Reflections of a Lifelong Friar Fan: A Dream Run Comes to an End (1978-79)
Craig Leighton takes a look back at a season that began a downturn for Providence's program.
The 1978-1979 basketball season. My senior year at Providence College. It was supposed to be a transitional year at Providence. The amazing freshman class from four years prior — Bruce Campbell, Bill Eason, Bob Mesevicius — graduated in 1978.
There were reasons to be optimistic, however. Dwight Williams, PC’s point guard, was returning for his senior season. During the previous year he averaged 16.6 points and 4.2 assists per game while earning Honorable Mention All American honors.
This was going to be Williams’ time to shine. He was set to be the primary scoring option, and many followers of the program figured he could average somewhere between 20-25 points per game as the offensive focal point.
Also returning from the previous year were Rudy Williams, Rich Hunger, Jerry Scott, David Frye, and John Nolan. They all played limited minutes in 1977-1978, but they had the talent to be complementary players for a winning program.
Yes, it was going to be a rebuilding year, but a team built around Williams and some intriguing incoming recruits would be at least very entertaining.
Then the bottom fell out of the PC program.
After the ’78 season Williams was involved in an altercation with a member of the baseball team during a game of pool in the Slavin Center on the PC campus. Williams allegedly stabbed the student in the leg with a knife. Shortly after the incident Williams was dismissed from school.
Williams’ dismissal started an avalanche which turned the program from an Eastern basketball power to a perennial cellar dweller in the newly-created Big East Conference.
In addition to losing a potential All American for the ’78-79 season, Providence also lost most of that year’s all-important recruiting class, including the highly-touted John Garris, a 6’9 power forward out of Bridgeport, CT.
There was only one signing period for letters of intent at the time (in April), so recruits were under no obligation to stay committed prior to then.
Shortly after Williams was dismissed, head coach Dave Gavitt announced that the 1978-1979 season would be his last as PC’s head coach. This made recruiting for the following season nearly impossible.
The loss of Williams, plus what amounted to two lost recruiting classes, devastated Providence.
During the 1978-79 season the Friars were led by Rudy Williams (17.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg), freshman Billy Fields (12.1 ppg), and Jerry Scott (11.5 ppg.) No one else on the team averaged over five points per game.
PC finished with an overall record of 10-16. They were 2-8 away from the Providence Civic Center.
The highlight of the season came during an 84-77 victory on Feb. 14 at the Civic Center. At the end of the first half Rudy Williams grabbed a defensive rebound off of a missed foul shot, turned and heaved the ball the entire length of the court connecting on a bank shot which would be one of the longest shots ever made in college basketball.
Here is what the AP wrote about the shot: Rudy Williams of Providence College may have set a world record when he dropped a field goal from about 92 feet… It was two seconds before the half buzzer when the 6‐foot‐6‐inch sophomore, standing a foot from the baseline, sent the ball the length of the court. It hit against the backboard and bounded in.
“I knew there were two seconds left, so I looked up and fired,” Williams said after the game. “It looked like it was pretty straight and I was praying it would drop.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association does not keep records of length of field goals. But the Guiness Book of Records says the longest on record was made from 87 feet by Barry Huchings of Sutherlin (Ore.) High School in 1976.
Even though the Friars finished with a record of 10-16 record, it could have been worse. Six of their 10 victories were by two points or less. Four of those wins were by a point. There were several players on the roster who did not have Division I basketball talent. This Friar team was likely the worst team in the modern era of PC basketball.
And it could not have come at a worse time.
Gavitt’s brand new Big East Conference started play in the 1979-1980 season. The Friars finished in last place and did not win a Big East game. PC would go on to finish last or next to last in the Big East Conference’s first six seasons. While the Big East was gaining a national reputation as a true power, Providence’s reputation was becoming one of a Big East cellar dweller.
Unfortunately, The 1978-79 season wound up being the turning point for the Providence College basketball program. Before then, PC was a perennial top two or three Eastern power. After the ‘78-79 season, even though the program had several very successful seasons, they would never again be considered an elite team in the East. Instead, Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova, and eventually Connecticut, became the powers of the East.
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You can read more of Craig’s reflections below:
The seeds of this team and the programs demise had been setting up for a while - assistant Nick Marachuk who did most of the recruiting had left, and Gavitt didn't replace him with a real assistant. Gavitt's eyes and attention had turned to the Big East. Besides Garris, other recruits who would made big difference (like Alex Bradley, etc) slipped through their fingers, and many of the recruits Gavitt did bring in were not D1 quality.