Former UConn MBB Coach Fred Shabel Passed Away

[WrenchFan69]

 

[AZHuskiePop]

72-29 three NCAA appearances including a final 8 .
Coached the Wes and Toby era teams
That’s an Excellent record .
After JC and Hugh Greer , probably the third best coach in our history

 

[UCTitleTown]

72-29 three NCAA appearances including a final 8 .
Coached the Wes and Toby era teams
That’s an Excellent record .
After JC and Hugh Greer , probably the third best coach in our history

Well, Kevin Ollie has a National Championship.....

 

[uconngb]

Well, Kevin Ollie has a National Championship.....

He who shall not be named

 

[ucp990411]

Fred Shabel was the coach when I fell in love with the Huskies. Back then (I was about 8) I thought Red Auerbach, John Wooden and Fred Shabel were the Holy Trinity of basketball coaches.

 

[TRest]

72-29 three NCAA appearances including a final 8 .
Coached the Wes and Toby era teams
That’s an Excellent record .
After JC and Hugh Greer , probably the third best coach in our history

Why did he stop coaching?

 

[superjohn]

Fred Shabel's son Alan stayed with my family for a week or two when I was a young teenager. Super nice guy who had some good stories about his dad at UConn. Fred Shabel was wildly successful.

 

[UCTitleTown]

He who shall not be named

My bad.

 

[cohenzone]

Shabel’s 4 years were my 4 years. Our freshmen class of Bialosuknia, Holowaty, Penders, Ritterr, Thompson and Curran all were varsity starters at various times. Easily the best class until the 90s with maybe the Corny Thompson class an exception. It didn’t hurt Shabel to inherit Toby Kimball. If you happened to see Shabel around campus he always eaved and smiled. RIP.

 

[Excalibur]

Why did he stop coaching?

Took an AD job.

 

[Dove]

Rest in Peace, Fred.

 

[cohenzone]

Took an AD job.

I actually think he left to become a director of the Philly Spectrum Corp.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Fred Shabel was the coach when I fell in love with the Huskies. Back then (I was about 8) I thought Red Auerbach, John Wooden and Fred Shabel were the Holy Trinity of basketball coaches.

Nearly identical for me, with one amusing distinction: two of your Holy Trinity were among my earliest Jewish sportsworld heroes. It was meaningful when I could add a different Angeleno at the top of his game, Sandy Koufax.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Shabel’s 4 years were my 4 years. Our freshmen class of Bialosuknia, Holowaty, Penders, Ritterr, Thompson and Curran all were varsity starters at various times. Easily the best class until the 90s with maybe the Corny Thompson class an exception. It didn’t hurt Shabel to inherit Toby Kimball. If you happened to see Shabel around campus he always eaved and smiled. RIP.

That class was SO memorable. As I recall it, Holowaty brought the highest expectations and Wes B. was somewhat of a surprise. Then again, I was a kid who'd only started joining my dad for games a year or two before, when Ed Slomcenski (sp?) and Toby Kimball played together. I think we made more of an effort to arrive early enough to see that recruiting class in yhe separate Frosh game before the varsity.

And were there two Ritter brothers, Al & Ron? It was a lot to absorb as an elementary schooler.

 

[ucp990411]

Yea they were brothers

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Fred Shabel rescued UC basketball after the 60's point shaving scandal, and the death of coach Hugh Greer. After taking over for George Wigton, Shabel turned the program into one of the best in New England. The list of the players of his program were memorable for those of us of that era. Toby Kimball, Wes, Holowaty, Penders, PJ Curran, Dan "Spider" Hesford, the Ritters, etc. Some ask WHY Fred left UC, after the playoff loss to URI in the late middle to late 60's. The story went that after UC lost the game, there were rep's from the NIT, which was still a huge post season tournament. Remember the NCAA was still only 32 teams, back then. UC was tendered an invitation to the NIT, but, then AD, J.O. Christian rejected it, remarking that it was either the NCAA's or nothing. It was rumored that Fred remarked that the UC program would never be national power, until this kind of thinking was gone. He headed for Penn as AD, and UC languished in the Eastern basketball backwater, for years until the late 70's, and the advent of the Big East. One can speculate that if Fred had stayed what would the basketball program have looked like. Think of the prime Connecticut talent that might have stayed, instead of heading to other programs. The list is impressive. Not saying that ALL of them would have stayed, but if Shabel continued to build the program, the possibilities are interesting to ponder. Names like Calvin Murphy, "Super" John Williamson, Soup Campbell, "Rocket" Rod Foster, Mike Gminski, Tom Roy, John Bagley, Sly Williams, Phil Luckett, John Pinone, and others. Yeah, what if. RIP Fred.

 

[cohenzone]

That class was SO memorable. As I recall it, Holowaty brought the highest expectations and Wes B. was somewhat of a surprise. Then again, I was a kid who'd only started joining my dad for games a year or two before, when Ed Slomcenski (sp?) and Toby Kimball played together. I think we made more of an effort to arrive early enough to see that recruiting class in yhe separate Frosh game before the varsity.

And were there two Ritter brothers, Al & Ron? It was a lot to absorb as an elementary schooler.

That class was responsible for students being charged a whopping 50 cents for tickets after my freshman year. They were so good that students, who only needed a student ID to get in, showed up early to watch the freshmen play (couldn’t play varsity then or jump to the league after making two baskets). As a result students sat everywhere in the lower deck of the fieldhouse they could including aisles so the university decided the next year to charge students in order to control the seating.

Holowaty, who became a successful baseball coach at ECSU, was the high scorer, not Wes B. on the freshmen team. But he injured his knee before soph year and while still good, was never quite the same.

 

[Excalibur]

I actually think he left to become a director of the Philly Spectrum Corp.

That's where he eventually ended up, but his first stop was AD at Penn, as mentioned.

 

[uconnric]

That's where he eventually ended up, but his first stop was AD at Penn, as mentioned.

He also brought in Bill Corley. After Shabel left, Burr Carlson couldn't keep the momentum going. Tough few years for UConn basketball until Dee Rowe showed up and turned things around. I think it was the '70-'71 season when he had Jim Valvano as the freshman team coach. Still remember the 1974 NIT when we upset St. John's but then blew a 17 point lead against BC to lose on a last second shot by Jay Berwanger at the Garden.

 

[Hugo]

Shabel’s 4 years were my 4 years. Our freshmen class of Bialosuknia, Holowaty, Penders, Ritterr, Thompson and Curran all were varsity starters at various times. Easily the best class until the 90s with maybe the Corny Thompson class an exception. It didn’t hurt Shabel to inherit Toby Kimball. If you happened to see Shabel around campus he always eaved and smiled. RIP.

We were in the same class. Shabel actually came to our dorm to introduce himself and we all had a Q and A session with him. Great guy, great coach and a group of us always went to the frosh game to see his group of recruits. Fun times.

 

[gtcam]

Got to know Coach Fred through my Dad and Walt Dropo in the mid 60's - Greta guy and really good coach
One of my biggest thrills was meeting Wes B the night he went into the national soring pct lead after a huge game vs U of New Hampshire
RIP Coach