Allen Named Hoop Captain; McGuire Talks at Banquet

Senior co-captains Glenn Fine and Bob Hooft shared most valuable player honors, and Bob Allen was named next year's captain at the annual basketball banquet, held last night under the Great Dome at Quincy Market.

More than 300 persons, including President Bok, Athletic Director Jack Reardon and Dean of Admissions Fred Jewett gathered to honor the '78-'79 basketball team and listen to guest speaker Al McGuire, former Marquette coaching great and current NBC sports commentator, as well as the Honorable Hamilton Fish, Sr. '10, former Harvard football All-American and basketball player.

Fish, the only living member of the Walter Camp All-Time All-American football team and eight-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, reminisced about a vicious Yale-Harvard basketball game in 1908 before awarding the first Hamilton Fish Most Improved Player Award to Donald Fleming, a freshman who averaged almost 12 points per outing.

Following Fish at the podium were assistant coaches Terry O'Connor and Billy Baynor who presented awards to Allen as the Best Defensive Player; Hooft as the top rebounder and scorer; freshman Dave Coatsworth for "Hustle"; Mark Harris for best field goal percentage; and Fine for best free-throw percentage as well as most assists.

Hooft and Fine then presented special awards to trainer Pete Provinzano, and Barney Daley, equipment manager, who is retiring after 37 years at Harvard.

While at the podium, Fine enumerated Harvard's three basketball needs--a new gymnasium, another full-time assistant coach and "a real big center, about 6-10, an aircraft carrier."

Fine, a Rhodes scholar, also praised Harvard's approach to athletics. "We strive to be the best, but we are not just athletes. We are student-athletes. That's a better indicator of the success of the program than the won-loss record," he said.

Before announcing the next team captain, Reardon, in his official capacity as A.D., reiterated Harvard's need for a new gym, but stressed that it would not be for just the basketball team.

"We've got to get a new facility. Not just for the basketball team. We need more floor space for our students, so they can exercise in the winter," he told the dinner-eating audience.

Reardon announced that $1 million had already been pledged for the construction of such a structure and that another $1.5 million would be needed to build a 3600 seat gym with three basketball courts, locker rooms, and offices for the coaches.

"The University's major fund drive will include few funds for further construction, but one thing will be built--a basketball facility. People need to have patience and to help us out," Reardon said.

Roger Twibell, sports director at WBZTV then introduced last night's guest speaker, Al McGuire. With his colorful and unorganized shoot-from-the-hip style, McGuire offered the crowd a varied but blunt lesson in day-to-day big-time athletic philosophy.

Although McGuire never worked his way up from the bottom in the broadcasting business, he earned his credentials the hard way--in the coaching profession. "I spent two years at Dartmouth living over the gymnasium," he said. "That was the original Tap City. Our big thrill was going down to White River Junction," he added, unknowingly delighting the partisan Crimson group.