With the core of the Big East splitting up last week, next week’s conference tournament marks the death of the league as we all knew it, killed by greed and realignment. And Dwayne Washington, who perhaps best symbolized the rise of the Big East, is saddened to see the country’s top hoops league fall.
“I just didn’t like the fact this is the last year of the Big East. It’s very sad to me, it really is,’’ said Washington, the Brooklynite whose commitment put Syracuse on the national map and whose showmanship helped put the
Big East on the road to success. Then the league veered off the highway.
“I didn’t like the fact they were putting in all these other teams,’’ he said. “When Dave Gavitt died, the Big East tournament died. [South Florida], Cincinnati, we’ve got all these teams from all these other places. … Why are we putting in all these teams that weren’t even good at the time?’’
Dwayne Alonzo Washington — better known as Pearl, a nickname he earned at 8 in a tribute to Knicks legend Earl the Pearl Monroe — grew up in Brownsville and was the nation’s top recruit at Boys & Girls. When he took his crossover dribble to Syracuse in 1983, the program was a regional one and the Big East was young.
Washington led the Orangemen to the Big East final as a freshman, and again as a junior, before bolting early for the NBA. They lost the former in overtime to Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas, and the latter 70-69 when Washington drove to the rim in the closing seconds and got blocked by St. John’s Walter Berry.
“Just watching Pearl play, watching him play whoever, was a highlight,’’ former Villanova star Pinckney said. “I had a huge respect for Pearl. On the court, watching Pearl play against Georgetown, or watching Kerry Kittles against UConn, those were great moments. But Pearl was the best showman I’ve ever seen, bar none.’’
Washington said he left school early only because he knew he’d get to stay local with the Nets taking him in the first round (13th overall). But after a promising rookie year, he regressed in his second and was taken by Miami in the 1988 expansion draft.
Washington, the man who made the crossover an art form copied by the likes of Tim Hardaway and later Allen Iverson and now Dwayne Wade — started just eight games and got cut after the season, spending two years in the CBA. Now, the 49-year-old father of three has been with the NYC Board of Education for nearly nine years, even passing along some pearls of wisdom to the Thomas Jefferson girls team. Washington, who has a 29-year-old son, 17-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old daughter who lives in Syracuse.
“College is supposed to be the best time of your life, and it really was,’’ he said. “I had a tremendous time.’’
brian.lewis@nypost.com
CHRIS MULLIN
Age: 49
School: St John’s (1981-85)
Then: The Brooklyn native — and Power Memorial and Xaverian product — was a three-time All-American and won Big East Player of the Year a record three times. Named MVP of the first Big East tournament in the Garden — leading St. John’s to the title as a sophomore — then carried the Redmen to the NCAA Final Four as a senior, when he won the Wooden Award. He was also a member of the 1984 Olympic team.
Since: The 6-foot-6 Mullin was a five-time all-star for Golden State and returned to the Olympics with the 1992 Dream Team. He also served as GM of the Warriors, and is an NBA analyst for ESPN. Inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame on Aug. 12, 2011. He is married with a daughter and three sons.
ROLAND “ROLLIE” MASSIMINO
Age: 78
School: Villanova coach (1973-92)
Big East: After serving as head coach at Stony Brook and assistant at Penn, Massimino coached the Wildcats to one of the greatest upsets in U.S. sports history — winning the NCAA title as an eighth seed, stunning conference rival Georgetown in the final.
Since: Massimino turned down the New Jersey Nets job, but has stayed in coaching with Cleveland State and now Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Fla., which he led to the NAIA semis in 2011 and finals last year. Massimino and his wife, Mary Jane, have five kids and 17 grandkids.
LEO RAUTINS
Age: 52
School: Syracuse (1980-83)
Big East: After transferring from Minnesota after his freshman year, the 6-foot-8
forward from Toronto stepped into the Big East’s first great rivalry. Syracuse lost to Georgetown in the first Big East final, its 57-game home winning streak snapped Hoyas coach John Thompson said, “Manley Field House is officially closed.” But Rautins got payback the following year in the final, and was MVP.
Since: First Canadian first-round pick in NBA history (17th by the Sixers in 1983). Also played for the Hawks and in Europe before retiring after 14 knee operations. Coached the Canadian National Team from 2005-11, and has been a commentator for the Raptors since their 1995 inception. He and his wife have four sons, including Andy, who played for Syracuse and was drafted by the Knicks in 2010.
ED PINCKNEY
Age: 49
School: Villanova (1981-85)
Then: After a Big East semifinal loss left a 1985 NCAA tourney invite in question, the 6-foot-9 forward from The Bronx led the Wildcats to the historic upset of Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, 66-64, in an all-Big East NCAA final. He had 16 points and six boards to win Most Outstanding Player.
Since: Spent 12 years in the NBA before retiring in 1997, becoming a radio and TV analyst for the Heat and 76ers. He also has served as an assistant at Villanova, the Timberwolves and most recently the Bulls, since 2010. Has four children — including son Austin, who played in the NAIA finals with Northwood.
On shocking NCAA run: “After losing in the semifinals [10th loss], we said, ‘I guess we ought to just go win the national championship.’ We hardly knew were going to get in, much less win the whole thing. … Fortunately they expanded the group [from 53 to 64]. … We luckily got into the tournament.”
PETER “PJ” CARLESIMO
Age: 63.
School: Seton Hall (1982-94)
Big East: Carlesimo, a 1971 graduate of Fordham, built a moribund program into a winner around a New Jersey core. He was Big East Coach of the Year in 1988 when he led the Pirates to their first Big Dance, and again the next season when he took them to the NCAA finals and nearly knocked off Michigan. They made the NCAA Tournament six times in his tenure, including the 1992-93 team that swept the regular-season and tourney crowns.
Since: Was an assistant on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, and has coached the NBA’s Trail Blazers, Warriors and SuperSonics. Now the interim coach for the Nets, taking over after Avery Johnson was fired Dec. 27.
DA’SEAN BUTLER
Age: 25
School: West Virginia (2006-10)
Big East: The Newark native was the MOP of the 2010 Big East tourney. The guard banked in a game-winning 3 with no time left in an opening win over Cincinnati, had 24 points in a 53–51 semifinal win over Notre Dame and had the game-winning basket in the finals victory over No. 22 Georgetown. Tore his ACL in Final Four loss to Duke.
Since: Drafted by Miami, he played in Europe and on the Spurs’ D-League team before a third surgery on the same knee. He is an assistant on
Bob Huggins’ WVU team, now in the Big 12.
JERRY WALKER
Age: 41
School: Seton Hall (1990-93)
Big East: For three years, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound
St. Anthony product from Jersey City gave Seton Hall toughness on the glass and in the interior. He made the Big East All-Rookie team in 1990-91 when the Hall reached the Elite Eight. His 630 rebounds still are top-20 in Pirates history.
Since: After playing with the Nets and seven years in Europe, Walker is back home. He and his brother founded Team Walker, a non-profit academic and enrichment program in Jersey City that teaches inner-city kids life skills and lets them play sports like basketball, football and track. He is running for Mayor of Jersey City, with the election set for May 14. Jerry and wife Sharonda have three kids.
DOMINIQUE “Terry” DEHERE
Age: 41School: Seton Hall (1989-93)
Big East: The St. Anthony’s grad scored a school-record 2,294 points at the Hall, pointing the Pirates to the Elite Eight as a sophomore and to Big East regular-season and tournament crowns as a senior, when he was a consensus All-American, Big East Player of the Year and Dave Gavitt Trophy winner.
Since: In NBA from 1993-99. Donated $75,000 to rebuild the Garfield Park court and rec program — renamed in his honor. Chairman of the Jersey City Community Housing Corporation. Owns Sanai’s at the Summit House, a restaurant in Jersey City.
MARK JACKSON
Age: 47
School: St John’s
(1983-87)
Big East: The Brooklyn native from Bishop Laughlin H.S. was a streetball legend. With the Redmen, he teamed with Chris Mullin as a sophomore to lead them to the Final Four (31-4), and with Walter Berry as a junior to guide them to the Big East tournament title (31-5).
Since: A first-round pick by his hometown Knicks (18th overall in 1987). Won 1988 Rookie of the Year and made the 1989 All-Star Game before getting traded. Also played for the Pacers, Clippers, Raptors, Nuggets, Jazz and Rockets and is third on the all-time assist list. After working for YES, ABC and ESPN, he is the head coach of Golden State. Married actress/singer Desiree Coleman and has four kids. He and his wife pastor True Love Worship Center International in Van Nuys, Calif.