Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams Visit Basketball Legend Bob Cousy ’50 at his Worcester Home

On Tuesday evening, the College of the Holy Cross’ men’s and women’s basketball teams visited the home of Bob Cousy ’50, and spoke with the basketball legend himself, the Telegram & Gazette reports. Cousy, who played point guard for the College and later for the Boston Celtics, welcomed the basketball players and coaches into his home and “spoke to them about his days as a Crusader and a Celtic.”

While both basketball teams pass the bronze statue of Cousy in front of the Hart Center, talking with him in person was very different. “There’s a little bit more of a connection now,” said Malachi Alexander ’17, who plays forward for the men’s team. “Shaking his hand, hearing him talk, being in his home. He was more of a myth until now.”

“It was an honor,” said Katie Doherty ’18, who is a guard on the women’s team. “He has such a great legacy here at Holy Cross. We see his statue in front of the Hart Center all the time, and he’s motivation for all of us and inspiration to all of us.”

“He’s the guy,” Alexander said. “He’s the Holy Cross guy, he’s an NBA legend, he’s such a legend in so many aspects of the game. You always hear the stories and tales about Bob Cousy and the teams back in the ’40s and ’50s. It’s real life now.”

Joining the players for a visit were other Holy Cross basketball legends Togo Palazzi ’54, Ron Perry Sr. ’54 and Rev. Earle Markey, S.J. ’53.

This year also marks 70 years since Cousy stepped foot on the Holy Cross campus as a first-year student, when the men’s basketball team won the College’s only NCAA championship in 1947. This past March, the men’s basketball team won the Patriot League Tournament, which got Cousy to “jump out of his chair,” the Telegram & Gazette reports. The Patriot League win enabled the men’s team to advance to the NCAA Tournament, deeming them the first No. 9 seed to win the Patriot League Championship.

“The fact that we were able to inspire him,” said Robert Champion, ’17, who plays forward on the men’s team, “and he said it made an impact on him by what we were able to do, it definitely gives us even more motivation to go out there and try to do it again this year.”

Read the full article at Telegram.com.

This “Holy Cross in the News” article by Jessica Kennedy.