X-town Shootout Marksmanship

A veteran remembers the best of the best

Hi all. My name is Michael Perry. Thanks for having me. Doc was looking for some Hemingways and, well, I volunteered for Crosstown Shootout Week. Just happy to be here.

To be clear: I love the Shootout. It’s my favorite local event. The next edition is at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.

I covered the game for several years when I was at The Cincinnati Enquirer. I was the beat reporter for both schools and eventually was The Enquirer’s sports editor.

I also wrote books on both programs and interviewed more than 150 former Xavier and Cincinnati players and coaches. Here are just a few of my favorite he-said-she-said stories about the Shootout from “Xavier Tales” and “Tales from the Cincinnati Bearcats Locker Room”:

• January 1985: UC’s Myron Hughes knocked down Xavier’s Eddie Johnson as they were running down the court. Hughes told me Johnson elbowed him first, saying: “I turned around and slugged him and knocked him down.” Johnson didn’t remember it quite the same. “He swung his elbow in my face, and I fell backward,” Johnson said. “… I don’t remember him hitting me. If he hit me, it was like a glancing blow.” The officials did not see what happened, and no foul was called.

• March 1967: Xavier’s Joe Pangrazio was guarding UC’s Raleigh Wynn as Wynn dribbled the ball up the court. Wynn claims Pangrazio was hitting him in the back with his fist. He said he told Pangrazio to “take it easy,” and when he didn’t, Wynn turned around and hit him. Then, Wynn said, Pangrazio ran into the stands and grabbed a crutch and threw it at him. Pangrazio admitted to throwing a crutch at Wynn but had another version of how it happened. He said the ball was going out of bounds, and he screened Wynn from the ball. He said Wynn then pushed him into the stands, he hit the floor and saw a crutch lying there. Pangrazio said he picked it up and hit Wynn. Both were ejected.

• January 1994: Xavier and UC were both ranked in the top 25, and it was a typically tense game at the Cincinnati Gardens. The Musketeers won in overtime. Fans rushed the court. UC coach Bob Huggins would not shake hands with Xavier coach Pete Gillen. Both were furious afterward. “If we would have lost, I would have shook his hand,” Gillen said. “Their guys were yelling things at my players and coaches,” Huggins said afterward. “I’m not going to act like everything’s all right …” Years later, the two made amends.

Those are the kinds of stories that add to the history of this rivalry and need to be retold to help keep alive the legacy of this game. There are more fun anecdotes in my friend Bill Koch’s book “Inside the Crosstown Shootout.” 

Every great rivalry, individual or team, needs these kinds of historical conflicts. I’m not gonna lie, the kinder, gentler years of the Shootout, well, they’re just not as interesting. I do miss the old luncheon, typically a packed house at a downtown hotel, when fans from both sides came to hear from the two coaches the afternoon of the game and watch retired WCPO legend John Popovich’s creative, clever video about the game.

Some things I do and don’t like:

I don’t advocate vandalizing the statues on either campus (Oscar Robertson at UC, D’Artagnan at XU), but I did appreciate when UC students camped out to guard Oscar from Xavier students. Maybe they’re still doing that.

I don’t advocate the kind of violence that marred the end of the 2011 Shootout and prompted its move off campuses for two years. I also didn’t advocate when officials changed the name of the game to the “Classic” (bleh) and moved the game downtown for two years.

I don’t advocate bad sportsmanship from fans, players and coaches.  

But I do like a little heat. I like when the game is hyped and it’s a big event in the city and it’s being talked about by all media outlets. I like the intensity of the event. I like that it takes both teams a little time to settle down after the opening tipoff. I like when it lives up to the hype, which hasn’t been that often in recent years (the last seven have been decided by an average of 11.6 points with none closer than seven).

I liked when Terry Nelson, now UC’s radio analyst, said the Bearcats “should blow them out” when asked about the Musketeers before the January 1992 game. (He was right, by the way.)

I liked when ESPN’s Dicky V would come to town for the game. 

I liked when Theo Nelson hit a $1 million halftime shot in 2001.

I liked when a freshman named David West was unfazed going against 2000 National Player of the Kenyon Martin when UC was ranked No. 1. “I’m not going to back down regardless of stature or the name or the hype,” West said. Martin finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. West had five points and nine rebounds and fouled out. But Xavier won on a Kevin Frey layup with 12 seconds remaining. West would be National Player of the Year his senior year.

There have been so many clutch and game-winning shots (hello, Lenny Brown) and standout performances (45 points by Xavier’s Steve Thomas / 40 points and 17 rebounds by UC’s Danny Fortson, anyone?). 

The Big East Digital Network produced a special on the game last year. If you missed it, check it out. It will get you fired up and ready.

What will Saturday’s game bring? Who might etch their name into Crosstown Shootout history? What will make this year’s edition memorable?

Can’t wait to find out.

So, what are your thoughts and favorite memories? Please share.