Post by FriendsofAN44 on Oct 14, 2005 16:31:16 GMT -5
10/14/2005
No matter what anyone says, the 1969-70 St. Bonaventure basketball team is, and will perhaps forever be, the most revered group in school history.
Bob Lanier, the All-America center who guided Bona to the Final Four that season and went on to have a Hall-of-Fame NBA career, is the most famous player ever to suit up in brown and white, bar-none.
The people of Olean will always be enamored with Lanier and that collection of players.
Unfortunately, the Bona teams of the late 1950s and early ’60s will always be slighted and in a lot of ways forgotten. As time passes, the Final Four memories persist while the era that brought St. Bonaventure its first NCAA Tournament berth slip farther away from our minds.
We forget that in a lot of ways those teams led by the Stith brothers, Whitey Martin and Fred Crawford provided Bona with its proverbial basketball golden era.
From 1957-61, the Brown Indians compiled an incredible .835 winning percentage, the best four-year period in school history. Their 24-4 season in 1960-61 led to a No. 2 national ranking. Tom Stith might have been the best player in the land.
“Bob Lanier always gave us credit but in most cases people think the school started when he went there,” said Sam Stith. “A lot of guys do feel slighted, but Bob always gave us credit and Tommy credit.”
Of the seven players’ numbers retired by St. Bonaventure, four of them played in the late ’50s and early ’60s — the Stith brothers, Martin and Crawford.
Tom Stith, Martin and Crawford are three of over 40 Bona legends from all eras set to return to campus for a Legends Celebration Saturday. The event will include an alumni game starting at 7 p.m. at the Reilly Center.
Others from those brilliant Eddie Donovan-coached teams scheduled to attend are Brendan McCann, Ed Petrovick, Mike Cavaliere, John Mahonchak, Don Newhook, Bob Ulasewicz and Larry Weise, who went on to coach the Final Four team.
It was McCann, the No. 5 overall selection in the 1957 NBA draft who led Bona to an NIT appearance in ’57 and wins over national powers such as Cincinnati and Seattle in the tournament. To Sam Stith, that team laid the groundwork for St. Bonaventure basketball.
“That team was the catalyst,” he said. “They jump-started the program. They were the pinnacle.”
Sam, just a freshman that season, went on to play for three NIT teams before being drafted by the Cincinnati Royals. Together, he and brother Tom averaged 52 points per game during the 1959-60 season.
Martin, nicknamed Whitey for his blond hair, was the heady point guard who guided all the talent.
It was Tom Stith, though, who drove Bona up the national rankings.
“He was right up there with the best players of his era,” said Crawford. “Oscar Robertson, Chet Walker, Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek. ... he scored 30 points against Havlicek and Lucas.”
Upon graduation, Stith, who played just three seasons (freshmen were not allowed to play varsity in those days), was the school’s all-time leading scorer and is fourth today.
He is the only Bonnie to record 800 points in a season (twice). In fact, Stith set school records for points (830) and average (31.5), which still stand. Stith's career featured nine 40-point games, and his scoring prowess landed the New York City native on 11 different All-America teams in 1961.
Petrovick remembers an exhibition game in 1960 in which Stith scored 60 points against the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League in leading Bona to victory.
“That was a memorable night,” said Petrovick, a gritty defensive player who provided the team energy.
During the regular season, the Brown Indians scored wins over the Lenny Wilkens-led Providence Friars, as well as Bradley, Marquette and DePaul and lost by two in at the Holiday Festival Tournament in Madison Square Garden to an Ohio State team featuring Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
Bona’s second loss that season came to Niagara at the Olean Armory, where the team had built a 99-game win streak, the longest in college basketball history at the time and second longest today.
Crawford and Petrovick remembered students throwing purple-painted chickens on the floor and the Purple Eagles Al Butler playing the game of his life.
“Niagara could have beat the Boston Celtics that night,” Petrovick said. “Our feet were nailed to the floor. They came at us in waves and Al Butler never missed a shot.”
Still, Bona rolled to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Rhode Island in the first round before succumbing to Wake Forest.
Tom Stith not only believes the Bona teams he played on were comparable to that of the Final Four team, but is adamant that they were better.
“No hard feelings, but they couldn’t hold up against our team,” he said. “Besides Bob Lanier they couldn’t play me or my brother or Whitey. (Lanier) is the guy that carried them over the top. They wouldn’t have went to the tournament without him.
“Yeah, I scored a lot of points, but there were five of us. Sam averaged 20 points a game and Whitney averaged about 15. They did the same thing we did. They went to the tournament and lost.”
Crawford, a sophomore on the ’60-61 team who went on to play six seasons in the NBA, agreed saying, “Not taking anything away from Bob — they had a fabulous team — but Tom and myself, we were both rolling. ... Tom was a consensus All-American and I wasn’t too bad myself. I think we could’ve held our own.”
So how does the ’60-61 team continually get overshadowed by the ’69-70 team?
Maybe it’s because of the Final Four or maybe it’s because the Stiths played in an era when the NIT was on an even par with the NCAA tourney.
You also have to take into account the career paths of Lanier and Stith. Lanier went on to have a prosperous pro career while Stith’s fizzled due to injuries and a bout with tuberculosis.
Nevertheless, players like the Stiths, Crawford and Martin deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Lanier, Billy Kalbaugh and Matt Gantt.
(Vinny Pezzimenti is a sports writer for The Times Herald)
No matter what anyone says, the 1969-70 St. Bonaventure basketball team is, and will perhaps forever be, the most revered group in school history.
Bob Lanier, the All-America center who guided Bona to the Final Four that season and went on to have a Hall-of-Fame NBA career, is the most famous player ever to suit up in brown and white, bar-none.
The people of Olean will always be enamored with Lanier and that collection of players.
Unfortunately, the Bona teams of the late 1950s and early ’60s will always be slighted and in a lot of ways forgotten. As time passes, the Final Four memories persist while the era that brought St. Bonaventure its first NCAA Tournament berth slip farther away from our minds.
We forget that in a lot of ways those teams led by the Stith brothers, Whitey Martin and Fred Crawford provided Bona with its proverbial basketball golden era.
From 1957-61, the Brown Indians compiled an incredible .835 winning percentage, the best four-year period in school history. Their 24-4 season in 1960-61 led to a No. 2 national ranking. Tom Stith might have been the best player in the land.
“Bob Lanier always gave us credit but in most cases people think the school started when he went there,” said Sam Stith. “A lot of guys do feel slighted, but Bob always gave us credit and Tommy credit.”
Of the seven players’ numbers retired by St. Bonaventure, four of them played in the late ’50s and early ’60s — the Stith brothers, Martin and Crawford.
Tom Stith, Martin and Crawford are three of over 40 Bona legends from all eras set to return to campus for a Legends Celebration Saturday. The event will include an alumni game starting at 7 p.m. at the Reilly Center.
Others from those brilliant Eddie Donovan-coached teams scheduled to attend are Brendan McCann, Ed Petrovick, Mike Cavaliere, John Mahonchak, Don Newhook, Bob Ulasewicz and Larry Weise, who went on to coach the Final Four team.
It was McCann, the No. 5 overall selection in the 1957 NBA draft who led Bona to an NIT appearance in ’57 and wins over national powers such as Cincinnati and Seattle in the tournament. To Sam Stith, that team laid the groundwork for St. Bonaventure basketball.
“That team was the catalyst,” he said. “They jump-started the program. They were the pinnacle.”
Sam, just a freshman that season, went on to play for three NIT teams before being drafted by the Cincinnati Royals. Together, he and brother Tom averaged 52 points per game during the 1959-60 season.
Martin, nicknamed Whitey for his blond hair, was the heady point guard who guided all the talent.
It was Tom Stith, though, who drove Bona up the national rankings.
“He was right up there with the best players of his era,” said Crawford. “Oscar Robertson, Chet Walker, Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek. ... he scored 30 points against Havlicek and Lucas.”
Upon graduation, Stith, who played just three seasons (freshmen were not allowed to play varsity in those days), was the school’s all-time leading scorer and is fourth today.
He is the only Bonnie to record 800 points in a season (twice). In fact, Stith set school records for points (830) and average (31.5), which still stand. Stith's career featured nine 40-point games, and his scoring prowess landed the New York City native on 11 different All-America teams in 1961.
Petrovick remembers an exhibition game in 1960 in which Stith scored 60 points against the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League in leading Bona to victory.
“That was a memorable night,” said Petrovick, a gritty defensive player who provided the team energy.
During the regular season, the Brown Indians scored wins over the Lenny Wilkens-led Providence Friars, as well as Bradley, Marquette and DePaul and lost by two in at the Holiday Festival Tournament in Madison Square Garden to an Ohio State team featuring Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
Bona’s second loss that season came to Niagara at the Olean Armory, where the team had built a 99-game win streak, the longest in college basketball history at the time and second longest today.
Crawford and Petrovick remembered students throwing purple-painted chickens on the floor and the Purple Eagles Al Butler playing the game of his life.
“Niagara could have beat the Boston Celtics that night,” Petrovick said. “Our feet were nailed to the floor. They came at us in waves and Al Butler never missed a shot.”
Still, Bona rolled to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Rhode Island in the first round before succumbing to Wake Forest.
Tom Stith not only believes the Bona teams he played on were comparable to that of the Final Four team, but is adamant that they were better.
“No hard feelings, but they couldn’t hold up against our team,” he said. “Besides Bob Lanier they couldn’t play me or my brother or Whitey. (Lanier) is the guy that carried them over the top. They wouldn’t have went to the tournament without him.
“Yeah, I scored a lot of points, but there were five of us. Sam averaged 20 points a game and Whitney averaged about 15. They did the same thing we did. They went to the tournament and lost.”
Crawford, a sophomore on the ’60-61 team who went on to play six seasons in the NBA, agreed saying, “Not taking anything away from Bob — they had a fabulous team — but Tom and myself, we were both rolling. ... Tom was a consensus All-American and I wasn’t too bad myself. I think we could’ve held our own.”
So how does the ’60-61 team continually get overshadowed by the ’69-70 team?
Maybe it’s because of the Final Four or maybe it’s because the Stiths played in an era when the NIT was on an even par with the NCAA tourney.
You also have to take into account the career paths of Lanier and Stith. Lanier went on to have a prosperous pro career while Stith’s fizzled due to injuries and a bout with tuberculosis.
Nevertheless, players like the Stiths, Crawford and Martin deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Lanier, Billy Kalbaugh and Matt Gantt.
(Vinny Pezzimenti is a sports writer for The Times Herald)