Dave Zeitlin: Heaven for a hoops fan

It was raining all day on Saturday, but inside the Palestra it was a beautiful day.

For nine hours, the tiny gym on 33rd Street showcased college basketball at its finest, a conglomeration of all the Philadelphia schools duking it out in the first annual Big 5 Classic.

It was heaven for college basketball junkies, and I was there for all nine hours.

I brought my true passion for the sport, but I also brought a pen and a notebook. And I chronicled every minute of every game in basketball's most historic gym. So here is one man's view on the bests (and worsts) of what was definitely a day to remember.

Best game: The Palestra saved its best show for last. In the nightcap, Villanova staged off a late Temple comeback to surprise John Chaney's Owls, the premier team of the city.

Best team: St. Joe's lived up to its national billing. Despite poor shooting from their two phenom guards, the No. 18 Hawks held off a tough Penn team.

Most dominating performance: Rasual Butler was everywhere for La Salle in the Big 5 Classic opener, a clash of the city's lightweights. The athletic senior torched the Drexel Dragons for 32 points and 11 rebounds.

Best player down the stretch: He was also the only player for his team down the stretch. Temple's Lynn Greer converted two three-point plays in the game's waning minutes and bucketed the tying layup against Villanova.

Best coaching move: 'Nova head man Jay Wright handcuffed Greer on the final play of the nightcap, ordering two big men to double the Owls guard at the top of the key. The move forced a turnover and secured a Wildcats win.

Best play: Adam Chubb scored his first points of the 2001-02 season in style. The Quakers big man elevated over a St. Joe's defender, took a perfectly placed pass from David Klatsky and finished off a crowd-pleasing alley-oop.

Best shot: Chubb gets the honors again. Just as the shot clock expired, he buried a desperation three-pointer, wowing the Red and Blue faithful.

Best fans: It's tough for me to go against the usual occupants of the Palestra, but the St. Joe's contingent outdueled the Quakers side with clever chants and a tireless spirit.

Best band: The Temple band, trombones decked out in Owls banners and all, filled the Palestra with great pump-up music -- not to mention a nice Bon Jovi medley at halftime.

Best cheerleaders: Again, it's Temple. The Owls pretty much had the best basketball aura of all the Philly schools.

Best heckle: Everyone got a few laughs when Penn fans chanted, "U.S.A." when 7-foot-1, Russian-born Alexandre Sazonov stepped to the foul line. (I'm taking wagers on whether he's the only Russian in the world who has cornrows.)

Best sign: A Temple fan sported a clever "Villanova turnover-meter" sign. (The final tally was 20, by the way.)

Biggest jinx: This had to be when the Penn fans chanted "Overrated" when the game was close in the second half. Enticed by the chant, St. Joe's immediately went on a huge run. It was like calling out a no-hitter in the 7th inning. Also, what does this chant accomplish? If St. Joe's is overrated and still wins, what does that make Penn? It's simply infuriating.

Most absurd sign: Six Villanova fans managed to spell out "HALFTIME" with two exclamation marks on their chests. Need I say anything more.

Best mascot: "The Hawk will never die."

Worst attack on a mascot: It was probably the only one too, but I still got a few laughs when a bunch of kids shoved the La Salle "Explorer" to the ground.

Most mysterious absence: Um, where was the Quaker? Every school was represented by a mascot except Penn.

Most bizarre media guide cover: If you want a few laughs, pick up a copy of the St. Joe's media guide. The cover features four St. Joe's starters emptying "Essence of Hawk" powder in a magic cauldron. What do you think O'Connor and Nelson said when they were put up to this?

Most annoying phrase: If I had a penny for every time P.A. announcer John McAdams said the phrase, "Slam dunk hunger," well, I wouldn't be rich, but I'd have quite a few pennies. Seriously, I understand the promotion, but how exactly does one go about slam dunking hunger?

Dumbest promotion: A La Salle student had to make a layup, free throw, three-pointer and halfcourt shot in 24 seconds to win $250 for books. I can't even put on a pair of pants in 24 seconds. Shows the value La Salle puts on education.

Most annoying fan: This guy is also the most annoying fan in the history of sports. He's the classic I-have-no-idea-what's-going-on-and-I-only-cheer-when-everyone-e lse-cheers fan. This Temple student also blocked everyone's view by standing, had his pants fall down every time he jumped in the air (which happened on most rebounds and media timeouts) and attempted to pick a fight with a 15-year-old 'Nova fan.

Most revolting sight: Three fat St. Joe's fans, spelling out the letters S, J, and U on their bare chests. Good thing they were on the other side of the gym.

Most annoying band: Well, the Drexel band stole my seat so this award has to go to them. Also, the "Drexel Ode" was like an Ode to Death. It almost made me want to jump from the Palestra rafters.

Worst anthem: I felt a little queasy at the outset of the Temple-Villanova game thanks in large part to the shrieking national anthem that pierced everyone's ears in the entire arena.

Most useless piece of information gained: 'Nova forward Ricky Wright wears contact lenses. Trust me on this one.

Best ad: A PECO Energy ad on the back cover of the Big 5 media guide. "They say there is no real prize for winning the Big 5... They must not be from Philly."

Best overheard quote: Long-time Associated Press writer Jack Scheuer, responding to the typical"nice game" remark: "In this building, it's always a nice game."

Lasting moment: There are so many, but just hearing the legendary John McAdams belt out, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the University of Pennsylvania Palestra, college basketball's most historic gym" not once, but three times... it gave me chills every time.

Best gym in the country: Is there any doubt?

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