Eddie Burke

Eddie Burke's return to the Catholic League and his alma mater, St. Joseph's Prep, has been like a "This is Your Life" tour. At gyms from Chester to Center City, the former Drexel coach has met old faces from when he coached contending and championship teams at St. Joe's, now-defunct St. Thomas More and West Catholic. "Usually, it's guys I coached or coached against who now have kids playing," he said. "It's like going back 20 years. " The only thing missing was a league victory.

Eddie Burke, 63, the rumpled epitome of a Philadelphia gym rat, one whose coaching resume included Drexel's first NCAA tournament appearance and back-to-back Philadelphia Catholic League titles with different teams, died unexpectedly at home yesterday. The cause of death was unknown. Mr. Burke's playing career at St. Joseph's Prep and La Salle University and his long tenure as a coach in the Catholic League and at Drexel allowed him to cross paths with most of the city's basketball elite over the last half-century.

His broadcasting philosophy is one that any Philadelphia fan of any sport can relate to: "Broadcasting to me is like the two of us sitting in a living room watching the game and talking about it, without the cursing. " It is part of the reason Whitey Rigsby has become as recognizable a face in Villanova basketball lore as Rollie Massimino, Jay Wright and anyone else who has ever been a part of it. Saturday, for the second time in his career, Rigsby will be calling a national semifinal game that features his beloved Wildcats, who face North Carolina (CBS3, approximately 8:40 p.m.)

When John Giannini left Rowan College earlier this month to become the University of Maine basketball coach, his assistant, Joe Cassidy, was thought to be the logical successor. Yesterday, Rowan confirmed that Cassidy will inherit the job. The timing, less than a month before the fall semester begins, will require that Cassidy carry an "interim" title for the new season. Cassidy, a former Drexel assistant, was Giannini's top aide for five seasons. In Giannini's seven seasons at the Glassboro, N.J., college, the Profs compiled an impressive 168-38 record.

The first game of last night's Palestra doubleheader mirrored the La Salle- Iona nightcap. It took Drexel more than 20 minutes to hit stride, but once the Dragons got out on the break in the second half, the rout was on. Rider, losing its ninth game in a row and 27th straight on the road, only trailed by 39-38 with 17 minutes left. That score turned out to be a mirage. Drexel (9-9 overall, 4-3 East Coast Conference) outscored Rider (3-16, 0-7) 46-28 the rest of the way and cruised, 85-66.

Dan Leahy scored off an offensive rebound with eight seconds left to give Drexel a 71-70 East Coast Conference win over Rider yesterday. Rider (7-10 overall, 2-4 in the league) took a 70-69 lead with 18 seconds left on a steal and three-point play by Darrick Suber, who finished with a game-high 24 points. With the score tied at 59-59 and 8:35 left to play, Drexel (5-13, 2-3) outscored Rider, 10-3, to take a 69-62 lead with 3:18 left. The score was tied at 41-41 at the half.

In his seven years as an assistant coach, Bill Herrion has learned that building a solid, national-caliber college basketball program takes time. But while the new Drexel coach is bracing himself for growing pains, he expects the Dragons to be competitive immediately. Herrion, 33, Mike Jarvis' top assistant at George Washington last season and at Boston University, was officially named head coach at Drexel yesterday. He will succeed Eddie Burke, who was the Dragons' head coach for 14 seasons before being let go in March.

Drexel basketball coach Bill Herrion, who led the young Dragons to a share of first place in the North Atlantic Conference this season, has been given a two-year contract extension through the 1996-97 season. Herrion signed the contract on Friday. It is a reworking of his current four-year pact, which had two years remaining. The extension was drawn up by school president Richard Breslin and athletic director Johnson Bowie. Herrion said the contract does not have any financial incentives or escape clauses should he be offered a job elsewhere.

Gone are Drexel's multiple zone defenses and often frenzied running game, both trademarks of the departed Eddie Burke. In their place, Bill Herrion has installed a 40-minute man-to-man defense and a slow, deliberate, work-the-ball offense. Both were evident yesterday as Drexel (3-6) handed Lafayette (1-8) its 11th consecutive road loss over two years, a 67-46 pasting at the Physical Education Athletic Center. The Leopards' 46 points were the fewest scored by a Drexel opponent since Jan. 27, 1988, when the Dragons defeated Hofstra, 58-43.

Four schools and more than two decades later, Eddie Burke is going home. Burke, who steered St. Joseph's Prep, his alma mater, to the 1971 Catholic League basketball championship and then bounced to St. Thomas More, Bishop McDevitt, West Catholic and Drexel University, has been hired by The Prep for a second stint as head coach. He also has been appointed to a job in the school's development office. His primary focus, he said, will be to raise funds for a new fieldhouse for which architectural plans already have been completed.

His broadcasting philosophy is one that any Philadelphia fan of any sport can relate to: "Broadcasting to me is like the two of us sitting in a living room watching the game and talking about it, without the cursing. " It is part of the reason Whitey Rigsby has become as recognizable a face in Villanova basketball lore as Rollie Massimino, Jay Wright and anyone else who has ever been a part of it. Saturday, for the second time in his career, Rigsby will be calling a national semifinal game that features his beloved Wildcats, who face North Carolina (CBS3, approximately 8:40 p.m.)

Eddie Burke, 63, the rumpled epitome of a Philadelphia gym rat, one whose coaching resume included Drexel's first NCAA tournament appearance and back-to-back Philadelphia Catholic League titles with different teams, died unexpectedly at home yesterday. The cause of death was unknown. Mr. Burke's playing career at St. Joseph's Prep and La Salle University and his long tenure as a coach in the Catholic League and at Drexel allowed him to cross paths with most of the city's basketball elite over the last half-century.

The Drexel basketball team had lost four in a row before taking on visiting Bucknell last night, and it had failed to reach 60 points in each of its previous seven games. At least for one night, the Dragons solved both problems in a nonleague contest at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Drexel center Frank Elegar, who went scoreless in 13 first-half minutes after picking up two fouls and heading to the bench, collected all 16 of his points after the break to help the Dragons hold off Bucknell, 65-53, before 2,011 fans.

A five-second call on an inbounds play cost Drexel a basketball game yesterday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons led by two points with 17.7 seconds left in overtime, but fortunes turned when Chaz Crawford was unable to find an open receiver and Hofstra, getting the ball, pulled off a 76-75 victory. On their ensuing possession, the Pride scored the deciding points when guard Carlos Rivera made three free throws after being fouled by Drexel's Scott Rodgers while taking a shot from three-point territory.

Speedy Morris didn't have to be there. Everyone would have understood. But three days after he was told he would not be returning for his 16th season as La Salle's basketball coach, the Philadelphia institution showed up because he felt it was the right thing to do. He wanted to show his gratitude, for those who have stood by him through it all. Maybe that's why several hundred people stood as one yesterday morning at the Palestra to give him...

Nehemiah Ingram, a 6-8 forward from Baldwin High in Milledgeville, Ga., has given his verbal commitment to play basketball for Temple. He'll officially make the announcement at a news conference at his high school today. He can't sign a national letter of intent until April 11. John Chaney isn't allowed to comment until then. Ingram is academically qualified to play as a freshman. The Owls, who obviously need help at that position, had already signed Glen Elliot, a 6-8 forward from Jacksonville, Fla., and Nile Murray a 6-4 guard from Houston.

They say everything is fine, that the coming week of practice will somehow resurrect the Drexel team that won 12 of its first 15 league games. But on this final regular-season road trip, the Dragons' defense turned porous and their confidence took a 48-hour leave of absence. So instead of a championship showdown with first-place Hofstra next Sunday, Drexel may need a victory to avoid finishing a disappointing fourth in the America East. The Dragons' northern New England nightmare continued yesterday afternoon with a 92-78 loss to Maine.

Thirty seasons, five schools and much enjoyment later, Eddie Burke is no longer heading a basketball program. Unclear, however, is whether the proper word to describe Burke's departure yesterday at St. Joseph's Prep is a resignation or retirement. "I'm not precluding getting back into basketball somehow. I'm not a burnout case," said Burke, who is remaining at the school as director of alumni relations. "But I'm going to step back and take this year off and see what my feelings are then.

When the members of the Drexel men's basketball team received telephone calls Monday night, requesting their presence at an 8:30 a.m. meeting yesterday, the Dragons knew what was up. Their head coach was moving on. Bill Herrion, who summoned the team to let the players know that he had accepted another job, was introduced as the new head coach at East Carolina yesterday afternoon in Greenville, N.C. "He said he got us up so early so...

Ashley Howard's fog is beginning to dissipate. Yes, he still feels pain over what happened to him last spring - much of it his own doing - at St. Joseph's Prep. And, yes, he still feels down that his final basketball season, spent at Monsignor Bonner, did not yield a visit to the Catholic League playoffs. But, overall, what good does looking back do? Doesn't it make more sense to regroup and press forward and work hard to make sure the long-range future turns out better than the recent past?