Episode 10 - Grand Opening

The doors close on the Field House and the curtain rises on Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies crack the Associated Press Top 25 and continue to climb.

BONUS: Stick around after the closing credits to hear the pregame ceremonies before the final game at the Field House, as well as an interview with Art Quimby.

Sports Illustrated article from the February 5, 1990 issue

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Transcript

Hi and welcome to The Dream Season Podcast, an oral history of the 1989-90 UConn men’s basketball season, also known as, The Dream Season.

This Episode 10, Grand Opening.

A new week and a new era dawned the morning after UConn defeated Georgetown, 70-65.

Nadav Henefeld became the first ever freshman to win Big East Player of the Week. In the wins over Syracuse and Georgetown, Henefeld scored 32 points and also had 12 rebounds, 9 steals and 7 assists. He shared the honor with Providence’s Eric Murdock.

UConn students and fans were in a state of both hysteria and disbelief. The Huskies were 15-3, had won five straight Big East games and were now in third place in the conference standings. With 12 games remaining on the schedule, a trip to the NCAA tournament seemed assured, barring a significant letdown. The Huskies hadn’t been to the tournament since the 1979-80 season.

Jim Calhoun was doing his best to avoid that possibility, holding a team meeting the day after the Georgetown game. 

Said Calhoun [QUOTE]: “We met today with the purpose of trying to put the thing in perspective. I told them they should be proud of themselves, but on the other side of the coin, the kids understand people will be looking at us a little more closely from now on. My job, over the next couple of days, is to let everybody else do the voting and all of that. Those things don’t really mean anything to me. We’ve got to think about what we have to do over the next 12 games.” [END QUOTE]

The voting Calhoun referred to was the Associated Press Top 25 poll. On Monday afternoon, the results were in. The Huskies were ranked 20th by the country’s sportswriters. 

Calhoun on being ranked. [QUOTE]: “If we were to stay in the polls for any long period of time, to me, that’s the only major benefit. If you stay in there, then every game you get mentioned more often. Instead of just being on the scrolling scores, they talk about you. We understand all the benefits and for a program like ours, it certainly is a nice step. [END QUOTE]

UConn was last ranked the previous season, when they were #18 in early December. They only managed to stay there for one week, dropping out after losing to Purdue in their following game. 

The players seemed to have heeded Calhoun’s advice and were focused on the larger picture. Said Chris Smith, [QUOTE] “Our goal is to go to the NCAA Tournament and we’re going to be there this year.” [END QUOTE]

The Georgetown game was the final game of the season for UConn at the Hartford Civic Center. Up next for the Huskies was a matchup with Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, January 24th, which will be the final game ever at the Field House, followed by the grand opening of the new home of the Huskies, Gampel Pavilion, on Saturday the 27th versus 15th ranked St. Johns.

The Field House hosted its first game on December 1, 1954, a 116 to 77 UConn win over Rhode Island. The 116 points set a team record for most points scored in a game, which lasted two years, before being broken in 1956. (The record as of the 2022-23 season is 130, set in 1993.)

When the Field House opened, it represented a major step up from the previous home court, the ROTC cage. According to UConn’s all-time leading rebounder Art Quimby, the difference in the two facilities was [QUOTE] “like walking into Madison Square Garden.”

The initial capacity of the cozy confines was 4,200, eventually growing to 4,604. Fans would be sitting so close to the baseline under the baskets, that many players would trip over the feet of the spectators sitting in the front row.

The Field House was the site of some of the most memorable games in UConn history. They include the “Slow Down Game” from February 28, 1970, when head coach Dee Rowe, down to only five usable players after the suspensions of leading scorer Bob Boyd and two others, employed a stall strategy, resulting in a 35-32 win over Rhode Island and a share of the Yankee Conference Championship.

On January 10, 1968, UConn forward Bill Corley dropped 51 points in a 96-70 win over New Hampshire, breaking Wes Bialosouknia’s record for most points scored in a game by 1 point. Corely’s 51 is still the number to beat, through the end of the 2022-23 season.

There was the Bomb Scare Game on February 15, 1971, when a bomb threat was received midway through the second half of a matchup with Holy Cross. After the Field House was evacuated and swept for explosive devices, the game resumed with no fans in the building, as the Crusaders won, 103-78.

Finally, in what is widely considered to be the most memorable game at the Field House, UConn defeated Virginia Commonwealth on March 25, 1988, 72-61, to advance to the NIT Final Four. The official attendance that night was 4,801, even though the capacity was 4,604. The temperature in the building was at least 80 degrees and the crowd noise was so loud that dust was shaking from the rafters, which created an eerie haze throughout the facility.

By 1990, the Field House had outlived its usefulness as a home court option for UConn. The Big East had mandated that it was too small to host conference games after the 1985-86 season. In addition, the roof leaked and several different sports used the facility daily for practice and games. Former head coach Dom Perno, [QUOTE] “Because the track team was often running around the bleachers, we would hear a starter’s gun go off. Well, Mike McKay hears it and he hits the deck. I said ‘Michael, don’t worry, they won’t be shooting at you. They’ll be shooting at me.’” [END QUOTE]

The final opponent to visit the Field House, the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils, didn’t seem to pose much of a threat. Central, which had been hit hard by injuries, entered the game with a record of 3-12 on the season. The Blue Devils were left with little depth and started three freshmen.

One of the upperclassmen that started for Central was 6-6 forward Patrick Sellers, the older brother of the Huskies Rod Sellers.

There was some sad news for the Huskies. Murray Williams’ father Vance Williams, passed away unexpectedly and Murray would be away from the team for the rest of the week. Lyman Depriest would take Murray’s place in the starting lineup.

Here’s UConn radio play by play man Bob Huessler to set the stage for the game:

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Rod won the opening tip over brother Patrick and the Huskies were off and running. They jumped out to a 16-4 start.

During that run, Nadav Henefeld entered the history books.

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There was another notable moment for UConn early in the first half. For the first time in five games, Scott Burrell returned to the court.

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After UConn jumped out to that early lead, Central, thanks to their full court press and some sharp shooting from the foul line, fought back. With 5:10 left in the half, the Huskies led by only 2 points, 31-29. But UConn responded and closed out the first half on a 16-2 run to take a 47-33 lead into the locker room.

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After what was certainly a fiery halftime speech by Coach Calhoun, UConn started the second half on a 21-8 run. They eventually led by as many as 31 points in the second half, cruising to a 99-77 victory.

As you might imagine, Calhoun was not happy with the performance.

[QUOTE] “If we’re going to win in the Big East, one thing we can’t do is go down a level in intensity. That’s the thing that concerns me. It wasn’t the moments when we weren’t playing well, it was the moments when we weren’t focused. Those things are indicative of playing the scoreboard instead of playing the game. We were fortunate enough that we could outman them. We certainly didn’t outplay them.” [END QUOTE]

The backcourt led the way in scoring for the Huskies. Chris Smith had 19, including 5 3 pointers, while Tate George had 16. Henefeld had 13 points and 4 steals, while Rod Sellers had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Rod won the battle over his brother Patrick, as Patrick managed just 1 point but did grab 8 boards.

Rod recalls what it was like playing against his brother:

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With the victory over Central, the curtain officially closed on the Field House. Over the past 35 years, the Field House hosted 367 games, with UConn winning 282 of them, for a winning percentage of 77%.

Here’s UConn’s former longtime Senior Associate Director of Athletics Communication Mike Enright on legacy of the Field House and how it’s closing has been relegated to an historical footnote:

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In 1991, the UConn Board of Trustees would officially rename the Field House the Hugh S. Greer Field House in honor of former head basketball coach Hugh Greer. Greer was head coach from 1946 to 1963, when he tragically died of a heart attack at 58 years old.

During Greer’s 17 seasons as head coach, UConn won the Yankee Conference 13 times, including 10 straight from the 1950-51 season through the 1959-60 season. He won 287 games, which is second only to Jim Calhoun in the UConn record books.

BREAK

Now that both the closing of the Field House and another non-conference opponent were in the rear-view mirror, the Huskies focus turned to their next task. The opening of their new home, the 8,122 seat Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and more importantly, (at least to Jim Calhoun), #15 St. John’s, who was the last team to have beaten UConn.

The opening of the new on-campus athletic facility had been a long time coming.

First proposed to the UConn Board of Trustees in 1968, the plans had been discussed and delayed several times over the ensuing 21 years. The first plans called for a facility to be ready for the 1974-75 season at a cost of $5.3 million but was rejected by the state. The cost increased to $14.1 million in 1981 to $21.6 million in 1985.

The final cost was $28.5 million, with $23 million being provided by the State of Connecticut, with the remaining $5.5 million coming from private donations. 

UConn had to prove to the Connecticut General Assembly that it could raise the $5.5 million before they would approve their $23 million.

Fundraising efforts were boosted when UConn received a $1 million donation from 1943 School of Business graduate, Harry A. Gampel, in what was at the time, the largest individual gift ever received by the University.

UConn ended up raising close to $7 million in total for the project from private donors. In addition, UConn students donated $900,000, thanks to a $20 surcharge on their fees over three years and the UConn Alumni Association also donated $500,000. As a result, the basketball court would be named Alumni Court in honor of those donations.

There was a game to be played on that Alumni Court, and the Huskies looked to atone for their 31 point defeat at the hands of St. John’s on January 2nd. That was also the last time UConn had lost.

St. John’s entered the game in first place in the Big East and was riding a 4 game winning streak. UConn countered with a six game winning streak, including a school-record five straight Big East games.

Mike Gorman and Ron Perry had the call for the Big East Television Network:

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St. John’s Robert Werdann scored the first points in Gampel history. The first UConn points?

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St. John’s jumped out to a 10-4 lead, when the Huskies started to shake off the nerves and excitement of opening their new home.

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The sequence kicked off a 12-3 UConn run, which gave the Huskies their first lead of the game, 16-13.

The lead changed hands five more times over the next five plus minutes.

With just over 2 minutes left in the first half and down 32-27, the Huskies gave the Gampel crowd a reason to really express themselves.

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After a Malik Sealy dunk put St. John’s back on top 34-32, UConn looked to take the last shot of the half.

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The Huskies took all of the momentum and a 35-34 lead into the locker room. 

Chris Smith & Scott Burrell scored 25 of the Huskies 35 points in the first half. Malik Sealy led St. John’s with 12 at the half.

The second half started slow, with both teams struggling to score for the first five or so minutes of the half. The lead see-sawed back and forth.

With the Johnnies up 40-39, UConn’s defense came through once again:

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While Smith and Burrell led the Huskies in the first half, they would be led by two others in the second half. John Gwynn and Dan Cyrulik.

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Cyrulik’s jumper put the Huskies up 53-51 with 6:45 left in the game. 

The next two minutes effectively ended the game.

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With 2:10 left, St. John’s cut the lead to 61-54 after a Boo Harvey 3 pointer. Lou Carnesecca immediately called time out, but St. John’s had called their final time out two minutes earlier.

Chris Smith made both technical free throws and the Huskies continued to make free throws down the stretch. The final score, UConn 72, St. John’s 58.

Thanks to Georgetown losing earlier in the day to Syracuse, the win over St. John’s moved UConn into a tie for first place with the team they just beat.

CLIP

Chris Smith led the Huskies with 20 points, but the story of the game was the UConn bench. John Gwynn and Dan Cyrulik each had 13 points, with Cyrulik adding 10 rebounds. Scott Burrell continued to ease back into playing condition, adding another 12 points off the bench.

It was a magical night for the UConn men’s basketball program. They equaled their best-ever start to a Big East season at 6-2 (set in the 1981-82 season), they avenged a 31 point loss to St. John’s three weeks earlier and they christened their new home. There are a lot of memories that stem from that memorable Saturday night. 

This was the night that Chris Smith had a feeling that this team was pretty special:

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Longtime Connecticut news anchor Gerry Brooks recalls a design flaw with the new building:

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UConn radio play by play broadcaster Bob Huessler remembers the noise:

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Here’s Mike Enright again:

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Former Norwich Bulletin UConn beat reporter Pete Abraham, who now covers the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe;

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Finally, UConn assistant coach Dave Leiato, followed by Jim Calhoun reflect on the impact that the opening of Gampel had on the program:

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BREAK

When the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll was released on Monday, UConn was ranked 13th, their highest ever ranking. They had won seven games in a row, were 17-3, 6-2 in the Big East and thanks to Syracuse defeating St. John’s later that Monday, all alone in first place in the Big East.

Jim Calhoun was happy with the higher ranking but also continued to keep things in perspective.

Said Calhoun [QUOTE]: “We’ve played basketball here for 90 years and I think that’s nice. We don’t want to live on it, we want to build on it. I’m not thinking about being eight or anything, I’m just thinking about winning basketball games. But there’s nothing wrong with getting some recognition for what the kids have done. From a very selfish standpoint, what it does is make the people on the NCAA selection committee well aware of who we are. They weren’t last year and even if we had 17 wins last year, someone would have to make a case for us. This year, I think the case has been made.” [END QUOTE]

The Huskies hit the road for their next game, a non-conference matchup at the Curry Hicks Cage in Amherst, Massachusetts against UMass.

UMass was 10-7 on the season, but had lost their previous 4 games. They were led by sophomore guard Jim McCoy, who was averaging 21 points per game and coached by John Calipari, who was in his second year at the helm of the Minutemen.

The Huskies continued with the same lineup from the previous two games of Rod Sellers, Lyman Depriest, Nadav Henefeld, Chris Smith and Tate George. The UConn bench was bolstered by the return of Murray Williams to the team.

Here’s WTNH’s Ken Strayhorn with a recap of the game:

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The Huskies led 37-33 at halftime and came out strong in the second half. The lead grew to as many as 16 points before UMass climbed back to within 8 at 83-75 with 3:51 left. The Minutemen would not score another point and the final score was UConn 94, UMass 75.

The Huskies shot a season high 59% from the floor, including 67.7% in the second half. The Steal Curtain was also a factor, forcing 18 UMass turnovers, including 13 steals.

Chris Smith led UConn with 22 points, Tate George had 16 points and 12 assists and Scott Burrell continued to round back into form, finishing with 14 points.

Jim Calhoun was happy with the win. [QUOTE] “It was kind of nice having the fans rooting against us because we haven’t had that in awhile. We’ve basically had some home cooking. We just had enough poise. I thought we did a good job at the end. It was not an easy win. We’re just going to escape from town the back way as fast as we can go.” [END QUOTE]

When Husky fans went to their mailbox on Thursday, February 1, they were greeted by Joe Montana on the cover of the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. The 49ers had defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV but most Connecticut subscribers jumped ahead to page 38. There they were greeted by a picture of Dan Cyrulik defending Jason Buchanan of St. John’s under the headline “MUSH YOU HUSKIES”. Alexander Wolff’s story was about the depth of the Big East and included several paragraphs on the upstart Huskies. In my admittedly unscientific assumption, this was by far the most exposure that the University of Connecticut has received in the pages of SI up until this point. As a reminder, these were the days before instant sports news via the internet and SI was essential reading. Sports Illustrated had over 3.5 million subscribers in 1990. This was a big deal.

UConn finished the January portion of their schedule winning 8 of 9 games. 

The 18-3 Huskies would put their 8-game winning streak on the line on Saturday, February 3, 1990, in a road matchup at Providence.

Providence had won 7 of the last 8 regular season meetings against UConn and the Huskies hadn’t won at Providence since 1984. The Friars entered the game 12-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big East. They were led by guards Carlton Screen and Eric Murdock, along with forward Marty Conlon. Each was averaging nearly 15 points per game.

Murray Williams moved back into the starting lineup, replacing Lyman Depriest.

The game started as a typical Big East slugfest. For the first eight minutes, both teams traded baskets and fouls. 

With 12:13 left in the first half and Providence leading 14-13, UConn embarked on a 29-7 run from which the Friars never recovered.

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The Huskies largest lead of the first half was 21 at the 3:25 mark at 42-21.

The halftime margin was 46-28.

UConn scored 17 points off of 12 PC turnovers in the half.

The Friars also lost their cool, committing 3 technical fouls in the first half and sending the Huskies to the line 21 times.

The second half was more of the same.

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Providence had cut a 21 point 2nd half deficit to 13 with 4:19 left in the game, when Eric Murdock was assessed PC’s 4th technical foul of the game.

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Murdock had spit at Tate George coming out of the time out, but George didn’t take the bait.

Said George, [QUOTE] “He tried to spit at me but he missed. If he had hit me, there probably would have been a brawl. I was going to retaliate but I feel it’s better for me to be here with the team instead of sitting out one game for fighting.” [END QUOTE]

The Huskies hit 24 of 30 free throws in the second half to finish off the Friars, 92-77.

The 92 points were the most ever scored by a UConn team in Big East play. The winning streak was now 9 consecutive games overall and 7 consecutive in conference play. The Huskies kept pace with Georgetown for first place in the Big East at 7-2. The 7 Big East wins equals the most for the Huskies since the 1981-82 season, when UConn finished 7-7 in the conference.

Five Huskies scored in double figures, led by Chris Smith’s 21 points. John Gwynn had 15 coming off the bench, while George and Henefeld had 13 apiece. Rod Sellers added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Jim Calhoun was once again pleased with his team. [QUOTE] “Maybe we’re not just a team on a roll. Maybe we’re a lot better than people thought, even myself. Sure, we’re on a roll, but we’re also pretty damn good.” [END QUOTE]

BREAK

With the Huskies notching two more wins, more Big East and national honors arrived after the week had ended. Nadav Henefeld was honored as the Big East Rookie of the Week for the second time, after posting 23 points and 13 rebounds in the wins over UMass and PC. And when the Associated Press released their latest Top 25 poll on Monday evening, UConn jumped five spots and were now in the Top 10 for the first time in school history at #8.

Once again, Jim Calhoun and the players tried to stay grounded in reality.

Calhoun: “It’s very nice. We’ll take everything we can for our program. To be a Top 10 team this late in the season is a nice tribute to our kids. But I didn’t pick us eighth in the Big East in the preseason and I didn’t pick us eighth now either.”

Chris Smith: “It doesn’t really matter where you’re ranked in February.”

Steve Pikiell: “I kind of wish it was an NCAA Tournament invitation in writing. We haven’t gotten anything yet, but it’s nice to be mentioned in any polls. It’s a big jump from when we were 9-19 three years ago and we weren’t mentioned in anything.”

UConn would look to extend their winning streak to 10 games in their final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, February 6, against Fairfield at Gampel Pavilion.

The Stags entered the game with a record of 7-11, but were one of the top defensive teams in the country, holding their opponents to 60.6 points per game.

This was a game of two halves. UConn started the game stagnant and ice cold from the floor. Fairfield jumped out to an 11-4 lead to start the game. UConn’s defense forced 13 first half turnovers but struggled to score, shooting 36.4% from the field. The Huskies managed only 28 first half points, their fewest since their awful first half in the loss at home to Villanova in December. Fairfield managed to shoot 52.6% for the half but still trailed UConn 28-23 at halftime.

The assuredly fiery halftime speech from Coach Calhoun seemed to do the trick. Fairfield had possession to start the second half and UConn forced a five second violation on the Stags as they attempted to inbound the ball. 

A basket by Fairfield’s Ed Duncan at the 17:27 mark of the half cut the UConn lead to 11 at 36-25. That would be the last Fairfield field goal until there was 9:10 remaining in the game. 

After Duncan’s hoop, the Huskies immediately pushed the lead up to 21 points at 47-26 and would never trail by less than 20 the rest of the way.

The final score was UConn 74, Fairfield 39.

UConn had now won 10 consecutive games and had reached the 20 win mark during the regular season for the first time since the 1964-65 season.

Nadav Henefeld continued his strong play, posting a line of 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The Steal Curtain defense accumulated 15 more steals while forcing 24 Fairfield turnovers. The Stags were 5 for 20 from the field in the second half, and shot 38% for the game.

Tate George added 13 points and Chris Smith 10 for the Huskies. Freshman forward Toraino Walker logged a season-high 16 minutes, a direct result of his increased effort in practice. Assistant coach Howie Dickenman, [QUOTE]: “He’s increased his intensity and concentration in practice. He showed flashes in October, but not as much as he has in the last week and a half. You can sense he wants to play more.” [END QUOTE]

Steve Pikiell saw his first action since the January 9th matchup at Villanova, scoring 3 points. He had been sidelined with an injured right shoulder.

UConn’s schedule was about to become much more challenging, with a trip to the Carrier Dome to face #6 Syracuse.

BREAK

Coming up on the next episode of The Dream Season Podcast, the Huskies close out the regular season hoping to stay among the leaders at the top of the Big East standings.

**Stick around after the credits to hear the pregame ceremonies from the final game at the Field House, where the 1954-55 UConn team, the first team to play in the building, was introduced as well as an interview with Art Quimby.**

The Dream Season Podcast is researched, written & produced by me, Matt Edwards. 

Written sources for this episode are the Hartford Courant archives and the Norwich Bulletin. Audio content is from YouTube.

You can connect with the show via Twitter and Instagram at DREAMSEASONPOD

If you have any memories to share about anything I just mentioned, want to correct me on something I screwed up or just have general feedback to give, send me an email at dreamseasonpodATgmail.com or call and leave me a message at (903) 884 - EIGHTY NINE NINETY. 

After I’m done with the regular episodes of the show, I’d love to have at least one episode that consists entirely of your memories of the Dream Season. Either leave a message at the above number or email me with an audio recording of your recollections, along with your name and location, and I will include them in that episode. 

As always, thank you so much for listening and for your patience!!