St. Francis men's basketball: The glory years 1950s-60s-70s
… since conference, program has deteriorated
I first remember watching the St. Francis men's basketball team back in the late 1950s. Over the next 56 years, I saw many games as a fan, as the clock operator, and as a journalist. I saw some great basketball, and I saw some horrible basketball.
Here are my recollections of those years.
That prized recruit
Then came the recruiting coup, the recruitment of Maurice Stokes from Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh who became a freshman in 1951. That led to an outstanding four-year record of 78-27 (.742), culminating with two appearances in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1954 and 1955.
To place that accomplishment into perspective, the NIT at that time was bigger than the NCAA Tournament. The NIT was held in Madison Square Garden and received tremendous publicity because of New York City, then the center of basketball.
In Stokes' senior season, the Frankies were playing Dayton and the game went into overtime before they fell, 79-73. They then fell to Cincinnati in the consolation, again in overtime, to finish in fourth place.
Despite the fourth place finish, Stokes was selected as the MVP of the NIT, a great honor for him and for the school.
Stokes put St. Francis on the basketball map, and the school has never had another player of his caliber. He became NBA Rookie of the Year and then an All-Star before a fall to the court paralyzed him and ended his career.
Hughes put together two more outstanding teams in the 1950s, going 20-5 in both 1957-58 and 58-59. The top players on those teams were point guard Jack O'Mally and 6-9 center Wilbur (Tree) Trosch, along with forward Joe Aston. They reached the NIT in the 1958 season, but fell to Fordham in the first round.
Overall, the 1950s were a crown jewel in the St. Francis legacy.
The Clark Era
However, perhaps the most exciting brand of basketball was brought to St. Francis by Hughes' successor, John Clark, in the 1960s. Clark needed that one top-caliber player, and he found him in Stormin' Norman Van Lier, a graduate of Midland High School.
A tenacious defender and quick point guard, Van Lier led the Flash to a 20-6 record in his sophomore season and 19-6 in his junior year. Overall, Clark had a record of 55-20 (73 percent) in his three years, before leaving to take a professional coaching job in the ABA.
Van Lier had big Muggsy Lewis down low, Lenny Murray on the baseline, Bill Snodgrass as a shooting guard, Bill Coyle as a forward … a lot of good weapons.
It was an exciting brand of basketball.
The Lonergan Era
After two lackluster coaches, Pete Lonergan took over in 1973. While Lonergan's 70-61 record was not appear to be particularly laudatory, he also had the distinction of playing the toughest schedule in St. Francis history.
For instance, in one season, 1974-75, the Red Flash played Pitt, West Virginia, Georgetown, Villanova, Penn State, Detroit, St. Bonaventure, and Duquesne. However, Lonergan notched two wins over John Thompson's Georgetown teams, 94-87 in 1977 and 78-62 in 1974.
The biggest win, however, was over North Carolina-Charlotte in 1977, 96-77. Charlotte was led by Cedric (Cornbread) Maxwell, who later played for the Boston Celtics. They also reached the Final Four that year, so that win was a great one.
The 1970s also brought the games back onto campus as the Maurice Stokes Center was constructed. The crowds during the 70s and into the early 80s were tremendous. The Saturday night games were a tough ticket, and the place rocked like it had never before -- nor since. It was an electric feeling in the building during those years.
The conference, start of the downslide
From the end of Pete Longergan's tenure to the current day, the Red Flash have had only five winning seasons by my math. They go like this:
Dave Magarity 1, Kevin Porter 0, Jim Baron 2, Tom McConnell 1, Bobby Jones 1. It has been downright dismal.
St. Francis joined the ECAC South Conference, then the ECAC Metro, starting in 1979. It then became the Northeast Conference in 1988.
Two things happened. One, the great teams that they had been playing on their schedules disappeared because of the conference. No more G-town, WVU, Villanova, Notre Dame, NC State … hello Robert Morris, Towson, Baltimore, Marist, St. Francis-N.Y., Long Island. Who wants to watch those teams after having a great schedule in the past?
Second, St. Francis fired Dave Magarity after the 1983 season -- long after the season -- and they never really recovered from it. He had just a 60-76 record in five years, but he was very popular with many people in the community. The way it was handled -- it would have been okay right after the season, but not at the end of May -- alienated people who never returned.
Then, they hired Kevin Porter, and while he was the third NBA player for St. Francis, playing from 1969-72, he was a terrible coach. He had never coached a game at any level previously, and had never recruited.
They paid dearly for those mistakes, and never really recovered that fan base that was important to keep the interest in the program.
The Baron Era
The hiring of Jim Baron, who had been an assistant to Digger Phelps at Notre Dame, energized the program. He suffered early from the Porter dropoff and the lack of fan support, but he lucked out when Mike Iuzzolino showed up at his doorstep after two rather woeful seasons at Penn State.
Iuzzolino, and Joe Anderson, a player he picked up late because Anderson gave up a football scholarship, led to a two-year resurgence. They finished 17-11 in 1989-90 and 24-8 in 1990-91, earning the NEC regular-season and conference titles. That gave them their only NCAA tournament berth in 28 years in a conference, which energized the fans a great deal.
When Dr. William T. (Skip) Hughes started coaching at St. Francis at the end of World War II, the former Pitt guard had no idea how bad his team would be. The Frankies, as they were known in those days, finished with a record of 1-8-1.
However, Dr. Hughes, a dentist from Hollidaysburg, had his eyes set on better days for his team. The records gradually improved from 11-8 to 15-9 to 16-11 and 18-9.
However, Dr. Hughes, a dentist from Hollidaysburg, had his eyes set on better days for his team. The records gradually improved from 11-8 to 15-9 to 16-11 and 18-9.
That prized recruit
Then came the recruiting coup, the recruitment of Maurice Stokes from Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh who became a freshman in 1951. That led to an outstanding four-year record of 78-27 (.742), culminating with two appearances in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1954 and 1955.
To place that accomplishment into perspective, the NIT at that time was bigger than the NCAA Tournament. The NIT was held in Madison Square Garden and received tremendous publicity because of New York City, then the center of basketball.
In Stokes' senior season, the Frankies were playing Dayton and the game went into overtime before they fell, 79-73. They then fell to Cincinnati in the consolation, again in overtime, to finish in fourth place.
Despite the fourth place finish, Stokes was selected as the MVP of the NIT, a great honor for him and for the school.
Stokes put St. Francis on the basketball map, and the school has never had another player of his caliber. He became NBA Rookie of the Year and then an All-Star before a fall to the court paralyzed him and ended his career.
Hughes put together two more outstanding teams in the 1950s, going 20-5 in both 1957-58 and 58-59. The top players on those teams were point guard Jack O'Mally and 6-9 center Wilbur (Tree) Trosch, along with forward Joe Aston. They reached the NIT in the 1958 season, but fell to Fordham in the first round.
Overall, the 1950s were a crown jewel in the St. Francis legacy.
The Clark Era
However, perhaps the most exciting brand of basketball was brought to St. Francis by Hughes' successor, John Clark, in the 1960s. Clark needed that one top-caliber player, and he found him in Stormin' Norman Van Lier, a graduate of Midland High School.
A tenacious defender and quick point guard, Van Lier led the Flash to a 20-6 record in his sophomore season and 19-6 in his junior year. Overall, Clark had a record of 55-20 (73 percent) in his three years, before leaving to take a professional coaching job in the ABA.
Van Lier had big Muggsy Lewis down low, Lenny Murray on the baseline, Bill Snodgrass as a shooting guard, Bill Coyle as a forward … a lot of good weapons.
It was an exciting brand of basketball.
The Lonergan Era
After two lackluster coaches, Pete Lonergan took over in 1973. While Lonergan's 70-61 record was not appear to be particularly laudatory, he also had the distinction of playing the toughest schedule in St. Francis history.
For instance, in one season, 1974-75, the Red Flash played Pitt, West Virginia, Georgetown, Villanova, Penn State, Detroit, St. Bonaventure, and Duquesne. However, Lonergan notched two wins over John Thompson's Georgetown teams, 94-87 in 1977 and 78-62 in 1974.
The biggest win, however, was over North Carolina-Charlotte in 1977, 96-77. Charlotte was led by Cedric (Cornbread) Maxwell, who later played for the Boston Celtics. They also reached the Final Four that year, so that win was a great one.
The 1970s also brought the games back onto campus as the Maurice Stokes Center was constructed. The crowds during the 70s and into the early 80s were tremendous. The Saturday night games were a tough ticket, and the place rocked like it had never before -- nor since. It was an electric feeling in the building during those years.
The conference, start of the downslide
From the end of Pete Longergan's tenure to the current day, the Red Flash have had only five winning seasons by my math. They go like this:
Dave Magarity 1, Kevin Porter 0, Jim Baron 2, Tom McConnell 1, Bobby Jones 1. It has been downright dismal.
St. Francis joined the ECAC South Conference, then the ECAC Metro, starting in 1979. It then became the Northeast Conference in 1988.
Two things happened. One, the great teams that they had been playing on their schedules disappeared because of the conference. No more G-town, WVU, Villanova, Notre Dame, NC State … hello Robert Morris, Towson, Baltimore, Marist, St. Francis-N.Y., Long Island. Who wants to watch those teams after having a great schedule in the past?
Second, St. Francis fired Dave Magarity after the 1983 season -- long after the season -- and they never really recovered from it. He had just a 60-76 record in five years, but he was very popular with many people in the community. The way it was handled -- it would have been okay right after the season, but not at the end of May -- alienated people who never returned.
Then, they hired Kevin Porter, and while he was the third NBA player for St. Francis, playing from 1969-72, he was a terrible coach. He had never coached a game at any level previously, and had never recruited.
They paid dearly for those mistakes, and never really recovered that fan base that was important to keep the interest in the program.
The Baron Era
The hiring of Jim Baron, who had been an assistant to Digger Phelps at Notre Dame, energized the program. He suffered early from the Porter dropoff and the lack of fan support, but he lucked out when Mike Iuzzolino showed up at his doorstep after two rather woeful seasons at Penn State.
Iuzzolino, and Joe Anderson, a player he picked up late because Anderson gave up a football scholarship, led to a two-year resurgence. They finished 17-11 in 1989-90 and 24-8 in 1990-91, earning the NEC regular-season and conference titles. That gave them their only NCAA tournament berth in 28 years in a conference, which energized the fans a great deal.
That team would have been deco,ated by the Van Lier teams or the teams from the 1950s. The talent level had dropped so significantly since the 1970s that it was unrecognizable. The league, the competition, both had led to that. They were just no longer getting the quality athletes that they had up through the 70s.
And then ...
And then, after Jim Baron, it ended. Since then, they only real good team they had was Tom McConnell's 1997-98, which was 17-10, 10-6 in the NEC.
It is good to see them return to the title game in 2017. They face Mount St. Mary's tonight in Maryland for the NEC berth in the NCAA Tournament.
And then, after Jim Baron, it ended. Since then, they only real good team they had was Tom McConnell's 1997-98, which was 17-10, 10-6 in the NEC.
It is good to see them return to the title game in 2017. They face Mount St. Mary's tonight in Maryland for the NEC berth in the NCAA Tournament.
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