Robert Morris’ Andy Toole savors NCAA Tournament memories
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The first time Robert Morris coach Andy Toole visited Pittsburgh, he received a police escort to his hotel.
He was a guard on the University of Pennsylvania basketball team on its way to play California-Berkeley in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament at Mellon Arena.
“I walk in the locker room, and there are two giant coolers full of drinks,” he said. “To us, this is incredible. Getting a police escort through the city is something you remember.
“We practiced at Duquesne, stayed at the Hilton at The Point. I remember saying, ‘This place isn’t bad.’
“Plus, being able to play in a great environment against a great team, being part of maybe the most exciting tournament in all of sports.”
Penn, which won two Ivy League championships while Toole was there, was the No. 11 seed in the South Region bracket and would have played Pitt in the second round but lost to Cal, 82-75.
“I remember (former Pitt coach) Jamie Dixon telling me he took our (scouting report) because he thought we were going to beat Cal,” Toole said.
Nonetheless, the memories remain strong.
Today, Toole is the 10th-year coach at Robert Morris — one of the three major basketball teams in a city he barely knew at the turn of this century — and he hopes his team gets a chance in two weeks to savor the same NCAA flavor he and three of his assistants experienced as players.
“My (Penn) coach, Fran Dunphy, used to say the greatest sound in the world is hearing your name called on Selection Sunday,” he said. “Your eyes roll to him, and all of a sudden it happens and you say, ‘He’s right.’ ”
Robert Morris (17-14, 13-5) will take the first steps in pursuit of that goal Wednesday against St. Francis Brooklyn (13-17, 7-11) in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament at UPMC Events Center in Moon.
The Colonials , the No. 1 seed for the ninth time, will have homecourt advantage as long as they stay in the tournament. They reached the title game six times as a No. 1 seed, winning five.
Toole talked about his NCAA Tournament experience as a player — he went the next year, too — because reporters asked him about it Tuesday during a courtside chat at Robert Morris.
He and his players are well aware the dream can burst quickly in one bad game.
“We have home advantage,” junior guard A.J. Bramah said, “but that really doesn’t mean anything. Because we have (lost) here.”
Said Toole: “Our guys are a pretty mature group. They understand you don’t get a second opportunity unless you take care of your first one.”
Robert Morris beat St. Francis Brooklyn, 78-52, on Jan. 9 but lost 78-57 on the road two weeks later.
“Rarely do you see outcomes like that in a two-week span,” Toole said. “Same two teams, with the same five starters and dramatic differences in the final outcome. It’s a good reminder for our guys.
“I told our guys we could have played with seven guys, and we would have lost the game. St. Francis was so locked in, and we were so not locked in that the outcome almost seemed inevitable once the first five minutes of that game were played. It’s a good way to keep guys’ attention.”
He called the two games “the best of both worlds, what you can do in order to be successful and what happens if you don’t want to be successful.”
“In every phase of our life, someone needs to remind us of something. My wife does a good job of it on a regular basis. It’s part of the process.
“We try to continue to remind them, ‘Hey, this is what you put all the hard work in for, this is what you do all the stuff in the summer for and this is when you want to be playing at your best.’ ”
The Colonials struggled through a difficult nonconference schedule, losing to Notre Dame, Pitt and Marquette. Bramah, who is averaging 12.6 points and leads the NEC with a 55.7 shooting percentage, said the 66-62 loss at Marquette was a confidence booster.
“Ever since that game, we thought we could make something happen,” he said.
Robert Morris came out of that game 1-6 but won 16 of its next 24 while Josh Williams and Bramah were named second-team All-NEC.
“As long as we have a hard schedule like that,” said junior guard Jon Williams, Josh’s brother, “we’ll be able to understand what it’s like to play teams like that. So when we do get to the tournament or do get to conference play, it’s a little bit easier to understand what pressure is like.”