Best MU Hoops Memory

[groove]

I, too, was at the famous UNC-MU game.   What an atmosphere.   It is hard for me to choose a loss, even though it was the most exciting thing that happened while I was there.    The 77 championship was the second time my parents let me stay up late to watch a sporting event.  (Game 7, 75 World Series was first).    I was watching tv for the Doc Rivers shot.   Nothing, though, has impacted me like the 2003 Kentucky game.   The only time other than my children being born that I have cried as an adult.  

So you missed the end of Game 6 and Fisk's homer?

[Mr. Nielsen]

#2 for me is Feb 3, 2002. MU beats #4 Cincy 74-60, we stormed the court, carried D Wade off on our shoulders with the American Flag waving... great picture, great game

That was an odd Bradley Center day. The UC at MU game was an 11AM game and the Bucks played the 76ers at 4pm on NBC will another packed house.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Dec. 22, 2002

MU ended the 4 game losing streak to Wisconsin. After the game the MU team ran to the student section with high five's for all!

[HouWarrior]

What people don't remember is to win the 1977 NCAA Championship. It was the full court pass
from out of bounds under the oppositions basket to Jerome Whitehead, who was stationed underneath the MU basket and stuffed it over Cedric Maxwell (Played for Celtics) against UNC-Charlotte with about 1 second left. On Monday we beat North Carolina for the Championship. McGuire gambled and won on that pass. Forgot who threw the pass.

Yes. That was the play of the tourney. We were tied 49-49, and it was in bounded to Gary Rosenberger who tossed it down to Jerome, who tipped it in , over Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell, with one second. That was before instant replay, and a question was whether he got it off on time.

I am lucky, as my brother worked at a tv station and got an AP fax photo(one of a kind) showing the ball away from his hands, and as it was shot from a low angle it showed the clock with :01 on the clock. He got it autographed by Al McGuire years later. Al paused, and smiled to my brother, saying,..."I guess this proves it!".... it gave my brother goosebumps.
What a memory...the moment is under an acid sealed glass frame in my study. Maybe the single most important shot in MU history. WOW

[tower912]

So you missed the end of Game 6 and Fisk's homer?

I was 11.   Folks made me go to bed at 11:30 during game 6.

[groove]

I was 11.   Folks made me go to bed at 11:30 during game 6.

damn, I hope you used that as an argument to why you should stay up late to watch game 7.

[tower912]

It helped. 

[brewcity77]

The best for me was definitely D-Wade's triple-double against Kentucky to reach the Final Four. I was told by a friend that he had a ticket for me if we beat Pittsburgh a couple nights before, and was cheering wildly at the Ale House as we ran over them into the Elite Eight. Going up to Minneapolis was electric, and the way we ran away with the game after a tight opening sequence was just amazing. It helped that I was still a junior at Marquette at the time, too. Not just my best MU Hoops memory, but one of my top few sports memories period. Definitely top 5, probably more likely top 3.

[StillAWarrior]

Yes. That was the play of the tourney. We were tied 49-49, and it was in bounded to Gary Rosenberger who tossed it down to Jerome, who tipped it in , over Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell, with one second. That was before instant replay, and a question was whether he got it off on time.

I am lucky, as my brother worked at a tv station and got an AP fax photo(one of a kind) showing the ball away from his hands, and as it was shot from a low angle it showed the clock with :01 on the clock. He got it autographed by Al McGuire years later. Al paused, and smiled to my brother, saying,..."I guess this proves it!".... it gave my brother goosebumps.
What a memory...the moment is under an acid sealed glass frame in my study. Maybe the single most important shot in MU history. WOW

Perhaps this thread should be titled, "Best MU Hoops Memorabilia."

Very jealous.  I wonder what that thing could be worth.  Honestly, I'd be hard pressed to think of a more valuable piece of Marquette memorabilia.  It's apparently a one of a kind piece; it relates to the single greatest achievement in Marquette basketball history; and it's signed by the most significant figure in Marquette basketball history.  Wow.

[willie warrior]

What people don't remember is to win the 1977 NCAA Championship. It was the full court pass
from out of bounds under the oppositions basket to Jerome Whitehead, who was stationed underneath the MU basket and stuffed it over Cedric Maxwell (Played for Celtics) against UNC-Charlotte with about 1 second left. On Monday we beat North Carolina for the Championship. McGuire gambled and won on that pass. Forgot who threw the pass.

Yes, that was another great memory.

[HouWarrior]

March 1977, without a doubt. There is nothing like a national championship.

Nothing compares. Absolutely nothing.

That's why alumni of my generation think that going to the big dance isn't enough. We want "little" MU back on top of the world. I was cleaning my basement the other day and found yellowed copies of both the Journal and Sentinel (yes, they were different papers in those days) from the day we won it all. They're precious reminders of a better time we bhope to get to again.

Ditto. Some odd memories for me that night were how the normally strict Milwaukee cops just blocked off the area, smiled, and let us all go nuts. I recall a light fixture at circle inn fell to a pool table, and you'd get shocked to touch the table--no one cared. Its the greatest moment of personal sports elation of my life. I live for it happening just once more, but Im especially hoping for it so all younger fans who havent felt it get to experience it also, at least once during their lifetimes. Its special.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

'06 Alum here who didn't grow up watching MU, so I'm still a puppy when it comes to the nostalgia train. First MU game I can remember watching is the '02 C-USA Tournament Final. I don't even think I'd officially decided on coming to MU yet.

1. Running down Wisconsin Avenue after beating Kentucky in '03.
2. The absolute mob scene in the student section after Novak drilled the Irish at the buzzer in '06.
3. Everyone on my floor in McCormick going mental after coming back at Louisville to take control of C-USA in '03.
4. Dropping the '03 C-USA Banner immediately after the game against Cincy. What Chutzpah to even print it up.
5. Getting in line at 9AM for our first Big East game ever in 2006 against #2 UConn, and everything following. [As an old-man aside, I wonder if the students today know how good they have it. I remember getting my season tickets (back when they were still printed, not downloaded), and the BEST games were Louisville and Cincinnati with a lot of UABs, Tulanes, and East Carolinas in between.]

[HouWarrior]

Perhaps this thread should be titled, "Best MU Hoops Memorabilia."

Very jealous.  I wonder what that thing could be worth.  Honestly, I'd be hard pressed to think of a more valuable piece of Marquette memorabilia.  It's apparently a one of a kind piece; it relates to the single greatest achievement in Marquette basketball history; and it's signed by the most significant figure in Marquette basketball history.  Wow.

I am happy to scan it from the frame/glass, to pdf or jpeg...and to post it here.
Can someone tell me (computer dummy) how to post a pic or pdf here?

[mileskishnish72]

In person , the ND game at the Arena in '71. We had been jobbed down there the year before (IMO) in double OT. ND was ranked when they came in, it was the typical MKE dead of winter weather, and the place was F'ing ELECTRIC!
When the Warriors came out there was a spontaneous, sustained LOUD standing O that went for about 10 minutes. Dean was the Dream that night and the game wasn't as close as the score. It was vibrant - it's one of those top 10 memories of what you wish you could go back to and relive.

[dgies9156]

What people don't remember is to win the 1977 NCAA Championship. It was the full court pass
from out of bounds under the oppositions basket to Jerome Whitehead, who was stationed underneath the MU basket and stuffed it over Cedric Maxwell (Played for Celtics) against UNC-Charlotte with about 1 second left. On Monday we beat North Carolina for the Championship. McGuire gambled and won on that pass. Forgot who threw the pass.

Butch Lee.

It was in the National Semi-Final against North Carolina Charlotte.

Sorry HouWarrior, but it was Lee and bounced off Bo Ellis' fingers. Al never would have let Rosenberger throw that pass. Only one of his starters could do that. Gary was our sixth man off the bench at the time and was an outstanding pure shooter. He probably would have started over Jimmy Boylan today given the three-point line. But that pass was Butch!

[dgies9156]

Anything that happened in Al era. From playing USSR at midnight, to breaking out new uni's for national TV, to Al's walk to salute ND students at his last game there to winning NCAA. Fortunately or unfortunately for me it is a time that will never be duplicated. The man spoiled  the entire MU community and set a bar that will be nearly impossible to match.

For the younger posters the Al era was even better than us old timers remember it.

Forgot about that Russian game. That was clearly number 2.

It was in 1976 and featured the USSR Olympic Team. Yeah, for you history buffs, the one that ripped the US off and stole a gold medal in a political farce. They came into the Arena in October 1975 and the Butch and Bo show gave them their heads on a platter.

We walked home from the Arena to campus that night and knew we had something truly, truly special.

That year, when the NCAA didn't seed (probably because Al pitched a fit in 1970 when we were supposed to go to the Midwest Regional and went to the NIT instead), we ended up playing one of the best teams I ever saw, the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, in the Regional Finals. We lost in what should have been the national title game.

A year later, it all came together!!!!!

[JerryWizig]

Mine is easily the 2003 regional final against Kentucky. But there are a few others I'll always remember fondly:

*Selection Sunday, 1993. Marquette lost to Saint Louis in the conference tournament and was squarely on the bubble. Honestly, at that time, I would have been fine with a spot in the NIT. I had no idea where MU stood in relation to other teams since there was no bracketology stuff back then, and I prepared not to see Marquette's name on the selection show. But when their name popped up as a 12 seed, I went nuts. I was just a kid at the time and was obsessed with the NCAA tournament. And now my favorite team was a part of it. I don't think I stopped running around the house for 15 minutes.

*NIT game with Penn State, 1990. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a silly NIT game but it was the first time MU had been in the postseason in years. I was just beginning to really understand college basketball and I thought it was awesome that MU was on ESPN. My family didn't have cable, so we went to a sports bar to watch the game.

*NCAA regional semifinal with Duke, 1994. Growing up, my favorite team was Marquette. My second favorite team was Duke (give me a break, I was just a kid). I was torn that they were playing each other at first, but as the game got closer I was 110 percent behind Marquette. I remember MU jumped out to a 9-0 lead and my favorite all-time Marquette player Tony Miller hit a 3-pointer as part of the run. The rest of the game was kind of ugly, but I'll never forget that moment when MU took a 9-0 lead.

*Winning the C-USA tournament by winning four games in four days (I think MU was only the second team ever to do that) to make the NCAA tournament in 1997. The slaughter at the hands of Providence aside, that was a great MU team.

[ringout]

Junior Year in HS.  March 1977.  

Listened to every tournament game on the radio at work.  I remember how great it felt when the Warriors were making all their free throws late in the championship game, and what that meant.   WE WERE CHAMPIONS!!

I had been a Marquette fan since about '71.  We were always 2nd to some other team (usually UCLA or Indiana).

Next day I didn't work.  We skipped school that afternoon and went to the campus rally and parade....Great day.

[Coleman]

Novak's buzzer-beater over the Irish in 06.

[mugrad2006]

A while back we were talking about memorabilia and I mentioned that I had these.  Finally got around to loading them.  These things are officially licensed college apparel made for a major retailer that I happened to be working at, not some knockoffs.  They were demos that were made (the only two I know of), and the name changed back so quickly they weren't sold in stores.



Made before any logo was agreed upon, so you'll still see the old Golden Eagle here with the new name.


If you look closely, that is the little registered trademark symbol that shows this was licensed.

[Skatastrophy]

Bwahaha, nice!

[warthog-driver]

I'm in the military and lived all over

Radome - are you an AWACS puke?

[Blackhat]

Burn all the evidence 2006. 

[HouWarrior]

Butch Lee.

It was in the National Semi-Final against North Carolina Charlotte.

Sorry HouWarrior, but it was Lee and bounced off Bo Ellis' fingers. Al never would have let Rosenberger throw that pass. Only one of his starters could do that. Gary was our sixth man off the bench at the time and was an outstanding pure shooter. He probably would have started over Jimmy Boylan today given the three-point line. But that pass was Butch!

Ill trust your memory--in the photo you can see Gary running up from midcourt--he was on the floor at the time, per the pic

MODIFY-- Gary is in the game---but your recall is perfect--here is the video--complete with press row guys taking pics....many got the shot (incl. SI), but only the AP thermofax photo I have has the :01 scoreboard proof. Here is the video proof of your correct recall (sorry for my error):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5u8JuNltiw

[mugrad2006]

Burn all the evidence 2006.  

For me it's more of a 'never forget' kind of thing   I can look at those Marquette 'the Gold' shirts and say as an alum I'll do whatever I can to avoid such a grave travesty ever happening again!