Friar basketball history on full display at Alumni Hall
PROVIDENCE — The true power of Providence College men’s basketball was on full display inside Alumni Hall Thursday as an event that crosses generations and ties people took place.
At the forefront were four former head coaches (Rick Pitino, Rick Barnes, Pete Gillen, Tim Welsh), one of the most iconic players in program history (Billy Donovan), and the current Friar hoop leader (Ed Cooley). Someone needed to be the emcee and who better than to fulfill that specific role than former Lady Friar hoopster/current ESPN basketball personality Doris Burke?
For close to 90 minutes, all aforementioned personalities sat on the stage and swapped stories about why this particular Catholic school still carries so much weight many years later.
Besides the aforementioned coaching luminaries, a total of 115 former players were present along with 20 former Friar assistant coaches and 45 managers. All came back to PC for a multi-day event that was organized by Harold Starks, a former Friar guard who currently works in the athletic department. Starks is also the driving force behind the Friends of Friar Basketball alumni group that worked with PC in putting together Thursday’s Coaches Roundtable and subsequent events that are slated for Friday and Saturday.
“For Harold to have the patience to make all this happen, that was magical right there,” said Cooley. “Just an incredible conversation. I sat there in awe. I’m grateful to be part of something so special.”
The list of noteworthy Friars who made the trek for Thursday’s event included Otis Thorpe, Dickey Simpkins, Austin Croshere, God Shammgod, Jamel Thomas, John Linehan, Bryce Cotton, and Eric Murdock. Cooley singled out Linehan (for his defense) and Murdock (for his penchant for filling up the hoop) during his closing remarks.
With a microphone in his hand, Pitino said the magical carpet ride that resulted in the Friars reaching the 1987 Final Four ranks as his favorite of the seven Final Fours he reached.
“Ed Cooley is the best guy to gather us all together because we love him so much,” said Pitino.
Gillen echoed something similar when he gave credit for honoring its past teams – something that separated Providence from the other schools he worked at.
“It’s a special place. It’s a family atmosphere. Basketball is really important at Providence College and the City of Providence,” said Gillen, who led the ’97 Friars to the Elite Eight. “It’s a credit to Providence that they support their program so well.”
The current Friars sat in the stands and listened as their current coach mingled with the coaches who came before him.
“It gives them a taste and window to what the possibilities are,” said Cooley. “Something like this went back decades. To bring it to the present is amazing.”