Dick Vitale is an emotional guy -- we all knew that. But for all the yelling and screaming he's done, all the catch phrases and boundless energy and the hootin' an' hollerin', Vitale was back at the University of Detroit last night, crying like a baby, displaying somehow that it's all not just a show. This is what Dick Vitale is really like in real life.
The University of Detroit gave Vitale his first head coaching job in 1973, and during last night's game against St. John's, the University dedicated its new basketball floor to Vitale. Vitale was reportedly beside himself with tears in damn near every interview he did all day, but in his one formal press conference, Vitale was asked just one question (Do you make it back to Detroit often, and what went through your mind when you returned?), and that was all Vitale needed to weep and cry for the next twenty minutes. Behold:
Simply phenomenal.
Vitale had never stepped foot in Detroit before he interviewed for the Titans job in 1973 -- and a hell of a time it was to meet Detroit for the first time. The 20-year reign of Mayor Coleman Young had just begun, and the city was still deeply wounded by the 1967 riot that haunted the city for decades. Nonetheless, in four seasons in Detroit, Vitale had a 78-30 record, highlighted by a trip to the 32-team NCAA tournament in 1977.
"When I came here people told me it was impossible to get people to come out to there arena," Vitale said at yesterday's press conference. "There were all kinds of racial problems in that era. Time Magazine's cover called Detroit the Murder Capital of the World. Walking in and recruiting players and other schools would send players a copy of that magazine."
But Vitale, as energetic then as he still is today, managed to fill the stands with Vitale-style promotions, and a successful team. Obviously, he maintains a strong emotional connection to the place after all these years.
As for the game that was held on the brand new Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall, the Titans played perhaps their best game of the season, defeating a young and talented St. John's team 69-63. The win was an encouraging step in the right direction for a Detroit team that has run into nothing but stubbed toes and bad luck this year, after coming into the season with the higher expectations than the Titans have had in a decade.
With Butler apparently in a down year, the Horizon league is wide open this season, but Detroit has been trying to manage without its starting frontcourt, due to a suspension of Eli Holman and Nick Minnerath's torn ACL. But Ray McCallum, the sophomore son of current Titans coach (you guessed it) Ray McCallum, is one of the best guards in the country, and senior center LaMarcus Lowe has been one of the most improved players in college basketball, blocking 30 shots in 10 games.
If he can jump through the necessary hoops, Holman could get back on the floor before his senior season expires, but the loss of Minnerath is a really tough break.
McCallum is the type of talent that can put a mid-major program over the top, and there is a sense of urgency in Detroit to assemble enough talent around him to win a Horizon League title and return to the NCAA tournament before his eligibility runs out -- or he answers the call of the NBA draft. But if Detroit can duplicate the effort it gave last night, the Horizon League championship could still be attainable.
And maybe Dick Vitale left behind some of his magic elixir.
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