RIP Pearl Washington

RIP to a BE legend.

For us young guys...were we ever involved in his recruitment?
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We were certainly in the mix, but once he went up and visited the carrier dome and heard the packed crowd chanting his name, it was a done deal. We just couldn't compete with Cuse after that.
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Lou C always said that he offered Pearl, M Jackson and K Smith and told them the first to commit gets the schollie.
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We were really never in the running for the other 2. Mark Jackson was considered the third best point guard in the city that year. I worked uptown, and the neighborhood guys who knew him from around the schoolyards called him Pac-Man, never Pearl, because he could zip around in any direction on a dime and was impossible to guard. Teammates called him Olivehead - derogatory but with affection because his shaved head looked smallish on his pro sized 6'2" frame.

He was the only college player I saw who could take the ball to the hoop against Ewing, freeze Ewing with an awesome move, and score off of him. I always said he had too much natural ability to have to learn a jump shot. He didn't need one until he got to the pros, and by then it was way too late for a guy his size to develop one.

Al McGuire would swoon over Pearl calling his college games. A true NYC legend, and gone way too soon. RIP. Perhaps the only guy after Monroe who could even attempt to wear the nickname Pearl, which was reserved for the one and only.

I've lost 2 friends to brain cancer over the past 2 years, and know another person just diagnosed. Something in our water or environment is messed up.
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Nice post. The Pac-Man nickname could also describe his defense. Went to a high school all-star game at Kutchers to see Walter Berry and Pearl must have had double figures in steals, constantly stripping the opposing pg and cruising in for layups. Sam Perkins also played in that game and was the only player my friend and I got to talk to and him being from NY we asked him why he didn't pick St. John's and he said we didn't recruit him.
 
RIP to a BE legend.

For us young guys...were we ever involved in his recruitment?
Click to expand...

Yes we were in on him hot and heavy. as we were with Kenny Smith and Mark Jackson. Just think, those three guards all from NYC and in the same class. Mark and Pearl both had us and Cuse on their list (their were multiple other schools invovled just remember they had those two schools in common while Smith had us Uva. and Carolina (and others). At one game at the then named Alumni Hall that he attended, while walking to his seat, fans stood up and started chanting "Pearl".

All in all, I don't think its a stretch to say that the programs those three wound up at (Mark here, Smith at Carolina and Pearl at the Cuse) were downright thrilled.

Pearl came in and started from day one, forcing another former highly rated and recruited NYC PG Eugene Waldron to move to the SG positions after pretty much being the starting PG for his first three seasons at Cuse.

Kenny Hutchinson who went to Arkansas was also a highly recruited PG out of the class but substance abuse ruined his carreer.

In the following class from NYC you had Rod Strickland.
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Was probably the same game you described where Pearl was at Alumni Hall and while the fans knew him apparently one of the ushers didn't as Pearl came in late and tried to sit behind our bench and the usher unceremoniously removed him. Fans in the area were like great lets tick off a super star recruit at our game.
 
RIP to a BE legend.

For us young guys...were we ever involved in his recruitment?
Click to expand...

We were certainly in the mix, but once he went up and visited the carrier dome and heard the packed crowd chanting his name, it was a done deal. We just couldn't compete with Cuse after that.
Click to expand...
Lou C always said that he offered Pearl, M Jackson and K Smith and told them the first to commit gets the schollie.
Click to expand...

We were really never in the running for the other 2. Mark Jackson was considered the third best point guard in the city that year. I worked uptown, and the neighborhood guys who knew him from around the schoolyards called him Pac-Man, never Pearl, because he could zip around in any direction on a dime and was impossible to guard. Teammates called him Olivehead - derogatory but with affection because his shaved head looked smallish on his pro sized 6'2" frame.

He was the only college player I saw who could take the ball to the hoop against Ewing, freeze Ewing with an awesome move, and score off of him. I always said he had too much natural ability to have to learn a jump shot. He didn't need one until he got to the pros, and by then it was way too late for a guy his size to develop one.

Al McGuire would swoon over Pearl calling his college games. A true NYC legend, and gone way too soon. RIP. Perhaps the only guy after Monroe who could even attempt to wear the nickname Pearl, which was reserved for the one and only.

I've lost 2 friends to brain cancer over the past 2 years, and know another person just diagnosed. Something in our water or environment is messed up.
Click to expand...
Sam Perkins also played in that game and was the only player my friend and I got to talk to and him being from NY we asked him why he didn't pick St. John's and he said we didn't recruit him.
Click to expand...

I don't remember how high he was ranked, but North Carolina pretty much had it's way with NYC kids. Blame SJU (and Xavier HS) coach Frank McGuire who started that underground railroad to stock ACC teams from NYC. OF course, by then Dean Smith was coach.

McGuire for his part, if I'm not mistaken had a sick kid. I believe his UNC salary was in the 7000 range, while SJU was stuck at about 4 or 5K and they wouldn't match.
 
RIP to a BE legend.

For us young guys...were we ever involved in his recruitment?
Click to expand...

We were certainly in the mix, but once he went up and visited the carrier dome and heard the packed crowd chanting his name, it was a done deal. We just couldn't compete with Cuse after that.
Click to expand...
Lou C always said that he offered Pearl, M Jackson and K Smith and told them the first to commit gets the schollie.
Click to expand...

We were really never in the running for the other 2. Mark Jackson was considered the third best point guard in the city that year. I worked uptown, and the neighborhood guys who knew him from around the schoolyards called him Pac-Man, never Pearl, because he could zip around in any direction on a dime and was impossible to guard. Teammates called him Olivehead - derogatory but with affection because his shaved head looked smallish on his pro sized 6'2" frame.

He was the only college player I saw who could take the ball to the hoop against Ewing, freeze Ewing with an awesome move, and score off of him. I always said he had too much natural ability to have to learn a jump shot. He didn't need one until he got to the pros, and by then it was way too late for a guy his size to develop one.

Al McGuire would swoon over Pearl calling his college games. A true NYC legend, and gone way too soon. RIP. Perhaps the only guy after Monroe who could even attempt to wear the nickname Pearl, which was reserved for the one and only.

I've lost 2 friends to brain cancer over the past 2 years, and know another person just diagnosed. Something in our water or environment is messed up.
Click to expand...
Sam Perkins also played in that game and was the only player my friend and I got to talk to and him being from NY we asked him why he didn't pick St. John's and he said we didn't recruit him.
Click to expand...

I don't remember how high he was ranked, but North Carolina pretty much had it's way with NYC kids. Blame SJU (and Xavier HS) coach Frank McGuire who started that underground railroad to stock ACC teams from NYC. OF course, by then Dean Smith was coach.

McGuire for his part, if I'm not mistaken had a sick kid. I believe his UNC salary was in the 7000 range, while SJU was stuck at about 4 or 5K and they wouldn't match.
Click to expand...

McGuire's son was developmentally disabled.
 
My favorite non ST John's college basketball player. Remember BET game where he destroyed Gtown press and made Thompson call it off. Also that time he crossed over annoying Michael Jackson so bad that he fell down but instead of going to hoop waved for him to get up. Awesome college basketball player and 2nd only to Walter Berry as the player I emulated the most playing nerf basketball in my room.
 
Joseph Staszewski – ‏@CNG_Staszewski

At Pearl Washington's funeral: Jim Boeheim, Chris Mullin, Ed Pinckney, Mark Jackson, Derek Coleman and Kenny Smith are here.
 
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