"They were scalping tickets for $50 outside," said Monaco, then a Norristown assistant. "This is an unbelievable basketball town. Who's a better basketball town? Put somebody up?"
Los Angeles has Wilt and Kareem, and Magic and Kobe. And UCLA.
"There's only been a basketball tradition there since [John] Wooden," Monaco scoffed.
More hoops on the way
One interesting part of the local scene: "Girls' basketball has just taken off in the last 10 years," said Mike Pearson, who coaches an Amateur Athletic Union team that practices at the Westtown School.
Pearson ran into an old Cardinal O'Hara teammate at a PIAA playoff game on Wednesday. The teammate's daughter was playing for Springfield (Delco) High School in the next game.
The Pearsons' 26-year-old son, Mike, didn't make it out to Rachel's game in Lancaster County. He has been busy with a full slate of refereeing assignments.
"I went to the dark side," he joked. That's in the family tree, too. Uncle Duke is Mike "Duke" Callahan, a veteran NBA official.
For a time, Mike Pearson Jr. worked in sales support for And1, the basketball apparel company. That meant lunchtime pickup games every day at the Paoli headquarters, before And1 was sold to a California company. Pearson now works in software consulting, which, he said, allows him the time to referee.
And more basketball is on the way for the Pearsons. Mike couldn't get to Rachel's game because he and his fiancee had wedding invitations to get out that night.
"My fiancee," Pearson said, "is an assistant women's coach at Cabrini."
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.
