34 years ago today

[stever20]

One of the most famous plays in Big East history-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvM463GxBHQ&t=50s

[billyjack]

Ok, so let's give a thorough backstory to this completely overrated play. Especially cuz this is against PC and everyone likes to giggle about this f-ckin play.

First of all...
this is considered the greatest play in the history of Pitt basketball. Think of how pathetic and sad a program has to be for this to be their top highlight over 100+ seasons... no last second buzzer beaters in the NCAAs, no cutting down the nets to advance to the Final Four. This should be so humiliating for Pitt.

This Pitt team got either a 1-seed or 2-seed i think, and BE fans were hoping for yet another BE program to make a Final Four in the 80s, along with the 5 of us who had accomplished that from 85 to 87 (Seton Hall was our 6th the next year. Actually from 82 thru 90 every BE school made at least an Elite-8 except Pitt.)

Secondly...
The highlight is from a game in freakin January. I think it was in the first half. It had zero significance to the postseason. The opponents, my Friars, had just come off a freakin Final Four, but 4 or 5 significant seniors (like 95% of our offense from 1987) had graduated...

Not only that, in April 87 after dabbling with the Knicks, Pitino had signed a 3-year or 5-year extension with PC ("i've signed a contract with the New Jersey Devils, haha!"). Then in like June or July he changed his mind and signed with the Knicks.

This left PC no reasonable alternative than to hire assistant Gordie Chiesa, who was a horrible coach and acted like a jack-azz. By January there was a PC player mutiny... Friar soph center and future Celtic Marty Conlon left the team, and others were threatening. We were playing like Cal Foster at center (i think he's in the video).

Thirdly...
This specific 88 Pitt team was probably the biggest disappointment in 1980's Big East hoops, ahead of even that 86 Syracuse team that choked versus Navy at the Carrier Dome. This Pitt team was tops in the BE, but choked in OT against like Vanderbilt or some sh-t team... total embarrassment for the conference.

I've said this before, but n 88, as usual, the team that saved the Big East's reputation was *Villanova*, who always had brass stones under Massimino... Villanova was the last remaining BE team in 88, and had the late Sunday game, and Billy Packer and Billy Tubbs and all those assholes were circling like vultures...but VU came back down 10 late to bigmouth Illinois, then crushed Kentucky for an Elite-8 appearance... then they led Billy Tubbs' Oklahoma at the half before running out of gas.

That 88 Villanova team, which still had a couple of 85 freshmen like Mark Plansky and maybe Harold Jensen (?) has been pretty much forgotten except by old-skool BE fans.

Pitt in 88, had the former Navy coach Paul Evans. The team was a basket case, the players hated Evans, there'd be arguments and screaming in the huddle, and they were a total disappointment to our conference. They were talented with Charles Smith and Jerome Lane here.

Again, i just wanted to give the backstory here. I mean, 10 months before this stupid dunk, thecFriars accomplished more in three weeks than Pitt has accomplished in their entire freakin history [pant, pant, pant]. This highlight is like when those 4-12 Dolphins teams would be losing to New England 52-3 in the 4th, and some Miami guy tackles a Patriot for a 2 yard loss, and gets up and prances around like a horses azz busting the Patriots' balls.

[stever20]

I know for me it makes me feel old that play was 34 years ago now.

Wonder if Raft would have had the career he had w/o that play? one of the most famous calls ever IMO.

Yeah Pitt won 18 tourney games thru their history in the Big East... by comparison- Xavier already has 7 in less than a quarter of the time and poised to add more to it this year.

[billyjack]

I know for me it makes me feel old that play was 34 years ago now.

Wonder if Raft would have had the career he had w/o that play? one of the most famous calls ever IMO.

Yeah Pitt won 18 tourney games thru their history in the Big East... by comparison- Xavier already has 7 in less than a quarter of the time and poised to add more to it this year.

In all seriousness, thanks for posting the highlight. I'm half joking cuz it was against PC, but it has gotten a lot of attention and that's a good thong for the conference. I just always feel the need to defend PC and put this dunk in proper perspective, lol.

Right on Raftery. He was already established as a regular well-liked Big East announcer by 1988, but this highlight really boosted his image.

[stever20]

I know for me it makes me feel old that play was 34 years ago now.

Wonder if Raft would have had the career he had w/o that play? one of the most famous calls ever IMO.

Yeah Pitt won 18 tourney games thru their history in the Big East... by comparison- Xavier already has 7 in less than a quarter of the time and poised to add more to it this year.

In all seriousness, thanks for posting the highlight. I'm half joking cuz it was against PC, but it has gotten a lot of attention and that's a good thong for the conference. I just always feel the need to defend PC and put this dunk in proper perspective, lol.

Right on Raftery. He was already established as a regular well-liked Big East announcer by 1988, but this highlight really boosted his image.

I have a feeling at least half of folks don't even know/remember that it was against PC.

[hoops22]

I watched the video earlier today, and still didn't notice it was against Providence until you brought it up Billyjack.

[billyjack]

I watched the video earlier today, and still didn't notice it was against Providence until you brought it up Billyjack.

Ok that's cool.