Amidst many great moments in Big East history, there's a corner of the archive for the unfortunate -- Jim Boeheim throwing a chair after the 1984 tournament final, for example, or referee Tim Higgins ending his long career with a blown call at the end of a game. Fairly or unfairly, there's a place in the discussion for a Connecticut press conference on January 24, 2004, after Providence beat the eventual 2004 national champions 66-56, the Huskies' only home loss of the season.

In the post-game talk, New Haven Register columnist Dave Solomon asked why Jim Calhoun had passed on PC forward Ryan Gomes following his 26 point, 12 rebound effort against the Huskies. "Jim, recruiting is hardly an exact science," Solomon asked. "What does Gomes do that blows you away now, that maybe no one saw?"

"It's the dumbest f#$%ing question I've ever heard." Calhoun responded. "I've explained it 1,000 times. I f#$%ed up. I didn't take Ryan Gomes. Does that make you happy?...It took 18 months to sell the kid to Providence. It's been written about, it's been talked about. Don't shake your f#$%ing head, you asked a question. I'm telling you how I feel about it. I took Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler, they're not bad. I can't take every player. We have 13 scholarships. When I saw him he was 6-5 and 265, 270 pounds. When he graduated, we took Caron [Butler]. He then waited to get his SAT score in the spring. It took [AAU coach] Wayne Simone 18 months to convince, is that a quote, I believe, by Tim Welsh, to convince him to take the kid. Same thing Tim Welsh saw, except we happened to get Emeka [Okafor] and they didn't. We happened to get Caron [Butler] and they didn't. But I'm tired of talking about it.

"Ryan, I just said, is one of the best players in our league and starting to look like one of the best players in the country. I don't know what else I can say. And if you want me to say I f#$%ed up, I f#$%ed up. Write it. You want me to say I f#$%ed up? For the fifth time, I f#$%ed up. So put it five times."

Calhoun's bluster aside, he was right about Gomes, who was one of the best in the Big East and in the nation in the early 2000's. A two sport star at Wilby HS in Waterbury, Gomes was not heavily recruited and did not receive a scholarship offer at the University of Connecticut, eventually choosing Providence over offers at Vanderbilt and Florida. PC coach Tim Welsh was underwhelmed by Gomes at the start, and considered redshirting him until putting Gomes into the seventh game of the season, a 67-48 thumping by South Carolina in the Big East-SEC Challenge. In his first game, Gomes scored 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and never missed a start thereafter.

In 23 starts, Gomes finished second on the team in scoring as a freshman, earning a spot on the All-Big East freshman team for what was a sub-.500 Providence team in 2001-02. By his sophomore season, Gomes was the star on the Friars, who advanced to the second round of the NIT with an 18-14 record. Gomes averaged a team high in points (18.4 per game), rebounds (9.7), and field goal shooting (53.7%) shooting 84 percent at the foul line. Gomes picked up 17 double-double games in 31 starts and 20 or more points in 15 of 31 games, saving some his best efforts against Uconn, with a 26 point effort versus the Huskies as a sophomore, and a season high 26 points and 15 rebounds versus West Virginia.

Gomes' junior season was his most productive, becoming Providence's first consensus All-America since Marvin Barnes in 1974. Gomes led PC to an 11-5 mark in 2003-04, its first NCAA appearance in three years, and its highest ranking in the Associated Press poll since 1978. Gomes was named first team All-Big East, finishing in the top four in the conference in four different categories. If Jim Calhoun was tired of hearing about Gomes by that time, rest assured a lot of other coaches could say the same. Per the PC media guide, at season's end he had scored 25 or more points nine times, registered 10 or more rebounds 15 times, and registered 13 double-doubles.

As a senior, PC did not return to the NCAA's but Gomes was productive as ever. A career high 37 points was dropped on, you guessed it, Connecticut, where Gomes took the Friars' scoring and rebounding crowns for a third consecutive year with 21.6 points and 8.2 rebounds, and a 23.6 average in Big East play. Gomes completed his career at Providence as the school's all time leading scorer and fifth in rebounds. At his graduation, he was ninth all time in Big East scoring and ninth in rebounds.

A second round selection in the 2005 NBA draft, Gomes again exceeded expectations, averaging 10 points per game in a seven year NBA career.