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| Rudy Hackett waves to the crowd during a ceremony in honor of Syracuse's 1975 Final Four team at halftime of the Orange's game against Boston College on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. (N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com) N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com |
Syracuse, N.Y. – You get to a certain age and the occasions are rare when you get to reunite with old classmates or the friends of your youth. Most often those occasions are reunions and funerals.
Rudy Hackett experienced both this past weekend.
Hackett, the former Syracuse basketball star, returned to Syracuse University on Saturday along with several of his teammates off the 1974-75 team. On the 50th anniversary of their Final Four appearance, the first in SU basketball history, the ‘75 team’s coaches and players were recognized at halftime of Syracuse’s game against Boston College at the JMA Wireless Dome.
But before Hackett walked onto the dome’s court to the cheers of Syracuse fans, many of whom weren’t alive when he and his teammates knocked off LaSalle, North Carolina and Kansas State to punch their ticket to the 1975 Final Four, he had another occasion to see old friends.
Syracuse’s most forgotten team celebrates 50th anniversary of 1975 Final Four
A funeral for a former teammate.
On Friday, Hackett traveled back to his childhood home of Mt. Vernon, New York, to pay his respects to Gus Williams, the former NBA player who had teamed up with Hackett at Mt. Vernon High School.
A funeral and a reunion less than 24 hours apart.
“Last night at that funeral, there were so many people there that I grew up with that I would probably never see again in my life,’’ Hackett said Saturday. “They were part of my life. Part of that growing up part of my life and Gus’s life. And you wonder, why does it take death for us to have that opportunity to say ‘Thank you’ to each other?’’
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| Syracuse's 1974-1975 team was honored on the 50th anniversary of their Final Four appearance at halftime of Saturday's game at the JMA Wireless Dome. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.comN. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com |
After high school, Hackett went to Syracuse, while Williams went cross-country to the University of Southern California. They were both taken in the NBA’s draft in 1975. Hackett spent two years in the NBA. Williams would be a two-time NBA All-Star and part of Seattle’s 1979 championship team.
“His funeral made me realize that people really do appreciate what you did in your life,’’ Hackett said. “We should thank those people while they’re still alive and we’re still alive.’’
Less than 24 hours later, Hackett had that opportunity.
He got to see his former coach, Roy Danforth, now 89 years old and still wielding a sharp sense of humor. In talking about the 1975 team, Danforth jabbed at then-freshman Marty Byrnes: “Marty always said if I had played him more, we would have won the whole thing.’’
In addition to Danforth, there were eight other players from the 1975 team present at Saturday’s game, along with assistant coach Tom Green.
“We came up here tonight to celebrate our team,’’ Hackett said. “A lot of us are getting up in age. We don’t even know when we’ll all be together again in this large of a group. A lot of us are having those thoughts. Will we be able to ever do this again?’’
In the days leading up to Saturday’s game, Hackett and a few of his teammates wondered how many in the crowd would remember them.
But as they were introduced during the halftime ceremony, the fans responded with a standing ovation that clearly meant a lot to the group.
“I appreciate the love that we’re getting through all this,’’ Hackett said. “But it wasn’t so much them thanking us as it was us thanking them. We appreciate them and the fans that supported back when we were playing at Syracuse.’’
Although it’s been 50 years since Hackett and his teammates pulled off three straight heart-stopping wins on the way to the Final Four in San Diego, only two members of that team, Larry Arrington and Bob Parker, have died.
Some members of the ‘75 team live in the Syracuse area, including Jim Lee, Chris Sease, Steve Shaw and Kevin King. Jim Williams, the little point guard, lives in his hometown of Buffalo.
Byrnes, who nearly died of Covid during the pandemic’s out-break back in 2020, came from Wisconsin. Earnie Seibert, the starting center on the ‘75 team, couldn’t make it due to a medical procedure, but his daughter Erica stepped in for his father.
“I was struck that after 50 years, we still had so many guys here,’’ Hackett said.
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| Roy Danforth,the head coach of Syracuse's 1975 Final Four team, waves to the crowd during the halftime ceremony in honor of the team. (N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com)N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com |
So on Saturday, after watching the current Orange down Boston College in a triple-overtime thriller, Hackett and his teammates gathered privately at the Hotel Syracuse’s Eleven Waters restaurant.
They ate a lot. Drank a little. Shared stories. Speeches were made. Some long. Some short. Some, like Bill DeMarle’s, were hilarious.
No one seemed to want to leave even as the snow blanketed the streets of downtown Syracuse.
“Seeing the team and being together,’’ Hackett said. “It reminds me of the love that we had for each other and how we developed as a team. We would like that to be our legacy too; not only is individuals, but as a team.’’
A funeral and a reunion all in 24 hours.
“We celebrated Gus’s life yesterday,’’ Hackett said. “Yeah, it was sad, but it was a celebration, too. We celebrated life again today. You realize how special these times are and you appreciate being able to spend time again with those special people.’’
- Mike Waters
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