By Arthur Henick

It was an Ernie night. In fact, it was an Ernie weekend.

Ernie DiGregorio, Foxwoods' celebrity host, had his Providence College jersey number retired and was celebrated at a big dinner. Then, they even played a basketball game in his honor.

    To be sure, he had to share the weekend celebrations with two other great players from Providence College: Marvin Barnes and the late Jimmy Walker. But for Ernie, and his many friends from the Mashantucket Pequot reservation in attendance, it was his show. Councilors Maureen Sebastian and Charlene Jones were in attendance, and Foxwoods was a major sponsor of the weekend.

    Ernie's career at Providence was legendary: A consensus All-American, he and Barnes let the team to the 1973 Final Four, he was the East Regional MVP that year, and Ernie was the only Friar in school history selected to the Final Four All-Tournament Team.

    Ernie today still looks amazingly like the mop-topped, brown-haired kid from the Class of '73. OK, so his hair is a little grayer, he's lost a step or three, and he doesn't move to his left as well. But he can still sink that soft, right-handed jump shot from anywhere near the foul line.

    But the personality, and the friendliness, the outgoing nature of a cool guy, that hasn't changed, even after an NBA career that included stops with the late, lamented Buffalo Braves (Rookie of the Year!) and the Boston Celtics.

    Now that Ernie's jersey is hanging from the rafters of the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, we can honestly say: It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

(c) Copyright Pequot Times, April 2008. All rights reserved.