Monday, October 14, 2019

Review of "Homegrown"

Some books are about topics that I do remember once my memory is jogged because someone mentions a book about them.  This is one of those topics as when I received a request from the author to review this, I did remember this special college basketball team and its two superstar players.  Here is my review of "Homegrown"


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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