Mar. 7, 1965 - It was Lew Alcindor Day today on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University.
The 7-1 basketball player collected 32 points and 22 rebounds, blocked 8 shots, set a city schoolboy scoring record, and was presented with 3 trophies, 2 basketballs, and a strawberry cream pie in the face.
Alcindor’s dunk shots (forward and backward) led Power Memorial Academy to a 73-41 victory over Rice High School and its third consecutive Catholic High School A.A. title.
At 6:49 of the third period, the crowd of 3,000 screaming partisans became silent as Alcindor approached the foul line. He had 28 points and needed to sink only one foul shot to break the city schoolboy record of 2,063.
As the ball went through the hoop, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He then added a point from the line before the referee stopped the game and presented Lew with his first ball of the afternoon. At the end of the game, he was given the other ball as the game’s most valuable player.
Asked about Power’s future when Alcindor is gone, coach Jack Donohue commented:“Not too good, but we have some good boys coming up, like 6-5 Tom Murray on the junior varsity.”
Donohue would not commit himself on what college Alcindor will attend.
“He’s got 20 solid offers,” he said. “I can’t mention them all because I may leave out one. But I will tell you the New York schools.
“He’s had offers from Iona, Fordham, NYU, St. John’s, LIU, Seton Hall, and Fairfield. Now, we’re going to sit down and think. If Lewis wants to, he can visit a different college every weekend. But he hasn’t made up his mind yet.
“When he does, I’ll call a press conference, and maybe then everyone will stop bothering me.”
Asked if any of the scholarship offers were different, Donohue said, “According to the NCAA rule, all they can offer is room, board, tuition fees, and $15 a month laundry money.”
As Donohue ended his interview, the locker room door burst open, and there stood Lewis Alcindor, a strawberry cream pie mashed on his head.
What a sweet way to end a career.
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