Saint Joseph's still is among the smaller-enrollment institutions with a big-time basketball program. The Jesuits still offer the same high-quality education. St. Joe's students and alumni are as supportive as ever, and their spirit is unquenchable.
In 1955-56, Saint Joseph's won the first Big Five championship, compiled a 23-6 overall record, and entered its first postseason competition ever - the National Invitation Tournament - finishing third. That season's success seemed to vault St. Joe's into the national collegiate basketball scene, and it has been there since.
At Mass General in January 2007, Dr. Loeffler's team attached a ring-shaped metal frame to my head with four pins. Then I went to the radiation center, where they strapped me to the treatment table and secured the head frame so that I couldn't move.
The Big Five is a competition played in the University of Pennsylvania's Palestra among five Philadelphia-area Division I schools: Saint Joseph's, La Salle, Penn, Temple, and Villanova. 'The Big Five' was immensely popular, and rivalries quickly grew to intense proportions.
It made the most sense for us to select Sam Bowie. It was almost a no-brainer.
I had a sense when I took the job that the 1976-77 Trail Blazers could be very good. We had made a lot of positive roster changes, but it wasn't until I had the team in training camp that I realized that this team could be special. Midway through that season, I felt we had a chance to win it all.