Streamers
Professor
Posts: 8141
Loc: NW Philadelphia
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-03-18 01:15 PM - Post#245814
Let's reopen the debate of which team was better: 77-78 or 78-79? I have heard P38's opinions on this many times, but I am curious as to what the others on the board who saw both teams think. From where I sit, the 78 team had:
- Keven McDonald, the best player I ever saw in a Pennsylvania (not Penn) uniform in terms of sheer ability. A potential 1 and done talent in today's game had he been 2 inches taller.
- (Go) Stan Greene, one of our best floor generals ever
- Tom Crowley, a senior who just did a lot of things really well
The 79 team had:
- A much larger role from Booney Salters who stepped right in for Greene
- Vincent Ross, who went on to have a solid career and whose contribution often gets overlooked
Ken Hall, another solid player who gave them great minutes off the bench
- Another year of experience for Weinhauer with more time to put in his stuff with this team
- Much better luck, especially in the Dance.
Thoughts?
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32680
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: In honor of today's festivities.. 02-03-18 01:42 PM - Post#245818
In response to Streamers
Well, Penn was up and should have beaten Duke, which went to the Final Game in '78. Nuff Said---we had a much better chance of beating the Jack Givens Kentucky team than Magic, Bird or Aguirre (although we gave them a helluva battle)
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10Q
Professor
Posts: 23193
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-03-18 07:52 PM - Post#245871
In response to palestra38
I saw that Kentucky team in person. They were terrific.
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weinhauers_ghost
Postdoc
Posts: 2125
Age: 64
Loc: New York City
Reg: 12-14-09
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02-03-18 10:13 PM - Post#245965
In response to 10Q
I saw that Kentucky team in person. They were terrific.
Rick Robey, Mike Phillips and Kyle Macy were their other key players, am I right?
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10Q
Professor
Posts: 23193
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-03-18 10:19 PM - Post#245968
In response to weinhauers_ghost
You got it.
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Ancient Quaker
Masters Student
Posts: 647
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: In honor of today's festivities.. 02-04-18 12:29 PM - Post#246035
In response to palestra38
I agree with P38. 77-78 was better.
If Crowley hadn't made two horrible decisions in a row, challenging Mike Gminski at the rim when we were up 8 late in the second half, that team had a solid shot at winning it all.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32680
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: In honor of today's festivities.. 02-04-18 12:38 PM - Post#246039
In response to Ancient Quaker
I was at the ceremonies yesterday before the game (including the Alumni game, which Steve Danley ended with a 65 foot swish) and every '78 grad there (McDonald, Crowley and of course "Go Stan Greene") is certain that the '78 team was better
Of note; McDonald said we lost to Duke because the refs called 2 questionable fouls against him early in the first half, taking him out of the game for the entire half (after putting up 37 against Bonaventure), Crowley thought the sequence at the end of the first half where we had the ball up 2 and missed a front end of a 1 and 1 followed by two turnovers so that Penn went in down 4 might have been the difference and Booney thought he should have been in there with the ball in the key sequence with the 3 rejections (2 by Crowley and 1 by Willis).
But it was great seeing all these guys and reminiscing, especially on the 40th anniversary of the Blizzard of '78 and the trip to the frozen tundra of Yale and Brown.
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SteveChop
PhD Student
Posts: 1150
Reg: 07-28-07
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Re: In honor of today's festivities.. 02-04-18 03:05 PM - Post#246066
In response to palestra38
Agree with you that it was fun reminiscing with those guys yesterday. As I said to my wife, while I'm older than those guys, they were my idols as a BBall fan and it was fun to look back on some great times together. Keven remains (and I told him so) my favorite Penn player of all time - and like many of you, I've seen a lot of them as the 70-71 team are my classmates (perhaps that's why I don't think of THEM as my idols). The evening win just capped off a great day of festivities and BBall at the Palestra, the place for making memories (and not disco music).
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Quakers03
Professor
Posts: 12480
Reg: 12-07-04
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02-04-18 03:25 PM - Post#246074
In response to SteveChop
Did anyone see Bilsky? Did he not have a relationship with those guys?
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32680
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-04-18 04:35 PM - Post#246089
In response to Quakers03
Bilsky was not there, although Stan Greene did give him some props for getting our physical plant into shape.
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SteveChop
PhD Student
Posts: 1150
Reg: 07-28-07
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02-04-18 07:42 PM - Post#246113
In response to Quakers03
These guys mostly played at Penn when Bilsky was playing in Israel and assistant coach to Harter at Oregon though I’m sure he developed relationships with many of them over the intervening years and when he was AD at Penn.
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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02-04-18 08:25 PM - Post#246120
In response to SteveChop
Bilsky was my academic advisor my freshman year, which was 76-77. He was on campus at least for the final two years of McDonald, Crowley, and Greene. I was already aware of his absence from the Palestra this season prior to last night's ceremonies.
Is he still director of the Big 5? I wonder what's going on.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32680
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-04-18 08:33 PM - Post#246122
In response to LyleGold
No, he departed sometime after last season, although there was no announcement.
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