Watched Dickie V. On Rutgers 1976 Team

[RutgersMO]

B!G network.

Love him or hate him....not hiring him / developing a relationship with him was just
plain STUPID!

I saw him tear up when he was discussing taking the Detroit job. He wanted Rutgers...but we're like Groucho: seems like we never take anyone who would actually be successful and wanted to be at Rutgers (GS is an exception, not the rule).

He recruited Sellers. He was a top 5 recruiter NATIONWIDE. IMO Rutgers could have been UConn or the UCLA of the East:except it seems we never fail...to fail.

MO
PS I'm not knocking Pikiell...this is about a decision made 40 years ago by Freddie G. No-one ever accused him of being a visionary (for good reason). Think of the social / nationwide media capital we could have spent at our fingertips if Dickie got the job...and took Rutgers to PT, baby!

 

[RU-ROCS]

Terrific job by Big10 Network. Loved the show. I remember that '76 team as a kid and the impact it had on NJ. The show captured that magic. It certainly would have been interesting if Rutgers had hired Vitale.

 

[Source]

I posted this on the football board but I copied it for the BB board.

If anyone knows if this will be re-run online at the B1G site please post those details. Thanks!

I saw the teaser on line. They used the "Run, Rutgers, Run!" album put together by the WRSU Sports staff. That's Arnie Kaplan calling the final seconds of the last game of the regular season that resulted in a 26-0 Rutgers. Others on that album were Jerry Donnelly as narrator, Paul Spychala, Greg Tabakin, Dave Ades, Paul Hubert and others who I can't think of right now.

I attended the first two games in The Barn that year against Bentley College and then Rutgers hung 119 on Seton Hall. After that, lines started to form overnight to get tickets for the 2,800-seat Barn. Rutgers opened the Barn Annex and let student bring in sleeping bags to stay out of the cold.

The last regular season game was against St. Bonaventure and I watched in my preceptors room on the third floor of Pell in the Quad on UHF Channel 52.

People and media from the New York area were calling in to WRSU to see if they could get the station on their radios that night.

After the victory, I ran down College Avenue to watch the team pull up in the bus to ring the bells of Old Queens and then ran along side the bus back to the area between The Barn and Brower Commons. It was nothing but a sea of Rutgers fans. Members of the team gave brief speeches from the top floor of the Barn looking down on the crowd but you couldn't hear a thing.

How exciting was it? You remember the build up and aftermath of the Rutgers-Louisville football game in 2006? Well, I would rate that a close second to the night of March 1, 1976 -- the greatest on campus sports night in my memory and definitely in my college years. Unbelievable and unforgettable!

 

[BoroKnight]

Not entirely sure about Vitale. He burned out pretty fast. He did an awesome job at U of Detroit, winning 27 games one year. Should NEVER have gone to the NBA, where he was gone in less than two years. And I remember as a kid seeing lots of articles about him in the Home News (back then not knowing why they cared about him so much!) and it was always, every time, the "volatile Dick Vitale."

Aside from hiring him as head coach, what "relationship" should there have been? And recruiting rules changed over the years; if you've read VItale's first book, you would know that if the rules at the time of the writing were in effect when he was recruiting Sellers, no way we get him. His words, not mine. Because he was all over him in a way you can't be any more. And while Sellers was the best get ever, it's not like he had a five-year track record of great recruiting. We just don't know how he would have worn over the long haul. And don't forget, Gruninger didn't NOT hire Vitale. He told Dickie that all he could do was "forward his name to the committee" because Freddy G. just didn't have the kind of power our AD has had since.

Oh, yeah, and the guy we hired averaged 20 wins a year for 12 years -- and that includes mediocrity at the end. Can't say that was a bad hire on any level.

 

[Kbee3]

I thought we got Sellers away from Notre Dame because of academics.
Dabney had some other offers, but was a 'tweener.
Copeland wasn't a 4-star either.
Not sure about Anderson and Bailey as being recruiting coups either.
Certainly not Conlin.
I'm sure Jordan had some offers.
I thought it was the way the pieces fit together and the style of play.....run, run, run.....press, press. press. And Sellers was clutch. Awesome uptempo entertainment.
And then Tom Young left for Old Dominion.....OLD DOMINION !!!

 

[NickKnight 1]

I thought we got Sellers away from Notre Dame because of academics.
Dabney had some other offers, but was a 'tweener.
Copeland wasn't a 4-star either.
Not sure about Anderson and Bailey as being recruiting coups either.
Certainly not Conlin.
I'm sure Jordan had some offers.
I thought it was the way the pieces fit together and the style of play.....run, run, run.....press, press. press. And Sellers was clutch. Awesome uptempo entertainment.
And then Tom Young left for Old Dominion.....OLD DOMINION !!!

He was forced out, it wasn,t like he chose Old Dominion over us.

 

[RU-ROCS]

I thought we got Sellers away from Notre Dame because of academics.
Dabney had some other offers, but was a 'tweener.
Copeland wasn't a 4-star either.
Not sure about Anderson and Bailey as being recruiting coups either.
Certainly not Conlin.
I'm sure Jordan had some offers.
I thought it was the way the pieces fit together and the style of play.....run, run, run.....press, press. press. And Sellers was clutch. Awesome uptempo entertainment.
And then Tom Young left for Old Dominion.....OLD DOMINION !!!

The show said Jordan had committed to Young at American and then followed him to RU. So Eddie was also an under-the-radar guy. IIRC, in addition to Sellers, Bailey was also a big recruit.

 

[RUBigFrank]

Tom Young was a great x's and o's coach. Great developer of big men Bailey and Hinson.

RU not going to Big East killed our recruiting.

We were THE program in the East - until the formation og the Big East.

 

[ecojew]

Tom Young going to ODU was primarily a function of Gruninger having kept us out of the Big East, arguably the most expensive bad decision ever made in the long history of RU sports. Young was unable to recruit against the BE teams, which included all of our natural rivals except for Princeton, once the BE was constantly on TV while the A-10 and all other eastern teams were almost completely excluded from TV. It took Temple rising to #1 during the 1987-88(?) season to finally break through the BE monopoly on TV time in the northeast.

Many have argued that under Vitale, RU would not have had the undefeated season. We'll never know. But he likely would have been a better recruiter than Young.

A couple of other things helped keep us from sustaining the momentum we had gained during the 74-75 and 75-76 seasons. One was the team's trip to Spain (or Italy) that summer, during which time Lefty Driesel stole away our two prize recruits (JoJo Hunter and ?). The other was the fact that the RAC didn't open during the fall of '76, which would have allowed RU to build up the kind of season's tix base that wasn't possible to do at the Barn. The RAC opened a year later by which the magic had started to fade.

 

[RUBigFrank]

If I recall correctly - when the Big East formed they retained the ECAC television package which the Eastern 8 and A10 was not a part of.

This kept us off tv.

 

[LC-88]

Tom Young was a great x's and o's coach. Great developer of big men Bailey and Hinson.

RU not going to Big East killed our recruiting.

We were THE program in the East - until the formation og the Big East.

This is why Young left for ODU. Freddie turned down the BE twice. Remember reading a Tom Young interview in The Targum while I was at Rutgers where Young was quoted on "turned down BE twice"

 

[RUEd]

This is why Young left for ODU. Freddie turned down the BE twice. Remember reading a Tom Young interview in The Targum while I was at Rutgers where Young was quoted on "turned down BE twice"

If Freddie didn't have the power to hire a coach, as posted above, then he wouldn't have had the power to turn down the BE, correct? The would have been the school not Freddie

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

He was forced out, it wasn,t like he chose Old Dominion over us.

and let's not forget..the best part....next up....Craig Littlepaige

 

[80RU]

If I recall correctly - when the Big East formed they retained the ECAC television package which the Eastern 8 and A10 was not a part of.

This kept us off tv.

To be more specific, the ECAC had a rule that if any conference signed their own TV package that they would be excluded from the ECAC package. The eastern eight broke the log jam by signing their own TV package anyway the year before the Big East was formed, and then lost the member schools' slots. The eastern eight TV package failed miserably and was canceled, leaving what would soon become the big East teams with most of the ECAC games, and the eastern eight with nothing. But then Dave Gavitt was able to negotiate with the ECAC and have his own TV package plus the ECAC package which the Big East then dominated. That, along with Patrick Ewing, was with got the big east rolling

 

[80RU]

The show said Jordan had committed to Young at American and then followed him to RU. So Eddie was also an under-the-radar guy. IIRC, in addition to Sellers, Bailey was also a big recruit.

He was not that under the radar, the distribution of power was a little different then. Not a big-time recruit but not really under the radar. Frank Burns and his defensive backs coach Pete Savino also made a serious play for him

 

[LC-88]

If Freddie didn't have the power to hire a coach, as posted above, then he wouldn't have had the power to turn down the BE, correct? The would have been the school not Freddie

No, he never brought it up to whomever had to to vote on it. He was so far up JoePa's a$$ that he in effect turned down the BE on his own. There is zero evidence that FG thought it was a great idea to join the BE. Young basicaly begged him to join the BE according to the Targum article I read back in the day.

 

[NickKnight 1]

and let's not forget..the best part....next up....Craig Littlepaige

Damn you, I tried to forget Craig L. now you had to go and remind me.:)

 

[JMD77]

The show said Jordan had committed to Young at American and then followed him to RU. So Eddie was also an under-the-radar guy. IIRC, in addition to Sellers, Bailey was also a big recruit.

My recollection was that Bailey was not highly rated - but under-the-radar. And certainly not in Sellers stratosphere as a recruit.

My other recollection was that he was raw defensively and offensively - but a great athlete. His defense improved dramatically throughout his freshman year and on this team, he didn't have to score. And obviously as his career progressed, became an offensive force.

 

[NickKnight 1]

There is a lot of talk about how great Bailey, Anderson, Copeland, Dabney,&
Jordan were, and they were, but there was only one Phil Sellers, I remember he
was the greatest.

 

[TMCB]

Sellers was a good college player, why did he not make it in the NBA?

 

[tgm1069]

Phil was a 6' 4' forward. Hard to play forward in the NBA at that height

 

[RU-ROCS]

Phil was a 6' 4' forward. Hard to play forward in the NBA at that height

Didn't he also blow out his knee after being drafted?

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Man, if only we were a founding member of the Big East... what could've been...

 

[80RU]

My recollection was that Bailey was not highly rated - but under-the-radar. And certainly not in Sellers stratosphere as a recruit.

My other recollection was that he was raw defensively and offensively - but a great athlete. His defense improved dramatically throughout his freshman year and on this team, he didn't have to score. And obviously as his career progressed, became an offensive force.

I remember meeting some of his classmates at Cambridge Latin during his junior year at Rutgers. They were pretty surprised that he exploded the way he did once he got to college. It is interesting that we got two centers back to back who exceeded their expectations coming out of high school to such an extent. I have been waiting for us to find the formula again for a long time.

 

[tgm1069]

Man, if only we were a founding member of the Big East... what could've been...

Fred tied RU to Penn State and Joe P. When the Big East came knocking twice Fred stayed firm with Penn State. I remember Tom Young was very much against it. We gave up being the top BB team in the east in the late 70s to stay loyal to Penn State and a dream of an all sports eastern league. We all know the rest of the story

 

[RU96inNC]

Any way to watch this online? Thru BTN?

 

[78CollegeAve]

I remember meeting some of his classmates at Cambridge Latin during his junior year at Rutgers. They were pretty surprised that he exploded the way he did once he got to college. It is interesting that we got two centers back to back who exceeded their expectations coming out of high school to such an extent. I have been waiting for us to find the formula again for a long time.

Bailey didn't go to Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Maybe thinking of Patrick Ewing?

Bailey went to Xaverian. Suburban parochial outside Boston, more of a football school than hoops.

 

[78CollegeAve]

B!G network.

Love him or hate him....not hiring him / developing a relationship with him was just
plain STUPID!

I saw him tear up when he was discussing taking the Detroit job. He wanted Rutgers...but we're like Groucho: seems like we never take anyone who would actually be successful and wanted to be at Rutgers (GS is an exception, not the rule).

He recruited Sellers. He was a top 5 recruiter NATIONWIDE. IMO Rutgers could have been UConn or the UCLA of the East:except it seems we never fail...to fail.

MO
PS I'm not knocking Pikiell...this is about a decision made 40 years ago by Freddie G. No-one ever accused him of being a visionary (for good reason). Think of the social / nationwide media capital we could have spent at our fingertips if Dickie got the job...and took Rutgers to PT, baby!

VItale wouldn't have won 100 games. He would have been out after a couple years for recruiting violations. Why do you think he shills for Calipari and Pitino? His kind of scum.

 

[80RU]

Bailey didn't go to Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Maybe thinking of Patrick Ewing?

Bailey went to Xaverian. Suburban parochial outside Boston, more of a football school than hoops.

You're right – – it was Xaveriian -- it was 100% James Bailey that we were discussing though --

 

[RUsince52]

You're right – – it was Xaveriian -- it was 100% James Bailey that we were discussing though --

When we recruited him, he was a 6'9"" center and that was something we usually never were able to pick up in those days. Pretty good defensively as a shot blocker, but very little offense. However, he had good athletic moves and developed good shots around the basket. Probably would have been better early in his career if dunking was allowed. Definitely the backbone of the defense and created so many opportunities for our press. He could also run the court.
All the pieces just fit perfectly for that one season.

 

[Kbee3]

When we recruited him, he was a 6'9"" center and that was something we usually never were able to pick up in those days. Pretty good defensively as a shot blocker, but very little offense. However, he had good athletic moves and developed good shots around the basket. Probably would have been better early in his career if dunking was allowed. Definitely the backbone of the defense and created so many opportunities for our press. He could also run the court.
All the pieces just fit perfectly for that one season.

That's the way I remember it. Bailey didn't need much of an offensive game. We ran lots and there was always Sellers in the half court offense. Plus that funky shot from Abdel Anderson.
What an easy team to root for.

 

[tgm1069]

You're right – – it was Xaveriian -- it was 100% James Bailey that we were discussing though --

When we recruited him, he was a 6'9"" center and that was something we usually never were able to pick up in those days. Pretty good defensively as a shot blocker, but very little offense. However, he had good athletic moves and developed good shots around the basket. Probably would have been better early in his career if dunking was allowed. Definitely the backbone of the defense and created so many opportunities for our press. He could also run the court.
All the pieces just fit perfectly for that one season.

Actually Bailey was not a great dunker-it was said he had small hands for a man his size and he had a hard time palming the ball. Hollis Copeland was the best dunker (if it was allowed at the time) on the team. He was great in the open court on a fast break.

 

[knights1212]

Bailey didn't have great offers. I believe his article in the Home News and the News Tribune (separate papers at that time) are in my scrapbook. I will have to check that later. As I recall James was offered by Tufts in Boston and perhaps a few other schools.

 

[knights1212]

Bailey was a super dunker. I think he had like 127 in one year and I think he had over 100 for 3 consecutive years after dunkig was allowed. I remember the ball being thrown way up in the air and his just slamming it home. One year he had more dunks than Louisville's entire team had and they were called the "doctors of dunk".

 

[wheezer]

I grew up in East Rutherford, and while I did
not have a lot of direct contact with him, I got bits of info here and there

the one thing I would say is that if he were made the head coach at RU he more than likely
would have been successful

but if you were to ask me I doubt he could have lasted as a 20 year head coach.... He had
some health issues, and he is/was one of the most intense coaches I have ever seen
I would have guessed he would have burned out one way or another after a few years.

just an opinion.... I still would have liked to see what he could have done here

 

[rubaseball78]

Actually Bailey was not a great dunker-it was said he had small hands for a man his size and he had a hard time palming the ball. Hollis Copeland was the best dunker (if it was allowed at the time) on the team. He was great in the open court on a fast break.

Dunking was not allowed during 75-76 season; Lew Alcindor rule. Rule changed before Bailey graduated because I remember sitting under the basket and watching his dunks.

 

[rubaseball78]

I grew up in East Rutherford, and while I did
not have a lot of direct contact with him, I got bits of info here and there

the one thing I would say is that if he were made the head coach at RU he more than likely
would have been successful

but if you were to ask me I doubt he could have lasted as a 20 year head coach.... He had
some health issues, and he is/was one of the most intense coaches I have ever seen
I would have guessed he would have burned out one way or another after a few years.

just an opinion.... I still would have liked to see what he could have done here

What year did you graduate? What part of town? I had him as coach and 6th grade teacher.

 

[wheezer]

I think we went through this a couple of years ago if I remember correctly. I graduated in 1968 and lived on the upper part of Washington place. I believe you did not live far from there. A couple of myfriends you might remember from that street were bill s and r cook. They were a year or two younger

 

[wheezer]

Vitals was the head coach when I was in high school

 

[Source]

Dunking was not allowed during 75-76 season; Lew Alcindor rule. Rule changed before Bailey graduated because I remember sitting under the basket and watching his dunks.

If I recall, during the stretch run of the 1975-76 undefeated season, there was one game where Rutgers and James Bailey were going to accept a technical foul when the game had long since been decided and allow "Jammin' James" a dunk. He did, they called it, and the fans went into delerium over the basket.