Reflections of a Lifelong Friar Fan: The Dream Continues (1975-78)

Taking out #1 Michigan... beating North Carolina in the Blizzard of '78... a freshman Magic Johnson... an elite recruiting class... Craig reflects on how Providence closed out the 1970s strong.

Entering the 1974-75 season the Providence basketball program was at a crossroads. Having achieved tremendous success over the past few seasons, the Friars now had to move forward without Ernie DiGregorio, Marvin Barnes, and Kevin Stacom, all of whom were in the pros. In addition, complementary players , such as, Nehru King, Fran Costello, and Charlie Crawford had also moved on after graduation. 

The cupboard was not bare, however. Sophomore guard Joe Hassett was ready to take over and lead the team into its next chapter. He averaged 16.5 points per game during the 1974-75 season, and would eventually become the third Providence native from PC to make the NBA in a span of five years — a feat that will likely never be done again. 

Bob Cooper was also entering his sophomore year at PC and emerged as the Friars’ inside presence, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per game. He was also one of the most prolific shot blockers in college basketball at that time.

Other players returning who played a vital part during the 1974-75 season were seniors Ricky Santos and Garry Bello, and junior Mark McAndrew. 

The key to this team, and to the future of the PC basketball program, was the incoming freshman class. That class was ranked third in the country, and might have been the greatest recruiting class ever at Providence College.

The group was headlined by Bruce Campbell, a 6’9 power forward from Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT. He was ranked by some publications and services as the top high school player in the country before his senior year. His Wilbur Cross high school team wound up being ranked first in the country at the end of his senior season.

Bob Misevicius, a 6’10 center from Power Memorial High School in New York City was considered to be one of the top 15-20 players in the country. Mischievous wrapped up his career at Power Memorial finishing second to Lew Alcindor in several statistical categories. 

Billy Eason, a 6’5 forward from Waterbury, CT came to Providence from St. Thomas More Academy, the same prep School that produced DiGregorio and King.

These three players were a big part of the foundation of the PC basketball program and were the key players in two of the greatest regular season victories in PC history. 

More on that later.

The 1974-75 team did wind up taking a slight step back from the year prior, finishing the season with a 20-11 record. On Dec. 30, after 44 home games, the Friars lost their first home game since the opening of the Providence Civic Center (to St. John’s). 

At the end of the season Providence went on a run in the National Invitation Tournament, eventually losing to Princeton in the NIT championship after knocking off #14 Clemson, Pittsburgh, and St. John’s. 

Next year (my freshman year at PC in 1975-76), the Friars compiled a 21-11 record and once again went to the NIT, where they lost in the semifinals by a point to Kentucky after defeating North Carolina A&T and Louisville. 

Entering the 1976-77 season the Friars were projected to have one of their greatest teams ever. The incoming recruiting class included Sly Williams, a consensus high school All American forward from New Haven, CT and Dwight Williams, a highly-regarded junior college point guard from Southern Idaho. 

Once school started things quickly went downhill. On the first day of classes Sly Williams wound up enrolling at URI instead of PC. The Friars could do nothing about this as at this time, as they did not require recruits to sign a binding letter of intent. 

In addition, both Eason and Misevicius were declared academically ineligible for the first semester. As a result, the Friars started the season without three of their key pieces, struggling to a 3-2 record before Eason and Misevicius became eligible for the second semester. 

Both players were declared eligible just in time for the start of the inaugural Industrial National Classic. The four team field featured PC, URI, Texas, and the number one nationally ranked Michigan Wolverines. 

After defeating Texas, 81-67, a matchup with Michigan awaited. 

It was semester break at PC, so I attended the game with my father. The atmosphere at the Civic Center was electric from the start, with a standing room crowd of 12,150 taking in the action.

The Friars came storming back in the second half, which ended in a 62-62 tie after Michigan All American Rickey Green missed the front end of a one and one in the closing seconds. 

In the first overtime Misevicius hit a shot to tie the score, 74-74, with 11 seconds left. Once again, Michigan missed a free throw which could have won the game. 

By this time the crowd was on their feet going absolutely bonkers. To this day I have never heard a louder crowd at the Civic Center.

In the final two seconds of double overtime Bruce Campbell passed the ball to Misevicius who made a 12 foot bank shot. The crowd erupted and stormed the floor. I looked over at my father (who was a reserved 60 year old gentleman) and he was jumping up and down so high I swear he could have dunked a basketball.

To date this is the greatest basketball game ever played at the Providence Civic Center and the greatest live sporting event I have ever attended.

Providence closed the regular season by winning 19 of 20 games (their only loss a narrow 68-64 defeat at #9 Louisville). PC went on to post a 24-5 record. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Kansas State, 87-80. Hassett scored 26 points on 13-19 shooting from the field, but it ultimately wasn’t enough in the end. 

Hassett led the Friars in scoring that season, averaging 19 points a game. Bob Cooper, Bruce Campbell and Dwight Williams were the other double figure scorers for PC during the 1976-1977 season.

After the graduations of Hassett and Cooper, Providence had to rely on a four man core of Campbell, Eason, Misevicius, and Williams. Once again, the Friars would have to make do with a very thin roster. 

During the 1977-78 season the Friars finished with a 24-8 record and came up with big victories over ninth ranked Louisville and 14th ranked Holy Cross.

The highlight of the season, however, was a game against seventh ranked North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 12, 1978 at the Providence Civic Center. 

It turned out to be so much more than a basketball game.

It all started on the previous Monday morning, Feb. 6. It began snowing that day, but nobody really thought much of it, as nothing serious had been predicted by the local weathermen. 

I had an 8:30 class and then was going to study for a couple of hours while waiting for Dr. Mullen’s American History class. By then, the storm started getting serious. Dr. Mullen came into the class and told everyone to go home, which is exactly what I did. 

My father was getting up in years and his health was not the greatest, so I did not want to leave him alone in a major snowstorm. It took me three hours to get from the PC parking lot to my father’s house in Warwick, but I made it. During the entire trip home I was passing cars left and right that were already stranded.

Everyone has heard the rest of the story about the Blizzard of ‘78. 

Over three feet of snow. 

Thousands of cars along Route 95 and thousands more stranded in the city of Providence. 

The entire state was shut down for the rest of the week. Thousands of Rhode Islanders were stranded along with their cars and did not make it home for days. The National Guard had to be called in to dig out cars one-by-one, so the streets could eventually be plowed. Supplies had to be airlifted into Providence College. The only mode of transportation in Rhode Island that week was the snowmobile.

By the end of the week everyone was getting very restless. A nationally televised basketball game was scheduled on Saturday between Providence and North Carolina at the Civic Center. 

It was decided that the state needed a diversion for a couple of hours and the game would go on as scheduled... with one hitch. The only way you could get to the game was if you walked. And that is exactly what over 7,000 students and fans did — in some cases walking for miles to get to the Civic Center.

There was only one problem. How was the North Carolina team going to get to the Civic Center? A lane was cleared from downtown Providence to T.F. Green Airport and a RIPTA bus was dug out of the snow and sent to pick up the Tar Heels. The UNC plane was the first non-emergency plane to land at Green that week.

On the bus ride many of the UNC players, particularly those from the South, were in awe as they saw snow plowed well over their heads on the streets leading into Providence. PC may have won that game right then and there. 

Eventually, the Tar Heels made it to the Civic Center and it was game on.

North Carolina was basketball royalty, even back then. Getting a team of UNC’s caliber to play at the Civic Center was an example of how big PC basketball was in the 1970s. The Tar Heels were led by All American guard Phil Ford and forward Mike O’Koren and were coached by the legendary Dean Smith. The Friars were led by the senior trio of Bruce Campbell, Bob Miscevicius, and Billy Eason along with junior point guard Dwight Williams.

Watching the game on TV (I wanted to walk from Warwick to the Civic Center, but my father talked me out of it) you could tell there was something different. I had never heard a crowd so energized on TV. Those 7,000 people made it sound like there were 20,000 fans squeezed into the Civic Center.

The score was close throughout the game, but with 3:30 left on the clock North Carolina had a lead of 58-52 and went into their vaunted four corners offense. 

If you are not old enough to remember the four corners it was basically a game of keep away. Four players on offense stood at the four corners of the half court, and the point guard would dribble around and pass the ball, keeping it away from the defense. The only time a team playing the four corners looked at the basket was if they had an open layup. Smith and North Carolina were notorious for the four corners, and there was no better point guard to run it than Ford. 

When the Tar Heels went into the four corners it was like Red Auerbach lighting up his cigar. Game over.

Except for this day. 

David Frye made a three point play down the stretch and Eason hit a five foot jumper with time running down giving the Friars a 61-59 lead. Ford’s jumper from the top of the key clanged off the rim as time ran out and the Friars had another magical victory in their storied history.

More importantly, Rhode Islanders had a couple hours of diversion at the end of an unbelievable week, a couple of hours where they could sit back and cheer the local team to victory without having to think about three feet of snow on the ground, or how and when they were going to get back to a normal life.

At the end of season Providence once again was selected for the NCAA Tournament and drew Michigan State as a first round opponent. The Spartans were led by a freshman who would later years change professional basketball forever, Magic Johnson. Magic finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists to lead MSU to a 77-63 victory. 

The Friars were led in scoring that season by Campbell with 17 points per game, and Dwight Williams with 16 a night. 

That marked the end of an era for the Friars. The incredible freshman class of four years ago (Campbell, Eason, and Misevicius) were all graduating, but the future was still going to be bright with point guard Dwight Williams returning along with some solid incoming recruits. 

It did not take long, however, for the wheels to fall off the basketball program…

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