UNCTarheels
01-16-2008, 02:01 PM
Prattsburgh is one of the, if not the classiest program in Section V. I've known this for several years but recently it's become a little more clear that there's something special going on over in Prattsburgh and has been for years. During the Christmas Tournament Avoca was Playing Naples, The Gym was packed with Prattsburgh fans and Graduates as their Tournament was dedicated to all of the Former Prattsburgh students who are currently serving in the Military, not just Former Basketball players but all graduates. Avoca in a tight game came out of a time out down by one point with 11 seconds left, All of the Prattsburgh fans started cheering and stomping there feet something usually done when Prattsburgh is playing. I thought that showed a lot of class, Avoca won the game by one point! What Coach Burke did this past Saturday also showed a lot of class.
Here's a portion of my Friend Chris Metcalfs Column which further shows the kind of Class shown in Prattsburgh:
Not on Burke’s court
The night before the Le Roy football banquet, I thought I’d take in some possible Section V-history when I made the trip for Batavia Notre Dame’s boys basketball game at Prattsburgh.
B-ND head coach Mike Rapone was in search of his 500th career win, which is an incredible milestone, and with all the history between his team and Prattsburgh and head coach Jim Burke, it seemed only fitting that Rapone would try and hit that elite number in the house that Coach Burke built.
Heading into this contest, these two coaches had combined for 989 coaching victories, not to mention the 177 wins that Burke also had coaching girls’ hoops.
If that’s not coaching success, tell me what is.
There’s a mutual amount of respect between these two classy coaches, and although I don’t cover either one of them regularly in the LCN, it still was worth the trip.
And the game was just as good as advertised.
B-ND whipped Prattsburgh by 15 points in the season opener for both teams so most experts thought Rapone would easily get 500.
But I knew better.
There was no way possible that Coach Burke was going to let that happen on his floor, and although he never made a big deal about it as I drove down there with him and his lovely wife Lucy, I knew how the competitive juices can flow through that man’s blood like sweat in a sauna.
It was a physical game right from the opening tip. Ironically, Dansville’s Tom Hober was one of the officials in the game, and he, along with Tony Falco, called a very good game I thought.
Prattsburgh would take a nine-point lead into the half only to watch it disappear to a one point deficit after three periods following B-ND’s Christian Bochicchio’s 3-point prayer that beat the buzzer.
But the Prattsburgh boys would rise to the occasion, and in front of a jam-packed, standing-room only crowd, those feisty, undersized Vikings held B-ND to just two points in the final quarter beating them by a 43-36 count.
In true Coach Burke-style — with just nine seconds remaining, and B-ND all but holding up a white flag, Coach Burke grabbed the microphone and paid his respects to the outstanding person that Mike Rapone is, while wife Lucy gave Mrs. Rapone some beautiful flowers as she crossed the floor with tears in her eyes in appreciation. The crowd roared out its approval as the final seconds finally wore down.
Just another classy act by Burke, something we’ve all grown accustomed to.
This was small town basketball at its finest, two of the top Class D programs in state history.
Coach Burke said it best when he analyzed the evening.
“It was a special evening, one of many that we have been involved in at Prattsburgh. Not much in Prattsburgh, but it is a special place with many great memories. Our kids our lucky. How many kids get to experience what our kids experienced (Saturday night). It's been going on for years. To me, that's worth more than money. Our team works hard and enjoys being around each other and have a business like attitude. I couldn't believe the people hanging around after the game. It was like they didn't want to leave the gym, or didn't want the night to end. If you think kids are going downhill today, come spend an evening with ours.”
I’m glad I did.
Chris Metcalf
Sports Editor
Livingston County News
122 Main Street
Geneseo, NY 14454
(585) 243-1322
sports@livingstonnews.com
Here's a portion of my Friend Chris Metcalfs Column which further shows the kind of Class shown in Prattsburgh:
Not on Burke’s court
The night before the Le Roy football banquet, I thought I’d take in some possible Section V-history when I made the trip for Batavia Notre Dame’s boys basketball game at Prattsburgh.
B-ND head coach Mike Rapone was in search of his 500th career win, which is an incredible milestone, and with all the history between his team and Prattsburgh and head coach Jim Burke, it seemed only fitting that Rapone would try and hit that elite number in the house that Coach Burke built.
Heading into this contest, these two coaches had combined for 989 coaching victories, not to mention the 177 wins that Burke also had coaching girls’ hoops.
If that’s not coaching success, tell me what is.
There’s a mutual amount of respect between these two classy coaches, and although I don’t cover either one of them regularly in the LCN, it still was worth the trip.
And the game was just as good as advertised.
B-ND whipped Prattsburgh by 15 points in the season opener for both teams so most experts thought Rapone would easily get 500.
But I knew better.
There was no way possible that Coach Burke was going to let that happen on his floor, and although he never made a big deal about it as I drove down there with him and his lovely wife Lucy, I knew how the competitive juices can flow through that man’s blood like sweat in a sauna.
It was a physical game right from the opening tip. Ironically, Dansville’s Tom Hober was one of the officials in the game, and he, along with Tony Falco, called a very good game I thought.
Prattsburgh would take a nine-point lead into the half only to watch it disappear to a one point deficit after three periods following B-ND’s Christian Bochicchio’s 3-point prayer that beat the buzzer.
But the Prattsburgh boys would rise to the occasion, and in front of a jam-packed, standing-room only crowd, those feisty, undersized Vikings held B-ND to just two points in the final quarter beating them by a 43-36 count.
In true Coach Burke-style — with just nine seconds remaining, and B-ND all but holding up a white flag, Coach Burke grabbed the microphone and paid his respects to the outstanding person that Mike Rapone is, while wife Lucy gave Mrs. Rapone some beautiful flowers as she crossed the floor with tears in her eyes in appreciation. The crowd roared out its approval as the final seconds finally wore down.
Just another classy act by Burke, something we’ve all grown accustomed to.
This was small town basketball at its finest, two of the top Class D programs in state history.
Coach Burke said it best when he analyzed the evening.
“It was a special evening, one of many that we have been involved in at Prattsburgh. Not much in Prattsburgh, but it is a special place with many great memories. Our kids our lucky. How many kids get to experience what our kids experienced (Saturday night). It's been going on for years. To me, that's worth more than money. Our team works hard and enjoys being around each other and have a business like attitude. I couldn't believe the people hanging around after the game. It was like they didn't want to leave the gym, or didn't want the night to end. If you think kids are going downhill today, come spend an evening with ours.”
I’m glad I did.
Chris Metcalf
Sports Editor
Livingston County News
122 Main Street
Geneseo, NY 14454
(585) 243-1322
sports@livingstonnews.com