Presented here is a stunning Providence College warmup jacket of College Basketball Hall of Famer (inducted 2019) Ernie DiGregorio, with PC stitched on the front left chest area and DIGREGORIO and his (now retired) #15 adorn the back.
This black, gold and white Rawlings tagged treasure may be considered a religious artifact in New England basketball circles, as "Ernie D" was a crowd pleasing "folk hero", a point guard and showman in the game's evolution, taking the baton for a time from the likes of Bob Cousy and Pete Maravich.
DiGregorio played on the 1968 Rhode Island (Class B) state champions at North Providence High School. He then signed with Providence College and teamed with the talented but troubled Marvin Barnes for Coach Dave Gavitt's Friars team. They peaked with a Final Four appearance in the 1973 NCAA Tournament, where only after a Barnes knee injury that forced his early exit from the semi-finals, they lost to Memphis State.
Later in 1973 DiGregorio played on a college all-star team and led the U.S. in defeating the Soviet Union team in a significant exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. Ernie's quarterbacking helped heal the heartbreaking wound of the United States' loss in the 1972 Summer Olympics gold medal game. Check out the YouTube highlight of Ernie D closing out the game, evading a team of Russian defenders with "Globetrotter-like" dribbling that culminated with a nifty dish to his buddy Barnes for a dunk. Dick Enberg does the emotional play-by-play and the Garden crowd goes absolutely wild!
Ernie was then selected third overall by the Buffalo Braves in the 1973 NBA draft. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1973–74 after averaging 15.2 points and leading the league in both assists and free throw percentage, quite a feat for a first year player. DiGregorio still holds the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25. Sadly, injuries cut short his career, and he played just five NBA seasons.
Note the jacket is not signed by Ernie.