Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/783750
96 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? Assisting, now off the basketball court, is still a huge part of his game BY LOU SOMOGYI D uring his four seasons at Notre Dame from 1984-88, David Riv- ers achieved the unique distinction of scoring the most points and handing out the most assists for the Fighting Irish all four of his years. These days, the 52-year-old Rivers is still scoring big via assists. This is highlighted by his work around the world through his sports and education camps with eGlobal Nexus, which markets and promotes 3-D academic curriculum to elemen- tary schools, high schools, universities and even private corporations. A superstar through the 1990s in Europe, Rivers also is in that continent frequently working with the Ameri- can International Players Association for those competing abroad. This en- deavor educates players in business, working through government appli- cations and even speaking the native language. "They all involve education, post- career activities and technology," said Rivers, the fifth male player inducted into Notre Dame's basketball Ring of Honor this Jan. 21. "It's indicative of my experience here at Notre Dame and what it's prepared me for. "Being at Notre Dame and being in the midst of a truly international, diverse student body and just the aca- demic approach and the values … all of that embodied the road that I trav- eled, and it prepared me." The road Rivers traveled just to get to and make it through Notre Dame is one for the books as well. ROLLIN' WITH RIVERS The 1984 signing of Rivers roused a slumbering Notre Dame basketball program back into top-15 promi- nence. From 1981-84, the Fighting Irish missed the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons and were 50-39 with a 3-14 showing against ranked teams. Before he was even a high school freshman, Rivers was becoming a folk hero of sorts on the playgrounds of Jer- sey City, N.J. He would enroll at prep superpower St. Anthony's coached by Bob Hurley Sr. for high school. "My sights were on the NBA," Riv- ers said. "That was the means to the end to help me take care of my par- ents. We were nine girls and six boys, living in the projects. We were strug- gling economically, so that was my motivation." At 9 years old, Rivers saw within two months one brother, 19-year-old Willie, die from a stabbing, while an- other, 20-year-old Joseph, was killed by a speeding truck. (Later in Rivers' NBA rookie year, another brother, Jer- maine, died from a brain tumor.) St. Anthony's became a life haven, just as Notre Dame would. "I knew very little about college basketball," Rivers said. "At St. An- thony's as a freshman, I was getting letters from every institution on the planet — but I didn't see any of them until the end of my junior year. "St. Anthony's didn't look at David Rivers the basketball player. It was all about preparing me academically. … Coach Hurley and I sat down and developed criteria. Academics were No. 1 because my parents wanted me to graduate from college." Rivers developed an instant love for head coach Digger Phelps predicated in great part on life beyond basketball. A starter from the day he first en- tered the arena, Rivers scored 23 points and handed out five assists in the fourth game of his college career, a 74-63 upset of Bob Knight's No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers led by Steve Alford. A month later, Rivers would drive the length of the court and convert a short jumper as time elapsed to win 63-62 at Marquette, and he would guide the Irish to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and win in four years. A year later, the Irish finished No. 10 in the final regular season Associated Press poll before being stunned as the No. 3 seed by Arkansas Little-Rock in the NCAA Tournament. THE GIFT OF LIFE With the graduation of frontcourt seniors Ken Barlow, Tim Kempton and Jim Dolan, Rivers' junior year was projected as a rebuild. Was it ever. On Aug. 24, 1986, while returning from work, Rivers was thrown through the windshield of a car driven by Barlow, whose quick ac- tions helped save Rivers' life. A 15-inch gash to his abdomen came within an inch of ending his life, per doctors, and Rivers lost three pints of blood, about 30% of his body's total. "I'm thankful for that experience because it validated the many lessons that my parents taught me," Rivers said. "The first lesson that they taught me was to love God through Christ. Laying upside down in the ditch, holding my intestines in my left hand, I was disappointed. The biggest thing was, 'Man, I'm going to die like this?' "I didn't get to say goodbye to my teammates, my family. That was my thought process. It just validated my faith in being able to absorb that ex- perience and be committed to my dream." He nixed taking a medical redshirt, and he shot down the university's re- quest when it sought a waiver from the NCAA that would allow Rivers to take less than the mandatory 12-hour class load to be a full-time student. "Redshirting was not a part of my David Rivers: 1984-88 point guard Rivers led the team in both scoring and assists each of his four seasons in South Bend, while guiding the Irish to an 88-32 record and four NCAA Tournament appearances. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS