MEN'S NOTEBOOK

Men's Notebook - February 4, 2021

Well, here we are… in the midst of a surreal, basketball season that has seen just 14 of 38 D2 regional teams playing an abbreviated schedule, more postponements than actual games played, and one program that is essentially a dead team walking. And that will be the focus of this first stream-of-consciousness “overview” column.

As most of our readership has become aware, yet another East Region school has made the difficult decision to go out of business. Concordia College, whose name translates in Latin to "agreement" - met with a rather disgreeable fate last week. The school - part of a national system of schools in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod – made the devastating announcement, leaving students, administrators and the sleepy community of Bronxville, NY in a state of stunned disbelief. The smallest school in our region as far as enrollment (1,597 students), Concordia had recently been the subject of such rumors, but being part of a nine-school network, and located a proverbial stone’s throw from the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., there was reason to be optimistic the college could keep its doors open. Then came Covid. The dreaded pandemic, coupled with decreasing enrollments in small colleges across the crowded northeast, ultimately proved the death-knell for the 140-year-old liberal arts school, whose land has been bought out by Iona College in nearby New Rochelle.

So another old NYCAC stalwart is gone, following on the heels of Southampton, Dowling, LIU Post and, at least from a D2 athletics standpoint, New York Tech, which still exists as an academic institution, though suspending athletics and most likely never returning to the D2 landscape.

This sad news from Westchester County has made me reflect upon all the wonderful people associated with the athletic department over the decades who have made me feel more like a family member rather than a guest every time I’ve visited. It starts with longtime athletic director Ivan Marquez, who always invited me into his tropically warm office for a lively chat before games, offering me tidbits such as his love for the Los Angeles Lakers and their inspiring his school’s logo and uniform design (ironically juxtaposed with the nickname of that franchise’s crosstown rival).

Concordia Hall of Famer Kathy Laoutaris was always super hospitable as well, and no one ever wore more hats with a school than she did from champion softball coach to Senior Women’s Administrator to Ivan’s successor as A.D., just to name a few. The sports information directors, most recently Brian Snow, Eli Sirota and Craig Boston also get shout-outs for all their help over the years.

I had a chance to reach out this week to some of the many people affected by the school’s impending fate, including current men’s basketball coach John Cavaliere, who was in the strange position of playing his season opener at Bloomfield last week and asking opposing head coach Gerald Holmes if he was interested in any of his players… kids with whom he was hoping to build something.

“Obviously, it’s a sad feeling right now,” he lamented. “Even though we don’t get to see that bright future, we want to give a preview of what we could have been. This year, we are going to put our best product out there, play as a team and try to go out on a good note. A lot of alumni have reached out and are super upset. They want to be a part of it again. We want to find a way to honor everyone who ever wore a Clippers jersey.”

No one coached more seasons in Concordia’s D2 era than current St. Thomas Aquinas assistant John Dwinnell, who was the Clippers’ head coach for 12 years and who cherishes the relationships he cultivated in Bronxville.

“I feel very upset about it,” he said. The school has some great people and I really enjoyed getting to know the community, even though I was part-time. I just hope they’re all going to be okay. My assistant Dave Summa was a graduate and did an excellent job recruiting. We have remained very good friends. And there was such a camaraderie among the other coaches in the league. Whoever won, it was always very cordial. And the kids made it fun to coach.”

Brian Sondey was the most successful men’s basketball coach, making a splash right at the start of his tenure in November of 2010 when his Clippers knocked off Division 1 Manhattan in an exhibition on a Tuesday, then upset #7 Bentley at its home tournament five days later. The current assistant coach at D3 Manhatanville (NY) also oversaw the program’s first-ever win vs. Philadelphia (now Jefferson), and various other upsets, such as a shocking 87-85 win at Southern New Hampshire in 2016 that featured the biggest comeback in the program’s D2 era, as the Clippers rallied from 22 points down in the second half. Sondey also shepherded the only Concordia CACC Tournament team to date, which was quite a feat considering the limitations of having no full scholarships.

“There are a lot of good people there,” Sondey offered. “I feel for everyone who now has to go out into this world, especially at this time with the pandemic, and to find meaningful work to support their families. But looking back, not only did Concordia give me my first opportunity to be a head coach, it was where I met my wife, and we have a family. That’s what I take the most pride in.”

Undoubtedly, the person who will be most affected by the college’s closing is a man who has seen more Concordia sporting events – including over 700 home basketball games – than anyone. He is undisputed “super fan” Daniel Rockhill, an alum who has served as the Clippers’ tennis coach the past 22 years and whose parents were both teachers at the institution dating back to 1953. In fact, his father sat on the basketball bench as an assistant back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“This is tough to take,” he confessed. "I grew up here and I’ve seen the basketball teams go from the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) to NAIA to NCAA. I remember watching the women’s team when they were an NAIA national powerhouse and regional champions. It was free entertainment. I can’t believe I can’t get in to watch one more game.”

For a school as small as Concordia, the Clippers have turned out some distinguished athletic alumni, especially in baseball, with the program producing Scott Leius, a third baseman who played for the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins, D2 Player of the Year Mike Aviles, a shortstop who played for five major league teams over a 10-year career, Dell Allston, a backup outfielder on the championship Yankees teams of 1977 and 1978, and five-year MLB pitcher John Doherty. There was one basketball dignitary: Tony Fiorentino, who suited up for the Clippers before becoming the head coach at nearby Mount Vernon High School, where he befriended rival Ron Rothstein. That connection led him to an assistant coaching position under Pat Riley with the Miami Heat before he moved to the broadcast booth and became color commentator for that franchise.

The closest D2 school geographically to my Manhattan home (a 20-minute ride up the Henry Hudson Parkway) has provided me with some lasting memories over the past 23 years, some of which I will share here:

The first time I ever walked into the Meyer Center was in 1998, when in a game vs. Southampton, there was a delay midway through the second half as a frenetic yet talented little guard for the Clippers named J.R. Thompson elevated and dunked so hard, he bent the rim and nearly shattered the glass. It took a good 20 minutes for the repairs to be made, after which the game resumed without incident. Thompson had caught my attention earlier that season at C.W. Post’s old Connolly Gym when he baited heckling students with faces and gestures while taking free throws.

Concordia's Meyer Athletic Center (picture courtesy of Eli Sorota, Concordia Sports Information Director)

Throughout the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the Meyer Center was one of the most fun places to see a game, thanks largely to the men’s soccer team vocalizing cheers all game as if they were the rabid supporters so commonly seen and heard at European and South American football arenas. It remains the only venue in which I regularly heard “Ale, Ale, Ale, Ale…”

A few years later, I volunteered to do the public address during a game vs. Molloy, affording me a fun, first-time experience.

This was also the building where the team annually commemorated former player Jimmy Sayegh – who succumbed to cancer in 2010 before his career even got off the ground – with a memorial game. I was honored to announce a couple such games and got to meet his parents, who endowed a scholarship in their son’s name. Marquez, who was battling the disease himself, regaled the crowd with a touching song while playing his guitar in a spotlight. Still get goosebumps thinking about it.

I remember a year prior to the school having been accepted as a member of the CACC (it was affiliated with the NYCAC/ECC since transitioning from NAIA in the early 1980s), Marquez had printed “WE LOVE THE CACC” posters and showcased them all over the building.

The most memorable finish to the dozens of games I saw at the Meyer Center was on January 15, 2018, when Brandon Fields nailed a half-court heave at the buzzer for a 74-71, come-from-behind victory vs. Caldwell. The final play can be seen at the bottom the game story here: https://www.concordiaclippers.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180115tzwfsz  

And my last game there was a ho-hum affair vs. Holy Family, but what was most memorable that afternoon was the pregame buzz at the scorer’s table. It was the day the great Kobe Bryant was killed. It’s true that one never forgets where he or she was upon hearing major news.

Other notable factoids about the Meyer Center include the men’s D1 volleyball program calling it home and regularly hosting such major universities as UCLA and Penn State… the New York Knicks wanting to renovate the building and use the court as its practice facility in the early 1990s… but most significant is that it was the site of what is believed to be the lowest-scoring game in college basketball history. On December 15, 1979, during its NAIA era, Concordia edged Northeastern Bible College (VT), 6-4 on a steal and breakaway lay-up by someone listed in the scorebook at G. Campbell. Here’s that very scorebook from that pre-shot clock barnburner: https://twitter.com/cnd_clippers/status/804358571966296069

Around the Rim…

As for what’s happened on the court, there is such a small sample. I guess it’s no surprise that St. Thomas Aquinas, Bloomfield and Dominican are undefeated. A little surprising that Daemen is 0-2, although its first two games after a Covid delay were tough ones vs. a seasoned opponent in Gannon, one of only three PSAC schools to be lacing them up this winter. Andrew Sischo has hardly missed a beat, however. The region’s best returning player has averaged 28 points and 11.5 rebounds, albeit as the only returning starter for the Wildcats. It’s his fifth year with the Wildcats (he redshirted as a freshman) and can actually be part of a sixth year next winter as per altered NCAA bylaws. To say that the big fella is on pace to shatter some all-time school records is an understatement.

The region – such as it is this year – is comprised of three Western New York schools (one of which – D’Youville – is a transitioning D3 program) and three downstate New York teams. The CACC is comprised of six members from the North Division and one from the South (Georgian Court), all of whom are within no more than a two-hour drive (under an hour for each if you take away GCU). AIC has played two games against national power Mercyhurst and there’s hope fellow NE10 outfits Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce will be participating as well, though most likely with a very limited schedule. How many of these 14 eligible teams will qualify for the six-team NCAA Regional, should there be one, is anyone’s guess. Eleven games is the current requirement. No matter how this all goes down, we wish health and safety to all parties, first and foremost.

Nyack has relocated its athletics to Jersey City after bidding adieu to Bowman Gym last February. This makes a record five New Jersey schools in the East Region, in effect. The Warriors opened the season with their first home game outside Nyack, playing at New Jersey City University and losing a heartbreaker to Bloomfield, 65-63, on Rich Chapman’s driving lay-up with 0.7 seconds left. The plan beginning net season is for the team to play its home games at the Jersey City Armory, but due to scheduling conflicts there (Saint Peters is playing its games there this season) and at NJCU, the rest of the Warriors’ schedule will consist of only road games, creating a seemingly uphill battle for Valiant Jones’ squad. That being said, with no crowds this winter and very light travel, will it even make a difference?

This is the longest stretch in 29 years that I have not called a Le Moyne College men’s basketball game. The last one was a playoff game on March 1 of last season – the 800^th consecutive broadcast since my partner, Don Familo and I began the journey calling games for our alma mater in 1992. Number 801 would have happened at the NCAA East Regional at Bridgeport but as we all know, that event never materialized for anyone. It has been disorienting, to say the least, not watching or calling games live to this point. Another reason to hate this blasted virus.

I’ll check in again with another notebook (hopefully with more interesting fodder) in two weeks. Until then, hopefully you are enjoying our Super 75 series. Stay safe and God bless!