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Trio inducted into Phila. area small-college Hall of Fame

03/24/2015, 12:45am EDT

By Josh Verlin

(L to R): Marc Tacelosky, Lee Wimberly, Dave Pauley, Mike McGarvey and Joe Cassidy. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 2015 edition of the Philadelphia Area Small College Hall of Fame induction ceremony turned into a bit of the Dave Pauley Show on Monday night.

The University of Sciences coach got plenty of time in front of the microphone to help honor the three men who were added onto an impressive list of names who’ve played, coached or otherwise been involved in local basketball at the Division II, Division III or junior college level over the last few decades.

And the always-entertaining Pauley, who was also honored on the evening as Coach of the Year, did not disappoint.

“Welcome to the roast of Mike McGarvey,” he said, referencing the former Ursinus guard and current Colgate assistant who was the youngest of the three inductees.

He went on to note how difficult it was for Swarthmore coach Lee Wimberly to win at his longtime position, saying that kids at the school were “too busy protesting the Blue Route expansion,” and reminisced about how his former boss Bob Morgan took credit for recognizing the potential of the third inductee, Mark Tacelosky, even though Morgan had never seen the future NAIA All-American play before he got to campus.

Of course, the night was really about honoring McGarvey, Wimberly and Tacelosky, who became the 29th, 30th and 31st members of a group that includes former Temple coach John Chaney, former Drexel coach Sam Cozen, current Philly U coach and 1000-game winner Herb Magee plus current La Salle coach John Giannini, inducted last year for his national championship at Rowan in 1996.

All three had remarkable careers.

Wimberly was the head coach at Swarthmore from 1987-1997 and 1998-2011, where he won a school-record 184 games at a school at which it’s notoriously tough to win.

He planned on spending that year off on a six-month sabbatical, but instead got a call from his old boss at D-III Pomona-Pitzer (Cali.), Gregg Popovich. ‘Pop,’ now the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, wanted Wimberly to serve as his head scout. Wimberly accepted the position, and got to spend the year with the team during the rookie season of one Tim Duncan.

Offered a position to remain with the organization after his year, Wimberly declined.

He returned to Swarthmore, where he was a tenured professor in criminal justice and public policy--and where he could continue to mentor young men at a crucial point in their lives until his retirement to Arizona for health reasons in 2011.

“That was a big part of it,” he said. “I’m proud of what I did and the kids and all that. I know I could have made a lot more money, but I’ve made plenty of money.”

Up on stage, he urged the nine seniors in attendance who were being honored as four-year members of their respective teams to cherish their remaining time in college.

“ I think it’s, for most of them, it’ll be the best part of their whole life, and I just want to make sure they understand how special it is, and it’s a chance for me to kinda say that,” he said. “I’ve always said that to my players.”

McGarvey came out of Penn Charter in 2002 with an opportunity to walk-on at La Salle University, but instead opted to play for head coach Kevin Small at Ursinus. It turned out to be a great decision for the 5-foot-9 guard, who would go on to one of the more decorated careers in Centennial Conference history.

A two-time Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American, McGarvey is the school's all-time leader in assists and is fourth all-time in scoring, and is just one of three players in the men's basketball program to have his number retired.

Like Wimberly, he found a home on the small-college courts.

“I think as a high school kid, I was a little bit naive about what the level of basketball was and how hard it is to be successful," he said. "I never once imagined that it would be as incredible as it was, but I would never change a thing, looking back on it."

A true point guard, he spent most of his speech thanking his teammates and those around him who'd helped him get to where he was--at Colgate University, serving as a Division I assistant coach under fourth-year head coach Matt Langel; this year, the Raiders had the most Patriot League wins in program history.

“The thing that I learned most was that it’s a daily process, so you really have to be on your toes every single day, and you have to do things the right way, and you have to do them with honor and dignity," he said after the ceremony. "If you bring that to the job and you care wholeheartedly about the players, just like my coaches have cared about me, I think you’re able to get the best out of the team.”

Pauley also introduced the last speaker, Tacelosky, who played at USciences when it was known as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, leading what were then called the Blue Devils--now just the Devils--into the NAIA Tournament back in 1996.

He was at that point the school's first 2,000-point scorer and had its best single-season ever as a senior, but both of those records were eclipsed by current USciences senior Garret Kerr. Since he graduated, the school joined the NCAA in 2000, making its first NCAA Tournament this year.

“It’s been really exciting, to see the changes. I come to the campus now and I don’t even recognize the place," he said. "I couldn’t be happier for Coach Pauley, it was just great watching the team this year and the success they had, a lot of the old alumni came back to the games and it brought back a lot of memories for us and I just really enjoyed the team.”

Tacelosky has moved away from basketball, currently working as a medical science liaison for Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, and though he was the shortest-spoken of the three inductees, it was clear he was moved by the honor.

“It makes it more special in terms of...we play the game because we love playing the game," he said afterwards. "Even though it’s a small college, I think there’s a lot of great players that have come through these schools, and to be a Hall of Famer means a lot to me because I played against some really great players, and to even be compared to them means something."

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Philadelphia Area Small-College Hall of Fame Class of 2015
Mike McGarvey--Guard, Ursinus College, 2002-06
Mark Tacelosky--Forward, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science, 1992-96
Lee Wimberly--Coach, Swarthmore College, 1987-97, 1998-2011

Sam Cozen Coach of the Year
Dave Pauley, University of the Sciences

John McAdams Service Award
Joe Cassidy, Rowan University