UMass Basketball Family

Anything and everything that is UMass Minutemen Basketball.
Post Reply
tom mclaughlin
Junior
Posts: 283
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:49 pm
Location: Andover Ma

UMass Basketball Family

Post by tom mclaughlin » Fri Sep 09, 2022 3:49 pm

You can say all you want about UMass basketball and it’s ups and downs but I can let you know that having played UMass basketball in front of those loyal fans was an honor and today we had 11 former players from back in the 70’s that participated in a Zoom call and on it we all agreed that our UMass experience was the best. Guys like Al Skinner, Rick Vogeley, Charlie Peters, Chuck Olsen, Sam Provo, Dick Samuelson, Billy Endicott, Jim Town and last time we had a Zoom call with Julius Erving front and center talking about his love for UMass. There aren’t many universities where 50 years later teammates are still connected like it’s yesterday.
Out of respect we began our call remembering Peter Trow, Ray Ellerbrook, Ken Mathias, Tommy Austin, Alex Eldridge, John Murphy Jack Leaman, Ray Wilson, Dick Bresciani and Fr. Quigley. UMass has a proud history and we have some great people that have worn a UMass basketball jersey proudly.
We also talked about Mike Flanagan the MLB star that won the Cy Young for the Baltimore Orioles and how he decided to concentrate on baseball and left the door open for Rick Pitino to come back onto the squad after being kicked off the team for fighting.
I just wanted to share this so you know that playing for UMass Basketball is important to us and we have a lasting bond that brought us together over 50 years ago and made us teammates for life. I couldn’t find better people I’d want to be around. We talked about how we got degrees that allowed us to go out in the world and make something of ourselves and we are all proud to have graduated from UMass. We spoke about how we hope the current UMass players get to have the same great experience with a lot of wins and a great fan base. I walked away from todays call feeling fortunate to play with such great teammates and we were all proud to be UMass basketball players.

HerndonHops
Sophomore
Posts: 87
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2003 11:52 am

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by HerndonHops » Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:35 pm

Amazing post once again, Tom. Thanks for sharing and feel the same way about UMass.

HerndonHops
Sophomore
Posts: 87
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2003 11:52 am

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by HerndonHops » Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:36 pm

You also have stream of consciousness absolutely nailed.

capezona
Hall of Fame
Posts: 2801
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:59 pm
Location: Peoria, AZ and Dennisport, MA

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by capezona » Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:57 pm

Thoroughly enjoyed the post. Thanks. It's great that you stay connected with your teammates.

tom mclaughlin
Junior
Posts: 283
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:49 pm
Location: Andover Ma

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by tom mclaughlin » Fri Sep 09, 2022 8:20 pm

I’ve been fortunate to coach at great universities Stanford and Notre Dame and be part of their basketball programs and I have a son Tommy who played at Princeton another great university. These universities do a great job reconnecting with their athletes and keeping them involved but nothing is like what I experienced today. There is an unbreakable bond between the guys who played at UMass. We have stayed connected and are all involved in each other’s lives. We know what each other is doing. Since the Zoom call we have all exchanged numerous emails telling one another how good our Zoom call was and they are asking me to set up another one. It is unlike anything I have witnessed at Stanford or Notre Dame. UMass can be a special place and has some terrific things going for it.

tdmass
Senior
Posts: 1588
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:40 am
Location: Ormond Beach,Florida

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by tdmass » Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:20 am

Keep up the good work Coach Mac, this is what makes us all proud, we have great people here!

User avatar
LS71
Hall of Fame
Posts: 8083
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2003 8:55 pm
Location: Lost in Space

Re: UMass Basketball Family

Post by LS71 » Sun Sep 11, 2022 10:06 pm

Thanks for continuing to bridge the past with the present.

I was fortunate to be there as a a student during the late 60s/early 70s and have followed it closely ever since.

Posts like this are especially important for younger students/fans/alumni so they get a sense of the history and tradition of UMass hoops!
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

Post Reply