For ex-Friars star-turned-broadcaster Joe Hassett, it's like old times ... sort of
CHICAGO — A lot has changed for the Providence Friars and the landscape of college basketball over the years.
Joe Hassett can certainly attest to that.
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Of course, while some things change — such as charter flights to NCAA Tournament games — others stay the same. With the Friars set to play in their sixth Sweet 16 in school history, Hassett can’t help but remember his time with Providence and his team’s March Madness run.
Hassett had a legendary career with the Friars. He led Providence in scoring in his final three seasons, was a third team All-American and drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the third round of the 1977 NBA Draft. One of Hassett’s best memories was during his freshman year when Providence made a run to the Sweet 16 in 1974.
The Providence native, who went to La Salle Academy, was on the school’s charter flight to Chicago on Thursday. He said the trip brings back a lot of memories.
“It’s a lot different now. We didn’t have any charter planes and things like that,” Hassett said. “I was a freshman on that team with Marvin Barnes and Kevin Stacom. You talk about the difference than the tournament today — our first-round game was at St. John's. We played the University of Pennsylvania, who won the Ivy League that year and played at St. Johns. That was one of the worst arenas you could play in. What did they have — 6,000 seats? We beat them and had to go beat N.C. State. That was on their home court we had to play them.”
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That 1974 Providence team won a school record 28 games that season. Their roster was loaded with three future NBA players in Barnes, Hassett and Stacom. The team blew out Pennsylvania, 84-69, in their first game of the tournament. That sent them to North Carolina against a team with three future NBA players — David Thompson, Tom Burleson and Monte Towe.
Hassett can still remember the noise inside the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Providence kept it close and went into halftime down, 44-39. Hassett, who scored eight points that night, remembers the Friars being up with 10 minutes left in the game but momentum swung in the home team's favor. Thompson, the eventual NBA No. 1 pick, scored 40 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Burleson, who was drafted third overall, scored 16 points to go with 24 rebounds.
N.C. State won, 92-78, and went on to win the national championship.
“They were a terrific team,” Hassett said. “We were actually ahead of them with 10 minutes to go in the game. I’ll never forget that they had this noise meter with light bulbs going off. It almost blew out the light bulbs five or six times. That was different. No one gets to play in their home court anymore. It was fun but we got beat and they won it all that year.”
Hassett became Providence's go-to-scorer after his freshman season. In those three years, he averaged 16.5 points, 17 points and 18.8 points per game. At the time, only 32 college teams made the NCAA Tournament. Providence missed the tournament the next two seasons despite peaking at No. 10 in the nation in 1975 and No. 15 in 1976. Hassett got back to the tournament in 1977, when the Friars lost to Kansas State, 87-80.
Joe Hassett's pro career
He went on to play seven NBA seasons, with the SuperSonics, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. He won an NBA championship with Seattle in 1979. After retiring from basketball, Hassett returned to Rhode Island, where he worked as an investment adviser and banker. He's been the color commentator for Friars basketball since 1985 and currently calls games with John Rooke on WPRO.
He said it’s been great to see Ed Cooley’s success.
“There are great fans in Providence,” Hassett said. “You go back to my day and we’d sell out the Civic Center. My first year in the Civic Center, it was the second year it was open. That’s how new it was. We had the biggest arena in the East.
“Providence got it going early. It’s been a great tradition.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story listed the wrong radio station that broadcasts Friars games.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence basketball legend Joe Hassett remembers his March Madness
