Title/Author:
“Homegrown: The Making
of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars” by Paul Lonardo
Tags:
Basketball, college
history
Publish date:
May 7, 2019
Length:
136 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
Before the 1972-73 season,
Providence College wasn’t exactly considered a basketball powerhouse. However, in the two previous seasons, there
were two exceptional players who were honing their exceptional talents for their
hometown school and as coach Dave Gavit surrounded them with good role players,
the Friars had a magical run to the Final Four in that 1972-73 season. The season, team and two star players, Ernie
DiGregario and Marvin Barnes, are the topic of this short but enjoyable read by
Paul Lonardo.
The book is an overall recap of the
1972-73 season for the last 40 or so pages, with each game broken down and
described, especially the games in the NCAA tournament which ended with a heartbreaking
loss to Memphis State. The reason why that season isn’t the entire content of
the book is that Lonardo does a good job of letting the reader’s knowledge build
up to that season in much the same manner as Gavit built the Friars from an
afterthought to a great Cinderella story.
Of course, teams like the Friars
need exceptional players and they had not one but two of them and both were
from Providence. Point guard Ernie DiGregario
hailed from the northern part of the city while power forward Marvin “Bad News”
Barnes was from the southern part, the area considered the rougher part of
town. Despite very different
backgrounds, childhoods and high school basketball careers, the two of them
bonded quickly on the court and were good friends off it as well while at
Providence. While Lonardo does write at
least a few paragraphs each about Coach Gavit and each of the other players, DiGregario
and Barnes make up the bulk of this type of information.
How the city caught basketball fever
was also an important part of the book and this is described well as Lonardo
gives the reader a look at the city and its crown jewel from that era that this
special Friars team christened – the new Civic Center building that upped the
crowds from around 4,000 to over 13,000 for each home game. The success of that
team in 1973 was a big factor in the successful operation of the Civic Center
during its early days.
While the book is fairly short and
does not go into great depth, it is a good source of material on one of the surprise
teams in the history of college basketball and is one that comes recommended to
those who want to learn a little more about that team.
I wish to thank Mr. Lonardo for
providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Paperback
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