NEW ORLEANS — Competent basketball statisticians never award two assists for one field goal. But Saturday's Crosstown Classic at Xavier University of Louisiana's new Convocation Center will feature a two-assist transaction.
A warmup top, worn by XU standout Bruce Seals during his time with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, will be presented to XU's athletics department for permanent display in the new facility, which seats nearly 4,000. The presentation will occur during the men's game between Xavier and Dillard, which will tip off at 5 p.m. The XU and Dillard women's teams will meet at 3 p.m.
Seals autographed the Sonics warmup and gave it to longtime friend and classmate Ronnie Owens during the 1980s. The gift was not a special occasion, Seals said, but Owens eventually had special plans in mind.
"I had thought about donating the warmup to the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame in Baton Rouge, where Bruce is a member," said Owens, who met Seals in ninth grade at Booker T. Washington High School and also was an XU classmate. "But when the Convocation Center opened, I knew this was the right place for it."
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| XU basketball legend Bruce Seals, second from left, with son Bruce Jr., daughter Denitra and longtime friend Ronnie Owens, right. They'll all be at the Convocation Center on Saturday for the XU-Dillard Crosstown Classic — women's game at 3 p.m., men's game at 5. |
Seals arrived in New Orleans from his home in the
Boston suburbs on Wednesday with his son, Bruce Jr., and his daughter, Denitra.
On Thursday they took a campus tour which not only included the Convocation
Center but also two more recent additions to XU's expanding landscape: the St.
Katharine Drexel Chapel and the Convocation Center Annex.
When the tour
reached the Convocation Center, the reaction of Seals was similar to others who
have visited since its opening in early November. "Wow," he said. "This is a
beautiful place."
Before November, Seals and hundreds of other XU
student-athletes developed their games at The Barn, a 1,300-seat gymnasium which
opened in 1937 and had legendary status by the time Seals played his first XU
home game in the fall of 1971. Seals, a 6-foot-8 forward, contributed to legend
of The Barn and became one himself. He averaged 22.2 points and 13 rebounds
during his two seasons, helping the Gold Rush win back-to-back NAIA District 30
championships and qualify both years for the NAIA National Championship. In the
second round of the '73 national tournament, Seals had 32 points, 10 rebounds
and 12 blocked shots in a 67-60 upset of top-seeded and unbeaten Sam Houston
State.
Seals then played five seasons of U.S. professional basketball —
two with the Utah Stars of the ABA and three with Seattle — then played a few
more seasons in Europe before retiring. He is an assistant men's basketball coach at NCAA Division III's Emmanuel College
in Boston and a longtime athletics director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of
Dorchester, Mass.
Seals on Thursday recalled a couple of memorable XU
games. One, during his freshman year, was a home game against Grambling. It was
their second meeting of the season, and coach Bob Hopkins wanted to make a
statement after Norman Zanders' late basket was disallowed in the Tigers' 85-83
victory at Grambling.
"Coach told us if we didn't beat Grambling this
time by at least 10 points, we were going to practice right after the game,"
Seals said. "Well, no one wanted to practice."
Hopkins got what he
wanted: a 131-95 victory. It was one of seven 100-point performances during a
12-game win streak, and it's still the fourth highest point total by a Gold Rush
team. "Grambling couldn't get the ball past half court for a long time," Seals
said.
T
T
he other memory was from late in Seals' sophomore year, just a
few weeks before his triple-double against Sam Houston State. He barely missed
the bus which transported the Gold Rush to a game against city rival SUNO and
was forced to find another way to the game.
"I was mad," Seals said. "I
didn't start because I missed the bus. But I eventually got to play, and we won.
But later that night, I thought about what happened. I knew then that coaches
had to be consistent with all their players."
Donald "Slick" Watts,
another XU legend who teamed with Seals as a point guard on the Gold Rush and
the SuperSonics, also will attend the Crosstown Classic. "Slick made it to New
Orleans," Owens said, "but he was going up to Mississippi to surprise his mother
with a visit before coming back down for the games Saturday."
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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