First game | Page 2 | The Boneyard

First game

[insert obligatory “the Field House was awesome“ post here]
 
1963/64 season. Beat New Hampshire. I remember Bill DellaSala heaving one in from 3 quarter court at the end of the half but it didn’t count. Just after the buzzer.
got there early to see the impressive freshman team beat Brown. Bialosuknia wasn’t the best player. It was Holowaty!
 
Fairfield at the Field House, we win by a point. I was hooked.
 
March 20th, 1989, vs the Cal Bears at the Hartford Civic Center, NIT 2nd round.

The Huskies staged an amazing comback down 10 with less than 5 minutes to play to win 73-72.

Thus began the most improbable yet magical 30 year fan experience one could ever hope for.
 
It was as a kid in the early 90s. I don't remember the first specific opponent I saw.
 
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January of '81 at the Civic Center. Corny Thompson hit a foul line jumper at the end to beat a good St. Johns team on an ECAC game of the week . I was a senior at Trinity, and had just gotten into UConn law that week. (Did not go to UConn law, but went to Yale Law where I had the two game a year at New Haven Coliseum "season" tickets.
 
1960, don’t remember any of it. Carlson was good point guard, Dale Comey was super long range shooting 6th man. Not sure there was a real center.
Point shaving scandal was that year?
 
Went to my first game in 2004 with my dad. I don't remember who they played but I know they won and that I was enamored by Josh Boone. I don't think it was a Big East game.

First game while a student was the 2012 home opener against UVM.
 
Versus Seton Hall in 83 in the old Fieldhouse. PJ was the head coach of the Pirates.
 
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‘89 - I was a young buck and went with my friend and his dad. I don’t remember who they were playing (I think it might’ve been St. John’s), but I do remember the electricity of the Hartford Civic Center being unlike anything I had ever experienced before and have been a big fan ever since.
 
Kathy said:
Great game - Lyman DePriest defense
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Ricky Moore was a better defender than Lyman DePriest. Some Centers -- Okafor and Thabeet -- were better defenders than Lyman DePriest. Scott Burrell was probably a better defender than Lyman DePriest. I have never seen a game changed more on one defensive foul than Lyman DePriest changed that game against BC at MSG. He ran through one perfectly good screen, obliterating the screener, got called for a foul, and Dana Barros couldn't get anyone to screen for him the rest of the night.
 
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63/64. One of my high school teammates was real good so got to go see a game at field house as a hanger on during his recruiting. UConn had tall guys, Toby Kimball wasn't the tallest, there was another kid (think name Slomsenski?) who was taller.
What I remember is sitting on end under the basket and there was a rope netting so if players over ran out of bounds they wouldn't get hurt.
My buddy ended up going to BCU, guess you couldn't turn down Bob Cousy could you?
 
businesslawyer said:
Ricky Moore was a better defender than Lyman DePriest. Some Centers -- Okafor and Thabeet -- were better defenders than Lyman DePriest. Scott Burrell was probably a better defender than Lyman DePriest. I have never seen a game changed more on one defensive foul than Lyman DePriest changed that game against BC at MSG. He ran through one perfectly good screen, obliterating the screener, got called for a foul, and Dana Barros couldn't get anyone to screen for him the rest of the night.
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Lyman DePriest is the toughest player ever that wore the national flag blue. Jake is second.
 
John Greene said:
If you grew up in central CT old is remembering Bob Steele announce the school snow closings in WTIC.

Don't remember much about first game but I do remember that Bialosuknia seemed to hit everything he threw up that night.
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I first listened to Bob Steele in the mid 1960's while at UConn, but I just read that he started out on the radio in 1943 and worked until 1991, the year he died. My roommate from New Britain and his parents raved about him.

Sort of a throwback type maybe like a Will Rogers type. New Haven had Ron Rohmer at WELI as the nearest thing to him.
 
businesslawyer said:
Ricky Moore was a better defender than Lyman DePriest. Some Centers -- Okafor and Thabeet -- were better defenders than Lyman DePriest. Scott Burrell was probably a better defender than Lyman DePriest. I have never seen a game changed more on one defensive foul than Lyman DePriest changed that game against BC at MSG. He ran through one perfectly good screen, obliterating the screener, got called for a foul, and Dana Barros couldn't get anyone to screen for him the rest of the night.
Expand ...
Lyman was great defensively in the semifinal, but watching Phil Gamble score 25, including five 3’s, the following night… that’s what I remember most.
 
January 1984 Hartford Civic Center vs Pat Ewing and Georgetown (national champs that year). I was a sophomore in high school and was only at the game because my high school - New Canaan which was ranked 3rd in the state was playing #1 ranked Harding before the UConn / Georgetown game. We stayed for the UConn game but I was really there for the high school game so besides Ewing, I don’t remember much from the UConn game. But I do remember the high school game and being in awe of Harding’s Charles Smith (future BE POY for Pitt and NBA lottery pick). He was unstoppable and Harding big time kicked our butz!!
 
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Early- or mid-90s at the Civic Center against Kansas. Pretty sure KU won, but it was cool nonetheless. Place was electric.
 
November 2000 at the Civic center against Brown. I was in 7th grade and it was a school night.
 
No clue. It would have been one of the Corny Thompson, Mike McKay era games at the Civic Center with my dad when I was in high school. From the awful roof box seats. Maybe 1979 or 1980. I’m not sure how people remember the specifics of things like this.
 
ucp990411 said:
Lyman DePriest is the toughest player ever that wore the national flag blue. Jake is second.
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Jake? How so?
 
ucp990411 said:
Watch games from 98-99. Jake was the enforcer on that team. I endearingly say he was a thug.
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I will. I don't remember it, but it's been a while since I've watched those games.
 
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January 2010 against Marquette at XL. I remember Jimmy Butler was at the line the entire game. Kemba, Dyson and Sticks played well, but Butler hit the game-winner in the last few seconds.
 
Kathy said:
The picks he set were amazing. Like trying to dribble through a brick wall.
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Good point, his screens were an underrated part of the offense.
 
1st game listening on radio 1973 season Tony Hanson, Al Weston, John Thomas and team.

1st Game live 1986 a UConn loss to UHart 48-49. Cliff Robinson, Jeff King, Tate George and team.
 
My first game at Field House was 77-78 season. Transferred from (West) Hartford Branch out to Storrs that year. Tony Hanson had graduated, so Joey Whelton Jeff Carr and Jim Abromaitis were the big stars. Randy Lavigne was a pitcher on the baseball team and a good sixth man for the hoop team. I think it was a victory over New Hampshire early in the season. What a long strange trip it’s been since those days.
 
I was so young I can't even recall. Probably just learned how to walk. That's how invested I am in this program - been bleeding blue since I was two.
 
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