Watch this first round game between Marquette vs. Tennessee in the 1983 NCAA Tournament from March 18, 1983. This is a partial video.
Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/xtbyKc4VLAIUnfortunately, Marquette lost this game 57-56 to the Dale Ell8s led Vols. BTW, Dale Ellis is also a former Milwaukee Bucks player and one of the most selfish players I ever watched in the NBA.
1982-83 Marquette WarriorsMarquette was lead by Doc Rivers, Terrell Schlundt, Marc Marotta, Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Johnson, Kerry Trotter, etc. So you will get to see some of this era's legendary players in NCAA Tournament action.
Coach Hank's TeamsCoach Hank's team went 2-5 in the NCAA Tournament from 1978 to 1983, with 1st Round wins against Pacific and Evansville. He suffered several close tough losses with one of the being this Tennessee game.
A Rare FindNCAA Tournament games of this era are hard to find, especially for Marquette. I'm no TV expert but I believe sometimes early round NCAA Tournament Games (like this one) were produced by a sports televion production company and then sold into syndication to cable or local independent TV stations, instead of being broadcasted as one package by an all-in-one national TV network like CBS or NBC.
This also means the pool of people who recorded these NCAA Tournament games at home is much smaller. So the probability of finding them on the internet is sometimes low. Even finding a loss, like this Tennessee game, is a true blessing.
I Loved This Team!I went to a Catholic grade school as a child. At that time the grade school parachocial basketball leagues around southeastern Wisconsin were very strong, a direct result of much higher student enrollment at Catholic grade schools. Today, there are no where near the amount of Catholic grade schools that there once were in or near the Milwaukee Area. A sad testimony to the times we are living.
However, in the 1970's and 1980's, Catholic grade school enrollment was still very solid. One thing I always admired about Coach Al, but especially Coach Hank and Coack Rick, was the time they spent making sure Marquette University basketball had a presence in the Catholic grade schools in the Milwaukee area. In fact, Marquette basketball players were keynote speakers at my grade school athletic banquets. I remember Mandy Johnson speaking at an athletic banquet and Tom Copa (comes to MU in 1983-84) spoke at another.
Coach Al/Hank/Rick maintained a presence in the Catholic grade schools for several reasons. To give back to the community yes. But also for 4 key program marketing reasons. 1) To create early recruiting advantages in the area parachocial schools over Wisconsin and DePaul, if necessary. 2) To create and maintain a (non-alum) fan base among the parachocial school parents - as many were or became season ticket holders for Marquette. 3) To establish a future fan base among the parachocial grade school students. 4) Sell the university to possible future students.
Anyway, my Catholic School classmates and I were also allowed to attend some of the team practices in the Old Gym when Coach Hank was Head Coach. Other Catholic grade schools attended too. I used to rebound for many players like Doc, Vic Lazzetti (who would transfer to Loyola Marymount), Terrell Schlundt, Lloyd Moore (until he broke his foot), DJ, Marc Marotta, Bill Gosse, Mandy Johnson, Walter Downing, Terry Reason, Benny Moore, Herb Harrison, David Boone, Kerry Trotter, Pop Sims, etc.
When you think about it, the relationship Marquette developed with the Catholic grade schools was such a brilliant strategy for that time.
Even though I have two degrees from two non-Marquette schools (one being a D-1school), Marquette is my team and I am emotionally bonded to this program for life because of the relationship Marquette had with my Catholic grade school. Although I watched Marquette games since the 1978 season, this1982-83 team is the first 'Quette team I truly followed and connected with as a fan and knew as a kid.
