talent was lol.

TBA was a great prof. My favorite band in college was “Various Artists”

 

[OrangeMon]

My first games at Manley were when Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr were freshman, 1976 I believe. What made my experience even better, my mother at the time worked in the football department, so she had season tickets. The seats we had in Manley were first row, to the left of the basket. Our feet were basically on the court. Ha! It was great! Then they moved basketball to the Dome. Put it this way, the seats in the Dome weren't quite the same.

 

[mark79]

My first games at Manley were when Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr were freshman, 1976 I believe. What made my experience even better, my mother at the time worked in the football department, so she had season tickets. The seats we had in Manley were first row, to the left of the basket. Our feet were basically on the court. Ha! It was great! Then they moved basketball to the Dome. Put it this way, the seats in the Dome weren't quite the same.

You got those “you suck” chants up close and personal then lol. Those were some great years.

 

[OrangeMon]

You got those “you suck” chants up close and personal then lol. Those were some great years.

Yes we did. Unfortunately, from my seats at Manley, I got my first look at Patrick Ewing. He was a freshman and walked right in front of us. I couldn't believe the size of him. That was the day I got yelled at from a Georgetown cheerleader. She didn't like what I had to say. Haha!!!

 

[bryanradams]

I only went to Manley twice - one for a Cuse game and one for the Empire State Games (remember that?). That Cuse game was in 79, I think, against a very bad Seton Hall team, coached by Bill Raftery. I remember Danny Callandrillo hitting shots from everywhere (too bad there was no 3 pt shot then). I think we won going away. I was from Utica, so the highlight was walking with my dad to say hey to Dale Shackleford. And seeing my "cousin" Ken Davis sitting the bench.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

My first games at Manley were when Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr were freshman, 1976 I believe. What made my experience even better, my mother at the time worked in the football department, so she had season tickets. The seats we had in Manley were first row, to the left of the basket. Our feet were basically on the court. Ha! It was great! Then they moved basketball to the Dome. Put it this way, the seats in the Dome weren't quite the same.

Ewing was not a freshman until 1981 and, by then, we were playing in the Dome.

I don't believe Ewing ever played at Manley.

 

[JustPherU]

Yep. Dr. J was a one man team. Stats says 36 points 32 rebounds 7 assists. Beat us by 15.
Maybe the dunk was in warmups. I like my version / recall better though.

The game they beat us by 15 was at UMASS.
I don’t think Dr J ever played at Manley.There might be some misremembering going on. Just checking old records the timeline doesn’t add up.

 

[OrangeMon]

Ewing was not a freshman until 1981 and, by then, we were playing in the Dome.

I don't believe Ewing ever played at Manley.

I stand corrected. Must have been another Georgetown player I saw? Thought it was Ewing.

 

[llandz]

Dennis DuVal warm ups when he took over and did some trick shots to JJ Jackson's "But It's Alright". Nothing like it since. The place was alive.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I stand corrected. Must have been another Georgetown player I saw? Thought it was Ewing.

Georgetown's star back in the Manley days was a guard named Sleepy Floyd. Their big man was named Craig Shelton, and they had another very good guard named John Duren. Ed Spriggs was another one of their big guys, IIRC.

 

[OrangePA]

My first memory of Manley is very different from most. Manley opened in September of my senior year (1962), and its first use was for class registration ... which was a real circus in those pre-computerized days. There were scores of folding tables there, each hosting one academic offering, and you had to stand in line at each table to register for a class that fit into a schedule of your already-selected classes. Needless to say, this took much time and caused much anger and frustration if a desired class (or class section) had been filled before you got to the front of the line at that table.

But frustration is not my biggest memory. It is the DUST. Manley had a dirt floor, and the basketball court had not yet been installed. As a result, several hundred people were rushing from table to table kicking up dust that was far worst than that recently caused by the Canadian wildfires. Today it probably would be shut down for an air quality violation. (Prior to construction of Manley, registration took place in Archbold Gym. It was no less chaotic, but there was no dust).

Oh yeah, I also attended the first basketball game (actually a doubleheader) at Manley that December. And, as became the custom that year, we watched the exciting freshmen team starring Dave Bing, then left for a nearby watering hole (usually TC) when the not-so-good varsity team took the floor.

I remember Manley under construction.

I think my first basketball game was 1969-70 when the Orange beat Rutgers in triple OT.

 

[OrangePA]

Dennis DuVal warm ups when he took over and did some trick shots to JJ Jackson's "But It's Alright". Nothing like it since. The place was alive.

Absolutely true

 

[AlaskaSU]

Remember bumper riding in the snow to get to Manley; Sweet D, Kid Kohl and all.

 

[IDOC]

I arrived at SU IN 1962 and oh how I remember class registration there. Class filled = a walk back to your advisor on the main campus.
My fond memory is playing in the small pep band at the edge of the court for BB
Dr. Greg Jones “66”

 

[SWC75]

An excerpt from the basketball memoir of my early days as an SU fan "From the Mists of Time":

I finally persuaded my father to take me to an SU game. It was the biggest game of the 1966-67 season. SU was 19-2 and ranked #8 in the country in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. St. John’s was 18-3. I have forgotten their ranking but it may have been as high as #7. (I’ve since looked it up: We were #8: they were #17, which surprises me.) They had a big man named Sonny Dove. Sonny was only about 6-8 and probably only weighed about 200 pounds but in that era, he was like Patrick Ewing. He was a great leaper who could block shots, ram in dunks, (when most players couldn’t), and rip down rebounds with the best of them. We had nothing like him.

Nonetheless, the SU players and fans had their usual confidence. Everything had gone our way for two months. All the shots had gone in for us and the balls had bounced our way. It was a magical year. This game would determine the best team of the eastern independents and open the door to the NCAA tournament in an era where only 24 teams went there. Of those only 8, (two per region) were “At large” teams. In those days that meant independents as there was a rule than only conference champions could go to the NCAAs, (a rule that made the NIT nearly as prestigious a tournament as the NCAAs). There were only two at large births in each region and SU, the Johnnies and BC were the leading contenders in the East.

The game progressed as did most SU games that year. We couldn’t handle Dove inside but we shot well, handled the ball well and got the bounces and the Orange led until the last minute of play. That’s when Dove really took over. St. John’s had about three straight trips down court where they missed but Sonny rose up and violently slammed the ball in the hoop. The birds who lived in the Manley Dome went flying about in a panic. SU was unable to answer and went down to defeat, 64-71. That was the beginning of the end of the Orange dreams for that year.