Cage memories - Help a Collegian writer

[MikeUMA]

Hey everyone. A writer for The Collegian, George Coulouras, reached out to me. With the Cage transformation underway, he's planning to do a story of the legacy and memories of the Cage.

A lot of you guys here went to games at the Cage. Got any good memories to share? Feel free to post them here. I'll send George a link to this thread so he has visibility.

Bluesky users: You can also add to the thread I've started https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ido5hi ... odjxcmo22c
Facebook users: Similar https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BcgZac2wh/

Thanks!

https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... hicks_cage

[umasscollective]

Mike - Can you send me his EMail address? Would love to get this linked up with the CurryHicksCage.com page were building...

[Bags]

I was there for the Rick Pitino/Al Skinner/Alex Eldridge/Billy Endicott, Burke years (72-77). I think we were still in the Yankee Conference then. We used to play UCONN twice a year. The atmosphere was pretty crazy. Very loud, and for hours after my ears would be ringing.

[vanmeter]

In 1975 at the cage vs Boston College in front of a full house, the lights went out. When restored I think a guy named Arnold Johnson (I could be wrong on the name) went out if his mind with his best game ever and we beat BC.

[Old Cage]

One tidbit: Dee Rowe was a quite successful hoops coach for UConn from 1969 to 1977. In the days leading up to their annual visit to the Cage, he would have his team practice with the lights out to simulate the Cage lighting conditions.

[MikeUMA]

I went into the archives for the first game in the new building in 1932:
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... 09_amherst

[Bob1975]

I was there for the Rick Pitino/Al Skinner/Alex Eldridge/Billy Endicott, Burke years (72-77). I think we were still in the Yankee Conference then. We used to play UCONN twice a year. The atmosphere was pretty crazy. Very loud, and for hours after my ears would be ringing.

I was there from 71-75. If you wanted a seat, you had to get there for the freshman game. In those days, freshmen could not play varsity, and if my memory serves me correctly, they were undefeated in the 71-71 season. Billy Endicott was on the freshman team.

Pitino and Skinner would have played with Dr J if he had not gone to the ABA. That would have been an incredible team.

[Floyd]

I was there to see the tremendous run of the early 80s. Leave the DC 5 minutes before tip and walk right in-- front row center court!

[MikeUMA]

I was there for the Rick Pitino/Al Skinner/Alex Eldridge/Billy Endicott, Burke years (72-77). I think we were still in the Yankee Conference then. We used to play UCONN twice a year. The atmosphere was pretty crazy. Very loud, and for hours after my ears would be ringing.

Our last in the Yankee was 1975-76, and then it was the ECBL in 1976-77. The ECBL name evolved into the Eastern 8 and then the Atlantic 10.
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... conference
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=atlantic_10
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=season_history

[harbo]

Some rambling thoughts from my '72 to '76 years. Mike has kept some excellent historical information to help back up some stories.

Best advice I ever got was to get to the Cage early. Often it meant that we watched many jv games, not that there is anything wrong with that. Those who delayed their arrival were missing out on the main event. I do recall one important game where I heard the doors slam shut about 30 seconds after my arrival. Phew!

I recall heading to the Cage after a big snowstorm. Since there were big piles of plowed snow, we noticed one person who tried a shortcut over the pile. He was stuck for a minute or two before we helped him out. I was the one who fetched his boot out of the pile.

In the early '70s there were 16 NCAA tournament teams (which expanded to 32 teams in 1975). That would explain why the Cage crowd would often break into chants of NIT, NIT, NIT... The NIT was an important trip to Madison Square Garden with busses available. We did beat Missouri (hopefully the same result this weekend?), before falling to UNC in the next round.

Thanks to Mike's history pages, I can recall the 108-38 win over Maine, a 2 point OT win over overrated Providence, and just missing against Syracuse. Trying to remember if I was there to see Calvin Murphy show off his wizardry with Niagara.

The bad memory is beating U-con out for the 1975 Yankee Conference, but U-con inexplicably getting the NCAA bid.

And a big shout-out to Mrs Martin from the UMass infirmary for (somewhat reluctantly) allowing me to attend an important game one time.

Plenty more could be said about each player, including that McLaughlin guy.

[tom mclaughlin]

It makes me proud to have played for Coach Leaman and with some great guys Erving, Skinner, Endicott, Trow, Vogeley, Peters, Olsen, Murphy, Pitino, Austin, Burke, Stokes, Guys who all played hard and didn’t give an inch. If your team came to the Cage they were in for a battle. The UMass fans were the best Snow or rain didn’t stop them they lined up and patiently waited hours to get in and then got to see the emergence of Dr J. It was a show that they would remember for a lifetime and they would be able to tell their kids!
The Cage experience was a total unbelievable feeling and each game was thrilling and we beat some great teams especially UConn, BC, Providence and Syracuse. Teams all of a sudden didn’t want to come to little old Amherst. Years later Rick Vogeley told me how he ran into a former BC player who told Rick “you guys had the wildest fans and they surrounded our team bus and started shaking it.”
The thing about the Cage was it created an atmosphere that made us almost unbeatable. It was a great place to watch a game the fans were on top of you and they were loud. Just so many great players and coaches came through that building. All the New England teams had to come and for several years we were ranked number 1 team in New England. Just want to thank all those fans who came and cheered us on and were told “can you squeeze together because there are another thousand fans waiting outside.” It was unbelievable and thanks for your support. We were all UMass fans and fighting to be recognized as a good basketball team. Well we did it and it’s all because of the thousands of you that waited in line for hours - you were the best!

[Bags]

Went back into the wonderful archives that Mike has put together. Pitino is an interesting case, he may not be so beloved, but here’s a guy who has gone on to accomplish great things. He’s in the Naismith Hall of Fame, but not in the UMASS HOF. My recollections of him playing was that he was kind of a PITA and Leaman was hard on him.For sure, his college play didn’t warrant any awards, but love him or hate him (some scandalous behavior in Louisville), he has gone on to have a great career.

[Berkman]

After the cage was remodeled our seats were moved from behind the bench to the other side on the upper level. When we would play Temple Coach Cheney would sit in the upper section behind the basket. I went over several times and had some interesting conversations. He was very friendly and said that he would never recruit a point guard shorter than 6' 3".

[MikeUMA]

In 1975 at the cage vs Boston College in front of a full house, the lights went out. When restored I think a guy named Arnold Johnson (I could be wrong on the name) went out if his mind with his best game ever and we beat BC.

The digitized Collegian archives are pretty good, but the 1974-75 file is an exception. For some reason they're mostly grainy and readable. Bummer because this would have been a good archive add.
https://archive.org/details/massachuse1 ... ew=theater

[MikeUMA]

a 2 point OT win over overrated Providence

That may have been marked as a "home" game, but it was alternate court for sure. That one was in Springfield.
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... providence

Trying to remember if I was there to see Calvin Murphy show off his wizardry with Niagara.

Maybe but that wouldn't have been against UMass. The first time we faced them was 1974, and he finished in 1970.