Visitors for First Night

[huskyrob1]

Harold Pressley too, don't forget. And Vinnie baker no one wanted. Also, we did land Earl Kelley and brought back Chuck Aleksinas after a transfer.

I knew I was forgetting someone, didn't Masimino get Jensen and Pressley the same year? I didn't forget Earl Kelley, a gifted player but Perno never could control him. Didn't Kelley get arrested for carrying a loaded gun on campus or something?

 

[sledog]

Other than Kemba, who showed?

 

[ucp990411]

Missed out on Ryan Gomes too.

Very much exaggerated he was so much a big miss. We got Emeka instead.

 

[Chief00]

I could be wrong but I thought as I recall, Calhoun got involved with the recruiting of Marcus Camby very late, and Calipari already had him pretty much locked up for UMass. So it was not that big a disappointment for JC.

UMass Assistant Coach had Marcus’s female Guidance Counselor/Advisor locked up!

 

[gtcam]

I knew I was forgetting someone, didn't Masimino get Jensen and Pressley the same year? I didn't forget Earl Kelley, a gifted player but Perno never could control him. Didn't Kelley get arrested for carrying a loaded gun on campus or something?

That's why I say that Earl Kelley was the greatest player in UConn history because of his gun incident it was the beginning of the end for Perno and the dawn of the JC era

 

[Chief00]

That's why I say that Earl Kelley was the greatest player in UConn history because of his gun incident it was the beginning of the end for Perno and the dawn of the JC era

Pretty much true, but Chief always liked Earl. His Howie impersonations were pure gold. Earl had like 30 points as I recall in a Spurs scrimmage but was cut the next day. Word on the street was he flunk a test.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

I knew I was forgetting someone, didn't Masimino get Jensen and Pressley the same year? I didn't forget Earl Kelley, a gifted player but Perno never could control him. Didn't Kelley get arrested for carrying a loaded gun on campus or something?

Earl's gun was an antique gun that no longer fired. After attending a party on campus, he was accused of stealing money belonging to the floor monitor that was sitting unsecured on a table. In retaliation for Earl's alleged theft, his gun was stolen. Earl and some friends visited the gun thief and demanded that he go with them and return the gun. The thief said, at first, that no threats were made, but his powerful father put pressure on the DA to prosecute. DA said that he had a weak case, but had no choice. After several, well-reported court appearances, Earl pleaded no contest and ended up with a conviction on his record. Things went downhill for Earl for some time after this.

 

[UConniki]

To JC's credit, before he came along UConn, missed out on a ton of in state talent, Rocket Rod Foster, John Pinone, Harold Jensen, Charles Smith, Soup Campbell, Chuck Alexinas (at first), Sly Williams, Michael Adams, Mike Gminski, John Bagley (who I knew btw). With the exception of course of Corny, Mike McKay, and Norman Bailey. IIRC Chris Smith was one of JC's first big in state recruits.

Don’t forget the great Calvin Murphy( I played against him at south catholic and we triple teamed him and he just destroyed us.)

 

[Scrutineer]

Don’t forget the great Calvin Murphy( I played against him at south catholic and we triple teamed him and he just destroyed us.)

Don't we all wish we could have been there for this game by Murphy?
"One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center."

"Before basketball, Calvin Murphy was a world-class baton twirler. He says he was "bullied into it" as his mother and all six of her sisters were twirlers.[1] As an 8th grader, in 1963, he won a national championship in baton twirling.[2] His reputation as a twirler earned him invitations to perform at major sporting events and the 1964 New York World's Fair.[3] In 1977, at the height of his basketball career in Houston, Murphy won the Texas State Men's Twirling Championship.[1]"

He played basketball for Norwalk High School, where he was All-State three times and All-America twice. He is a member of the Connecticut Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a Connecticut Sportswriters Gold Key Award winner.[2] Norwalk High School's address is now 23 Calvin Murphy Rd. in his honor.[3]

College (1967–1970)
Murphy attended Niagara University, where he was a three-time All-American. He scored 2,548 points in 77 games (33.1 points per game).[2]

One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center

 

[Scrutineer]

Don’t forget the great Calvin Murphy( I played against him at south catholic and we triple teamed him and he just destroyed us.)

There was a rumor at the time that academics kept him out of UConn and that Niagara gave him a scholarship for twirling, as part of their marching band. See my other post about his prowess as a twirler and his 33.1 ppg college average.

 

[Chief00]

Don't we all wish we could have been there for this game by Murphy?
"One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center."

"Before basketball, Calvin Murphy was a world-class baton twirler. He says he was "bullied into it" as his mother and all six of her sisters were twirlers.[1] As an 8th grader, in 1963, he won a national championship in baton twirling.[2] His reputation as a twirler earned him invitations to perform at major sporting events and the 1964 New York World's Fair.[3] In 1977, at the height of his basketball career in Houston, Murphy won the Texas State Men's Twirling Championship.[1]"

He played basketball for Norwalk High School, where he was All-State three times and All-America twice. He is a member of the Connecticut Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a Connecticut Sportswriters Gold Key Award winner.[2] Norwalk High School's address is now 23 Calvin Murphy Rd. in his honor.[3]

College (1967–1970)
Murphy attended Niagara University, where he was a three-time All-American. He scored 2,548 points in 77 games (33.1 points per game).[2]

One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center

Calvin was an unbelievable HS player.

 

[Chief00]

Earl's gun was an antique gun that no longer fired. After attending a party on campus, he was accused of stealing money belonging to the floor monitor that was sitting unsecured on a table. In retaliation for Earl's alleged theft, his gun was stolen. Earl and some friends visited the gun thief and demanded that he go with them and return the gun. The thief said, at first, that no threats were made, but his powerful father put pressure on the DA to prosecute. DA said that he had a weak case, but had no choice. After several, well-reported court appearances, Earl pleaded no contest and ended up with a conviction on his record. Things went downhill for Earl for some time after this.

As a Freshman, Cliff worshipped upperclassman Earl. But, Earl leaving and Calhoun coming is probably why Cliff made it to the NBA where he had a long, successful career. I admired Cliff for a situation. A woman had some paternity case going on against him after they broke up. While it turned out the kid wasn’t biologically his, he financially and otherwise took care of the kid anyways who he had developed a bond with - just not the mom.

 

[mauconnfan]

And in that same time period, Wes Matthews and John Garris.

And Jay Murphy. Was at one of Jays senior years games when Maloney was undefeated and there were coaches there from BC, Fairfield, Seton Hall, UMass and a little known assistant from UConn. Pernod nowhere to be found but my brother, a couple friends of mine we’re sitting near the Husky dude and his buddy. He said out loud “this kid has no shot to play in the Big East way too physical for him”lol. Nice call doubt he coached anywhere much after. Kevin Mackey then BC assistant for the W there for seeing a prospect who found a way in the Big East despite Dom and the boys scouting.

 

[Waquoit]

And Jay Murphy. Was at one of Jays senior years games when Maloney was undefeated and there were coaches there from BC, Fairfield, Seton Hall, UMass and a little known assistant from UConn. Pernod nowhere to be found but my brother, a couple friends of mine we’re sitting near the Husky dude and his buddy. He said out loud “this kid has no shot to play in the Big East way too physical for him”lol. Nice call doubt he coached anywhere much after. Kevin Mackey then BC assistant for the W there for seeing a prospect who found a way in the Big East despite Dom and the boys scouting.

That BCU team with Murphy went to the Elite Eight starting 4 kids from Connecticut, a couple of whom would have went to UConn if we recruited them. At the same time, UConn was an annual fixture in the Big East 8-9 game. But the AD had no problem with Perno until Kelley got busted.

 

[MattMang23]

Very much exaggerated he was so much a big miss. We got Emeka instead.

I took Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler. They’re not bad. Want me to say I f——- up? I f——- up. Write it.

 

[Hoophound]

Funny about Calvin Murphy twirling. This old guy in my hometown used to watch me shoot at the park sometimes and he’d always say, “Son, start lifting weights and get a baton to improve your ball handling, I know you think it’s for girls, but it works.” He must have been a Calvin Murphy fan. I thought he was just some crazy cheerleading fan.

 

[UconnAlum04]

Soo....first night?

 

[Huskybass]

Reading this thread made me think of a couple things since I played against Earl Kelley once and met Calvin Murphy.

1. Earl was a legit badass. He could score like few others, an immense talent. If I recall correctly, he averaged over 40 points per game one year at Wilbur Cross. We played pickup behind the Jungle one afternoon. Earl's team won by a score of 11-7 or something like that. I had the time of my life though playing against a guy with that level of talent.

2. Calvin Murphy was only about 5' 8" tall. He did some amazing things on a basketball court for a guy that small. Even with tremendous athleticism, Ryan Boatright couldn't stick in the NBA, yet Murphy who was even smaller carved out a career resulting in enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

 

[mauconnfan]

Reading this thread made me think of a couple things since I played against Earl Kelley once and met Calvin Murphy.

1. Earl was a legit badass. He could score like few others, an immense talent. If I recall correctly, he averaged over 40 points per game one year at Wilbur Cross. We played pickup behind the Jungle one afternoon. Earl's team won by a score of 11-7 or something like that. I had the time of my life though playing against a guy with that level of talent.

2. Calvin Murphy was only about 5' 8" tall. He did some amazing things on a basketball court for a guy that small. Even with tremendous athleticism, Ryan Boatright couldn't stick in the NBA, yet Murphy who was even smaller carved out a career resulting in enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

If Earl was a couple of years back with Corny, Mike and Chuck that team would've made some noise. Earl was great to watch, his creativity scoring the ball was 2nd to none in the history of our Huskies. Never a bad guy actually a good guy but made some bad decisions but still loves the Huskies, hangs out with Norm Bailey a lot to this day!

 

[Chin Diesel]

If Earl was a couple of years back with Corny, Mike and Chuck that team would've made some noise. Earl was great to watch, his creativity scoring the ball was 2nd to none in the history of our Huskies. Never a bad guy actually a good guy but made some bad decisions but still loves the Huskies, hangs out with Norm Bailey a lot to this day!

Stormin' Norman and Mike McKay were my first two "favorite" Huskies.

 

[bendm]

i've never heard of any of these people. i have heard of Javonte Brown Ferguson though. anyone else?

 

[huskyrob1]

Stormin' Norman and Mike McKay were my first two "favorite" Huskies.

Bailey brought down a couple backboards in practice and pickup games at the old field house with his jams.

 

[Waquoit]

Bailey brought down a couple backboards in practice and pickup games at the old field house with his jams.

I believe he was the recipient of the ESPN Dunk of the Year.

 

[ctchamps]

i've never heard of any of these people. i have heard of Javonte Brown Ferguson though. anyone else?

Hopefully someday you’ll have nostalgic memories that young farts will categorize you as an old fart. Statement expressed as a flutter blaster eh @FartMan69!

 

[Chin Diesel]

I believe he was the recipient of the ESPN Dunk of the Year.

I thought he was before ESPN was a thing.