With Iona basketball back on the map and in the NCAA Tournament this year, it lets us relive the memories of Jim Valvano, Sachem legend Jeff Ruland and that historic 1980 Gaels squad.
Last week the New York Post ran a column about that 1980 Iona team that featured an NBA-bound Ruland, and fellow Long Island legends Glenn Vickers and Kevin Hamilton. All three are inductees of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.
They beat eventual champion and second ranked Louisville in the regular season, then beat Holy Cross in the first round of the tournament before losing to Georgetown in the second round.
Iona lost in the first round this year to Alabama, and is coached by hall of famer Rick Pitino, also from Long Island, is also a former a Louisville coach.
Ruland played nine eight seasons in the NBA, eventually coached nine seasons at Iona and also led the Gaels to three NCAA Tournaments. The Post story gives a nice snapshot into the early bond formed between Ruland and Valvano, who went on to become one of the biggest names in college basketball history.
“He could get you believing, man,” Ruland, a scout with the Washington Wizards of the NBA, told The Post.