Representing TWO Big East Teams, Ray Knight joins the Big East Rewind to talk Georgetown, Providence, the Big East, and more! Huge thank you to Ray for joining us and we think it was a great episode! Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe as we approach Episode 100!
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Welcome back to this edition of the Big East rewind I’m your host Chuck Everson from Villanova and my co-host my buddy my pal and my point guard my main man Sunny spara how are you Sunny Chuck I’m great man and we’re dipping a little bit into the Providence Waters again this is
Cool I like you know what Sunny we’re gonna be delving into several uh Waters or today you know because this guy represents two teams in in the Big East he does the Georgetown hoers we’re going to talk a little hoyya nation and we’re going to talk uh Prav toown frier toown
And uh and and and the guest is not Ed KY all right so there you go you know people right away would say oh you got Ed kol on no we don’t we went back in the archives to find uh to find this guy
All the way from the DC area and the DMV where all the Ballers are from sunny all the like it man where was I in high school I was like I was just Upstate New York I didn’t realize this holy cow so I remember playing against this guy and uh
We you know me too we we banged around a little bit in the post uh Sunny you know back in the day you know I don’t remember at Georgetown I wasn’t there at Villanova yet when he was at Georgetown but spent the year at Georgetown and
Then red shirted it and then played his uh time at Providence College and he’s here with us today my good buddy Ray KN how are you Ray uh great I’m uh thank you for having me on uh good to see you guys after all these
Years yeah and uh I like the like what you guys are doing with your uh podcast thank you very much yeah thanks we appreciate that you know it’s it’s been a a labor of love as you know we talked um the last time we were and I ran in so
For people that don’t know we you know it was funny I went to a um Eagles commanders game sunny out in DC like you and I did went back and uh of course uh I I run into Big East Brethren all over the place that day you know Reggie was
Going to meet us there so Reggie Williams was there you know hanging with us we had a big tailgate and again uh he refused to show off his cooking skills that he brags about so much Sunny you know so I did all the cooking again but
It worked out I turn around and your guy from Syracuse Herm hered is parked right behind us at the tailgate and he played on Reggie’s dunar team so they were fast friends we walk in to get an ice cream and we run right smack dab into Ray
Who’s who’s H who happened to be working uh you know with the with the commanders in the uh all right so dep six 67 68 Ray Ray you’re 610 610 yep 610 7 foot I guarantee people were just like oh we how many pictures did we take right it
Was quite a few uh people coming up asking us questions constantly uh it was uh kind of difficult to have a conversation at times but uh yeah yeah it’s not easy it’s not easy you would never know sunny it’s not easy come on you guys were like Taylor Swift man you
Guys had the paparazzi everybody was following you guys you know listen it was one thing if they said oh there’s Ray Knight oh there’s Chuck everon but they were like wow you guys are big can I take a picture with you so we can go home and talk about it at dinner that’s
Really what it was about right never asked us where we played or anything like that it was just that we giant yeah and then when one person everybody wants to get a pitcher exactly that’s it that’s it we should have charged we would have made it five
Bucks you know that’s right create a buzz man so let’s kick this thing off right so you grew up in DC talk about growing up in DC area and playing against all those great players in the Parks and stuff out there oh man it was it was awesome
Uh you know it’s a lot different nowadays but back then you could go to um there were very specific places you would go where you knew all the players were um and um you know you basically cut your teeth on playing against you know people like Adrien Dantley um who else uh geez
Uh uh let me think uh I gez there’s so many names that I I can’t remember like uh guys that went to uh like Tom sloy went to Notre Dame uh Cecil Rucker uh those guys um just just guys who all Americans you know that uh
You know played at a very high level Lyn bias just everybody yeah yeah he was awesome I mean we we I got to play against him in high school too you know at coach mamino camp and uh he was good back when he was a kid he was really
Good so yeah you knew he had coming up talk about your what what size were you were you always like one of the taller guys like talk about like and when did you pick up the sport uh late actually uh well I played you know but it was just for fun um
Because all my friends played but uh you know I was pretty normal height up until about the ninth grade uh or the somewhere before that uh the summer before the nth grade I went from like 57 to the end of the ninth grade I was 6’4 nth grade yeah it it was definitely
Interesting uh little painful but um you know um I guess because I played Sports pretty much uh from my younger years um the the transition from that from the 57 to 64 was not as bad like I didn’t feel uh awkward like in the sense that some
People do when they when they grow like that but uh yeah was your what was your true love then was it basketball was it was it football well no it actually started out as football um yeah lot of guys yeah being uh you know here with the Washington Redskins um you know that
Was a big thing but uh you eventually uh you know started playing basketball um and really I guess really started to get competitive with it um like in the ninth grade that was the first organized basketball that I played that required changing positions uh no well yeah well not
Really because by the time I the season rolled around I was uh probably 62 63 or something like that um so I was playing Center in in the ninth grade um didn’t really know what I was doing um you know didn’t have any training or anything
Like that um so it was just kind of running around getting in the way of people or whatever but uh you know eventually um after going to a couple of basketball camps and things like that I started to learn um and develop into a little bit better
Player so who who recruited you talk about how you got to Georgetown first how did that how did that all come about and was that something that you know you looked up to those guys that was the local team that you know everybody wanted to be a part of or was it
Something that that made the most sense just for you personally at the time uh no so what happened was I went when I went to high school in the 10th grade uh I played jv on the team that a uh kolich High School Calvin kolich High School
Here in DC and the basketball coach uh sent me to or or suggested to my parents that I go to basketball camp at Georgetown and uh there um somehow I got recruited to go to St Anthony’s after the 10th grade uh the coach at St Anthony’s was the grad was
Uh play for Thompson in high school and then was his graduate assistant uh for a while uh after he graduated college uh but he became the coach at St Anthony’s and so he recruited me um and uh ended up there going there in the 10th grade I’m sorry in 11th grade
And 12th grade and um then in uh 12th grade erri was the assistant coach in my high school oh really yeah yeah there’s a connection yeah yeah yeah so you could see some things developing there you know I don’t know whether it was by Design or what but yeah definitely uh uh
That’s what happened and uh I was actually he heavily recruited by Syracuse Maryland um uh went to visit Virginia Tech uh University of North Carolina Charlotte older minion um but you know just decided that Georgetown was a better fit it allowed my parents to come to the
Games um and you know kept me close to home although it was more like I was you know away anyway because just trying to get off campus was a challenge yeah but yeah yep wow so you get to Georgetown right did John Thompson like his size and position and maybe a familiarity
With you or like was there was there any connection there like hey a big coach big guy understanding of the position you know it’s it’s almost unusual now to have big guys as coaches because we all know point guards are better coaches Chuck understands that we both we all
Understand that toally I would totally agree with that just from the Patrick Patrick didn’t help us out at all right come on you know I’m just I mean you know um I think from a guard’s perspective you understand a little bit better about the you know the distribution of the ball
You see things from a different angle things like that definitely I think that makes a difference um but but was it appealing to play for a fellow big guy or no uh no I don’t think that played into it it was more the familiarity in
That I’d gone to the camp for a couple of years uh you know my like I said my high school coach and uh coaches uh both you know play played for him you know um I think they I think that the thing that I learned or um realized
After I kind of got a little bit older is that they probably should not have recommended that I go there uh knowing what they knew about me uh they they probably would have been better served if they did not recommend me to go there um and kind of discouraged Thompson to
Recruit me uh just because you know it takes a certain mentality to fit into that program and I definitely did not have that so so now that you mentioned it let let’s talk about it a minute okay he he’s he was a tough tough guy I mean
You know you know they he he had a certain expression that was his favorite expression we’ve talked about it on the show you know um he he just would after people all the time what was your relationship like with them uh and you know talk about your your experience and
I know I know you had at least one good buddy on the team our good buddy uh Jean Smith so you know Jean tells me that you got you guys room together right your freshman year uh no we didn’t room together um we actually uh swapped rooms
Uh swap roommates my freshman year but uh we didn’t live together but we we might as well we I guess you could say we live together because we were always in the hallway outside of our rooms you know hanging out harassing people um yeah you know but uh you know if you
Didn’t see if you saw one you you saw the other you know coming around the corner so that’s that’s the way it was with us so and you guys were the same class so it was you know so at least you had a built-in pal that is gonna go
Through the same stuff that you’re gonna go through that you know that’s always my my guy was Wyatt maker he and I were fast friends and uh you know and we went through everything together you know right um the Bad and the Ugly you know Jean and I were
Um I wouldn’t say disruptive but we were we were um know always laughing and joking and things like that and you could say it it’s okay yeah uh we it was probably in Jean’s best interest that I that I left it probably made made life a lot
Different for him um but I would say that you know my relationship with you know all the coaches there was pretty contentious um in the sense that you know like I said I just did not have the U the mentality that was required to fit in
Right did did you and Jee know each other in high school like did no actually um he went to a high school actually uh almost five or 10 minutes away from where I went to high school at mckenley Tech yeah um but we didn’t know
Each other in high school we met uh when he went on um went on a a trip to I think Vegas uh to play in a tournament allar tournament out there and uh yeah you know we met then uh but uh we didn’t really become friends until you know we
Got got on campus um and and just started hanging out and found that we had a lot of the same interests and things like that and you know laughing and joking you know that that that was a big part of it yeah you know he he’s
He’s such a good guy you know and uh he we I mean I feel whenever I talk to him I feel like I was teammates with him because we laugh like like 21 year olds feel like I know him forever yeah like we know him for our whole lives you know
Yeah so okay so so you so you get on the Georgetown campus and you know it didn’t have you when you leav and didn’t have anything to do with this guy Patrick coming in no not at all I actually uh I I decided that I was going to transfer
Um shortly after the second semester started um oh wow ear early into the game right yeah I had a conversation with my parents uh in the car after a game uh where I told them that you know I wanted to transfer out of there and uh you know they they like they like
Thompson you know they like what he had to say and things like that and you know he he said the right things to you know people um and um you know so that you know they had a feeling for him but you know when they when they when I told
Them that I was transferring they were supportive and you know they you know basically said you know do what you got to do to be happy kind of thing right sometimes it’s just not a good fit right right I mean not every not everybody goes You Know listen it it wasn’t as
Easy to transfer back then because you had to sit out right right so that was the first thing and the second thing is you know it’s just Styles it doesn’t mean that it was good bad or and different it just means that it wasn’t for you and and that and that happens
You know and you don’t know that until you get to live with somebody for a little bit you know whether it be the coach or you know the style of play the school the teachers the Academia anything that’s going on there If It Don’t Fit It Don’t Fit so I give you
Credit for making that decision so now how did you go from there because it I mean this is the thing that strikes me as odd you know a little bit all right you’re going from the Big East to the Big East and you know I thought back
Then like that was a no no that you couldn’t transfer within the conference did any did you get a hard time and how did it w how did you wind up because you didn’t mention Providence as some of the schools that recruited you so how did that they did recruit me everybody
Through the process you know like how does that happen when you just say okay I’m ready to go you know well Providence did recruit me in coming out of high school I mean I was recruited I think pretty much by everybody in the Big East
And and uh ACC things like that um but uh how how it worked out is uh so Syracuse recruited me heavily coming out of high school uh and uh University of Maryland so when I initially announced that I was going to transfer those were the two schools that I wanted to talk to
Right um being uh you know 18year old person uh listening and you know having respect for people you older than you and things like that you know I kind of took some advice that probably didn’t work out in my best well didn’t work out the way that I had planned it to work
Out in that um like for instance I I tried to I really wanted to go to Syracuse so I I could have possibly have been your teammate Sunny um um but uh the um I was told when I got finally got to Providence the next year I ran into
Coach fine and coach um um Malone Malone yeah and you know we talked in the in the hallway back you know the the hallway in in in the in the Providence Civic Center and and they were like look you know we tried and tried to contact you we contact
Contacted the basketball office as we were instructed we contacted your high school coach and no one would put us in contact with you and um I was like well that’s interesting yeah and um so they were told that they that that that I wanted to go there but for whatever
Reason they were not able to reach me and so that’s that’s what they told me um but how Providence came into play was that Keith LX and I went to high school together and um when uh we we got on the phone we we we were pretty we were
Pretty tight in in high school and you know and afterwards afterwards and so we got on the phone with each other and talked about you know where Keith was going to go to school he was he said it was either going to be Providence or
Sean Hall and so when he you know when we had the conversation it was like well let’s go to Providence and so because we knew Hawker um um so it just kind of worked out that way and that’s how weend up there yeah and the way it worked out
With your red shirt year that was essentially your freshman year in Providence and Keith’s freshman year in Providence right yes yes because you guys both graduated in 85 right correct yeah yeah see how things work out let me let me just say one thing though because you’re you’re at Georgetown you got you
Got Ed Spriggs now you go to Providence you got Odis storp so you’re not for lack of a competition in your practice format right oh absolutely absolutely you know what was it like because Otis Thorp was one of the toughest screen Setters that I ever ran into in my life
A wall he just was built different yeah well Ed didn’t said tough picks I mean he I I didn’t hit too many Ed picks let’s just say that I ran into Patrick more than I ran into Ed Ed Ed was my roommate on the road um
And uh I’ve kind of I always joke with him and say that I feared for my life that he was gonna you know throw me out the window or something but you know it it was very stoic and and serious guy um he was a little bit older than the rest
Of us and so um you know um you know we had had respect for him um he he didn’t laugh and joke too much with with the Freshman but uh he saw Jean and eyes like get these guys out of here but uh but yeah but uh playing with playing
With uh I mean obviously playing with Otis and Ed they were two totally different types of players um uh Otis Otis was just like I you know carved out of stone man the guy right I never saw him lift weights or anything that guy was just built to to play basketball or
Whatever um you know just huge hands um huge hands just Ultra talented I mean he he started playing basketball late as well and um you know he just came into the Big East I remember the freshman year um when I was at Georgetown and it was like who is this guy because nobody
Had ever heard of him and um you know how do you stop him kind of thing and uh was he was he I’m sorry was was Otis fairly quiet on the court quiet um like he wasn’t a big trash talker right he wasn’t into that said anything he
Had he he everything that he did um was by you know actually doing the work you know he he just was a tough guy to play against um it was like a building yeah yeah were we were playing you guys at the Garden and O comes down and and
Dunks the ball and his hand is in the rim and referee blew the whistle and he pulled it out of the rim and landed and handed it to the referee and we we talked about that for 40 years you know the guy remember when Otis Thorp dunked
That ball and pulled it back out because it was a no one’s ever seen anybody do that before it was like he stopped and said okay here’s the ball back and it looked like he had a grapefruit in his hand his hands were so big yes I saw him
Block people shots you know and and basically just pull it off off the backboard with one hand and and and then start to break and it was like holy crap yeah so I was told to ask you this give us your best Otis Thorp story while we’re talking about
O that I can’t say that I really have one other than you know like I said you know watching him play um just the guy did some incredible things I mean he he improved every year that he played in in in the Big East at you know and then
When he got to the pros he continued to improve he was just amazing um he had a great pro career yeah yeah exactly um but I mean we didn’t hang out a lot you know those guys they we hung out in different like they there was like I
Guess like three main bars that you would hang out in they they lived off campus Otis Carl Hill um and um and uh like Ricky Tucker those guys lived off campus and they they went to a specific bar that they hung out and it was a different bar than where like uh Harold
Starks and and U you know the rest of us kind of hung out in um so it was it was we didn’t really spend a lot of time off the off the court ex uh except like when you you eat and travel and things like
That but uh you know so I don’t have a lot of stories about about Otis but uh you know guy was just amazing I going to ask you when you transferred right so that first year when you’re sitting out cuz people nowadays are they’re not going to be
Familiar with what happens cuz you can play right away your portal right there’s no there’s no uh you know red shirt so to speak what is it like mentally going to practice doing everything but you’re not traveling with the team you know what’s what’s the mental challenges that come along with a
Transfer like that it it was tough um like you said you you go to practice um and then you don’t go and participate I mean I did get to go and sit on the bench and things like that for the home games but uh it was definitely
Uh put me behind the you know behind the eight ball as far as like coming back the next year and being able to play at a at a competitive level um at least for me I mean other people probably had different experiences and things like
That but uh for me I think it it’s you know kind of stifled uh my Improvement um a little bit um and it took me a while to to kind of get back in the in the the the the uh right State of Mind to to play at that level do do the
Coaches kind of recognize that and just give you a little more time or a little more like hey your time’s coming your ‘s coming did you have somebody like on the staff that was doing that for you no um no you know was it’s a lot different at
Least it was for me it was different back then um um I was kind of left alone in a sense you know I was obviously had to go to class and things like that and you know uh show up for practice but uh because there was I you know I I was not
Going to play there was no real need other than you know to talk to me about those types of things it seemed like uh it might be different now but uh but back then it was that was the case for me you you played for melany right yes
Yeah he was tough too I mean he’s one of the alltime uh coaches he was no no no it was uh diametrically that’s not the that’s not the impression you got playing against them you know no no no he he was uh like practice because practice for us was we never let’s just
Say we never ran line drills we never ran really it was only until my junior year or or 19 1984 the 1983 84 season that we actually started to do um like uh uh 17 and doing things like uh you know before the season started um wow it was
Uh I the idea I guess of uh coach Hawker and Coach donlin to uh you know basically try to get us in shape before preon before the season started or before practice even started um but the thing is is that once practice started uh after October 15th we didn’t continue
To do those things so we would burn out um pretty quickly uh by the time you know the Big E season rolled around um and we weren’t we weren’t in shape um so he had a different mentality uh in that he expected you to play in shape play
Your way in shape um and do the things you know on your own if you wanted to be in shape kind of thing um W but uh he was he was not a disciplinar disciplinarian by any stretch of the imagination um uh yeah no that was not the case uh
And that’s completely the opposite of uh you know Thompson yeah oh yeah that’s pretty crazy yeah well so so before we get into your best memories of the Big East tournament and and your best memories of some of the guys that that you played against we’re going to take a
Break here to pick some bills with our new sponsor third eye Consulting Property Management Solutions we’ll be back in two minutes today’s episode brought to you by Third Eye Consulting it’s providing Innovative Property Management Solutions Peter Haber a good friend of Chuck and I’s runs thirde eye Consulting it’s a full service property
And management consulting company they are a customer service and results driven company they work with landlords investors and out ofate homeowners who have tenants they have a track record of taking underperforming properties turning them on their heads and making them profitable for their owners and investors so look up thirde eyye
Consulting and give them a call today Peter Haber tell them the Big E rewind sent you okay and we’re back with Ray night and we’re were just about to get into best Big East uh tournament memories Big East memories playing uh for the Providence Friar so who were
Some of the toughest guys uh that you you had to uh knock around with out there on the court well obviously you know Patrick was you know probably number one uh Bill Winnington um uh gez uh I can go back to like uh who the guys at
Ukon did some pretty good big guys play against Carnegie I think no you didn’t CH you’re thinking of Chuck Alex sis and corny Thom corny Thompson I said probably um I think he graduated did he graduated in like 81 or 82 it was early it was right at the
Beginning those guys were some of the first big guys in in C was huge yeah and you know um even even uh um Andre Hawkins you know talk was tough yeah Andre and you had penon you played against penon a couple years yeah John was tough y Pon yep he’s a banger yep
Exactly um you know and then then uh you know uh the guys at BC um they weren’t big guys necessarily but they could play yeah yeah so yo yeah Raj mccre and some of those guys Jay Murphy Jay Murphy yeah they had they had a pretty good
Squad how about style of play what style of play play kind of gave you fits cuz I know Syracuse I mean we had a little more of a transition type of game Boston College was a little more you know stationary however when Gary Williams got there it was it was definitely more
Up and down the court uh you know any any of those styles that you remember being you know particularly challenging for you um really uh you know because I was I was thin right um yeah and um remember you know anytime you you got some got me
On the post um you know dealing with guys with bigger bodies that were stronger was always a challenge um being agile I was definitely agile um could run I would have been better served you know in a situation where we ran um and and probably giving me more
Opportunities to face up uh than to be with my back to the basket just you have been a good fit at Syracuse I’m going to tell you right now yeah well I’m I’m yeah I I have a story about that when I went to Yugoslavia uh with uh and and
And um coach was the uh he was the coach Bean was the coach and U that was probably one of the best experiences that I had playing was playing for him oh no Kidd who went with you on that trip you remember um Raphael Addison yeah Raphael
Addison uh probably W team with Sean right Sean Hawk was on the team um um who can’t who else was there uh uh Victor um what’s Victor’s last name from uh Georgetown and um Windgate David yeah uh gez who else um can’t remember the other folks that
Were there Andre McLoud from Sean Hall did he go no McLoud no he wasn’t there you know what he he’s from DC and we always talk about how he’s basically disappeared from from uh you know from from around here um he’s definitely a good guy um yeah he’s down in Florida
He’s been on the show right yeah we we had we had Dr on with Ricky Burton oh wow yeah the two of them were cutting up pretty good yeah it was fun but yeah yeah that that trip was that was a great trip going to Yugoslavia and playing
Playing for the um for beheim yep so what what is that now so talk about that for a second because now you talked about style Sunny brought up different styles of play you know sometimes certain Styles don’t fit certain players um right what was it about the way
Beheim coached you that you enjoyed more so than you know you know either Thompson or melany um well I’m I’m not someone that deals with uh people yelling at me uh very well um I I I would much rather be You Know spoken to in a uh and instructed in
A different manner um I think I I I can um accept that a little bit better um so I don’t know how bayam was you know as far as like coaching you guys during the season but I don’t recall him being you know the type of person that would
Yell but would he you know he knew how to motivate obviously um but um just I don’t know it was just for whatever reason the way that we played um and we didn’t do a lot of practicing but for some reason you know it was just a good experience for me um playing
Form yeah you know let me ask you this too about you know now we we get into the the Big East tournament you know we’ve had a lot of guys on and everybody’s got their um their versions of what that was like walking the streets of Manhattan and going into the
Garden uh to play the tournament um talk about what that was like for you I mean that that to uh unless you’ve experienced that it’s it’s hard to to describe to people the buzz around the city when when those four or five days of that tournament you
Know well you know I’d like to say that well obviously at Georgetown right um we didn’t get a lot excuse me get a lot of opportunities uh to uh to do those types of things and participate right um you know in that at the level that you guys
Did um and you know if I remember my freshman that year at Georgetown by the by the time I I was so ready for the season to be over with uh so that I could you know move on to the next thing um I don’t really remember
What it was like but when I at at at Providence you know we were always at the bottom of the the bunch playing in that constellation game and a lot of times we never made it out of that or if we did you know we were eliminated
Immediately um so didn’t get a lot lot of opportunity to spend time you know experiencing that um you know so we you know we would basically head back up to Rhode Island after the after the um after we lost kind of thing so I mean
The few days that we were there you know obviously you know like you said being in there with the New York experience um and just all the excitement and you know walking into the garden and things like that that was that was awesome do you remember the Big East lunch and dinner
That we used to do yeah vaguely um being there mixed us all up we all sat at different table right uh I don’t I guess yeah I guess I’m I I guess I remember that but it I guess it didn’t really put an impression on me that I
You know can recall but yeah I mean it it was nice to meet all the guys that that was a great thing about Yugoslavia is that you know you got to meet everybody yeah and realize that you know they are not your enemy that these are just guys that play basketball just like
You and um you know podcast yeah exactly exactly right and you know so it gave you the opportunity to see that those types of things and that you know which is which is always good talk about the cultures now the difference in the cultures between Georgetown and Providence now
Providence we we talked before the show and you were part of that uh event that they had about a year and a half or two years ago Harold STS was intrical in putting together with coach kolie at the time you know which ironically now he’s at Georgetown right you know um but you
Know talk about the you know the alumni that came back and you know it looked it at least from our vantage point it appears that they really embraced the guys that played there is it still that way I mean do you go back to games do
You you know do you get out there much and talk about that event in particular particular because they had all the coaches there uh who were around and Barnes I guess had covid and he was on a big screen he was he was doing a zoom
Call with everybody at the time you know sounded like a pretty good uh a pretty good time with to to celebrate with all your uh past and and and current uh players you know yeah so um that weekend um W working in football um that’s when we had that event uh which
Was actually last year um it it’s right at the beginning of the season um or or the right at the beginning of preseason and um so it it’s kind of a challenge for me to get away to get up there so I was I got there uh late on Friday um and only
Really stayed until Sunday morning um so I I I didn’t get to participate in a lot of the events I I did go on the boat ride but I think by that time like all the coaches that were there uh that came back they they you know went off and did
Their own thing so I didn’t get a chance to see all of that um I did get you you know get the opportunity like I said to be on the boat and and hang out with like a lot of the older uh former players and uh you know the boosters and
And people who’ve been there forever you know rooting for the team uh but it is great that that they bring they bring back bring or have bring back everybody um you know year in and year out and try to you know keep that uh camaraderie and
Uh you know just have the support the former players around you know talking to the to the to the young kids and and and uh being involved in the program um yeah I have not I you know I I honestly I haven’t been up there um I
I went back um I think it was 2009 um and hung out uh for uh a little uh like basketball reunion uh played a little bit of golf and and U you know U went out to dinner a couple times uh but uh the only other time was last year uh
For me uh as far as going back do they I mean do they open the doors to you for games I mean do you get you get tickets if you want to go to a game do you is it is it like that or is it you know if you
Show up you show up yeah I think you um I think they’re you know try to try to get people involved and and give them tickets and things like that um uh you know I guess if you call like Harold or um uh you know since he works in the
Athletic department now you know he could probably arrange for those types of things but I I’ve never like I said I haven’t been up for a game I went to a game here a few years ago uh when when uh Providence came down to play
GW uh at the time I was working at GW um so uh um but that that that’s pretty pretty much I think the only game yeah maybe I’ve been to like um maybe I’ve been to a couple other games I can’t remember though uh I think
I can’t I went to a Georgetown game uh with uh with a guy that was a freshman with me who is a big booster George booster but uh that that I haven’t been to a lot of games to be honest so you just mentioned hang on son so you just
Mentioned the Georgetown thing again right what one question I wanted to ask you because this this intrigued me you know you you leave Georgetown and you go to a rival team well maybe not a rival back then but another team in the conference right so what was that like
For you now when you have to suit up and play against your old team uh it was like pretty much you know you they’re your friends uh you want to be little they had to be some extra incentive right I mean oh yeah absolutely you know you I mean you
Wouldn’t be if it wasn’t any extra incentive for you to go out and you know have a good game if you got in or you know whatever time you got or whatever you know but I mean was it were you treated any differently when you guys
Went did you play them at Georgetown or did you play them at the Cap Center when you play at the Cap Center I think by the time Patrick got there yeah game I think that’s when they moved off campus to the to the Cap Center right right so
Um so that would have been yeah did you catch any grief from anybody did the fans get you a hard time that you know no I I was insignificant you know I I didn’t there was no reason for anything like that to happen I think um you know
I played got a little bit of playing time my freshman year but not enough to be you know where they would where people would you know see me as like a traitor or something like that and want to give me a hard time about it um but
Uh yeah no and then you know they were all my buddies so you know going back and playing against them was like kind of you know like going home almost in a way um but you still you know like you’re competitive and so you want to
Beat the heck out of them right and come out with the win but you know and that that wasn’t the case but you know it it’s amazing how different the times are can you imagine if they had the social media presence that people have now back then you know I mean that
Would have been uh crazy especially um how amped up it got you know you know when they come in when you guys come into the pester both of you guys when you come in that’s Sunny’s favorite gym um the pester so when you guys come into
The PESA they had the signs rolling out they had all kinds of stuff and it it was it was made famous um in that um um the recream for the Big East you know the things with Patrick and some of the things that were said and you know it’s
Just it’s embarrassing being a Philadelphia guy and a Villanova guy that that’s not how we do things but uh you know at that time it got it people lost control of themselves I was just wondering if you had any kind of um not anything racially or anything but just
You know like just any kind of people you know giving you the business a little bit because you’re coming back coming from another school again in the conference no I really I really I don’t know why Ray but I I really thought I really thought that it was uh a tough
Thing to do within the conference like that didn’t come up when you when you left and went to Providence it didn’t come up that you know like an Unwritten rule that you can’t transfer within the conference and no nothing right nothing nothing never um I think that came later
I think they made it a two-year set if you stayed in the conference that’s what I thought yeah yeah I think um for some for some reason I I don’t know whether I heard this or whether I just kind of made it up but I think like I was one of
The last people to actually transfer in a interc conference anywhere yeah and then there was then the rule came about at some point where you couldn’t do that and or and then I think later on maybe maybe it was it was like the two-year thing like you’re saying
Sunny you know if you think about it it’s a good rule you don’t want somebody poaching people from other teams in the conference and and depleting one team and building up another team by taking their best players or whatever so yeah I wanted to ask you about one of your uh
One of your teammates that uh now it seems to make more sense Billy Donovan you played two years with Billy right and that transformation he made his physical sense when Rick patino cames in now now makes a lot more sense given what you describe my question is uh when
You played with Billy did you see anything in him did you see like this kid could be special he had a little something different any anything I know that he was an absolute gym rat I mean the guy was always in the gym working on his game um shooting obviously was was
Is a big part of what he did um and and he uh you know that manifest when he got you know patino and and you know got in shape and uh you know it just he all the time that he spent in the gym started to
Pay off kind of thing and then you know patino obviously got him a lot more disciplined um and um you know it just worked out for him very well um but the um yeah I mean he he definitely had skills and talent I mean the guy could
Pass could could dribble um um you know um make plays and things like that but uh Patino made a a world difference for him um but you know melany you know is As Nice of a guy as he was and you know with all of his uh history and accolades that he had
From you know coaching Providence back in the 60s and then going into the pros and overseas and doing a lot of great things um I think you know by the time he came back to Providence or even to Brown probably uh before he came back to
Providence it seemed to me like the game had kind of passed them by and and you know like some of the things that we did I mean I know you guys used to laugh and joke about like the weave the thing that we used to the play we used to run that
You know worked in the 60s but just couldn’t work in in in the 80s because people were so much more athletic and agile you know and and you know you guys would cut those cut that play off and but that was that was the thing that
Worked for him um um you stay in touch with do you stay in touch with Billy at all uh no no no I saw him at the uh event last year though yeah he was there every every they had everybody back I mean and you know what was wild about
That was I never realized how rich the basketball history was at Providence right I mean man I mean it was it was like a who’s who there it was great great to see and I I hope Georgetown I hope U Ed coie uh kind of brings that to
Georgetown because if there was ever a um a team that had you know history and you know oh yeah and and you know I mean I think they had some really really great four four Hall of Famers that I know off the top of my head and uh you
Know I think that that would be fantastic if they did that I mean I’m sure you’ve had conversations with with Jean and and Reggie and you know and and and Mike how it was how you know sure and you know and it’s pretty much been
The case all all excuse me all the way up until now the co CO’s there and it seems to me like he’s going to try to change that whole deal and try to to get people to come come back around uh and be more involved um which is going to
Help the program um of course so uh yeah it’s um it it’s going to be interesting to see I’m thinking about going up to the Providence uh Georgetown game this year oh you got gotta go to that one man that’s gonna be incredible I mean that’s
Gonna be the hottest ticket of the of the Season you know that’s Gon Do you know coach English do you know Kim English at all no I don’t yeah I didn’t get a chance to go up this year so I didn’t I didn’t get a chance to meet him but every lot excit
Yeah lot of excitement different gonna be a little different they played pretty well too the other night they look pretty good I mean you know I think they’re gonna surprise some people once they get it a little bit you know do you you follow the current league and and
The current uh situation in the Big East now I do not um I I kind of stopped watching basketball uh for a couple of different reasons uh just you know I tend to watch the things that I play so like in the in the 90s I played a lot of golf so I
Watched a lot of golf um right um I watched I watched basketball like the pros uh when you know guys that I know were playing and things like that so like I I would say that I pretty much stopped watching B basketball uh in the early 2000 I think Otis was probably one
Of the the final guys that I knew to uh to retire uh when he was uh I guess I don’t I think he retired when he was with the Wizards or slightly after that but at any rate I I kind of don’t watch basketball and now I play a lot of
Tennis so I watch Tennis all the time oh wow so I I can’t say what’s going on in in in in basketball or the Big East at all um I don’t know any of the players or anything like that and it it’s a different game than than when you you
Know when we played um yeah and so it’s it’s just uh I don’t know just uh don’t really have any interest in watching put it this way you’re not getting the ball in the post as much that’s for sure tell you that you better be able to shoot it
From Deep you know so well before we leave I want to wrap up with one thing tell everybody what you’re doing now with yourself Reay and and and what’s going on with you personally uh well you know I’ve I’ve um I guess I’d say I’d have I’ve had two
Careers um since graduating I I worked in the Securities industry uh for um the from a regulatory perspective working for the uh what is called finra now um as a financial analyst um I was a finance major at Providence um um so I I
I was able to use that to to to get a career going uh in in the field that I wanted to work in uh but while I was working as a financial analyst I had um kind of developed some uh it skills and uh at some point was able to transition
Over into working in it um so I’ve done that for probably the last 25 years uh working as a network engineer uh for various companies like uh couple of universities um Geico uh SiriusXM Washington Post Yeah uh and now I currently work for the Washington commanders as the principal network
Engineer for the team uh and what that entails is basically running the uh Network for the stadium as well as the the uh corporate side of things that’s big time yeah that’s good time that’s good that’s a lot of pressure and that’s where we that’s
Where Reggie and I ran into you and uh you know next thing you know we we created quite the buzz in the uh as we were walking around so yeah well R hey thank it was so much uh fun catching up with you I appreciate you coming out man spending tonight with us
You hanging with us you know um you know and a perspective is unique because there isn’t anybody that can talk about two different teams in the same conference like that that you know and and Stark differences on both sides you know it’s same era interesting take on
That I enjoyed listening to that man yeah you know there’s obviously some some uh conversations that can be had on air and then there’s the on got to keep there but yeah definitely um it I get it and we stayed away from those we did
Good job with that so I I get it and I respect that too and that and that’s that’s what it’s all about here we’re not the guys digging for dirt we’re not the guys arguing with people we’re we’re nostalgic fun um you know Sunny’s a ball
Of laughs just look you know he’s he’s always making people laugh just uh just by being just by being his normal jovial self uh every day so it’s an honor to be with him inspirational uh thoughts and and and messages and things like that on
Facebook that I I always look at and you know you know it’s always good to see that kind of stuff so yeah yeah we try to keep everybody up on what’s going on so we kind of look at it like we’re sort of the historians of of the of the
Conference now that’s right son I mean that’s the way so that’s awesome but anyway hey well thanks again man we appreciate you coming out and uh and hanging with us hang out for a few minutes and we’ll you know we’ll talk to you in a minute we gotta take care of
Some business here first and you’ve been listening to and watching the Big East rewind with sunny Spar and Chuck gon the Big East rewind was produced and directed by Nick Chico chorus Daryl gurnie and our friends at boundless ventes you can see us on all things social media by hitting Big East rewind
In the search bar and all of our stuff will come up and our website is due out very very soon you’ll be be able to find us on www.big East rewind.com and wherever you get your PO your podcast or on YouTube we ask you to like subscribe share and
Don’t forget to hit that Bell so you get notified when the new shows drop all right thanks a lot for joining us have a great night we’ll see you next Wednesday with another new show thanks everybody thanks Ray
1 Comment
Ray was a great ball-player and even better human being…
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