November 27, 2023
Big5Hoops.com
It is Monday, November 13, 2023, and I am sitting in my living room flipping channels between Michigan-St. John’s at the Garden and Penn-Villanova at the Palestra. A game that I adore, two places I love.
Phil Martelli is coaching Michigan in Juwan Howard’s absence. I have been following college basketball and know Martelli is a Wolverines assistant, but I’m not sure why he is running the team. I’m not entrenched in college hoops like when I ran a website dedicated to Philadelphia basketball from 2010-14.
So, I Google “Phil Martelli Michigan” and learn that Howard had heart surgery and will be out for a while. I keep reading. Judy Martelli, Phil’s wife, has been interviewed in the story. She is still living outside of Philly while Phil is staying in Michigan.
Why is Phil Martelli living apart from his wife? And why is he still coaching when he probably could be retired somewhere warm, on a beach or playing golf? Paraphrasing, Judy Martelli says that coaching college basketball is in Phil Martelli’s blood.
In his blood.
I think about that. Writing about college basketball is in my blood. But here I am, on the couch, beer in hand, watching on TV.
Martelli’s Michigan team is dominant in beating Rick Pitino-led St. John’s. I’m really happy to see Martelli’s success. I’m flipping back to the Penn-Nova game now and, oh man, a Big 5 classic is breaking out! The underdog Quakers look like they’re going to pull off an upset. I am glued in, thinking about all of the games I have seen at the Palestra, thinking about the goosebumps that pour out of my skin when I’m there, thinking about how much I miss it.
In my blood.
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It is a November day 28 years earlier. I think it might have even been a Monday night. I am 19 years old, young, clueless and full of big dreams. Ever since I started reading Bill Lyon in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I wanted to be Bill Lyon. Not only did I want to cover sports like Lyon, but I always thought, “Man, if I could write something that moves someone to tears the way Lyon does me, that would be pretty special.”
My journey has started. In a very small way. I’m a sophomore at Saint Joseph’s University, and I get involved with the St. Joe’s student radio station. “You want to broadcast basketball games?” someone said when I asked. “Sure.” The signal goes no farther than the student center? So what! I had my start in sports journalism.
And I wouldn’t waste any time being just like Lyon, getting the story to tell it in the best way – even if it was going to be over the, uh-um, airwaves rather than in the newspaper. On guts and hopes, I walked into Martelli’s office without an appointment and asked to speak to the Hawks head coach about the team. It’s hilarious, actually, to think about that today. A student radio reporter broadcasting to mostly empty cafeteria seats needs to get Martelli’s reaction to his second-ever game as headman at St. Joe’s. And the kid didn’t even call ahead to ask?
To my delight and eternal gratitude, Martelli told his secretary to send me in. I don’t remember much of the conversation. (I do remember the cramped office and low ceiling.) But what I will never forget is the feeling I got as I talked to Martelli and held tightly as I walked away from, yes, our interview. It was a feeling like, “YES, this is what I want to do with my life!” From that day forward, I have been interviewing coaches and athletes in Philadelphia, starting as a student reporter, then a full-time sports journalist and, for the last 16 years, as a freelancer for the Associated Press. I also sprinkled in five years covering Philly college hoops intensely.
I don’t think I ever thanked Phil Martelli for saying yes to my interview. It wasn’t a big deal to him, but it was for me. Who knows, if he had said no, perhaps I would have been discouraged and not followed my sportswriting dream. So, thank you, Phil.
In my blood.
–
It has been a challenging year for me. The tears flowing as I typed that last sentence are just further confirmation. My Dad, Paul Bracy, unexpectedly passed away last December. Nine months later, the man who has been a Father to my two brothers and me after my parents got divorced when we were young, Martin Perrotta, lost his battle with cancer.
At times, it has been hard to find my way. How do I deal with these emotions? Where do I turn? Mostly, I keep things to myself. My wife is a Godsend and always has an open ear, but I could use another outlet, something else I enjoy to focus on.
Write? Right.
Writing always has been an outlet for me in adulthood, something that I love, a way to express myself, to tell stories of others, to hopefully share my passion in a way that will bring knowledge and joy to others.
Yes, of course, writing.
In my blood.
–
I turned off the Penn-Villanova game just after watching the Quakers undergraduates storm the court, rushed up to the office and hoped.
Please let the domain be available. Please. “B-i-g-5-H-o-o-p-s-.-c-o-m”? The domain is available. YES!
Big5Hoops.com.
It is what I wanted to name my former Philly college hoops site, but I couldn’t because Drexel was not part of the Big 5 then. Now that the Dragons are included, it would work perfectly. I couldn’t pay for the domain fast enough.
But now what? Do you want to do this? Remember how you got so burned out and worked yourself to exhaustion before? Yes, the site was popular in Philadelphia college basketball circles. Sure, you enjoyed it. But was all that time, all of those late nights and lack of sleep worth it? Would that happen again if you went forward with this?
Well, your three kids are older now, more independent. You’re working from home now so have some more flexibility with the full-time job.
Let me think.
I decided right away that if I did this, I would go at it solo – at least at first. I’m not the most tech savvy, but I can put together a basic site. OK, maybe it won’t be the most professional looking, won’t have all the bells and whistles, but it will have a place for me to write. And, really, what more do I need? So, let’s start building.
I already had started creating the site when I covered Villanova-Maryland on Nov. 17 for the Associated Press. Mikal Bridges was there for his jersey retirement. OK, ok. Yes, I have some material for a practice column, I thought. Let me go ahead and publish this but not make any sort of big announcement, or anything.
That was fun. It felt good. It felt right. I wasn’t thinking about anything else but my story when I was writing. (Kind of like now.)
With the schedule all loaded into the site, I started paying close attention to the games, watching them, reading the box scores, following the Big 5 scene. It felt good to be sort-of connected again. Oh sure, why not, let’s try another column. I watched La Salle’s game at Duke, saw longtime radio voice Kale Beers’ post on Facebook about how great the trip was and thought maybe talking to Beers would make for a good column.
So, I reached out to him. And he said yes.
As I talked to Beers over the phone, I was back in Martelli’s office again. The same excitement and enthusiasm were there. I wasn’t thinking about my Dad or Marty. My mind was focused on our interview and the possibilities I saw for the story.
In my blood.
–
Happily, the La Salle column has gotten many reads and a positive response. If not, I’d probably still go forward. But the response has helped to validate what I know to be true, that there are a lot of people, like me, who care a lot about Philadelphia college basketball. As much as I love to write about it, I think they would love to read more about it.
So, here I am today announcing the official launch of Big5Hoops.com. My plan starting out is to publish a weekly column during the season that will post on Fridays at 7 a.m. Yeah, I can handle that. I’ll also be active on social media about the Big 5. So, if you don’t, please follow on X and like my Facebook and Instagram pages.
Where this will go? Who knows. What I do know, especially from the last year personally, is that life is short and it’s important to pursue your passions while you can. Sportswriting and Philadelphia college basketball are two of my passions. So, here I am. And I am elated to be back.
I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
And I look forward to more interviews that take me back to Martelli’s office, just a kid with hope and a dream, clutching tightly to the feeling that he is doing just what he always wanted to do.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.