tragic loss from a brain tumor. great memories of him and the old Big East.
Pearl Washington dead at 52
- Thread starter Mr. Magoo1
- Start date
So sad. I got to know him a bit during his rookie year in the NBA. He was the No. 13 pick of the 1986 draft. I interned in the Nets' PR dept. during the fall semester (Sept.-Dec. '86) of my senior year at Rutgers.
R.I.P. Pearl
R.I.P. Pearl
Last edited by a moderator:
Lots of great memories of Pearl and the Big East back then. I may need help on one of the starting Cuse teams. Was it Pearl, Seikely, Rafael Addison, was Derrick Coleman on one of them?, there was a good shooting white forward (tip of my tongue). Anyway, GTown, Seton Hall, St.John's, Villanova, Providence, what a great league it was, and Pearl was a trip!!
Got to see Pearl play at "Tornado Alley," back when "The High" used to get lots of big-time teams to come down there for Friday or Saturday night games, and he put on an absolute show. Boeheim, Thompson, and others, were all at the game that night as well.
R.I.P Mr. Washington
R.I.P Mr. Washington
Weren't Danny and Seikely both centers? I'm not sure that they played on the same teams.
That was a tremendous year. Jackson was actually regarded as the "afterthought" behind Pearl, Smith, and Kenny Hutchinson. Exceptional group of players.
I was there that night, broadcasting the game on local Trenton radio. Pearl scored something like (maybe exactly) 44 points and was a man among boys.
Pearl Washington was one of the most exciting players I ever saw play in game in the Old Big East.
Battle was a two guard. But I was thinking the other day that Battle is on the RU/NBA Mount Rushmore along with Jordan, Bailey and Hinson.
I would say odds are very good you know my father, uncle, and friends of theirs (some no longer with us) who use to attend a lot of TCHS games in the 60s, 70's, 80's, and early 90's (prior to them switching to daytime-only games). I played for Steinert, myself, and got to battle against a lot of Mercer studs when the county had GREAT boy's basketball in the early-to-mid 80's.
Could very well be. I recall having a couple of Steinert HS football games on our broadcast schedule back in the day. Mercer County was NOT a hotbed for quality football LOL although there were some good players at Notre Dame and Ewing. Basketball was another story. But the games at TCHS were tops for sure, especially that one. Recall also seeing Andrew Baker play above the rim in that gym!
Mercer football has always been, and will likely always be, in the lower 1/3rd of NJ counties. That being said, yup, Andrew "Shake-and-Bake" Baker, Greg Grant, Kenny Nicholson, and of course Steve Worthy (gave my dad his Varsity "R" letterwinner jacket at the hoops banquet his senior year). Lots of others back then as well before even talking about McCorriston, Ewing, ND, and the prep school kids. There were some great battles back then between Mercer schools, Burlington schools, Camden, AC, and Neptune (Steinert blew a heart breaker in the 2nd round of the CJGroup 3 tourney in Feb of '83...up 11 going into the 4th and Neptune goes to the line 20 times in the quarter...unreal!) during that stretch. Great programs everywhere!
Matt Roe? Was a guard who took PT away from Earl Duncan in late '80's but then transferred to Maryland.
No, Danny Schayes finished SU in 1981, Pearl Washington's first year was 1983. The previous poster was referring to Sean Kerins I think.
EDIT: I later notice he said it was Leo Rautins, although Sean Kerins could have been the white forward he was thinking of, because he played with Pearl. Unlike his son Andy Rautins, Leo Rautins was not a great shooter, but an incredible passer - a point forward before that term became used. He was a first round NBA pick, but injuries and a lack of the required skill set derailed any NBA career
Last edited:
Pearl and Addison never played with Coleman. Pearl and Addison's last year was 85-86. Coleman's first year was 86-87
85-86 starting team was Seikaly, Alexis, Addison, Triche, Washington.
86-87 starting team was Seikaly, Coleman, Triche, Douglass, Monroe
Coleman, Seikaly, Douglass, Addison all had long NBA careers but Washington did not. No one would have predicted that at the time.
Actually the term point forward predates Rautins. I remember it from the 1979 Supersonics forward John JJ Johnson.