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Kevin Stacom, The Missing Piece

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The 2008 Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship on the backs of the “Big Three” of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. For many PC Friar fans my age the real “Big Three” took place many years earlier in 1972-1973 when PC’s “Big Three” of Ernie Digregorio, Marvin Barnes, and Kevin Stacom took the Friars on a magic carpet ride that resulted in a trip to the 1973 Final Four and almost all the way to a National Championship.

Ernie and Marvin were the superstars, the local kids from Providence who wound up being First Team All-Americans. Kevin was the glue guy. He was Ray Allen. He was the missing piece, the difference between the Friars being a very good NCAA Tournament team and a team that was arguably the best team in the country.

The first time I saw Kevin Stacom play was in the Fall of 1971 at Providence College’s annual Mal Brown Scrimmage. There was a lot of buzz in the air that night in Alumni Hall. Led by junior playmaker Ernie Digregorio, PC was coming off an NIT season and promising center Marvin Barnes was moving up to the varsity after showing flashes of utter dominance on the previous year’s freshman team (back in 1971 freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity).

The Mal Brown Scrimmage in those days was an actual regulation game between the freshman team and the varsity. Stacom was sitting out that season as a transfer from Holy Cross so he played for the freshman team. Right away, you tell that Kevin was not your ordinary transfer. Standing between 6’4 and 6’5 with an oh-so-smooth shooting stroke, Stacom looked like he was born to be an NBA shooting guard. The ’71-72 season was looking bright for the Friars, but the next year when Stacom would become eligible was looking even brighter.

The ’71-72 season was indeed very successful for PC. They finished with a record of 21-6 losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to the Penn Quakers. But something was missing. The ’71-72 Friars were a good team, but everything centered around Ernie and Marvin, with help from some nice complementary players in Nehru King, Fran Costello, Charlie Crawford, and graduating senior Donnie Lewis. In order to be truly great they needed something else. They needed another go-to guy. It turns out that something else was already on the PC campus sitting out the season, patiently waiting his turn.

Stacom was the perfect complement to Digregorio in the backcourt. Ernie was the flashy point guard who threw behind the back passes that no one had ever seen before. Kevin was the super smooth shooting guard with no wasted motion and a sweet outside shot. Ernie loved to get out in the open floor and run the fast break. No one was better filling the lanes on a fast break than Stacom. Ernie was an incredible passer that could always somehow find the open man. No one could find a way of getting open better than Kevin. Ernie was a little slow on defense. Kevin was a great defensive player.

Together Digregorio and Stacom formed a magical backcourt. Throw in Barnes at center (who was the best rebounder in the country and an interior scoring machine) and you had the makings of something very special.

From the very beginning you could tell that the 1972-1973 season was going to be a very different year for the Friars. The Providence Civic Center had just opened in downtown Providence and for the first time regular fans were able to easily obtain tickets to PC games. I was a junior in high school at the time, but I was still right there at every game with my season ticket in Section 118 Row A Seat 10. Before the Civic Center opened the only way my father and I were able to go to a PC game was to get single seats in different sections of Alumni Hall.

It was the perfect storm that year as Providence had what turned out to be the best team in their illustrious history at the same time that they moved into the new Providence Civic Center. Ernie averaged  24.6 points per game while Marvin averaged 18.3 points and 19 rebounds per game. What did Kevin do? Oh, not much. He just averaged 17.8 points per game while shooting 55.2% from the field and 86.2% from the free throw line. Amazing stats for a shooting guard. Stacom was also named the Friars Defensive Player of the Year. He was indeed the missing piece that the Friar needed to go from being a good team to being a truly great team.

The Friars finished the regular season at 24-2 with the only losses coming to Santa Clara in the Utah Classic Holiday Tournament and at UCLA. PC went undefeated at home and consistently had the brand new Civic Center and over 10,000 Friar fans rocking at every game.

However, it turns out that this Friars team was just getting started. PC was selected for the NCAA tournament where they blew by St. Joseph’s and Penn in the first two rounds. Next up was the Elite Eight game where the Friars were set to face the nationally second ranked University of Maryland at the Easter Regional Finals. The Terrapins were led by forward Tom McMillen, center Len Elmore, and point guard John Lucas. Their coach, Lefty Drisell, proclaimed that Maryland was the UCLA of the East, and no one gave the Friars much of a chance.

During the first half Ernie D. was on fire scoring 24 points before the break but unfortunately he had already picked up four fouls. That ’72-73 team was much like this year’s team in that they played only six guys and had no real back up guards. Stacom had 10 first half points for the Friars and at halftime Maryland was leading the Friars 51-50.

The Friars and Ernie Digregorio came out on fire in the second half and were leading 71-59 when disaster struck as Ernie picked up his 5th personal foul with 11:57 left on the clock. What were the Friars going to do without their star All American point guard out for the rest of the game and no real replacement at the guard position? No problem. Stacom took over the point guard duties, 6’8 forward Fran Costello moved to the backcourt, and the Friars, led by Kevin’s 14 second half points never let Maryland back into the game defeating the Terrapins 103-89. The Iron Five of Kevin Stacom, Marvin Barnes, Fran Costello, Nehru King, and Charlie Crawford just wanted it more than the guys from the “UCLA of the East” did.

If you want to relive some memories or have never seen Ernie, Kevin, and Marivn play, just click here and you can watch the entire PC-Maryland game. In addition, there is a great interview between the legendary Curt Gowdy and Kevin at the end of the game.

I think all Friar fans know what happened next. After playing what many called the greatest 8 and 1/2 minutes of college basketball ever seen at the start of the national seminal game against Memphis State, Barnes went down with a knee injury and the dream was lost. It was just not meant to be, as without the best rebounder in basketball the Friars couldn’t get their fast break going and eventually lost to the Tigers 98-85. Many people felt, myself included, that with Kevin, Ernie, and a healthy Marvin Barnes PC not only would have defeated Memphis State, they would have gone on to defeat UCLA in the National Championship game. Unfortunately, we will never know.

The next year Stacom and the Friars picked up right where they left off. Kevin finished the year averaging 18.5 points a game and earned 2nd Team All American honors. PC  finished with a 28-4 record and was once again undefeated at home in the Providence Civic Center. Unfortunately the Friars ran into David Thompson and the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Sweet 16 and lost to the eventual National Champions 92-78.

After his PC career was done, Kevin joined  the Boston Celtics (being drafted in the 2nd round) and had a very productive 5 and 1/2 year career in the NBA, winning an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 1976. Today Kevin still serves as an NBA scout.

On Saturday at halftime of the Xavier game Kevin Stacom’s no. 25 will finally be raised to the rafters where it belongs right beside the no. 15 of Ernie D and the no.24 of Marvin Barnes. As I am standing and applauding I will be thinking of two things; that first time when I saw Kevin way back at that Mal Brown Scrimmage in 1971 where he showed show much promise of what was to come, and that Elite Eight  game against Maryland in 1973  when at the 11:57 mark of the 2nd half the Friars lost their All American guard to fouls and Kevin Stacom took over and made sure that the Friars would not lose that day and would instead go on to the Final Four.

Congratulations Kevin, very well deserved!

If you want to see even more of the 1972-1973 Friars you can check out these highlights of PC’s victory over Penn in the NCAA tournament. I would like to thank Bad Marvin’s Time Machine for making these videos available for all Friar fans.

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