Sports Brooklyn Boro

A talk with St. Francis basketball legend Dennis McDermott

July 26, 2021 Andy Furman

Dennis McDermott, upon his retirement from St. Francis College. Photo courtesy of Terriers Media

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He’s Mr. Terrier. Well, not really – but if there ever was a Mr. Terrier, Dennis McDermott would fill the bill.

Completely.

He served St. Francis for almost half of his adult life –he turned 69 on the 16th of this month.

“I love St. Francis College, he said, “and really, there was never a second thought of my attending anyplace else.

“My mom worked at the college, in the cafeteria when it was located on Butler Street,” he told the Eagle.

So, he was groomed a Terrier at a young age.

The 6-8 McDermott played his high school basketball at St. Francis Prep.

“Well,” he laughed, “I didn’t play much. I was the eighth man on a pretty good team coached by Jack Prenderville, when the Prep was located in Williamsburg, on North 6th Street.”

That Prep team had future Terrier stars in Jack McCue and Mike Rivera, which brought Dan Lynch Sr. – the Terriers’ all-time winningest basketball coach out to take a look.

“Coach Lynch and his assistant Lester Yellin watched one of our games,” McDermott recalled, “and if I remember correctly, it was Coach Lynch telling Lester, ‘Let’s take a shot on him.’”

It was a shot in the dark, for sure.

Especially after a snafu McDermott remembers from his playing on that “B” team.

“I had inside position to get a rebound on a missed foul shot,” he said “The shot missed and I went up with the ball to shoot.”

There was one problem. “I shot at the wrong basket,” he said, “and boy did I hear it from coach (Jack) Monahan.”

But the marriage between Dennis McDermott and St. Francis College proved to be the biggest shot ever heard in the borough of Brooklyn.

McDermott was the team’s leading scorer during the 1972-1973 and ’73-’74 seasons with a 24.1 and 23.8 points-per-game average.

He was the tri-captain in 1973-74 along with Ron Jones and Mike Rivera.

He was selected by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association as an All-Metropolitan selection following the 1973-74 season.

And he finished his career with the most points for a Terrier (1,578), most field goals (629) and most free throws made (320). He scored at least 500 points in each of his three seasons.

His playing days as a Terrier may have ended — but his career with the college was just beginning.

He was drafted by the NBA’s New York Knicks and the ABA’s New York Nets.

“We had those Knick tryouts at Pace University and Monmouth College,” he said. “They cut me and told me to look for a job.”

Years later, while working on Wall Street, Knicks’ coach Red Holzman spotted McDermott wearing a suit and tie and quipped, “It doesn’t look like you did too bad for yourself.”

As for the Nets, McDermott said he had a one-on-one drill with Dr. J. – Julius Erving. “This,” he said, “is when I knew my pro career was over. Dr. J. jumped right over me.”

And pro basketball’s loss was St. Francis College’s gain.

He served as a loyal assistant coach under Hall of Famer Lou Rossini – and later worked on Coach Gene Roberti’s staff. At Packer Collegiate Institute, across the street from the college, he served as both athletic director and head basketball coach.

If that wasn’t enough, when he hung up his whistle, Dennis McDermott served as athletic director for two years at Xaverian High School and was lured back to St. Francis in 2000 as director of alumni relations.

He retired three years ago, but still attends events for the college, and of course can’t wait for the upcoming basketball season.

His retired jersey hangs in the Dan Lynch Gymnasium – part of the Peter Aquilone Center.

Officially, Dennis McDermott may not be Mr. Terrier.

But if they ever name one – his name has to be on top of the list.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR