The Real Value

by Ken Parr

The years I spent playing basketball at UB were very good years. I had two excellent coaches. My freshman coach was Ed Muto, and my varsity coach was Len Serfustini, who to this day remains the winningest coach in the history of the school.

The coaches we had back then were very good role models. They demanded that we go to class. We were very, very dedicated to the academic side as well as to athletics. They instilled discipline in us and a work ethic that enabled us to beat teams we really had no business beating - teams like Syracuse and Villanova, teams with more talent.

We were well conditioned, but there was no "Win at All Costs" in those coaches. Even though they were strict and well disciplined, there was no trash-talking, no incidents of the type that you hear about in this day and age. They shaped a lot of our lives.

I like what's going on at UB right now, in terms of the academic demands they do put on their student-athletes. You also don't read about the players having trouble with the law. That's the real value, along with the wins and losses - and probably more so.