Letter to the Editor: Basketball loss upsets alumnus
As an outraged alumnus (Class of 1977, B.A., journalism), I was rolling in disgust on my living room floor on Sunday, March 8, watching Rider blow its semi-final game with Niagara. For Head Coach Thomas Dempsey not to instruct his players to foul the Niagara ball handler before he got off a three-point shot is sheer idiocy, and reminds me of the coaching mishaps of John Carpenter when I broadcast Bronc basketball games on WRRC. If the ball handler was fouled he would have been awarded two shots, meaning Rider would be left with a one-point lead with 2-3 seconds remaining.
I would urge all alumni to withhold contributions until this clown Dempsey either apologizes for his miscue, or is fired. And, by the way, I can’t believe 32 years after I graduated, you guys still play ball in that dump of a gymnasium — there are still acres and acres of property behind Poyda, right? Use it to build a gym Rider grads can be proud of. The only thing Alumni Gym was ever good for was hosting the talents of Billy Joel (twice), Janis Joplin, The Kinks, Jackson Browne and Boston, to name a few classic rock bands, but [the game] will not leave for a long time. It was one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating games I have ever seen Rider play, and it will be a long time before it’s forgotten.
Craig J. Peterson
Class of ’77
The only way you can relate John Carpenter to Dempsey is that they both coached at Rider. The only mistake John Carpenter made while Rider was to allow amateurs like you and your friends at WWRC to broadcast the games.