Here's One of the Greatest Passes in Basketball History
This video is 43 years old. The guy throwing the pinpoint behind-the-back pass from halfcourt through multiple defenders to a streaking teammate for an assist is Ernie DiGregorio. At the time he was a senior at Providence.
Providence was really good that season, reaching the 1973 Final Four thanks to the play of DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes. DiGregorio was drafted by the Buffalo Braves a few months later and went on to be Rookie of the Year while averaging 15.2 points and a league-leading 8.2 assists in the ’73-’74 season. The year after that Barnes went to the ABA where he averaged 24 points and 15.6 rebounds a game and was Rookie of the Year. Both players had incredibly promising careers cut short. DiGregorio by injuries. Barnes by substance abuse.
That’s a little look back at basketball in the early 70’s. When Providence was a college basketball power (they’re coming off 3 consecutive 20-win seasons, but have just 1 tournament win over that time), Buffalo had an NBA team and the ABA still existed.
DiGregorio recently returned to basketball as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Buffalo 716ers of the Premier Basketball League. It is highly unlikely the type of pass that inspired this post is encouraged by anyone in that organization.