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Post by timholycross on Jan 19, 2018 21:30:24 GMT -5
From a Dan Shaughnessy Tweet from yesterday:
Tomorrow night at Ron Perry Gym in West Roxbury, Catholic Memorial will retire Ron Teixeira's no. 52. I remember CM and Teixeira playing Lew Alcindor's Power Memorial in 1965. Alcindor went on to become Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 19, 2018 21:32:55 GMT -5
Congratulations to Ron Why didn’t Dan give the result of that game ? I hope Ronnie and Mike Vicens have had their jerseys retired already.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 20, 2018 0:25:12 GMT -5
Congratulations to Ron Why didn’t Dan give the result of that game ? I hope Ronnie and Mike Vicens have had their jerseys retired already. Just young Ronnie. Only him and Tex.
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Post by hc87 on Jan 20, 2018 1:46:05 GMT -5
They have banners for all 3...played there in the tournament last year. Bandbox of a gym.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Jan 20, 2018 7:18:24 GMT -5
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Post by hchoops on Jan 20, 2018 7:29:16 GMT -5
No fact checker on Tex’s college coach
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 20, 2018 9:36:01 GMT -5
Sad the way it worked out at HC for him and for HC basketball.
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Post by possum on Jan 20, 2018 10:25:19 GMT -5
Agree rgs expectations were through the roof for that team and it just didn't work out, probably one of my biggest disappointments following HC basketball.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 20, 2018 13:37:54 GMT -5
Kind of ironic that the issue with Tex seemed to be with him playing forward rather than center (where Donahue went with Hochstein), considering for the most part the center position as it was defined then, hardly exists any more.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 20, 2018 22:06:21 GMT -5
Tex did not like playing with his back to the basket
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Post by DiMarz on Jan 24, 2018 20:29:34 GMT -5
He will not talk about his HC days. I ran into him a while back, just shook his head when I mentioned HC. Hasn’t Been back on campus...He recently retired from a business he owned in Spencer, selling and servicing water filtration systems..Nice guy to talk with!
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Post by hchoops on Jan 24, 2018 21:43:29 GMT -5
In the two years we overlapped, he was hot happy at HC
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Post by hc87 on Jan 24, 2018 22:06:33 GMT -5
It's an odd story though, no? Wouldn't he have looked to transfer to any numbah of schools if he still had a passion for playing hoop? Whatevah...to each his own, but have always found it odd.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 24, 2018 23:36:18 GMT -5
Never knew him directly but perhaps my best friend/classmate of mine, since deceased, got to know him when they took an Italian class together and the story he was told by Ron was that he felt that basketball was simply taking too much of his time and he felt affected his grades in which he took great pride.
I have no idea if that story was true but I heard it contemporaneously with him quitting the team, not long after the fact. I know at the time I did not believe it.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 24, 2018 23:39:18 GMT -5
That is what he told people
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Post by Xmassader on Jan 25, 2018 1:20:01 GMT -5
After playing only 27 games in his varsity career at HC (none after the second game of his jr. yr.), he was drafted by the Oakland Oaks of the ABA. After he left the team, he would workout at the fieldhouse and lift weights with a heavy leather waist belt similar to those used by the competitors in The World’s Strongest Man competition.
There was an extensive article about him in the Worcester Magazine about 25 yrs. ago—a “where have they gone” piece. I believe that the article said that he was a graduate of Harvard Business School and, for a time, the Financial VP of the Norton Company, certainly accomplishments which would support his espoused interest in his grades and academics while at HC.
He was the second string Parade Magazine All American center from Catholic Memorial HS in the year (1965) that Lew Alcindor was first team—perhaps along with RP Jr. the highest rated recruit to come to HC in the last 50+ yrs. He was an effective shot blocker and rebounder but had small hands for a person of his size and had limited shooting range.
Always felt that if RP Sr. (who may have been his HS coach at CM) or George Blaney had been his coach at HC, he would have played out his 3 yrs. on the varsity and been more successful. Don’t think that he and Jack Donohue saw eye to eye and certainly Teix (as would anyone) paled in comparison to Alcindor.
As the posters of my vintage know, the UCLA-HC game at MSG in 1968 was scheduled as a potential marquee rematch of Alcindor and Teixeira who had squared off once in high school and had then been part of the top 2 freshmen teams in the country in 1965-66. But, as we know, the rematch never occurred.
In the last 50+ yrs. of HC sports, Teixeira’s departure and the “real” reasons for it remain one of the biggest “mysteries”.
In years past, I used his “story” a number of times when speaking to prospective recruits and their families—indicating that, while his career on the court undoubtedly fell short of his and others expectations, he nevertheless graduated in 4 yrs. with a degree that meant something and provided him with the start to grad school and business success. In short, the message to the prospective student athlete is that, no matter how disappointing your career at HC on the court may turn out to be vis-a-vis your expectations (because of injuries, playing time issues, etc.) you’ll still walk away in 4 yrs. with a degree and alumni support that will benefit you for the rest of your life.
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Post by possum on Jan 25, 2018 7:09:08 GMT -5
Yeah there was a lot of conjecture that Tex didn't get along with Donohue leading RPSr to say he would never send another kid to HC as long as Donohue was the coach.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 25, 2018 7:16:19 GMT -5
Outstanding post, XMass!
I heard the same thing about his workouts and that his biceps were huge. If you recall, most of us disappointed fans heard a rumor that Ron was "intimidated" by the expected re-match against Alcindor at MSG and that was the "real" reason he quit the team.
While the the game against UCLA was a loss, the team acquitted themselves well as the Bruins had lost their prior game to Houston and their #1 ranking and out to destroy us and all future opponents were something like 50+ point underdogs and lost by only about half of that.
Yes, I was there and among those booing Lew in his return home to NY (pretty much just us Crusader fans who made his Homecoming unwelcome).
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Post by Xmassader on Jan 25, 2018 8:32:18 GMT -5
sader1970—was there at MSG as well and, considering the height and talent disadvantage, the team acquitted itself well, particularly in view of the fact (as you pointed out) that we had the “good fortune” to play UCLA in the first game after UCLA’s only loss in Alcindor’s 3 varsity seasons. I seem to remember a picture in the 1968 yearbook that showed a picture of the scoreboard. HC 4 UCLA 2. At least we didn’t trail wire to wire 😊
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Post by hchoops on Jan 25, 2018 9:10:55 GMT -5
Tex’s classmate Ed Siudut was very underrated coming in to HC and had a great career. It was not Tex’s fault that he was very overrated coming out of CM where Perry sr was his coach. He should not have ever been compared to Alcindor Xmassader points out his weaknesses accurately. (70, not all HC supporters booed Lewie at the Garden)
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 25, 2018 10:11:22 GMT -5
Hoops, of course you didn't "boo Lew." Not normally what I do/did either. I didn't even boo Cousy at the Auditorium when he was there coaching BC as my classmate, now cardiologist classmate did. However, made an exception for Lew as he did not go to HC but instead went to UCLA. Now, don't go off on how he was never coming to Holy Cross as I already know that and know the story. He should never have even visited the campus (yeah, it was a formality due to Donahue having been his high school coach and he wasn't too wild about Jack).
Unlike Ewing who was reportedly as dumb as a sack of rocks, Lew was a smart kid and, at the time, a Catholic. HC would have been a great choice for him.
Lew was perhaps the most dominating college player history. More impactful probably than Jordon, Bird, Magic or Doctor J. Had he come to HC, not saying Jack was in the same ballpark as the Wizard of Westwood, but have little doubt that we would have been vying for a national championship for years had Lew come to Mt. St. James. The level of recruits who would have come to HC to play on the same team with Lew would have rivaled what UCLA had.
Besides, our booing was just good preparation for his NBA career. We couldn't even use the "you, you, you . . . . ON YOU!" because no one even thought about that chant in those days and also, I am not even sure he got any fouls in that game - he didn't need to.
The good news was he didn't dunk on Hochstein (this is a trick comment that I am sure hoops will jump on).
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jan 25, 2018 10:14:30 GMT -5
Those of us of a certain age know why he did not dunk....
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Post by hchoops on Jan 25, 2018 10:27:25 GMT -5
Hoops, of course you didn't "boo Lew." Not normally what I do/did either. I didn't even boo Cousy at the Auditorium when he was there coaching BC as my classmate, now cardiologist classmate did. However, made an exception for Lew as he did not go to HC but instead went to UCLA. Now, don't go off on how he was never coming to Holy Cross as I already know that and know the story. He should never have even visited the campus (yeah, it was a formality due to Donahue having been his high school coach and he wasn't too wild about Jack). As his player, Lew respected Jack Donohue. Once he was at UCLA he was quoted as saying some negative remarks about Jack. Lew -Kareem later changed that opinion. As I have previously written here, I was at the NYC memorial for Jack. The only eulogist was Kareem. He spoke eloquently for around 10 minutes about “Mr. Donohue” and never mentioned basketball, only the influence that his coach had upon him in his development as a man.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 25, 2018 11:06:16 GMT -5
Yes. But I think you are confirming my point. There was some, shall we call it "friction," between them that may or may not have had anything to do with his not coming to Holy Cross but have heard that there was a reconciliation but that was long after he decided to go to UCLA. As he matured, Kareem probably looked back at the relationship from different eyes than as a high school kid. Always good to see that kind of growth. Kind of like learning not to "boo" an opposing player or coach. Going down memory lane, again, posted on the old board was the recollection of some that in the olden days when freshmen could not play varsity ball, they used to rate the freshmen recruits/teams and if memory serves, the Tex/Siudut freshmen team at HC was ranked 2nd to Lew's UCLA freshmen team. Had he come, a slam dunk that we would have had the considered best freshmen team that year.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 25, 2018 11:29:24 GMT -5
If there was any friction, doubtful, it had nothing to do with Lew not going to HC. We were never seriously considered.
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