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The basketball today is dominated by the big man. But as long as the game is played, there will always be a place for the little guy.
This is a story about a basketball player named Ernie Commery who played at Rhode Island State.
Ernie was only 5' 10'' tall and weighed a wee 140 pounds. But oh how he could shoot.
He's a small man in the middle 1940's so you can imagine how he would stack up in today's game of Giants.
Rhode Island earned a birth in the 1946 National Inmitation Tourney at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The NIT, as it is popular known, is one of the top attractions of the basketball season.
Rhode Island was paired against tall and talented Bowling Green of Kentucky in the opening round.
And the New England team was considered the underdog.
The 6' 11'' Don Otten was a scoring star of Bowling Green and it was a mild surprise as Rhode Island held a slim 34-32 lead as the team left the court at the half-time intermission.
How long would it take before Bowling Green's superiority took its toll? The fans wondered so did the coaches.
But the Rhode Island coach had one ace in the hole. He's sharp shooting little guard Ernie Commery.
Ernie was a reason why Rhode Island was still in the game. The second half open and the two schools matched basket for basket.
Neither side could move to any kind of a lead. Otten was controlling the boards with a bigger Bowling Green quintet.
Commery was picking up support from garden fans with his one-handed shot, his ball-hawking, and his all-round ability to keep his club in the game.
The game moved along. Rhode Island in the lead, then Bowling Green.
Then, with the clock showing only three minutes and twenty seconds to play, Otten fouled out.
A break for Rhode Island. The big guy had scored 31 points and pulled down almost as many rebounds.
Ernie and his teammates had received new hope now. Commery had the ball. One minute and ten seconds remained.
Ernie shot. The ball switched to the net. The score was tied at 72-72. Bowling Green decided to play for only one shot.
Bowling Green team didn't want to make any mistakes. One shot was all it needed.
Rhode Island didn't want to foul and send the player to the free throw line. The clock showed just ten seconds of play.
Vern Dunham drove for the basket. The shot was good. Bowling Green led 74-72.
Rhode Island had the ball and moved down court. A whistle. A Rhode Island player had been fouled, but Rhode Island waved the foul.
Only two seconds remained. We'll be back in 60 seconds for the throwing wind-up.
Ernie Commery was a marked man as the teams lined up. Two Bowling Green players guarded him.
But Ernie was a man for the final shot. He took the pass to Mount of Bounds, whirled, and fired a long desperation shot.
As the ball sailed high into the air, the buzzer sounded. The ball finally came down. And through the nets, it was good.
Ernie Commery had tied the game with a 55-foot desperation shot at the buzzer. One of the greatest shots in basketball history.
Rhode Island went on to beat Bowling Green in overtime, and it reached the final round, only to lose to Kentucky.
But to some 18,000 basketball fans, the biggest thrill of the 1946 tourney came with a little guy named Commery,
Caught in an almost unbelievable shot that took Rhode Island to the finals of the NIT.
1-0, that was 6.