‘Fast Breaks, Finger Rolls and Fisticuffs’ – A review
For Mark Hostutler this was all about a labor of love. A basketball fanatic, Hostutler specifically loved the Big East Conference of ‘back in the day’. . The Monday night matchups, battles at the Carrier Dome, the tournament at the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena’- Madison Square Garden. He simply loves the game but reserves that special admiration for Big East basketball.
Hostutler played high school ball at Coatesville (Pa.) and later Elizabethtown College. The bounce of the ball and squeaking of sneakers on gym floors is music to his ears. He coached high school ball for a while at Coatesville before deciding to write about and chronicle the game he loves. “When I played at Coatesville,” Hostutler recalled ‘Rip’ Hamilton was a senior my freshman year. By my senior year John Allen was a freshman.” Hamilton went on to a fine career at UConn and in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons. “Back then it was hard to say ‘Rip’ would have the career he did,” Hostutler said, “But he could run all day long, moved well off the ball and had a mid range jumper. A lot of players even back then could not hit the mid range shot.” Allen went on to a solid Seton Hall career but back at Coatesville, “he (Allen) was a phenomenal high school player.”
The author was inspired by a documentary on the Big East. “ESPN did a great job with their 30 year history of the Big East,” Hostutler said. “But throughout the show they had interviews with coaches and administrators. I wanted to talk to the players. Those battling each night, what they felt and went through their minds.” Thus came the idea-talk to the players, get their view on the Big East and chronicle it all in a book.
He went about rounding up players the old fashioned way. “I do not have much of a social media presence,” Hostutler admitted, “so I contacted school SIDs and had very good results.” The idea was to present a cross section. From marquee players to role players and even a few little known reserves.
After roughly a year on the phone and in front of the laptop it came to fruition. In 2016 he released ‘Fast Breaks, Finger Rolls And Fisticuffs-Memories of Big East Basketball (Service of Change, LLC)’.
The focus was on the conference’s initial ten seasons. “As much as I still love the Big East it’s different today,” Hostutler admitted. “Back then you had Syracuse, BC (Boston College) and UConn in the mix.” Well, UConn is back which the author admits is a great move for both the school and conference but other issues abound. Simply, “Syracuse and BC belong in the Big East,” he said. “I can never think of Syracuse and BC in the Atlantic Coast Conference.”
Talking with the past players was enjoyable as it was insightful. “Some of these guys played professionally, in the NBA, or overseas,” Hostutler said. “But they always looked back and spoke with a fondness and great memory of their time spent in the Big East.”
The book starts with a section giving a biographical sketch of the players interviewed. Among the included were Danya Abrams (Boston College), Marques Bragg (Providence), Terry Dehere (Seton Hall), Phil Gamble (UConn), Michael Graham (Georgetown), Jerome Lane (Pitt), Felipe Loez (St. John’s), Lance Miller (Villanova), Lawrence Moten (Syracuse), Constantin Popa (Miami), Jerry Walker (Seton Hall) and John Wallace (Syracuse).
The remaining chapters are Q & A’s, sixteen in all, with the various players. The responses are entertaining and in some cases quite surprising.
It was a unique way to present a time period in historical context. Rather than recount scoring and rebounding totals there are references to games and specific events. All courtesy of those who engaged in these ‘94 by ‘50 battles. Among the sixteen questions for the players to ponder, there is a random selection of those questioned as not every player was offered every one of the questions. A few samples.
What was your “Welcome to the Big East moment?’
Bill Curley, Boston College: “When I got there , I was one of four freshman starters. We beat Providence in our first Big East game and didn’t win another the rest of the season….Welcome to the Big East.”
Who was the biggest trash talker? Terry Dehere of Seton Hall was by far the leader though a few cited Georgetown as having a few who could fill the bill. It was told that when teams broke huddle for the opening tip Dehere would say to the opposition “who’s got me?” On finding his defender the Seton Hall guard simply said. “Good, you’re getting lit up tonight.”
What opponent did you hate the most?
Rafael Addison, Syracuse: “I’d have to say St. John’s. There students were on you…nothing was off limits…Plus they had Chris Mullin. Outside he looked like he should be playing guitar with the Beatles, but inside, he wanted to take your heart out.”
John Wallace, Syracuse: “Playing at Syracuse you’re programmed to hate Georgetown.”
What did you really think of the Syracuse 2-3 zone?
Jerry Walker, Seton Hall: “It was a work of art. Coach Boeheim really mastered the zone and knew what type of player would fit in.”
On the player you would want to take the last shot in a close game the late Pearl Washington and Chris Mullin of St. John’s shared a majority of the mentions.
A ‘Q & A’ format can sometimes lead to brief answers. There were a few. Mostly, the players chose to elaborate and in some cases fashion their response into a story.
One of those questions centered on how a player was recruited. There were some interesting stories especially one from Earl Kelley. The former UConn star had a brother (Larry) who played for Syracuse and following a great visit to the school, told coach Jim Boeheim he was coming. Kelley wanted no announcement of his intention. He wanted to talk to his family and let the other schools recruiting him about his decision. During the week information leaked out that Kelley was headed to Syracuse. Upset, Kelley called Boeheim and informed him he was perturbed and would not be coming. Before the day ended Kelley recalled, there was a knock on the door and it was coach Beoheim. Kelley believed Boeheim was sincere saying the whole thing was an accidental leak of information. Kelley felt it was all too late. He visited UConn shortly after and cast his lot with the school in his home state.
Phil Gamble, when posed the question of a memory on or off the floor that stood out, spoke at length about “going from the bottom of the barrel to winning the NIT.”. The former UConn standout also spoke of the intensity and will to win that was Jim Calhoun. The Huskies just finished their first year under the new UConn coach being eliminated in round one of the Big East Tournament. A fired up Calhoun told his team in the post game locker room scene “we will never go 9-19 again. Never again!”
The next season Gamble recalled, UConn just got into the NIT. They seized the moment. In the final at Madison Square Garden, UConn, with Gamble draining several key threes, edged Ohio State to win the championship. Following the contest the team bussed back to Storrs and was greeted, around 4 am, by crowds of students in the midst of a wild celebration. As Gamble looked back on the moment saying , “winning the NIT was a big deal because they (UConn) hadn’t won anything before.”
A media member for nearly two decades, Hostutler has covered several sports with a special place in his heart for high school and college ball. The college side has seen opportunities to cover the NIT and the Atlantic Ten in Atlantic City. Interestingly the chance to cover the Big East at the Garden has never presented itself. Hostutler feels there will be nothing like the original Big East. A few of the charter members are still around and a week or even a few sessions of the conference tournament at venerable MSG would get the juices flowing and rekindle some memories of Big East Tournaments gone by.
For Mark Hostutler getting to a Big East Tournament has to happen. It would only be fitting in the eyes of the basketball Gods. His pages of insightful and entertaining reading brings back memories and also reveals his love of the game and a unique conference.