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By John Gearan '65
No season in the proud history of Holy Cross basketball has better defined the true Crusader spirit.
Toss out the numbers, the records, the awards and cold stats, and listen to the stories of the journey taken by the men’s and women’s teams to the NCAA tournament.
Never have Holy Cross players sacrificed more to reach their goals. Never have they played with more passion for their College and for the game they love. Never have their fans from the student body, alumni and community cheered louder and elevated performances higher. Never have the men and women supported each other more. Never have coaches and players been closer—especially during the tough times.
Rewind to March.
With ESPN cameras broadcasting the Holy Cross-Bucknell rumpus for the Patriot League championship, suddenly there appeared a Crusader in full regalia. He climbed a wobbly step ladder as if he were conquering some craggy mountaintop. He brandished his sword, exhorting the frantic crowd. Then he yanked off his helmet to reveal the punch line: the Crusader was none other than Billy Gibbons, a warrior finishing up his 25th campaign as the women’s coach.
The joint rocked. The Gibbons Girls surrounded the court, dancing about as card-carrying cheerleaders and flashing the message: B-E-A-T B-U-C-K-N-E-L-L. The huddled men glanced over at their already-NCAA-bound counterparts. Pumped up, Ralph Willard’s guys responded by going on an inspired 21-4 spurt.
The Holy Cross women explained away their antics as just payback. For two nights earlier, the men had arrived at the Hart Center with purple-painted faces and T-shirts with the women’s team photo on them.
“At first, we just thought they were a bunch of crazies and didn’t realize they were the men’s team,” recalls tri-Captain Brittany Keil ’07. “They’re our pals, and we wanted to return the favor.”
Later in the men’s game, the Crusader Ladies had a little extra tit-for-tat surprise. They lined up courtside, pulled up their tops and bared painted midsections which read B-E-A-T B-U-C-K-N-E-L-L. Which the men did gladly.The roommates knew they would have to carry the Crusaders if their dreams of making the NCAA Tournament would finally be realized. Torey Thomas ’07 and Keith Simmons ’07, the team captains and the two best players in the Patriot League, would accept no alibis. True, Thomas had endured a rigorous off-season rehab program after knee surgery. And his scoring sidekick Simmons had experienced chronic cramping in his legs that could sideline him at any critical moment. Yet they vowed to each other, to their coach and teammates, nothing would thwart their NCAA quest.
“There was a lot of pressure on Torey and Keith,” explains Willard about his dynamic duo, whose teams had an 84-41 record in four seasons. “They could handle it. They are natural leaders. Well-liked, well-rounded and popular on campus, Torey and Keith were magnets for fan support.
”With five wins out of the gate, the men developed an ardent following early. They didn’t disappoint, never losing in the Hart Center while averaging 3,000 fans, even selling out the Patriot League semifinal (vs. American) and final (vs. Bucknell) during vacation week.
“We survived a brutal 11-game, 38-day stretch away from the Hart Center, and that made us more resilient,” Willard notes.
With 6-foot-10-inch, 270-pound center Tim Clifford ’08 fulfilling his promise, Thomas, Simmons & Company nearly ran the table (13-1) in the Patriot League. While hosting the league tournament, the Crusaders glided by Lafayette, then faced two battles royal: American, which had taken the Crusaders into overtime in January; and co-Patriot League champ Bucknell, which had vanquished the Crusaders, 48-45, a month earlier.
Thomas took over the American contest, his hustle and flow spurring a sensational comeback that Simmons finished with a winning basket—at 4.8 seconds remaining. The peripatetic Thomas, a 5-foot-9-inch jitterbug, had nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and 16 points.
Journey to the Big Dance, continued >>
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