53 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Anything and everything that is UMass Minutemen Basketball.
BR72
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Re: 45 years ago tonight! Original post

Post by BR72 » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:21 pm

I actually wrote the game story for the Collegian. Regrettably, I did not come close to doing the performance justice. It was certainly the best by a college player that I have ever witnessed in person. That was just a fabulous time to be on campus, protests notwithstanding, the Cage was electric, Leaman was the perfect coach and Julius was so modest and unassuming, especially when you consider where his career went. Such fond memories!

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LS71
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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:16 am

Posters were bringing some of the more recent positive UMass hoops memories.

This one still ranks #1 for me!

Happy 67th birthday, Julius!
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by daveyboy » Wed Feb 22, 2017 7:40 am

That win vs Syracuse was a beat down,never as close as the final score. That game seems like yesterday.
I always think of #32 serving up Wilson burger just off of half court by the scorer s table. Billy Smith
Was a fine player but on this night the good doctor was on the next level

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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by tom mclaughlin » Wed Feb 22, 2017 8:26 am

Happy Birthday to Julius ! That performance was one for the ages. The feeling inside the Cage was
electric and the players fed off the crowd. It was a fun time to play for UMass. There was a pride in the
program and we were proud to put that uniform on and go out and beat teams like Syracuse, BC, UConn
Harvard and URI. It was a family atmosphere and to this day we all keep in touch. UMass has a great history and some fine people have put on that uniform and Julius is the best. A great guy and an even better teammate!

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LS71
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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Wed Feb 22, 2017 9:41 am

^ Thanks for your post Tom.

Earlier in this thread you referred to Julius as being 'so humble and down to earth'. That brought another memory back to me.

I used to go the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement every year; from the years it took place at Chez Joseph in Agawam right on through the days it took place at the Springfield Civic Center. I've gotten some GREAT autographs over the years. This particular year, I want to say it was the night that he escorted Cheryl Miller the night she was inducted in 1995, Kevin McHale was there. I wanted his autograph but as I approached him I saw that he was surrounded by body guards. to get his autograph, I had to give my program to the body guard, who gave the program to Kevin to sign. Kevin gave the program back to the body guard, who then returned the program to me. As I made my way back to my table, I noticed Julius sitting at his. As I approached him, he pulled out a chair and said, "Have a seat."
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by daveyboy » Wed Feb 22, 2017 11:39 am

tom mclaughlin wrote:Happy Birthday to Julius ! That performance was one for the ages. The feeling inside the Cage was
electric and the players fed off the crowd. It was a fun time to play for UMass. There was a pride in the
program and we were proud to put that uniform on and go out and beat teams like Syracuse, BC, UConn
Harvard and URI. It was a family atmosphere and to this day we all keep in touch. UMass has a great history and some fine people have put on that uniform and Julius is the best. A great guy and an even better teammate!
I remember the Uconn game on their green court in Storrs.They had two pretty good guards
Boyd and Staak. They kept Uconn in the game til the end.Julius had a great game,but it was a total
team effort.Ultimately those 2 guys got shut down.

I let Julius borrow my Karmann Ghia on ocassion all 6 ft 6 and actually gave Tom Austin aride
to Swansea a few times.he fit in well also,another real gentleman,also a talented pitcher.

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Re: 46 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by 69MG » Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:18 am

Needed a place to post this. Hoping for a clean bill of health for Dr. J.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2197 ... spitalized

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LS71
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Re: 47 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:00 pm

This one still ranks #1 for me!

Happy 68th birthday, Julius! 8)
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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Re: 47 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by tom mclaughlin » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:21 pm

That game against Syracuse was something special and still brings back great memories. Julius did have a great game 36 points and 32 rebounds and it happened on his birthday but the real story about the game was the fans. The entire crowd sang happy birthday and stood the entire game. Fans were everywhere and had to be 4 or 5 deep sitting on the floor. The fans were part of that team and gave us such a rush you played for them. It hurts when I see and hear all the questions about the student support. The students were there for us and their support was awesome. Can’t explain the connection but it was there 47 years ago. Can’t wait til the students come back and the arena is filled with UMass fans. It was great to play for UMass and the fans in the Cage made it.
Happy Birthday to Julius and it’s good to see him doing well and back out there. Saw a tape of his family singing Happy Birthday last night and he looked happy. Saw him a month ago in Boston and he was doing well. Julius was always a great teammate and even after scoring 36 points and getting 32 rebounds he was so humble he never said a word about it. He just played and he loved the game and was a pleasure to play with.

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Re: 47 years years ago tonight! Original post

Post by DrG » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:23 pm

Hey, Dr. J's podcast cost Mark Cuban 600 grand. He's still got it!!

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LS71
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Re: 48 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:29 am

Time for my annual bump of this thread!

Happy 69th birthday, Julius! :D 8)
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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Quann
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Re: 48 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Post by Quann » Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:51 pm

My dad talks about this game at least once a year. Him and my mom were both there.

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Re: 48 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Post by Berkman » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:06 pm

I took one of my GE co-workers that had never been to a UMass game. He got so excited that over the years he would go to a game or two a year after that.

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LS71
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Re: 49 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Sat Feb 22, 2020 11:23 am

Time for the annual bump to honor the greatest player to wear a UMass uniform. Best wises to Julius on his 70th birthday!! 8)
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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LS71
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Re: 50 Years Ago Tonight! Original post

Post by LS71 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:47 am

The annual bump...this time for the big 50!
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving

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