Pingatore, Rivers walk down memory lane

On Dec. 30, 1978, Isiah Thomas scored 33 points and St. Joseph defeated Proviso East 88-72 in the championship game of the Proviso West Holiday tournament.

At Wednesday's McDonald's All-American boys game at the United Center, two pivotal figures from that game had a chance to reminisce: St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore and former Proviso East star Doc Rivers, who scored 19 points to lead the Pirates. Thomas and Rivers were both named first-team all tournament.

"That was the greatest game ever," Pingatore said. During the week leading up to the McDonald's Game, Pingatore had a chance to talk with Austin Rivers, Glenn's son, the highly-regarded guard from Winter Park, Fla., who is headed to Duke.

"Austin's a better shooter than his father at the same age," Pingatore said.

Austin Rivers said his father often spoke about the glory days of Chicago basketball he played against Thomas, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings. "He said basketball today is nothing it was in Chicago, where people hung from windows and balconies just to see the game. He said it was the greatest experience," Austin Rivers said.

Reunion: Former St. Joseph star Daryl Thomas played in the 1983 game in Atlanta and returned to coach Wednesday as an assistant to Pingatore.

"I'm more thrilled than the kids," Daryl Thomas said. "It was an outstanding experience. I think back when we played in the game, we played a little more together. But now, the talent level's off the charts. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a lot of these guys have significant college careers and many of them play in the NBA."

Taking the night off: Doc Rivers, the Sun-Times player of the year in 1980 and now the Boston Celtics' head coach, played in the McDonald's game his senior year. His name was one of many prominent McDonald's alumni flashed at the United Center's electronic ring.

Good cause: "Being part of this game and raising money for Ronald McDonald House is a tremendous honor for me, my whole staff, my school and my community. The fact that (the game) is in Chicago is great," Pingatore said.

Attendance mark: According to McDonald's officials, the United Center game set a new record for tickets sold with 20,019, beating the previous mark of 18,728 set in Cleveland in 2003, the year LeBron James headlined the field.

High praise: Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters, who guided the West girls squad, was impressed with Bolingbrook guard Ariel Massengale, who had a big game for the East in its 78-66 win.

"A great player," Gaters said of Massengale. "She has a great basketball IQ from the point guard position. She really speeds the game up but knows how to get everybody involved."

Though the East lost, Gaters said, "I'm really proud of the effort of the kids. I thought they played really hard. It was difficult to describe. We have a lot of good shooters, but the shots just weren't falling, especially in that first half. It's old thing, you live by the jump shot and you die by the jump shot."

Cohesion: Bolingbrook's Ariel Massengale was the lone Chicago-area representative. She scored 13 points in the East's 78-66 victory.

"It was amazing," Massengale said. "I was honored to have the game in my state, and to have so many teammates, friends and church members here to watch. It was great to have them come out and see me play."

Elizabeth Williams said one reason the East squad was more fluid offensively than their West was many of the players knew each other from USA basketball. Williams, Massengale and Bria Smith played together on the 17-under national team that won the world championship in France last summer.

"We also knew each other from playing on the club circuit, so it wasn't really that big of an adjustment," Williams said. "I think we just had chemistry," Smith said. "We knew what we had to do, just play good defense, share the ball and have fun."

Morgan Jones, a Northwestern commit from Orlando, Fla. playing on the West team finished with two points.

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