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He's a Jersey guy. Born here, got his start coaching high school here. He was hired as a Rutgers assistant and likely would still be at Rutgers if he had the opportunity (another thank you to Fred Gruninger):
Dick Vitale told me yesterday: "If Fred Gruninger had hired me in 1973, you'd be calling me today about my retirement from Rutgers."
— Jerry Carino (@NJHoopsHaven) April 14, 2013
But that didn't happen and Dickie V left to coach the University of Detroit, and coach it pretty well (I will admit I was surprised at the success):
Detroit Titans (Independent) (1973–1977) | ||||||||
1973–1974 | Detroit | 17–9 | ||||||
1974–1975 | Detroit | 17–9 | ||||||
1975–1976 | Detroit | 19–8 | ||||||
1976–1977 | Detroit | 26–3 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | |||||
Detroit: | 79–29 (.731) | |||||||
Total: | 79–29 (.731) |
Source: Wikipedia (of course)
His next move to coach the Detroit Pistons was a flop, he moved to ESPN, and.....you know the rest.
Now, as for Rutgers....
But recently Dick had some things to say about Rutgers and the big Ten:
Rutgers & Maryland in the BIG 10 sounds WEIRD , feels WEIRD & is flat out WEIRD! #DOESNOTFIT
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) July 5, 2014
Just wondering as I just ran into some super guys that love Rutgers - They agreed that RUTGERS does not belong in the Big 10!
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) August 3, 2014
And that generated some feedback from Rutgers fans:
@DickieV Rutgers fans are devastated to hear this!
— Rvard (@WinToKnight) August 3, 2014
@DickieV Just ran into Joe Buck and Suzyn Waldman- They agreed that you do not belong in the Basketball Hall of Fame
— Danny Friedman (@dfried16) August 3, 2014
After seeing this, I've never felt more sure that Rutgers belonged in the Big Ten RT @DickieV RUTGERS does not belong in the Big 10!
— Steve Yanofsky (@SteveYanofskyRU) August 3, 2014
@DickieV what was the purpose of this tweet? Clearly to get a reaction (attention whore) or to upset Rutgers fans for no good reason
— Ed Philipp (@edphilipp) August 3, 2014
Not a fan
Okay, I will admit that I am not a Vitale fan. I feel he's kind of gone past his time, maybe a little like Lee Corso in football (though I still like Corso). To me, Dickie V is an ACC/Duke apologist/promoter/sycophant, as illustrated by this flowchart that was created by a Reddit contributor:
Source: Collegespun http://collegespun.com/homepage/a-reddit-user-created-a-hilarious-is-your-team-relevant-to-dick-vitale-flowchart#
There's good there
But give him his due. He is not a bad guy. In fact, I believe that he is a humanitarian and is very sincere when he talks about his favorite causes, about the V Foundation, and about helping others. In fact, he helped Rutgers Basketball not too long ago.
Mr Emmert - the fans on twitter feel -Kerwin Okoro Rutgers has been given a bad deal by NCAA-Mark do u hear me-he lost his Dad & brother.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) August 29, 2013
Dick Vitale helps grieving Rutgers transfer earn NCAA waiver http://t.co/9K9EvoNRbM @dickiev #rhoops
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) September 14, 2013
So, is it just me or is Dick Vitale way off base on the RU/B1G thing and does he sort of have it in for his former Garden State employer? Just wonderin'.