Tags
Basketball, Brooklyn, CHSAA, Container Diaries, Eddie Moss, Floyd Bank, Holy Name, King Tournament, Larry Petty, LIC, Long Island City, Power Memorial, Skip Jackson, St. Thomas, Willie Sims
In late December of 1976 I went to St. Thomas Aquinas in Flatlands, Brooklyn to watch the Monsignor King Basketball Tournament.
It was the championship game, Power Memorial vs Long Island City.
I was 12 at the time and in the sixth grade at Holy Name.
After dinner Forte Bellino picked me up on the corner of Windsor and Ninth Avenue and we made the short drive together. Mom had no idea where I was going.
When we arrived the gym was packed. We were able to find a couple of seats half way up the bleachers across from L.I.C.’s bench.
Power was the defending C.H.S.A.A. city champs and led by 6’2″ Eddie Moss in the back-court and Larry Petty their 6’10” 5-man.
Floyd Bank, who I would meet years later working the New York Kncks youth basketball camp at Manhattan College was the head coach for L.I.C.
L.I.C. from the P.S.A.L. was led by Willie Sims and Skip Jackson. Coach Bank would tell me a few stories about not only that championship game but coaching at L.I.C.
“A Jewish coach, at a public school with black kids playing a catholic school in a catholic school gym,” he mentioned.
Power won the game and it was the night I decided I wanted to go there for high school.
I was mesmerized by their uniforms and style of play, mainly Moss.
At half-time I remember getting up and moving behind Power’s bench to get a closer look at their squad.
Driving back to the neighborhood with Forte I mentioned to him I wanted to go to Power for high school.
Later that season Power would make it back to the C.H.S.A.A. finals only to lose to Nazareth by 2 points.
Tonight my friend Carl informed me Petty recently passed away.
After graduating from Power, where he was Street & Smith’s All-American the big man from Long Island City went on to play four years at the University of Wisconsin where he averaged 9.7 points per game and 6.5 rebounds. The Badgers had a young assistant coach by the name of Bo Ryan.
R.I.P. big fella…