tj
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 144
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Post by tj on Dec 29, 2023 23:40:07 GMT -5
Dan’s article today mentioned HC v UCLA game in Jan 68 at the Garden. I was there with several classmates. I remember Keith not backing down in the least against the big guy. He really could drive on anyone. Great game.
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Post by hchoops on Dec 30, 2023 8:52:43 GMT -5
Link to the article ?
For those who do not know, the Keith referred to is Keith Hochstein, ‘68.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 30, 2023 9:02:51 GMT -5
Yeah, we know who Keith is but who's this Alcindor guy? Was he Jack Donohue's adopted stepson? (for hoops, I'm kidding!).
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Post by 78purple on Dec 30, 2023 9:17:31 GMT -5
Yeah, we know who Keith is but who's this Alcindor guy? Was he Jack Donahue's adopted stepson? (for hoops, I'm kidding!). The Donohue-Alcindor stories are legendary....who knows how close HC really was to landing Alcindor ?? |
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Post by newfieguy74 on Dec 30, 2023 9:25:55 GMT -5
Yeah, we know who Keith is but who's this Alcindor guy? Was he Jack Donahue's adopted stepson? (for hoops, I'm kidding!). The Donohue-Alcindor stories are legendary....who knows how close HC really was to landing Alcindor ?? I have no personal knowledge, but I've read it wasn't really close. |
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Post by breezy on Dec 30, 2023 10:21:10 GMT -5
In my capacity as student manager of the HC basketball team, I was at the Madison Square Garden game against UCLA in January 1968.
I have many recollections of that game -- but sometimes wonder whether those memories are clouded by the passage of time.
I recall Al Stazinski hitting a jump shot to give HC an early 4-2 lead in the game.
I remember Alcindor initially was guarding Ed Siudut, and going out to challenge him when Ed got the ball in the corner. UCLA soon came to realize that Keith was the center, not Ed, and so Alcindor was defending against Keith for most of the game. I recall one sequence where Keith tried a layup that was blocked by Alcindor; Keith got the ball back and tried another layup that was also blocked, and then Keith got the ball again and maneuvered around Alcindor and made the layup.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 30, 2023 11:00:46 GMT -5
I was at that game at MSG as well, and likely almost all Crossporters who were students at the time, as this was "THE GAME" for the Crusaders as it was at MSG against what had been, and were to become again, the #1 team in the country after losing the game before to Houston dropping UCLA from #1 to #2 when we played them. It was the match-up of Alcindor against his former high school coach at Power Memorial. Somehow, as HC students we had seats behind one of the baskets but close to the court. breezy's memory is probably not fogged by years. While I remember Lew blocking Keith multiple times and Keith continuously trying, I don't recall the satisfactory end result. My takeaways were our guards playing the famed UCLA guards, who were both All-Americans (with Mike Warren later becoming a star on "Hill Street Blues") being played evenly, perhaps outplayed, by our guards. Keith was simply overmatched as were just about all college centers Lew played against but Elvin Hayes. Holy Cross has the dubious distinction of being the first team to play the Bruins after having lost their #1 national ranking. I also recall Alcindor's perplexed look with all the Holy Cross students/fans rooting against him during the game as he apparently saw this as a "homecoming game" for him. Holy Cross travels well.  The real disappointment among much of the HC student body was that Ron Teixeira, our 6'9" forward, had quit the team before the season and while he said it was because he wanted to focus on his studies (he told a Classmate buddy of mine who had classes with him), the rumors were two-fold: 1. Jack was insistent on Keith remaining as center and Ron thought that he should be the Crusader center and 2. Ron was "afraid" to have to play Lew. We'll never know but Keith, giving up 7-9 inches, as good as he was, would never do well against the best center in the country. |
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Post by hchoops on Dec 30, 2023 11:05:38 GMT -5
Alcindor played with a serious eye injury in the loss to Houston.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2023 11:10:20 GMT -5
I remember Ron's departure and was sad about it. Ron and Ed were great up front. On the current team they would have meant probably 8-9 more wins. That is more of a "what if" for me than Alcindor's possible addition to the team.
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Post by thecrossisback on Dec 30, 2023 11:12:54 GMT -5
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 30, 2023 11:16:41 GMT -5
I believe that Easy Ed had a vertical leap of about an inch and a half but between his 6'7" height and his uncanny ability to be at the right place, he was a very good rebounder. Keith at 6'4"-5" was an amazing rebounder and I am sure hoops or breezy will verify that Keith was something like the 3rd best rebounder in the country, I believe, his junior year and not sure where he ended after his senior year.
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Post by hchoops on Dec 30, 2023 11:27:39 GMT -5
Keith was among the top rebounders in the country during his sophomore(14.6), but not junior or senior seasons when Siudut also was a solid rebounder.
My memory of that UCLA game was closer to Breezy’s. I do recall Keith getting rejected twice on one possession before scoring, and competing admirably vs Alcindor the entire game.
Keith had 22 points of our 67. 8-12 ft.
Also I remember their backcourt of Allen and Warren(imo one of college hoops best of all time) thoroughly outplaying Al Stazinski and Jimmy Murray as they did almost every backcourt they played.
Jimmy was scoreless, Al had12.
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Post by mm67 on Dec 30, 2023 11:46:57 GMT -5
Those UCLA teams of the '60's - 70's were a joy to watch. I especially appreciated the Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard teams with Kenny Washington,etc. They played together like "five fingers on a hand' as described by Coach Wooden. Of course the later teams with Alcindor and later with Bill Walton were among the most talented in the history of college b-ball. Their string of championships says it all.
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