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game19960228_saint_josephs [2021/02/27 16:18]
mikeuma Coll
game19960228_saint_josephs [2021/02/27 21:06] (current)
mikeuma more Collegian articles added
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 ===== Recaps ===== ===== Recaps =====
-==== Mass. Daily Collegian ====+==== Mass. Daily Collegian 2/29 ====
 **Minutemen struggle but come away with OT win**\\ **Minutemen struggle but come away with OT win**\\
 By Candice Flemming, [[http://www.dailycollegian.com|The Massachusetts Daily Collegian]] Staff, February 29, 1996 By Candice Flemming, [[http://www.dailycollegian.com|The Massachusetts Daily Collegian]] Staff, February 29, 1996
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 During the postgame press conference, Martelli was reluctant to criticize the call but said Nunez "may have to go to LA for the Academy Awards."  During the postgame press conference, Martelli was reluctant to criticize the call but said Nunez "may have to go to LA for the Academy Awards." 
 +
 +==== Mass. Daily Collegian 3/1 ====
 +**In final home game of the season, Rigoberto gives fans reason to cheer**\\
 +By Andrew Bryce, [[http://www.dailycollegian.com|The Massachusetts Daily Collegian]], March 1, 1996
 +<!-- https://archive.org/details/massachuse19951996univ/page/n655/mode/1up -->
 +
 +The game on Wednesday was put on hold for a brief time for good reason.  The Massachusetts basketball team was playing its final home game of the season; meaning five seniors were playing in the last game of their careers on the hardwood of the William D. Mullins Center.  The players were escorted to center court by their families and/or loved ones, and the fans got a chance to show their appreciation.
 +
 +One of the seniors got a particularly large amount of applause, as the ovation started before public address announcer Jack O’Neill even said his name.  He was the only one who had his name chanted.  He is known by all, and loved by the same.  The name is short, but sufficient.
 +
 +Rigo.
 +
 +John Calipari continued in his commendable tradition of starting seniors in their last home game.  Rigoberto Nunez //earned// the first start of his career on Wednesday against the St. Joseph’s Hawks.  Actually, earned cannot be stressed enough just by the use of measly italics.
 +
 +Not in the case of Rigo.
 +
 +Four years ago, the Lawrence native showed up on the UMass basketball team’s doorstep.  The Anton Brown - Jim McCoy - Will Herndon trio who made it to the Sweet 16 in 1992 was lost to graduation.  Spots opened up.  Scholarships were given.  Walk-ons had a chance to show what they could give the team.  Rigo tried out, and eventually walked on.
 +
 +In fact, Rigo worked hard enough to be a walk-on for the next two seasons.  Enough to earn a scholarship for this, his final season at UMass.
 +
 +Needless to say, Rigo has made a name for himself.  It’s not his statistical output that tells the story.  It’s not what he produces in a scheduled game.  It’s about a chance.  A chance for big-time, for a local guy to hitch on with a nationally-ranked Division I basketball team.  It’s a willingness to accept the fact his skills do not resemble that of the Cambys and the Brights, and who voluntarily endures a rigorous practice-player role, despite how minute his game time minutes may be.
 +
 +And Rigo as a person?  See him at a UMass women’s basketball game, as he leads the cheers of the young children in attendance.  They love him.  See him at a UMass men’s basketball game, as he acts like a fan in a Minuteman jersey, waving the towel as he bounces up, down and around.  We love him.
 +
 +And so on Wednesday, we were all excited to see Rigo play once more here on campus.  We saw him play the first three minutes of the game before being taken out.  We all knew the rousing applause given when Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso replaced Giddel Padilla and Rigo wasn’t for Edgar and Carmelo.  We knew it was for Giddel and, most of all, Rigo.
 +
 +We knew he wasn’t going to play much, since St. Joe’s was playing the Minutemen tough.  We knew if the game stayed close, we may see him in the end for defensive purposes.  We understand that if other players are in foul trouble, Rigo has five to use up in the closing minutes.
 +
 +So with 34.4 seconds left in the game and UMass down 58-55, we didn’t think much of Rigo entering the game.  We thought he’d be back on the bench once the Minutemen had the ball.  We would never have been able to predict what Rigo was about to do.
 +
 +Before the ball was inbounded, Rigo took a second shove from Hawk Terrell Myers before falling on his back.  The referee blew the whistle, and the result was an intentional foul.  Deadball foul equals two shots and the ball.  Rigo made one of two free throws, which led to the possession on which fellow senior Donta Bright hit a short jumper to send the contest into overtime.
 +
 +In essence, Rigo had taken no time off the clock, was not called for a foul but //took// one, made a free throw, and gave his team the ball in the crucial seconds of the game.  On a day to commemorate the efforts of his career, Rigo’s effort on that very night were on display for all to see.  It typified what he is all about, what his role is and how he performs it, why he is coined “the emotional sparkplug.”  Rigo was the hero on the special night.
 +
 +His #44 jersey won’t be hanging from the Mullins Center rafters anytime in the future.  Several years down the road, you won’t find his name in any of the UMass all-time best lists.  Neither a piece of cloth nor an old media guide can fill in the full detailed account of Rigoberto Nunez.
 +
 +Doesn’t matter.  A true UMass fan will not forget Rigo.
 +
 +Andrew Bryce is a Collegian columnist.
 +
 +**Senior fans enjoy last game**\\
 +By Matt Vautour, [[http://www.dailycollegian.com|The Massachusetts Daily Collegian]], March 1, 1996
 +<!-- https://archive.org/details/massachuse19951996univ/page/n655/mode/1up -->
 +
 +We were scared there for a second, well actually for quite a few seconds.
 +
 +The 9,493 of us that witnessed UMass’ OT win over St. Joseph’s were frightened.  In a it-almost-happened, the hoop team almost //lost// on Senior Night.  After going 34-2 at home in the past four seasons, the Minutemen almost sent their senior fans out on a sour note.
 +
 +Yes, Senior Night is nice for the players, but their seasons aren’t over.  In addition to one more regular season game, there is tourney time as well.
 +
 +For senior fans however, especially those who don’t have the cash to take their support on the road, Senior Night is it, the finale, the last time to sit in the student section and watch their team.
 +
 +Like so many times before, on Wednesday the Minutemen did indeed pull out the W, and sent their fans home, some of them for the last time… smiling.
 +
 +Being a fan at Massachusetts is comparable to being a fan in a lot of big time schools… standing the entire game, painting faces… and, well, acting like a complete idiot for the sake of school spirit.
 +
 +There is however, one notable exception.  This is still a relatively new concept to us.
 +
 +About two days after I made my final decision to attend UMass, I was fumbling through the sports page and saw that Massachusetts had checked into the AP Top 25.
 +
 +“//Massachusetts//?”  I, a mild college hoop fan at best, thought.
 +
 +Yes, the University of Massachusetts, the same school that had long been mentioned in the same breath as South Dakota and Northern Wyoming State, i.e. not at all, was all of a sudden a contender.
 +
 +For me and for so many other fans it completely changed our college experience.
 +
 +When I first applied to become a Minutemaniac, I was the third person on the list.  No lottery to get involved, just go over to Boyden, pay the $25 and you were in.  If I recall correctly, the list didn’t even fill.
 +
 +It started humbly enough, a 78-55 win over the mighty Central Connecticut State, but you could immediately feel that you had stepped into something special.
 +
 +Nothing however compared to what transpired on Jan. 29, 1993…
 +
 +It was 5 p.m. and two friends and I, as well as about 15 other people, were waiting outside to get into the basketball game.
 +
 +If 5 p.m. doesn’t seem particularly early to you, it was when you realize that the game started at //midnight!//  It was of course the final game in the legendary Curry Hicks Cage, better known as the “Final Rage in the Cage.”
 +
 +We stood for hours chanting UMass cheers, singing drinking songs and begging for them to open the doors and relieve us from the sub-freezing temperatures.
 +
 +When the doors finally opened, the atmosphere was unmatched.  The noise shook the old building like never before.
 +
 +When the Class of 1996 leaves the Happy Valley, the Cage will be something UMass students will have just heard stories about.  The program has grown too big for the Cage’s cozy confines, but it was hard to not wish that the atmosphere created in that building couldn’t last forever.  For some of us it will.
 +
 +The Mullins Center began its own tradition a week later with an exciting overtime win against West Virginia.  The Minutemen stayed perfect in their new home until last Valentine’s day.
 +
 +And the fans loved every minute of it.
 +
 +It was at Mullins that we saw Marcus Camby’s last second dunk to beat GW, Mike Williams heroics, and the continued blossoming of the Temple rivalry.
 +
 +While I loved my year as a media member and travelling with the team, there is something irreplaceable about sitting with your friends and just letting lose.
 +
 +The atmosphere around big time college basketball is unmatched.  Maybe it’s because I saw with the coolest bunch of fans in the building, but I bet everybody there would make the same claim.
 +
 +It was a helluva ride, I’m going to miss it.
 +
 +Matt Vautour is a Collegian columnist.
 +
  
 ===== Other content ===== ===== Other content =====
game19960228_saint_josephs.txt · Last modified: 2021/02/27 21:06 by mikeuma