Tay Fisher stole the show at the first Siena Legends basketball game last Thursday at the Alumni Recreation Center.
The current Harlem Globe-trotter scored 17 points and amused the 2,048 spectators and his fellow Siena basketball alumni with his good-natured antics as he helped the Green team defeat the White team 74-55.
Fisher playfully sent verbal jabs to the referees, attempted a pair of underhanded half-court shots and convinced a referee to lend him his jersey and whistle for the final minute of the game. Fisher issued a traveling call against the White team, but his technical fouls were ignored.
“I was messing around with the referees all night,” said Fisher, who goes by the nickname “Firefly” when he plays for the Globetrotters. “So when I finally came out of the game, I went to one of the refs and said I could call the game better than he could.”
All of the players were in a good mood. Many considered it an honor to be part of the inaugural Legends game.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Marc Brown, the player who led Siena to its upset victory over 13th-ranked Stanford in the 1989 NCAA Division I tournament. “I’m just glad to see all of my teammates and all of the players who came before and after me.”
“It’s great to step on the floor with some of the guys I played with, and growing up in the area, it’s great to step on the floor with some of the guys I grew up watching,” said Josh Duell, who went to the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009 with the Saints.
Several players from Siena’s distant past also came back to watch the game, including Billy Harrell, the Loudonville school’s first basketball All-American.
“It was good seeing them all,” said Harrell, who led Siena to the 1950 National Catholic Invitation Tournament championship. “It turned out to be a really good time.”
The level of play sometimes resembled a recreation league game, as both teams struggled to make shots and rarely fouled each other. At other times, though, the old form returned. Fisher drained three three-pointers, Brown made several nice moves on his way to a 10-point evening for the White team and Ryan Rossiter came close to a double-double with eight points and seven rebounds.
Besides Fisher’s performance, the Green team received strong contributions from its bench. Two other members of Siena’s 1988-89 squad, Bruce Schroeder and Jeff Robinson, keyed a third-quarter surge that turned a four-point lead into a double-digit advantage. Schroeder scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Robinson made a pair of three-pointers on his way to an eight-point night.
“It’s interesting to see the guys I played with and the guys that came after me,” said Robinson, who grew up in Troy.
Antoine Jordan, who graduated in 2006, added 12 points and nine rebounds as a starter for the Green team. Andy Cavo, a 2002 graduate, led the White team with 13 points off the bench.
Siena Athletic Director John D’Argenio said he was pleased with how well the first Legends game went.
“The reaction these guys got from the fans made it all worthwhile,” said D’Argenio. “To me, the best part to doing things like this is to be able to cross the generations.”
Fisher said he’d be willing to come back and play in another Legends game, no matter how busy he is traveling the world with the Globetrotters.
“That’s never going to stop me from coming back here,” said Fisher.
