By Jared Lloyd
With 22,702 other fans at the Marriott Center Saturday night, I reveled in the nostalgia of honoring Danny Ainge.
By now, everyone has seen Ainge drive through five Irish players and into BYU history.
'Actually, he drove through six players,' former coach Frank Arnold reminded the crowd on Saturday. 'One of the Notre Dame guys he beat at half court he had to go around again near the basket.'
When asked about the game, Ainge said, 'The Notre Dame game is the moment I''m most recognized for. Everywhere I go, even today, people still bring that up. It was a highlight, without question, but I''ve had a lot of highlights. That was as good as any other moment that I''ve had in my basketball life.'
What many people who weren''t involved with that magical run in the 1981 NCAA Tournament don''t realize is that Ainge almost didn''t play.
The Cougars faced Princeton in the first round, a team they were supposed to beat. But on the Wednesday before the game, Ainge felt severe pain in his lower back. The spasms were so intense that he couldn''t sleep.
Team doctor Brent Pratley examined Ainge, then told Arnold, 'Go ahead and play him, if you want to ruin his career.'
With Ainge out, BYU and Princeton were fairly evenly matched. Arnold said later, 'I kept waiting for him to say he was going to play, but he never did.'
Ainge took some muscle relaxants the morning before the game, but he still could barely move. He went to the arena a couple of hours early for the shoot around, his back still tight but beginning to loosen up.
Ainge talked Arnold into letting him join the warm-up drills, although Arnold still had no intention of playing him. As Arnold gave his pre-game instructions, Ainge stretched out and had a trainer massage his back.
It took some convincing by Ainge before Arnold let him play, but the Cougars were fortunate he did. Clearly loosening up as the adrenalin kicked in, Ainge scored 21 points in BYU''s 60-51 win over the Tigers.
'He''s like a rubber ball,' Arnold said after the game. 'I''ve never seen an athlete bounce back so quickly.'
Although Ainge''s back tightened up again after the game, everyone knew he wouldn''t miss any more games. Against UCLA two days later, Ainge poured in 37 points in the Cougar''s 78-55 upset. At halftime, the score could''ve read: Ainge 23, UCLA 22.
Those are the stories behind the most memorable drive in BYU history, and the man who made it possible. Ainge took BYU basketball to a higher level and now, 22 years later, he''s getting the recognition he deserves.
But Ainge is the first to point out the others that deserve credit for building the Cougar program.
'I certainly appreciate what Stan Watts helped start here, one of the great coaches of all time,' he said. 'BYU has had players like Kresimir Cosic, Doug Richards and Mel Hutchins and I think it''s important to link the past with the present.
'Because of my NBA career, my coaching career, and broadcasting, I''m probably the most recognizable name from BYU, but I''m certainly not the best player who has ever played here.'
Ainge enjoyed having the chance to be back at BYU for the ceremony.
'The most fun thing of being here is just seeing the old teammates and renewing the relationships with all the people, coaches and players,' he said. 'Basketball and winning is important and you want to have fun playing, but when it''s all said and done what you remember is the relationships you''ve developed.'
He also remembered playing in front of the huge crowds in the Marriott Center.
'It was spectacular. I don''t remember playing a game at BYU that wasn''t sold out. The fans were crazy. There was so much support, enthusiasm and excitement around the whole team. It was a great experience. We had a lot of great players here when I played to make that possible.'
Ainge is the first Cougar basketball player to have his jersey retired, although other great names may soon join his in the rafters.
'It''s a great honor,' he said. 'BYU was the greatest time of my life. It was a great honor to be a part of BYU basketball.'