After weeks of scandals – political, sex, college admissions – how about a little good news? Today is Congratulations Day in the On Sports world.
Congratulations to coach Aaron Thomas and his North Kingstown boys basketball team for winning the Rhode Island State Championship last Sunday at the Ryan Center on the University of Rhode Island campus. After years of high expectations and coming close, the Skippers finally won their first state title with their 77-57 triumph over Woonsocket. They had already won the Division I title.
Congratulations to the Providence College women’s basketball team, which qualified for the Women’s NIT, its first postseason appearance since 2010. The Friars (17-15) will play Hartford Thursday night at 7 in the Mullaney Gymnasium at Alumni Hall on the PC campus. Coach Jim Crowley has revived this program in just three years. Hartford (23-10) has had its best season in six years.
Congratulations to URI men’s basketball coach David Cox for leading the Rams to an 18-15 finish in his first season as head coach in Kingston. This was a rebuilding year, and the Rams should be better next season.
Congratulations to Providence College basketball coach Ed Cooley for guiding the Friars to the NIT. It wasn’t the NCAA, but it was their seventh consecutive post-season appearance.
Congratulations to Brown basketball coach Mike Martin, the Ivy League coach of the year, and his Bears for winning their school record 20thgame of the season Wednesday night. They defeated Alabama Birmingham, 83-78, in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. Next up is Loyola Marymount Monday in Los Angeles.
The Bears won without their best player of the last two years. Sophomore Desmond Cambridge, Brown’s leading scorer, the Ivy League rookie of the year in 2018 and a USBWA District I (New England) selection this season, has left the program and intends to transfer, Brown announced on Tuesday.
Congratulations to the Brown men’s hockey team and coach Brendan Whittet. They swept fifth-ranked Quinnipiac in the ECAC quarterfinals and will play 10th–ranked Cornell in the semifinals Friday afternoon at Lake Placid.
Congratulations to Mount St. Charles Academy hockey coaches Bill and Dave Belisle, whose epic career with the Mounties ended with a loss to La Salle in the Division I semifinals. They left the bench with the same class they demonstrated so often during a four-decade run that is unlikely to be matched.
Congratulations to Mary Burke, the veteran Bryant University women’s basketball coach who notched her 400thcareer victory on March 4. The Bulldogs finished 11-19 after losing to St. Francis in the Northeast Conference quarterfinals a week later.
I’ll always remember Burke for her commitment to Pamela Malcolm, a prized recruit from Connecticut who suffered severe injuries in an automobile crash the summer before she was to enroll at Bryant. Burke honored her scholarship offer, and Malcolm became part of the team while in a wheelchair and later while on crutches. She put on a uniform for the first and last time on Senior Night. Before a capacity crowd in the Chace Athletic Center, and thanks to the cooperation of the Merrimack College coach and team, Malcolm made a layup on her only shot and limped off the court to a standing ovation. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the building, and I still get choked up and goose bumps when I think of that moment.
Congratulations to Leslie Caito Jones, who has stepped down after 19 seasons as field hockey coach at Moses Brown School. She took over a foundering program in 1999 and over time developed a Rhode Island Interscholastic League powerhouse and ultimately a state champion. She posted an overall record of 204-89-22, 128-22-15 in Division I since the 2009 season. The Quakers won six state titles in nine championship appearances, won seven division championships and enjoyed four undefeated seasons. Sixteen Quakers went on to play in college.
Congratulations to Eric Rueb of The Providence Journal for his fine coverage of the boys and girls division and state tournaments. Covering the high-school postseason was never easy, even when the Journal sports staff numbered a dozen or so writers, two or three on the high-school beat. I know. I did it for the last five years of my 36-plus at the Projo. Covering four games and writing about one while the ensuing game was going on ranked among the most challenging assignments of my career.
Kudos also to Rueb for his excellent Monday feature on Mary Breen, the epitome of scholar-athlete this year. She was visiting the University of Texas-Dallas to interview for a prestigious scholars program while her Classical basketball teammates were winning the Division II championship on March 3. Breen is also considering Harvard and a full scholarship to the University of Georgia.
And a fist bump to Projo staffer Bill Koch and freelancer Mike Scandura for their assists in tournament coverage. We all know the Journal is a shell of its former self, but the playoff coverage this month reminded me of the good old days at 75 Fountain Street.
