Review this Book   Get your Signed copy today! Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Amazon Category:  Sports/Recreation Publisher: Paul Lonardo ISBN-10:  1092494634 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 140 Copyright: May 2019 ISBN-13: 9781092494632 Price: $7.99 (eBook) "HOMEGROWN: The Making of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars" is a retrospective of that remarkable season as well as a history of the school's basketball program, which was responsible for drawing the local talent that propelled that team to success that it enjoys to this day. . Incredibly, the 50-year anniversary of the 1972-73 Providence College Friars basketball team will be observed soon, and this book is a tribute to Coach Dave Gavitt, the players, and all their fans. PC has a long history of great basketball teams and beloved players, but there has been anything like the talent and allure of Coach Dave Gavitt’s 1972-73 Friars. The collective skill of the thirteen young players who made up the team contributed to its immense success that season, but Providence featured two local players, Marvin Barnes and Ernie DiGregorio, who formed the nucleus of the team. Barnes, a dominant 6’9 center, was born in Providence, and DiGregorio, known as Ernie D, was a flawless 6’0 point guard from North Providence. While both had the ability to play for schools with more prominent basketball programs, they chose the family-like environment at PC. In this book, readers can relive the excitement of that season, while taking an historical journey from the earliest days of PC basketball history straight through to the Final Four matchup against Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA tournament. Excerpt Providence was up by eight points, 24-16, when Barnes reached over Memphis’ Ronnie Robinson back for a rebound after Robinson missed a shot. Barnes tipped the ball away and no foul was called, but when Barnes came down, he landed on Robinson’s foot, twisting his right knee in the process. It was a freak accident, but Barnes’ knee instantly locked up on him and he fell to the floor. Wincing in pain, he grabbed his leg but hopped right up. The warrior that he was, he tried to shake it off, determined to play through it. He attempted to run on it but found that he could not bend the knee. He realized the extent of his injury, and so did everyone else, including Coach Gavitt, who immediately called a timeout to take Barnes out of the game.

Professional Reviews
Piece of college basketball history
Before the 1972-73 season, Providence College wasn’t exactly considered a basketball powerhouse. However, in the two previous seasons, there were two exceptional players who were honing their exceptional talents for their hometown school and as coach Dave Gavit surrounded them with good role players, the Friars had a magical run to the Final Four in that 1972-73 season. The season, team and two star players, Ernie DiGregario and Marvin Barnes, are the topic of this short but enjoyable read by Paul Lonardo.

The book is an overall recap of the 1972-73 season for the last 40 or so pages, with each game broken down and described, especially the games in the NCAA tournament which ended with a heartbreaking loss to Memphis State. The reason why that season isn’t the entire content of the book is that Lonardo does a good job of letting the reader’s knowledge build up to that season in much the same manner as Gavit built the Friars from an afterthought to a great Cinderella story.

Of course, teams like the Friars need exceptional players and they had not one but two of them and both were from Providence. Point guard Ernie DiGregario hailed from the northern part of the city while power forward Marvin “Bad News” Barnes was from the southern part, the area considered the rougher part of town. Despite very different backgrounds, childhoods and high school basketball careers, the two of them bonded quickly on the court and were good friends off it as well while at Providence. While Lonardo does write at least a few paragraphs each about Coach Gavit and each of the other players, DiGregario and Barnes make up the bulk of this type of information.

How the city caught basketball fever was also an important part of the book and this is described well as Lonardo gives the reader a look at the city and its crown jewel from that era that this special Friars team christened – the new Civic Center building that upped the crowds from around 4,000 to over 13,000 for each home game. The success of that team in 1973 was a big factor in the successful operation of the Civic Center during its early days.
While the book is fairly short and does not go into great depth, it is a good source of material on one of the surprise teams in the history of college basketball and is one that comes recommended to those who want to learn a little more about that team.

I wish to thank Mr. Lonardo for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.