Say A Prayer For LeRoy Ellis

[jerseyshorejohnny]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/one_final_reunion_NrurLDxtdVABrFHXLP8gqI 

 

[beast of the east]

Yet another Redmen great -- really great -- who's been overlooked by the university. Could we not have honored him in the yet-to-come Year 2 of our legacy players in, say, 2006 or 2007, when he could basked in the spotlight a little? What the hell does it take to give our greats the appreciation they're due? Is the university telling us that in the long, storied history of St. John's basketball, only 10 players/coaches are worthy of being honored?

I've been complaining about this for seemingly forever, but can someone please explain the school's position on this to me? Is it a matter of money (how much does an oversized jersey cost)? Do they just not care? Nothing p-sses me off more than how much we turn our backs on the Leroy Ellises, George Johnsons, John Warrens, etc. Totally inexcusable.

 

Everything's a matter of money when it comes to honoring our past players and coaches. My nephew was responsible for having the baseball field named after Jack Kaiser, only after he was told to find the money. Of course, fundraising was necessary. 

 

The short answer to these types of honors has evolved into a university development question, "How can we raise money of of this event?"

It's a myopic contemporary position by some universities that every celebration has to be an occasion to raise funds.

It's unfortunate short-sightedness, since the depth and richness of our basketball program almost singlehandedly outweighs any academic prowess that frames the perception of the university. This failure by SJU is nothing new.
I remember in the late 60s and early 70s, Kevin Loughery was a top scoring hard nosed guard for the Bullets, who were perfectly balanced to war with the Knicks - Unseld vs. Reed, Gus Johnson vs DeBusshere, Monroe vs Frazier, Marin vs Bradley, and Loughery vs Barnett. As a young fan, I had no idea that Loughery was a Redman. Same holds true for LeRoy Ellis.

Elllis still holds the SJU single season rebounds per game record, with an average of 16.5. He was a member of the 1972 Champion Lakers, who I believe also ran off 33 wins in a row. For his career he was just under 10 pts per game, and over 8 rebounds. If he was a little more celebrated on campus, perhaps LeRon would have chosen SJU instead of Syracuse.

The list of Redmen who have played in the NBA is extensive, and has largely been ignored. It's why younger fans, even on this board, revel about Marcus Hatten and have very limited knowledge of guys liked Dick McGuire who actually made it to the next level with success.

No question an SJU Hall of Fame should be built onto Carnesecca Arena. It would be great place to visit before and after games. Of course, should it come to pass, it will require significant fund raising to do it. 

 

[redken]

Yet another Redmen great -- really great -- who's been overlooked by the university. Could we not have honored him in the yet-to-come Year 2 of our legacy players in, say, 2006 or 2007, when he could basked in the spotlight a little? What the hell does it take to give our greats the appreciation they're due? Is the university telling us that in the long, storied history of St. John's basketball, only 10 players/coaches are worthy of being honored?

I've been complaining about this for seemingly forever, but can someone please explain the school's position on this to me? Is it a matter of money (how much does an oversized jersey cost)? Do they just not care? Nothing p-sses me off more than how much we turn our backs on the Leroy Ellises, George Johnsons, John Warrens, etc. Totally inexcusable.

 

Everything's a matter of money when it comes to honoring our past players and coaches. My nephew was responsible for having the baseball field named after Jack Kaiser, only after he was told to find the money. Of course, fundraising was necessary. 

 

The short answer to these types of honors has evolved into a university development question, "How can we raise money of of this event?"

It's a myopic contemporary position by some universities that every celebration has to be an occasion to raise funds.

It's unfortunate short-sightedness, since the depth and richness of our basketball program almost singlehandedly outweighs any academic prowess that frames the perception of the university. This failure by SJU is nothing new.
I remember in the late 60s and early 70s, Kevin Loughery was a top scoring hard nosed guard for the Bullets, who were perfectly balanced to war with the Knicks - Unseld vs. Reed, Gus Johnson vs DeBusshere, Monroe vs Frazier, Marin vs Bradley, and Loughery vs Barnett. As a young fan, I had no idea that Loughery was a Redman. Same holds true for LeRoy Ellis.

Elllis still holds the SJU single season rebounds per game record, with an average of 16.5. He was a member of the 1972 Champion Lakers, who I believe also ran off 33 wins in a row. For his career he was just under 10 pts per game, and over 8 rebounds. If he was a little more celebrated on campus, perhaps LeRon would have chosen SJU instead of Syracuse.

The list of Redmen who have played in the NBA is extensive, and has largely been ignored. It's why younger fans, even on this board, revel about Marcus Hatten and have very limited knowledge of guys liked Dick McGuire who actually made it to the next level with success.

No question an SJU Hall of Fame should be built onto Carnesecca Arena. It would be great place to visit before and after games. Of course, should it come to pass, it will require significant fund raising to do it. 

 

Building a HOF is one thing, Beast, but what's the cost of honoring, say, two or three ex-players a year (or every other year) during a halftime ceremony and hanging their "jerseys" in CA? For the administration to say this would be too expensive is a joke.