Schnellenberger, Harwell, Wooden & Hall

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During the past 30 days, ironically, on May 4 and June 4, my eyes have been quite misty due to the deaths of longtime Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Harwell and legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden.

Harwell's death was extremely difficult because the last time I saw him was on my 46 birthday on December 29, 2008, just a few days after FAU defeated Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. Ernie was an uncle to me as well as a colleague, who I met in 1982 in Clearwater, Florida during Spring Training. He passed away at the age of 92 due to Bile Duct Cancer on May 4.

What made the last trip to Detroit so special was being able to see Ernie and watching another dear friend FAU Coach Howard Schnellenberger lead the Owls to their second straight bowl victory. Even though this trip was the last time I saw Harwell, we did exchange e-mails and spoke on several occasions.

During this trip, after the Motor City Bowl, I took the nine hour drive down I-75 South to see the FAU Basketball Team face the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on December 27. I had the good fortune of writing a story on legendary Wildcats Coach Joe B. Hall.

I came away from Rupp Arena with the feeling that Kentucky Basketball is in a class by itself with 24,000 passionate coaches screaming, cheering and second guessing every play.

On Friday Night, Wooden passed away due to Natural Causes at the age of 99, just four months shy of his 100 birthday on October 14, 1910.

I feel very privileged that I had the opportunity to meet Coach Wooden on January 4, 1992, when I was in Los Angeles to cover a UCLA game against the Georgia Bulldogs.

I don't remember the score of the game nor do I care to research it. When I entered Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, all I remember were the championship banners in the rafters.

During half-time, as I did with Hall, I interviewed Coach Wooden for 20 minutes.

It was the best 20 minutes of my life!

I learned so much from Coach Wooden and he was kind enough to sign my media guide. I have that interview stored away in a safe place.

Schnellenberger, Harwell, Wooden and Hall are icons.

As fans and media members, we need to appreciate not only the championships and big victories between the lines, but the legacies they leave us outside the lines.

Schnellenberger has his national championship with the Miami Hurricanes and his name will be at the new on campus stadium at FAU.

He is “The Father of FAU Football.”

Harwell is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, while Wooden and Hall are NCAA Men's Basketball Champions with legendary programs who are beloved in their communities.

My advice to FAU football fans this fall is even though there are only four home games at Lockhart Stadium this fall, enjoy Schnellenberger's tenure. When his coaching days are over, his shoes will be as large to fill as Harwell's Wooden's and Hall's.

Scott Morganroth'a blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com. and he can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

THE KENTUCKY BASKETBALL EXPERIENCE

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
LEXINGTON, KY—As I watched FAU basketball media relations director Nick Mirkovich look at the numerous banners and listen to the passionate crowd of 24,018 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, during FAU’s Dec 27 meeting against the Kentucky Wildcats, it was easy to tell by his body language that he was in awe about what he was experiencing.
After the game UK media relations Director DeWayne Peevy had a packed house in the media center with press conferences from FAU’s Mike Jarvis and Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie along with several players.
What Mirkovich would find out was “Kentucky Basketball” is more than a sporting event, it’s a way of life. In 104 seasons, UK’s record going into this year was 1,966 - 621 - 1.
When I asked Mirkovich if he had ever heard of former Wildcats coach Joe B. Hall, he politely said no. Hall was the coach who followed Adolph Rupp. Rupp coached the Wildcats from 1931-1972 and in 42 seasons compiled an 876-190 record for an .822 winning percentage and four national championships.
Instead of being overwhelmed following a legend, Hall embraced the challenge and adding a legacy of his own. Hall guided the Wildcats from 1973-85 and compiled a 297-100 mark, 748 winning percentage and one national title. A few of the players on his championship team include Jack Givens, Kyle Macy, and Rick Robey. Florida State University head basketball coach Leonard Hamilton was an assistant coach for the Wildcats. Kentucky was 30-2 during the 1977-78 season and broke a 20-year championship drought.
Hall’s name hangs in the rafters at Rupp Arena and he is a beloved figure as fans take photos with him. He is very accessible to all media especially out of town writers because he relishes the opportunity to promote UK’s program nationally.
During half-time of Kentucky’s 76-69 win over FAU, Hall took the time in this Observer interview to explain what it’s like to be a part of college basketball’s all-time winningest program which has won seven national titles.
Q: How do you describe Kentucky basketball?
A: It’s a long history of love for the game that started in the mountains of Kentucky. A team from Ashland won the 1928 national tournament and that sparked a great interest in basketball and then Coach Rupp came to Kentucky in 1930, won some conference championships, then took New York by storm winning three national championships in a four-year span. It took a very early place in the fans of Kentucky and a source of pride for the excellence that their players performed at and it grew into being a passion for the sport of the Bluegrass. It has continued to grow with success and the fans are constant as you can tell. What is a Saturday night during Christmas and New Years, the fans are packed and that’s with the students gone? That means a lot of non ticket holders have an opportunity to buy tickets. It’s a great thing and something the people of Kentucky can point at with pride. It’s a sustaining type of experience for those residents of the state.
Q: What’s it like to lead your basketball team in front of 24,000 coaches in the stands watching every move you make?
A: For one thing, they insist on perfection. They want a winner and they’re going to support you winner or not but they’re going to express their disdain if you’re not producing the way Kentucky should produce. That’s good. Their expectations are very high and that carries over to the coaches and players. There aren’t many programs that can say they have four different coaches that have won national championships. Rick (Pitino) and Tubby (Smith) did when they followed me and that speaks well of the fans here and the support that the program gets.
Q: What was it like for you to follow Rupp?
A: It’s inexpressible! I don’t think I can describe it in words as to what it was like to inherit this program that was at such a peak. The good part about it was Coach Rupp built the foundation on solid stone. He left a tradition wasn’t that difficult to continue. I appreciated the opportunity I had to be in his footsteps and take advantage of all that support here at Kentucky. Being the winningest program in college basketball means something, is a tradition we have to uphold and the fans are going to insist that it continues.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at Scottsports33@aol.com