Norm Van Lier -- Saint Peter's College Sports

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[> [> Re: Norm Van Lier and stuff -- The Blue Peacock, Saturday, February 28, 12:15:37pm [1]

Oldtimer is correct...only two loses that regular season, the Star-Ledger and Jersey journal had articles stating SPC smashed college BB attendance records for the state of New Jersey...over 110,000 Fans that year!! I still say if Kennedy had started Sam DePiano to guard Murphy... it would have been a different outcome. I was there. (see you tomorrow, GO PEACOCKS and PEAHENS!!)

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[> [> [> DePiano Guarding Calvin Murphy?? -- loyal, Saturday, February 28, 12:24:21pm [1]

Welcome to the Board, Mrs. DePiano.

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[> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#1, Saturday, February 28, 12:30:27pm [1]

Blue Peacock, love your posts but let's agree to disagree on this one. I was seated, first row half court but then again my memory could play tricks. My recollection was that Kennedy started Harry Laurie on Calvin and Harry looked completely ready for the confrontation. Unfortunately, the refs called two very quick ticky tack fouls on Harry and he had plently of bench time in the first half. It is at that point that Kennedy put Sammy on Calvin and your memory is absolutely correct. Calvin praised Sammy's defense after the game but he still scored 50 pts. plus.

Harry, who I will always claim was our team leader and one of the quickest players end to end I have ever seen, had to play off Murphy when he played the entire second half. Harry, who probably averaged 14-16 pts per game for us (but unlimited # of assists) scored over 30 pts. in his reduced playing time while Calvin scored his 50. I always wondered what would have happened if Harry didn't pick up those two cheap fouls early on. But that is what sports are about...What if? LOL

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[> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- Sludge, Saturday, February 28, 12:48:01pm [1]

I'll add a third view to the recall. Thought Leckie spent a good part of the time on Calvin. This comes from my remembering one telling play where Bob was whistled for a foul that, most agreed, should have been a charge on Murphy.

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[> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- The Blue Peacock, Saturday, February 28, 12:55:26pm [1]

Thanks for your input...you are correct..Kennedy did put Sam in because of Harry's 2 quick fouls and Murphy did praise De Piano. Never questioned Murphy's greatness...just believed DePiano's defense could have given him trouble . ( Please explain this to Mrs. Murphy aka loyal)

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[> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#1, Saturday, February 28, 01:02:51pm [1]

Fun talk! Bob Leckie's two greatest attributes as a player was ballhandling and taking the charge. Actually, almost singlehandedly helped take Mike Lewis, Duke's 6'10" center out of the game for a while by drawing the charge. One of the old media guides actually had a picture of that, perhaps on the front cover.

Wouldn't be suprised that Leckie might have spent some time on Calvin as Bob was our 5th/6th man in the rotation and Sammy was much lower. However, Blue Peacock is right - after the game Calvin was quoted as saying someting like " who was that little guy with glasses guarding me, he was tough ".

Guess we are all a little bit right but I guarantee you that Harry started the game on Calvin and picked up those two silly touch fouls.

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[> Re: Norm Van Lier -- BlastFromThePast, Saturday, February 28, 01:53:55pm [1]

If memory serves meright, Leckie and VanLier were getting pretty physical with each other to the point where Leckie told Norm "you elbow me once more and I'll punch your f**king lights out." Norm took the challenge and Bobby did as promised...when the referee wsn't looking, of course. Not sure if that incident was at the Armory or the Syria Mosque in Altoona, PA. St. Francis coach Johnny Clark called the Peacock fans gathered behind his bench at the Armory as the most ferocious he ever experienced. John left St. Francis to coach Pittsburgh in the ABA and actually cut Harry Laurie from the squad. After Pittsburgh, then the Pipers, lost to the New York Nets in Altoona before a crowd much smaller that what Clark's college team used to attract in Altoona, the owner of the Pipers instructed the teams PR man to draft a letter of resignation and have the coach sign it. Clark signed it gladly. And wasn't it amazing how the country's leading scorer could pack the armory when Murphy was playing for Niagara, but wasn't able to draw decent crowds at the Yanitelli Center when Clark was playing fopr Saint Peter's. Thank God for the faithful few.

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[> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#1, Saturday, February 28, 02:17:46pm [1]

If anyone would know the inside stories you would. Do you have any recollection who the power forward was for St. Francis who killed us as much with his shooting ability from the corner as Van Lier ever did? Big strong guy as I recall.

Two other quotes that I recall reading from the NIT was Jack Kraft, the legendary Villanova coach calling St. Peter's the fastest team that he had ever seen in college basketball. Vic Babas the Duke coach said something like -" I never want to see you guys again"

The amazing thing about Duke that year, and Blast can correct me if I'm mistaken, was:

#1) They only missed the NCAA because they lost their Conference championship game 12-10 or something like that in a famous "slow down" game.

#2) Another stat I seem to recall that Duke who was ranked top ten in the country, lost several games (including UCLA and Alcindor) but never by more than single digits. Yet we beat them by almost 30!

3) Final trivia is that our all-time record against Duke is 2-0 (?)

Enough for me for today, have things to do in the present.

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[> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- Dodger Blue Peacock'61, Monday, March 02, 01:57:50pm [1]

"OT #1"-some great nostalgia in your above post...caught Jimmy Walker with the Friars when they came to the Garden with a large fan following. Thought he might turn out to be the next Oscar Robertson! Providence in the past had two pretty good JC players as you know- Vinnie Ernst (Mr Biddy Basketball) and the great leaper Nehru King. BTW also appreciated your early call on Nick Leon...time was when NYC point guards were to be wished for-i.e. Dick McGuire, Dick Duckett, Frank Alagia, Alan Seiden, et al for SJU, and Tony DeLia and Les Yellin-SFC, Lenny Schnaupoff -Jaspers, and so on and so on---all of old school variety of course- but Lincoln High School sent out Marbury, Telfir,and Leon in the present! Nick has the lineage!! Thanx for your great posts from deep in the heart of Flatbush!!!

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[> [> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#!, Monday, March 02, 02:47:45pm [1]

Thanks Dodger Blue, let's save Schnaupoff for another day. His high school team (which also featured Larry Lembo) at Bishop Loughlin defeated my high in the finals of the Iona Tournament ('61) by a single point when our second best player arrived late to the game.

As you know both Lenny and Larry went to Manhattan College playing on a great team. Triva about that team. In the first round of the NIT they defeated a team called Texas El Paso by 20 plus points. The next year TEP changed it's name to Texas Western and yes was that team they made the movie about -1966 National Champions.

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[> [> [> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- Dodger Blue Peacock'61, Monday, March 02, 03:35:03pm [1]

Yeah the famous Manhattan Weave offense of Kenny Norton-a thing of beauty-designed to free up Lembo, Link or Schnaupoff and sometimes Bobby Chlupsa. Always thought Lembo was the equal of Barry Kramer but The NYU guy got the rave reviews!

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[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#1, Monday, March 02, 03:56:30pm [1]

Dodger Blue, you got me going on this one. Barry Kramer was a great, great player but somewhere near the end of his junior year he was injured. Believe he broke his ankle. The following year, I agree, Lembo was the better player. Kramer went in the first round of the NBA draft - to the Lakers. The Manhattan College chant in the old Garden was that Larry was better than Barry. Larry Lembo had one of the best jump shots I ever saw - and from deep!

Became better known as a ref but was a great, great player. Didn't know much about Matty Link, was he from Molloy?

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- Dodger Blue Peacock'61, Monday, March 02, 04:09:45pm [1]

Matty was the strong boy of the trio...a mass of muscles at 6:4 off the boards. Not sure of his high school but the three of them played in the old Long Island Press League. Doubleheaders at the Garden that had Fordham vs Manhattan in the 1st Game and St.John's vs NYU in the 2nd were really neighborhood brawls (LOL).REmember the Fordham Section chanting "What the hell"s a Jasper" and Manhattan answering "the hell with Fordham, the hell with the Ram, the hell with Fordham and DAMN THE RAM" Dem were da DAZE!!

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- oldtimer#1, Monday, March 02, 04:14:29pm [1]

Thanks! Great memories

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[> [> Re: Norm Van Lier -- fuck (your), Sunday, March 22, 09:26:47pm [1]

blast from the anus , you fucking worshippers. FUCK YOUR GOD