Fuchsia

While watching the NCAA basketball tournament last night I learned from the game’s announcers that Marquette has a play called “fuchsia.” This delighted me because only one other team that I know of ever had such a colorful name for a play: my team.

It was about 18 years ago when my son, Peter, played for my St. Margaret’s CYO sixth-grade team. We had an offensive play called “blue.” After running it repeatedly at practice one night, I realized that in a game an opposing coach and his players would quickly recognize the play and make the proper defensive adjustments.

So, I instructed Peter and his teammates to run the same play but to call it any color, not just “blue.” It’s a simple tweak, I thought, and would make it less likely for opponents to react immediately to it. While I was congratulating myself on this coaching strategy, Peter, as the point guard, brought the ball into the frontcourt.

 

“Fuchsia,” he called out. His teammates froze, perhaps not as familiar as Peter with Crayola’s 64-crayon box.

Tom Gola and La Salle Basketball

With the NCAA basketball tournament ready to recommence tomorrow night with 16 remaining teams, including upstart La Salle University, which first had to survive a play-in game prior to the main event, the Wall Street Journal on Monday (3-25-13) ran a story, “Why La Salle Basketball Matters,” by Mike Sielski (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324789504578382711983492502.html).

Sielski brought perspective to La Salle’s current foray into the college sport’s elite territory, reminding readers of the Explorers’ rich basketball past and especially of Tom Gola, the most prominent player in the school’s history.

In the summer of 2003 I spoke with Gola, singled out by Street & Smith’s as one of the college game’s all-time best players. Shortly after that interview, I learned that Gola fell outside a Philadelphia restaurant, hitting his head, and slipped into a coma. He later suffered a stroke. As Sielski reported in the Wall Street Journal, Gola, at age 80, now lives in a nursing home in Philadelphia.

No story about the present La Salle team is complete without reference to the best player of its past. Here, then, is further background—and my story (from Street & Smith’s 100 Greatest College Basketball Players)—on Gola, who, 58 years after his final college game, remains the NCAA’s all-time leading rebounder.  

Tom Gola is the proverbial golden boy who made good. A winner at every level in basketball, he is one of only two players (with Arnie Ferrin) to have won NIT, NCAA, and NBA titles. And he did it all in his native Philadelphia.

“That’s it, and I’m still there,” said Gola with a laugh. “Can’t get out of the ghetto.”

Born in the middle of a basketball season on Jan. 13, 1933, Gola was a versatile player who scored 2,222 points and led his team to a city championship at La Salle High School. He then took his game to nearby La Salle University, where in 1952 he was co-MVP for the NIT champions as the Explorers beat Dayton in the final. Two years later, he was named Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament as La Salle beat Bradley for the championship. The following season, Gola averaged 24.1 points for an Explorer team that lost to San Francisco and Bill Russell in the NCAA final.

The foundation for success for Gola was established early on.

“I had good coaches,” the three-time consensus All-America said. “I was 6-6 and 215 pounds in college. The coach that we had, Ken Loeffler—he’s in the Hall of Fame—he didn’t believe in a pivot. He played a five-man weave. When I was in high school, the coach did the same thing to me: He wouldn’t let me play the pivot either. And in grade school I was the big kid, but the coach said we had to learn to shoot two-hand sets on the move. And that’s what we used to do.”

Gola was on the wining end in 102 of 121 games in college, where he averaged 20.9 points and 18.7 rebounds from 1951-55. He ended his career as La Salle’s all-time leader in points (2,461) and rebounds (2,201). He remains the NCAA’s all-time rebound leader.

“I always tell people that the biggest thrill of my basketball life was when I was an 18-year-old freshman at La Salle and we won the NIT,” Gola said. “We were the Cinderella team, the last one in, and we made it all the way.

“What was more important was that that season followed the New York basketball [point-shaving] scandals. And I think [the NIT championship] rejuvenated basketball in New York because it was in the old Madison Square Garden and every game was a sellout. We were fortunate to win it, and I shared the MVP with my teammate Norm Grekin.”

Prosperity continued for Gola in Philly, where he remained to begin his professional career. He averaged 10.8 points a game as a rookie with the NBA champion Warriors in 1955-56. Gola finally left town when the warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962. He finished his playing career with the New York Knicks in 1966. In 698 pro games Gola averaged 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.

Gola returned home to coach the Explorers for two seasons, leading his team to a 23-1 mark in 1968-69 and to 14-12 in 1969-70. In 1998, La Salle named its arena after him.

“They usually wait until you die before they do that,” Gola said dryly.

Gola had already joined the basketball immortals when he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Tall Tale

The second graders took turns today presenting their animal projects. Each student had chosen one creature (tiger, elephant, gorilla, cheetah, dolphin, penguin, cat, dragonfly, etc.) and then mounted on their posters the photos, illustrations, and information about the habitat, diet, lifespan, and other fun tidbits of their animal.

During one presentation we learned that the snow leopard could be found in the mountains of Nepal, and specifically in the lower regions of Mount Everest.

I interrupted the speaker to ask if the children knew anything about Mount Everest. They did not. It’s the tallest mountain, I told them.

Hold on.

“No,” said Quin. “It’s not.”

Really?

“There’s a mountain on Mars [Olympus Mons] that is 21.9 kilometers. That’s higher than Mount Everest.”

O.K., I said. I should have qualified that. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on planet Earth.

“Yes,” agreed Quin. It’s the second-tallest mountain in the galaxy.”