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Message: [QUOTE="mauconnfan, post: 2476694, member: 489"] [I]The Marist Athletic Department including the men's basketball program transitioned up to the Division I level before the 1981-1982 season. In response to the competitive landscape the program encountered in division I for basketball recruits Marist became one of the first college programs to recruit players from overseas. This strategy worked and Marist was able to attract very talented international players to Poughkeepsie. This led to unprecedented on the court success and national recognition for the school. The most successful Marist men's basketball teams played in the mid-1980s and were composed mostly of players from Europe and [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada']Canada[/URL]. They were led by future 1st round selection and NBA All-Star [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rik_Smits']Rik Smits[/URL] who was originally from the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands']Netherlands[/URL], also on those teams was Rudy Bourgarel and Alain Forestier from [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France']France[/URL], Peter Krasovec from [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary']Hungary[/URL], Curtis Celestine from Canada and Serbian player [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Pecarski']Miroslav Pecarski[/URL].[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marist_Red_Foxes_men%27s_basketball#cite_note-2'][2][/URL] At the time, Pecarski was considered by some to be Europe's top 17-year-old player, but he was injured in the preseason, creating an opportunity for Smits.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marist_Red_Foxes_men%27s_basketball#cite_note-3'][3][/URL][/I] [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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