Canisius coach Tom Parrotta rocks back in his chair, amused by the question of whether he would consider having his team wear graduation caps and gowns as warmup suits this season.
It's something he never would have imagined three years ago, when the Golden Griffins were best known for the garish gold sneakers they wore during a 25-loss season. Parrotta can laugh about it now that the wins have started coming and the diplomas have been handed out.
Canisius is poised to contend in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season with what it says is the nation's only Division I roster that has five seniors who already have earned their degrees.
The caps and gowns would be an ideal way to capture the identity of Parrotta's first true recruiting class.
''How about that. Yeah,'' Parrotta says. ''I never thought of it. But it would be very neat. And it would be trendsetting.''
Fitting, too, given his seniors' humble beginnings.
''You know what, they have arrived,'' Parrotta says. ''You're talking about going from head to toe. They started here with their feet, wearing gold sneakers, which people kind of laughed at. And now you talk about bottom to top.''
And don't forget the tassels, because Julius Coles (communications), Elton Frazier (communications), Robert Goldsberry (education), Greg Logins (physical education) and Tomas Vazquez-Simmons (psychology) have earned their diplomas and already are working on their masters. Rishawn Johnson would have given the Golden Griffins six seniors with their degrees if he hadn't elected to pursue his masters at Post University.
Parrotta was a longtime assistant in his first head coaching job when he lured the players to Canisius with the prospect of plenty of playing time. In exchange, they were asked to give up their summers to stay in school and help the team jell by spending time together year-round, be it on the court or in study hall. The possibility of earning their degrees in three years was an added benefit.
''The parents were saying 'Yes, yes, yes, yes,''' Parrotta recalls. ''But they're not the ones going to class.''
And it wasn't as if Parrotta was intent on filling his roster with just scholars. Several of the players he recruited didn't have the necessary grades coming out of high school and required lobbying from the athletic department to be admitted.
One of those was Logins, who was overlooked by numerous Division I programs. And then there was Frazier, who had such a troubled time during high school in Syracuse that many of his teachers all but gave up on him.
''Who would've thought I'd be done early, but I am,'' Frazier says. ''I just wish I could go back and show those teachers what I've done now so they can see where I'm at, how much I've grown.''
Others were good students, but came from difficult situations. Coles, for example, grew up on the tough streets of East Harlem, N.Y., where two of his friends were shot earlier this year.
''When I go home, I just see so many people who could've been or should've been,'' he says. ''And that's not where I want to be. I'd rather fight through it now and then reap the benefits later than to go, 'All right, I give up.'''
Not only has Coles become the first member of his family to get a degree, his mother, Sonya Pittman, is now attending college in the Bronx.
Quitting Canisius never crossed his mind.
''That would probably be the biggest mistake I've ever made,'' Coles says.
It's one that would have kept him from being part of what Parrotta has accomplished at Canisius, a midmajor in midtown Buffalo that hasn't made a blip on the men's national level since 1996, when John Beilein coached them to their fourth NCAA berth.
It all began with star guard Frank Turner, Parrotta's first recruit, who earned his degree in three years and completed his senior season last year.
Parrotta takes little credit.
''I'm not freaking' smart,'' Parrotta says with a laugh, noting he didn't get his degree in communications until three years after he finished playing at Fordham. ''This is a testament to the kids we have and my staff that, no matter what, we just kept moving forward.''
Parrotta shunned the quick fix of loading up on junior college transfers, opting to start from scratch in turning around a program that had not won more than 11 games in any of its previous five seasons.
''This approach 20 years ago wouldn't have flown,'' Parrotta says. ''It's not for everybody. I will tell you, I scared some people away when I told them what they had to do.''
On the court, as well as in the classroom.
''Look, I can go out and recruit just great students, but you're not going to win,'' Parrotta says. ''I'd be happy that they're graduating and everything. But if we were still down here from a basketball standpoint, this whole approach would have been half-done according to me.''
After going 6-25 in their first year, mostly with an all-freshman lineup, the Golden Griffins improved to 11-20 in 2008-09 and jumped to 15-17 last season.
And now the seniors are fueled by the belief that the challenges they've faced on the court - they twice lost by 50-plus points as freshmen - and off it during long nights at study hall will add up to something special.
''With all the players on our team, going through that, six wins, it makes us want it more,'' Frazier said. ''It makes us want to show everybody what we can do and what we're capable of.''
To a player, they credit Parrotta.
''We thank Coach P for sticking with us through everything we've been through,'' Goldsberry says. ''We appreciated him for going out on a limb for us. We've stuck together because we believed what Coach P was saying, 'Don't worry, our time will come.' And now it's our time.''
