Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well ... I think IUP could play basketball -- money-wise. But, whom they would play is the question. They are permitted to play if they so choose. Obviously, there is no conference season.


Putting a schedule together wouldn't be easy. I do expect a few teams to play. Gannon and Mercyhurst, from what I hear, are going to try and give it a go. The MEC is (as of this moment) still planning to play.

With the team Joe has this year ... they are going to do everything possible to play. At least, that's what some little birdies are telling me.

[IUP24]

As you post this, PSAC winter sports were announced as being canceled.

I told my buddy at work (Slippery Rock grad) that when the PSAC cancels winter sports it would be a low point for me in 2020. He didn't understand. Didn't expect him too.

[IUPalum]

Joe's opening No. 4 in the NABC Coaches' Top 25.

Also from the Atlantic, West Liberty (7), Fairmont State (20) and Charleston (22).

No other PSAC teams made the poll.

Mercyhurst is a pure snub.

I think a case could easily be made for Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg.

As you post this, PSAC winter sports were announced as being canceled.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe's opening No. 4 in the NABC Coaches' Top 25.

Also from the Atlantic, West Liberty (7), Fairmont State (20) and Charleston (22).

No other PSAC teams made the poll.

Mercyhurst is a pure snub.

I think a case could easily be made for Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

I remember the team well. In fact, they were ranked No. 1 in the country on I beleive two different occasions. The '99 team was very deep -- and very big.

The ladies didn't have near the following back then as they do today. Tom is getting about 1,100 a game ... which a huge number for D2 women's basketball.

Sandy Thomas had several really good teams in that era. She was tough.

Absolutely! 2002-03 was my first year following IUP hoops that closely. Her team was terrific that year. Some great memories of that time at Memorial Field House. PSAC women's basketball was probably the best kept secret at that time that most folks knew nothing at all about. In addition to the great play on the court----plenty of acrobatic cheerleaders, a black bear for the IUP mascot, and a zippy pep band that loved to play the theme from Hawaii Five-O. It was all quite a time to be there.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Were you guys on campus when the IUP gals made the (what was it?) Elite Eight in '99? Was that a big deal or didn't anybody really follow them back then?

I remember the team well. In fact, they were ranked No. 1 in the country on I beleive two different occasions. The '99 team was very deep -- and very big.

The ladies didn't have near the following back then as they do today. Tom is getting about 1,100 a game ... which a huge number for D2 women's basketball.

Sandy Thomas had several really good teams in that era. She was tough.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Were you guys on campus when the IUP gals made the (what was it?) Elite Eight in '99? Was that a big deal or didn't anybody really follow them back then?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Three names I helped stay academically eligible!

LOL ... yeah, Gary's teams weren't quite the 'student-athletes' that Joe targets.

[IUPalum]

I beleive that is the 1998 team.

I'll pull the numerical roster.

Geoff Evans, Brian Brennan, Sly McIntosh, Rodney Horton ...

Three names I helped stay academically eligible!

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

I beleive that is the 1998 team.

I'll pull the numerical roster.

Geoff Evans, Brian Brennan, Sly McIntosh, Rodney Horton ...

Okay, 1998. I'm not sure if I was following IUP sports real close around that time. They look like a TOUGH bunch of dudes. What number is Horton?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Nice post! Yeah, I really loved the Memorial Field House and really miss it. The KCAC is no doubt a beautiful place but it just lacks something that MFH had about it. There is just no comparison to me. I remember being at a few of those packed IUP-Cal games. Those were just plain nuts. Yup, they sat on the steps even.

I just looked up the picture of Gary and the team. What year would this be? I can't say that I can name any of the players on first sight. Who were they?

I beleive that is the 1998 team.

I'll pull the numerical roster.

Geoff Evans, Brian Brennan, Sly McIntosh, Rodney Horton ...

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

There's a picture of one of Gary Edwards' teams on IUP Twitter today. That photo tells a lot of stories. That was a good team and a great era (that happened to end bad ... minor details). But, looking back, it was inevitable it was going to end bad. You can only play with fire so long ...

Gary's teams -- say what you will -- were pretty tough (on the court and off). Gary was also a really good guy -- despite how he's remembered here by most.

Very different cultures between the Edwards and Lombardi regimes. I'll say this, though, ... some of Gary's teams would have clocked some of Joe's teams - and vice versa, of course. And, prior to Edwards, Kurt Kanaski's 1995 team would have clobbered them all. My opinion, the '95 team is the best in school history.

What I'd call the peak of Gary's era was 2000 to 2002. He had some good teams in the late 90s but they really got loaded up from '00 to '02. They made the Elite 8 in 2000 and 2002, and the Final Four in '02.

It was a different program back then. Edwards was a big believer in hired guns. Most players were here 1-2 years. He had teams with his whole 8-9 man rotation being D1 transfers.

Games were different inside the Memorial Field House compared to today. Some things better and some things not. For all its bells and whistles, the KCAC has never roared like the Field House did on some nights. The KCAC reminds more of a 'corporate crowd' ... the MFH was more blue collar.

No home games today compare to the IUP/Cal games of that era. Trust me, I've been to them all. Two powerhouses that didn't like one another. Two flamboyant coaches (Edwards was like Kevin Reynolds on a six-pack of Red Bull, and the then-younger Bill Brown was a master at working the bench/officials). Both teams were built similarly. The games and atmospheres inside MFH were nuts. Same down at Hamer Hall.

My two favorite games in the series ...

1998 at IUP Cal won in OT. Rodney Horton went nuts, but Cal pulled it out in the final moments of overtime. The Vulcans' Ru-Shun Roberts got a break-away dunk in the final 10 seconds that just about pulled the basket down. Then he gave the 'Shhhh' to the IUP student section. The entire game was always within a basket. That was the largest crowd I ever saw at MFH. The aisles on both sides of the bleachers were even full. The fire marshal had the night off.

1999 at IUP - It was payback time in MFH. Edwards not only blew Cal out ... but ran it up. He still had his starters launching treys in the final minutes of a 30-some point massacre.

There was also the year Cal swept IUP in the regular season ... and Edwards went down to Hamer and knocked them out of the PSAC Tournament in front of a sold out crowd.

One picture can bring back a lot of memories.

Nice post! Yeah, I really loved the Memorial Field House and really miss it. The KCAC is no doubt a beautiful place but it just lacks something that MFH had about it. There is just no comparison to me. I remember being at a few of those packed IUP-Cal games. Those were just plain nuts. Yup, they sat on the steps even.

I just looked up the picture of Gary and the team. What year would this be? I can't say that I can name any of the players on first sight. Who were they?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm bracing myself for the inevitable announcement regarding basketball season. Are you guys hearing anything?

No chance

[IUP24]

I'm bracing myself for the inevitable announcement regarding basketball season. Are you guys hearing anything?

[CALUPA69]

There's a picture of one of Gary Edwards' teams on IUP Twitter today. That photo tells a lot of stories. That was a good team and a great era (that happened to end bad ... minor details). But, looking back, it was inevitable it was going to end bad. You can only play with fire so long ...

Gary's teams -- say what you will -- were pretty tough (on the court and off). Gary was also a really good guy -- despite how he's remembered here by most.

Very different cultures between the Edwards and Lombardi regimes. I'll say this, though, ... some of Gary's teams would have clocked some of Joe's teams - and vice versa, of course. And, prior to Edwards, Kurt Kanaski's 1995 team would have clobbered them all. My opinion, the '95 team is the best in school history.

What I'd call the peak of Gary's era was 2000 to 2002. He had some good teams in the late 90s but they really got loaded up from '00 to '02. They made the Elite 8 in 2000 and 2002, and the Final Four in '02.

It was a different program back then. Edwards was a big believer in hired guns. Most players were here 1-2 years. He had teams with his whole 8-9 man rotation being D1 transfers.

Games were different inside the Memorial Field House compared to today. Some things better and some things not. For all its bells and whistles, the KCAC has never roared like the Field House did on some nights. The KCAC reminds more of a 'corporate crowd' ... the MFH was more blue collar.

No home games today compare to the IUP/Cal games of that era. Trust me, I've been to them all. Two powerhouses that didn't like one another. Two flamboyant coaches (Edwards was like Kevin Reynolds on a six-pack of Red Bull, and the then-younger Bill Brown was a master at working the bench/officials). Both teams were built similarly. The games and atmospheres inside MFH were nuts. Same down at Hamer Hall.

My two favorite games in the series ...

1998 at IUP Cal won in OT. Rodney Horton went nuts, but Cal pulled it out in the final moments of overtime. The Vulcans' Ru-Shun Roberts got a break-away dunk in the final 10 seconds that just about pulled the basket down. Then he gave the 'Shhhh' to the IUP student section. The entire game was always within a basket. That was the largest crowd I ever saw at MFH. The aisles on both sides of the bleachers were even full. The fire marshal had the night off.

1999 at IUP - It was payback time in MFH. Edwards not only blew Cal out ... but ran it up. He still had his starters launching treys in the final minutes of a 30-some point massacre.

There was also the year Cal swept IUP in the regular season ... and Edwards went down to Hamer and knocked them out of the PSAC Tournament in front of a sold out crowd.

One picture can bring back a lot of memories.

When all this @#$&%\# COVID crap is gone, I hope DS can get the VULCANS back to that competitive level. Unfortunately aside from an odd game here or there due to circumstances, the days of crazy loud and crowded nights at MFH and HAMER are gone. More's the pity. Looking forward to anything close to normal.