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Originally Posted by Shemp Howard
More like a tip-in than a shot, as I recall. Ball spun around the rim before falling in. Then pandemonium broke loose.
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Here its -- like you said. Worthing remembering that the winning shot came off a backdoor play called by the great Dr. Jack Ramsay. When you read what he said to his team in crunch time, you get some idea of why he's a legend.
Nostalgic morning -- Howard 'Butch' Komives playing for the Knicks in the first NBA game I ever saw.
DECEMBER 26, 1962
St. Joe's 58, Bowling Green 57
Jim Boyle remembers riding to the Palestra that night with Steve Courtin, a sophomore guard nicknamed "the Woodlyn Weaver."
"I'm going to be the Most Valuable Player in this (Quaker City) tournament," Courtin said.
"Sure, Steve," Boyle replied.
A joke, Boyle thought. Who predicts an MVP award before a tournament opener? Especially when the first opponent is unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Bowling Green.
The visitors had 6-11 Nate Thurmond in the middle and Butch Komives in the backcourt. Coach Jack Ramsay put 6-8 Larry Hofmann on Thurmond and hoped for the best. It shaped up as a giant mismatch.
"We had to play a perfect game to win," Ramsay recalled. "The thing was, our kids really believed they could do it."
Boyle, a 6-4 forward, started despite a knee injury he sustained in the Hawks' previous game, a triple-overtime loss to Penn.
"The adrenaline was unbelievable that night," Boyle said. "I looked at Thurmond and he was scary. But the atmosphere in the building was so charged . . . we felt like we had a shot at these guys.
"They'd get up a few points, we'd cut it down. They'd get up, we'd come back. We were right there the whole time. The Weaver was hitting everything he threw up (Courtin shot 9-for-16). I remembered what he said in the car.
"I thought, 'This is just crazy enough to come true.' "
For all their gallantry, it appeared the Hawks were beaten as they trailed, 57-56, with four seconds left. Bowling Green had possession with a timeout called.
"Someone on our bench was crying," Boyle said. "Jack said, 'What's the matter?' The player said, 'We're going to lose.' Jack said, 'We're not gonna lose. We're gonna steal the inbounds pass and win this thing.' "
That's just what happened. Bowling Green's Junior Wavey threw the ball into the hands of St. Joseph's Tom Wynne, who called time.
Ramsay called for a backdoor play with Boyle in the high post feeding Jim Lynam, his old West Catholic teammate, in the corner. Thurmond dove across to
put his massive hand in Lynam's face.
"He blocked out everything," said Lynam, now an assistant coach with the Sixers, "but I knew Jim (Boyle) had to be open if Nate was on me."
Lynam's shovel pass found Boyle alone at the foul line. Of course, the clock was ticking all the while. It was down to two seconds when Boyle got the ball, then one . . .
"I remember Jim turning the ball to get the laces just right," Lynam said. "I'm thinking, 'Shoot the darn thing, Bo.' It seemed like he held the ball forever."
"It was like holding a live grenade," Boyle said. "It's a question of how long before it goes off. I knew it was a matter of seconds but I wanted to get off the best possible shot. I mean, this was the ballgame.
"It's funny. How many times when you're a kid do you play that game in the schoolyard, imagining you have that (final) shot? And it's always the jumper
from the line. All of a sudden, there it was for real."
Boyle had struggled all night, hitting just two of nine previous field goal attempts. He didn't hit this one cleanly either.
The ball caught the front of the rim, bounced off the back, then rolled around the hoop as the buzzer sounded. Finally, it dropped through.
What does Boyle remember next?
"A mob scene, craziness," said Boyle, now the St. Joseph's coach. "Jack took off all his clothes and laid down on the Hawk (mascot) costume in the shower. He was completely shot, wrung out.
"I couldn't understand it then, but I do now. That's what coaching does to you."
The Hawks went on to win the tournament, defeating Villanova and Brigham Young. The MVP? Steve Courtin.
