Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Playing In Basketball's Heart and Soul
December 12, 2016 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
Eagles to take on Auburn in the center of the great NYC basketball culture.
In many ways, New York City represents the heartbeat of America. It goes on for miles with a never-ending speed, a city that never sleeps. It's a city with great, big things, a place where buildings lift people's hopes for the heavens. Every day, millions upon millions of dreams wake up and blister at the speed of light.
Nothing in the world can compare to New York City's basketball culture. Playgrounds and blacktops stretch from the Bronx down to Staten Island, from Manhattan out to Brooklyn and Queens. Generations of players hone their skills on those streets, with heroes immersing themselves in immortality.
The list of names who played in the city is its own hall of fame. There's Bob Cousy, Red Auerbach, Lenny Wilkens, Pearl Washington, Connie Hawkins, Chris Mullin, Bernard King, Tiny Archibald, Satch Sanders
and Billy Cunningham. Lew Alcindor played for Power Memorial High School long before he became Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. There's a World B. Free and a Metta World Peace. Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn before he moved as a toddler to North Carolina.
At the center of the culture is Madison Square Garden. The home of the New York Knicks, the Garden represents the absolute brightest lights. Playing at MSG is to set foot in the sport's greatest cathedral. Winning there, no matter against the opponent, is to set a memory forever.
For college basketball, it represents a central bloodline. It hosts the preseason and postseason National Invitational Tournament, and it hosts the Big East Conference Tournament. St. John's has used the arena for selected home games. Through the years, that's allowed Boston College to descend and create a tradition marked inside basketball's modern Colisseum.
"MSG is truly the mecca of basketball and for us to be another in the line of BC teams to play there is special," Eagles head coach Jim Christian said. "I really think this is an experience our guys will always take with them."
Christian himself hails from Bethpage, N.Y., a town located in Nassau County out on Long Island. Located just miles from the Queens borough limits, it's a 30-mile drive to get to Manhattan and MSG in the center of New York's living breath. Growing up in the area gave him a chance to see not only the heroes of the Knicks but also the college heroes who competed on its hallowed floor.
"Growing up in New York, there was nothing more exciting than college basketball at the Garden," Christian said. "This is a chance for our team to take another step as we play in a truly special venue."
In 1969, the Eagles advanced to the NIT's Final Four, beating Army before losing to Temple in the championship game. They returned in 1974, when they lost to Utah in the semifinals before defeating Jacksonville in the Third Place Game. In 1988, they finished fourth after losing to both Connecticut and Colorado State in the NIT's final four. That doesn't include the annual trips during the Big East era, ones that twice ended in championship glory in 1997 and 2001.
The times are obviously different, with the Eagles no longer as part of the Big East and now more closely associated with the Tobacco Road schools in the ACC. It's a unique perspective, though, as a league originally based in the South now looks to take roots in the north. The ACC Tournament is now being held in Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center, an arena the Eagles already played in this year, and now it has a chance to continue a tradition set years ago.
"BC and the Garden have always been interlocked," Christian said. "Whether it was games at St. John's or the Big East Tournament, it is a place that BC has great history with. So for us to play here is very exciting, and it's something we will cherish."
No matter the opponent, and no matter the circumstances, the chance to play at Madison Square Garden is exactly that - a chance. The biggest star can step on the court and think about Michael Jordan's "Double Nickel" game against the Knicks, when he scored 55 points after returning from his first retirement. He can envision himself playing in a battle reminiscent of Pat Riley's Knicks against the Indiana Pacers. He can blur his eyes and think about Willis Reed hitting a hobbled shot, celebrating with Walt Frazier as the Knicks turned the Garden into the home of champions.
He can dream of the ghosts of Boston College past, and he can think of the battles waged between gritty kids who played the game with more heat and determination of any other players in the nation. Madison Square Garden is the place where dreams are made, and on Monday, it's a place where, for the players wearing maroon and gold, dreams will come true.
"We are just honored and humbled to be able to play in such a historic venue," Christian said. "The list of games and guys who have played at MSG is unbelievable. It is a game that we circled the moment the schedule came out."
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Nothing in the world can compare to New York City's basketball culture. Playgrounds and blacktops stretch from the Bronx down to Staten Island, from Manhattan out to Brooklyn and Queens. Generations of players hone their skills on those streets, with heroes immersing themselves in immortality.
The list of names who played in the city is its own hall of fame. There's Bob Cousy, Red Auerbach, Lenny Wilkens, Pearl Washington, Connie Hawkins, Chris Mullin, Bernard King, Tiny Archibald, Satch Sanders
and Billy Cunningham. Lew Alcindor played for Power Memorial High School long before he became Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. There's a World B. Free and a Metta World Peace. Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn before he moved as a toddler to North Carolina.
At the center of the culture is Madison Square Garden. The home of the New York Knicks, the Garden represents the absolute brightest lights. Playing at MSG is to set foot in the sport's greatest cathedral. Winning there, no matter against the opponent, is to set a memory forever.
For college basketball, it represents a central bloodline. It hosts the preseason and postseason National Invitational Tournament, and it hosts the Big East Conference Tournament. St. John's has used the arena for selected home games. Through the years, that's allowed Boston College to descend and create a tradition marked inside basketball's modern Colisseum.
"MSG is truly the mecca of basketball and for us to be another in the line of BC teams to play there is special," Eagles head coach Jim Christian said. "I really think this is an experience our guys will always take with them."
Christian himself hails from Bethpage, N.Y., a town located in Nassau County out on Long Island. Located just miles from the Queens borough limits, it's a 30-mile drive to get to Manhattan and MSG in the center of New York's living breath. Growing up in the area gave him a chance to see not only the heroes of the Knicks but also the college heroes who competed on its hallowed floor.
"Growing up in New York, there was nothing more exciting than college basketball at the Garden," Christian said. "This is a chance for our team to take another step as we play in a truly special venue."
In 1969, the Eagles advanced to the NIT's Final Four, beating Army before losing to Temple in the championship game. They returned in 1974, when they lost to Utah in the semifinals before defeating Jacksonville in the Third Place Game. In 1988, they finished fourth after losing to both Connecticut and Colorado State in the NIT's final four. That doesn't include the annual trips during the Big East era, ones that twice ended in championship glory in 1997 and 2001.
The times are obviously different, with the Eagles no longer as part of the Big East and now more closely associated with the Tobacco Road schools in the ACC. It's a unique perspective, though, as a league originally based in the South now looks to take roots in the north. The ACC Tournament is now being held in Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center, an arena the Eagles already played in this year, and now it has a chance to continue a tradition set years ago.
"BC and the Garden have always been interlocked," Christian said. "Whether it was games at St. John's or the Big East Tournament, it is a place that BC has great history with. So for us to play here is very exciting, and it's something we will cherish."
No matter the opponent, and no matter the circumstances, the chance to play at Madison Square Garden is exactly that - a chance. The biggest star can step on the court and think about Michael Jordan's "Double Nickel" game against the Knicks, when he scored 55 points after returning from his first retirement. He can envision himself playing in a battle reminiscent of Pat Riley's Knicks against the Indiana Pacers. He can blur his eyes and think about Willis Reed hitting a hobbled shot, celebrating with Walt Frazier as the Knicks turned the Garden into the home of champions.
He can dream of the ghosts of Boston College past, and he can think of the battles waged between gritty kids who played the game with more heat and determination of any other players in the nation. Madison Square Garden is the place where dreams are made, and on Monday, it's a place where, for the players wearing maroon and gold, dreams will come true.
"We are just honored and humbled to be able to play in such a historic venue," Christian said. "The list of games and guys who have played at MSG is unbelievable. It is a game that we circled the moment the schedule came out."
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