Opponents will be green with envy

Since it opened its doors in 1979, Manhattan College’s Draddy Gymnasium has seen its share of memorable basketball games played by some of the greatest players to ever don the Jaspers’ green and white.

It’s where Luis Flores, perhaps the greatest Jaspers player of them all, helped lead Manhattan to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in the early 2000s, where, more recently, Emmy Andujar and Co. helped raise MAAC Championship banners in 2014 and 2015 and where coaching icons such as Fran Fraschilla and Steve Lappas cut their coaching teeth.

But during the past 36 years age had taken its toll on the old barn and it was desperately in need of a facelift. The school began the cosmetic revival four years ago when it added a brand new scoreboard above center court along with a pair of crystal clear video boards. It was a nice start, but one was left to wonder if that was all Manhattan had in store for the old building.

This summer, however, that question was answered in a big way when the school installed a gleaming  new basketball court as well as new lighting, fresh new banners honoring past players and teams as well as decorating the gym walls in wall wraps featuring Jaspers players.

Now when you walk into the newly-refurbished gym, you can’t help but utter “Who’s Your Draddy?”

“We wanted to do something that was unique and while being unique we wanted to stay true to the college’s brand,” Manhattan College Athletic Director Noah LeFevre said. “So this is the idea we settled on.”

What LeFevre and Manhattan settled on is an almost entirely green-colored basketball court. With the exception of the space inside the three-point circle, which remained a natural wood color, Draddy’s new floor is awash in green – a color LeFevre says he wants to be synonymous with all things Manhattan.