Dolphins really made themselves at home
With big, partisan crowds on hand at
their new gym, CSI made a memorable run to the '96 championship
Staten Island Advance - Friday, February 17, 2006
The joint was rocking.
The spanking new Sports and Recreation Center at the College of
Staten Island had been awarded the CUNY Conference Basketball
Tournament, and the hometown Dolphins of CSI had advanced to the
championship game.
"The gym was packed ... the crowd was loud," recalls CSI point guard
John Cali of that dramatic finale against York on Feb. 23, 1996 --
nearly 10 years ago. "It was like a real college basketball
atmosphere at its best."
A decade has passed and times have changed. Cali, who was named
tourney MVP after CSI had rallied past York, 66-62, is a now a
29-year-old Port Authority police officer. His teammates have also
moved on with their lives, while hanging on to the memories of an
unforgettable night of basketball.
One of the constants at CSI, which hosts this year's CUNY Tournament
beginning with four men's games tomorrow in Willowbrook, is head
coach Tony Petosa. The 40-year-old Petosa has been associated with
the program for more than two decades. He was a member of three
conference championship teams as a player and has coached three more
CSI teams to titles.
"For these CUNY kids, this tournament means everything," said Petosa,
who also contributed to two championship teams as an assistant
coach. "It's really a whole season in one week and if you can
somehow win three games, it's something you'll cherish for a long
time."
Petosa could fill up a book with his personal tourney memories, as a
player and coach. But he ranks that championship to cap the 1995-96
season right at the top of the list.
"We caught lightning in a bottle in some ways," he remembered of a
squad that featured a front line of 6-foot-7 junior Chris Kelly, 6-8
freshman Billy Felci and 6-2 sophomore Brian Gasper a defensive
stopper. "We were picked somewhere in the middle of the (CUNY) pack
before the season. I think there might have more talented teams than
us. But we hung together and won a lot of close games."
Cali, then a sophomore, scored 18 points en route to MVP honors, but
he wasn't the crunch-time hero. That honor went to junior reserve
guard Robert Schnurer, who made back-to-back three-point shots to
snap a 52-52 tie with five minutes remaining, then drilled another
jumper to put the Dolphins up 62-54 with 1:48 remaining.
"I remember Pat Harkins coming off the bench and taking a charge
from (York point guard) Nate Reeves," said Petosa. "That turned the
game around. Those are the type of plays that win championships.
"The atmosphere was electric. It was our first year in our new
building and it was probably the most exciting night I've
experienced in the CUNYs."
The Dolphins have had their share of tournament excitement since
becoming a four-year school prior to the 1977-78 season. They have
captured 11 championships along the way, while losing only three of
14 title games.
Former coach Evan Pickman began what became a 1980s dynasty by
winning four tourney crowns, while Tom Keenan and Howie Ruppert each
coached CSI to a pair of back-to-back titles.
Petosa claimed his first CUNY championship as a head coach with that
1995-96 squad and coached the 1999 and 2002 champions.
The 1999 team began the season with a 7-9 record, but won 10 of its
last 11 games. Cali, a fifth-year senior who had missed the previous
season with a back injury, became a two-time tourney MVP. He and
Felci made the all-tourney team and 5-9 sophomore guard Craig Sleap
provided the heroics in a 61-53 title-game win over York, with 14
points and seven rebounds.
"We were a close group," said Sleap, now a city firefighter. "It was
a great time. The guys wanted to win more than anything, especially
the closer we got to the championship game.
"You work hard for four years ... it's a big deal to get that
trophy."
Of course, there have been painful moments, too. The favored
Dolphins were upset by host City College in the finals of the 2001
tourney, and fell short last season in a tight game against
first-time winner City Tech.
"It's you and your teammates and coaches against the world," said
Cali. "We played as a team (during the historic 1996 championship
run). We stuck together.
"It was a fun week of basketball."
By JIM WAGGONER
Reprinted here with permission
from the
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