St. Peter's greats play 'Remember when'

Bob Fazio fondly recalls his days as a basketball player at a place that was then called St. Peter’s College. “When I played, we had some unbelievable teams and had some unbelievable times,” said Fazio, the school’s No. 5 all-time leading scorer with 1,590 points. “It was a great place to play. It was a lot of fun back then.” Fazio, the Union City native, had the great fortune of having played at the Jersey City Armory and Yanitelli Center when it first opened in 1976. As the Peacocks prepared to play in the biggest game in the school’s rich basketball history, facing Purdue in the NCAA Sweet 16, Fazio, now the president of the prestigious Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, recalled some of his favorite moments as a Peacock. “I remember playing Oregon with Ron Lee and Greg Ballard in the NIT in Madison Square Garden,” Fazio said. “And there were 19,500 fans chanting, ‘Let’s Go Peter’s.’ That was one of my best memories. I remember the first time we played in the Garden, we played Manhattan and they were ranked No. 15 in the country. It was the Saturday before Christmas and the Garden was sold out. We pulled off the victory and made the back page of the (New York) Daily News. Playing in the Garden was so special. I was on the team when we opened Yanitelli Center and I scored the first four points in the building’s history. I made sure no one else was getting the ball that game. My wife (Maureen) said to me the other day that I remember every play of every game and I honestly do.” That’s why Fazio had a gigantic sense of pride when the Peacocks advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, becoming this year’s media darlings, getting attention from all the major media markets like the New York Times, ESPN and the Dan Patrick Show. “I’m very proud and very happy,” Fazio said. “It’s a great thing for this team.” One of Fazio’s teammates was Ken Markowski, a Jersey City/Bayonne boy who was also a 1,000 point scorer at the place affectionately called “Harvard on the Boulevard.” “My hardest working teammate was Bobby Faz,” Markowski said. “He would fit in perfectly with the Peacocks of today.” Markowski currently lives in North Carolina, but his heart never left Jersey City. He fondly recalled one of the greatest Peacocks of all time, namely Elnardo Webster, who unfortunately and ironically passed away this week at the age of 74. “Guys like El were men compared to us,” Markowski said of Webster, who scored 1,163 points in just two varsity seasons with the Peacocks. Webster was part of the famed “Run Baby Run” Peacock team of 1968 that upset Duke in the NIT quarterfinals. “Guys like El, Harry (Laurie) and Teddy (Martiniuk) taught us to be tough. I remember going to practice in the Armory, but we had to wear sweatsuits, because it was always so cold.” Rick Baker was another member of those SPC teams with Markowski. “I remember going to watch those great St. Peter’s teams practice when I was in high school,” Baker said. “When I was a freshman with Marko and Keith (Cerruti), we would scrimmage against the older guys like Teddy Martiniuk and (former New Jersey state senator and later U.S. Congressman) Albio Sires.” Cerruti would go on to become a respected basketball official, but is more remembered for his on-the-court altercation with Larry Fogle of Canisius, who was the nation’s leading scorer at the time. “I enjoyed every minute of it,” C erruti said. “I remember Marko making a great 360-degree move in the NIT against Ron Lee in mid-air. It was one of the most unbelievable moves I’ve ever seen. Seeing my friends Marko and Ricky improve as much as they did was a thrill. It was a great time to be involved in college basketball.” Cerruti and Baker both literally grew up blocks from the SPC campus, so watching the current Peacocks do as well as they’re doing means a lot to both long-time friends and teammates. Another former Peacock great is Daren Rowe, a New Rochelle, N.Y. native who played for the Peacocks in the mid-1980s, eventually earning All-MAAC and All-Metropolitan New York/New Jersey his senior year playing for head coach Ted Fiore. “I’m really happy for this team, happy and proud, as proud as a Peacock,” said Rowe, who was an assistant coach at Montclair State under Fiore and eventually became Fiore’s replacement at Montclair State when Fiore retired seven years ago. “I think it’s great that this team is getting the recognition that they deserved. This team doesn’t back down to anyone. I’m just prideful, joyous and ecstatic for this team.” Rowe said that he has been able to connect with some of his former teammates, as well as other Peacock alumni, during the Peacocks’ improbable run to the Sweet 16. “I’m glad to see St. Peter’s finally getting some respect,” Rowe said. “I’m not surprised with what we’ve done. We’ve always been known as a defensive-minded, hard-nosed team. We’ve always been good defensively.” Rowe said that his teams always just “went out and played.” “This really has brought back a lot of great memories,” Rowe said. “Watching this team brought back thoughts of great teams, great teammates. We were a close-knit group.” Rowe’s coach Fiore didn’t want to detract from the incredible coaching job done by current St. Peter’s head coach Shaheen Holloway. “He deserves all the credit,” said Fiore, the second winningest coach in St. Peter’s basketball history. “Shaheen has done a great job with this team. He really got this team prepared to play in the tournament. I’m really happy for Shaheen and his team.” John Dunne, the current head coach at Marist College, was the head coach at St. Peter’s when the Peacocks last made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, ironically losing to Friday night’s opponent in Philadelphia Purdue. Dunne also has fond memories of his days coaching the Peacocks. “I think there’s always going to be a sense of pride,” Dunne said. “I think it’s fantastic, what they’re doing, representing the MAAC. It made me think back to the whirlwind that we went through (back in 2011). It was a frenzied time, but this is even more so. It’s intensified now because it’s the Sweet 16. But it certainly brings back memories, memories that last a lifetime.” Fazio is proof of that. “I am the greatest champion for St. Peter’s basketball,” Fazio said. “I loved the place. I love giving back to the school. You can’t buy the feelings I have for the school.” Feelings that obviously never fade long after the final buzzer sounds.