A Look Back at Seton Hall's 1989 NCAA Championship Run

While 2009’s transition into spring was rather quiet, consider what it once was: a jammed-packed South Orange Avenue, lines extending well beyond the door at Bunny's, and frenzy for college basketball that spread throughout the Garden State.

The cause for all the excitement? An underdog college basketball team that put Seton Hall University, and the Village itself, on the map.

On April 3, 1989, Seton Hall’s men’s basketball team competed in the NCAA National Championship game against the University of Michigan. The game, and the NCAA Final Four itself, saw the team travel across the country to play at the Kingdome in Seattle, Wash.

But no distance could keep the Pirate faithful from supporting their team on the homefront.

“You can’t even imagine the fun we had in here,” said Leslie Pogany, the owner of Bunny’s Ristorante. “It was a wonderful experience, what can I say?”

South Orange became the cheering destination for the Pirates as they marched through the West Region of the NCAA Tournament in 1989 as a No. 3 seed. After downing Southwest Missouri State and Evansville in the first two rounds of the event, the Pirates put the nation on notice with a victory over Indiana and legendary coach Bob Knight.

A three-point win over UNLV in the Elite Eight put the team into the Final Four, a relative national surprise for a basketball program that was rarely expected to succeed in the Big East.

“It was a lot of fun for people, enjoying the ‘survive and advance’,” said Joe Quinlan, assistant athletic director in 1989 and Seton Hall's current athletic director. “Everyone in town has stories and remembers where they were then.”

Though the team’s success throughout that year (a 31-7 record by the end of the season) drew much fan support locally, the Final Four trip cemented the team’s stature in the Village. In the national semifinals, the Pirates defeated Duke, 95-78, earning the first trip to the national final of the tournament for a New Jersey school.

Pogany recalls media from across the country, alumni throughout the state, and fans around town all stopping by Bunny’s to watch the Hall earn their spot in the title game.

“We couldn’t move in here,” she said. “People were standing on the tables, even waiting in line outside just hoping to get in. After we won, everyone went right into the streets, yelling and hollering.”

Seton Hall was unable to take home the 1989 NCAA National Championship, falling to the Wolverines, 80-79, on a controversial last second foul call in overtime. However, the magical run led to a hero’s welcome when the team left Seattle to return to campus.

A parade down South Orange Avenue for the national runners-up was soon to follow—a day that saw the Village’s main streets packed with supporters. According to Pogany, a local car dealership lent the players and coaches several Mercedes convertibles as floats for the celebration.

“To have that parade happen, cruise around in cars with the streets filled, just showed that they (the fans) were thrilled,” said Rene Monteserin, a freshman walk-on with the 1989 team.

Monteserin also recalled how many of his teammates posed a simple question: with this immense reaction after losing in the title game, what would have happened if the Pirates had won it all?

“Either way, it was a great way to come back home,” Monteserin said.

The team itself—from sharpshooting guards Andrew Gaze and John Morton to talented big men Ramon Ramos and Anthony Avent—just seemed to gel at the perfect time for Seton Hall that year. Many of the players on the squad, including Gerald Greene and Daryll Walker, turned the 1988-89 season into benchmarks for future Pirates who would wear the blue and white.

Local connections with many of the players and coaches also helped elevate the interest in the Village and New Jersey through the Final Four run. Coupled with the emergence of head coach P.J. Carlesimo, oft-criticized before his success of 1989, the Hall became the underdog that everyone cheered for and stuck with into the 1990s.

“We went through years of losing, so it really was great,” Pogany said. “In places like North Carolina (where Duke is located), everyone asked, ‘What is Seton Hall?’ or ‘Where is it?' And we showed them both.”

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the championship run, Seton Hall’s current athletic department reunited the team before last season's Pirates upset the Georgetown Hoyas on Jan. 25. Members of the program reconvened on the Prudential Center court at halftime, and, recently, the school released a DVD, “Band of Pirates," which documents the NCAA Tournament run with interviews of Carlesimo and many of the 1989 Pirates.

The magic behind the 1989 run still surrounds Seton Hall basketball and the university. It’s seen on campus in Walsh Gymnasium, with a “31-7, West Regional Champions” banner that current head coach Bobby Gonzalez said (on the DVD) that he points out to all prospective recruits.

And nostalgia for the team can also be indulged at Bunny’s, adorned with plaques of the team, framed newspaper clippings and plenty of stories from 1989.

“We had a menu special for that time, with items like ‘P.J’s perfect pizza’ and ‘murder Michigan mussels’,” Pogany said. “We made it as close to being at the game without actually being there. I get chills thinking about it.”