Jestor Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Cross-posting from other places, so it's going to lag behind a bit compared to the originals. Okay, after spending the last two days refreshing my Excel skills, I managed to rewrite the data files to reflect these changes. So we have 147 schools divided up by 19 conferences and an independent. Every school is set to 0 prestige and I've erased all the preseason tournaments, because I intend to let this league grow organically. Now to the backstory... The 1930s and much of the 1940s were troubling times for America. The Great Depression and the resulting Second World War devastated the nation, even as World War II brought the country together under the banner of patriotism. The NCAA, as the guardian of collegiate sports, came up with the idea of a national college basketball tournament to crown a national champion and capture the attentions of the American sporting public. It was not a new idea by any means. Discussions had been going on since 1939, but the economic climate wasn't ripe for profit until after the end of World War II in 1945. Two years followed in which colleges and universities across the country sought to align themselves into conferences for this new basketball landscape before play officially began in the 1948 season. A few conferences, of course, already existed. The Big 8, Big 10, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain States, Pacific Coast, SEC, Southern and Southwest conferences already had a framework and membership in place for football and the Ohio Valley and Yankee conferences, while still needing members to fill the six school minimum, at least had a structure and a few confirmed members. America's elite academic universities in Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale were quick to assemble and form the Ivy League, declaring that unlike the other conferences, who would have a tournament to decide who would earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA tournament, the Ivy would send its regular season champion as the automatic qualifier. Most of the wholly new conferences were formed along general state and regional lines, but the formation story of two in particular bear mentioning, as well as the only other source of strife in that first year, the battle over Butler. http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o395/Izulde08/butler-university.jpg Originally, the requirement was for conferences to contain eight teams, which led to a fierce fight for Butler, who was wooed by both the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Missouri Valley Conference. Both leagues featured a Midwest orientation and Butler, originally part of the MAC, was persuaded to join the Missouri Valley with a lucrative payout to ensure that the MVC would meet quota. This naturally enraged the MAC, who sued for Butler's return. Eventually, the NCAA lowered the minimum requirement to six teams and ordered Butler to refund the money to the Missouri Valley and return to the MAC, which the university did willingly enough, particularly after firing those in the administration responsible for accepting the bribe to move in the first place. And in truth, the MAC, with its eastern Midwest orientation was a better geographic fit for Butler than the western Midwest focused Missouri Valley. But the Butler issue was but a schoolyard spat compared to the storm that arose out of the Southern Conference. http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o395/Izulde08/southernconferencecolor.jpg At 16 teams, the Southern Conference was the largest college athletic league in the country. The NCAA, anticipating a number of 6, 7 and 8 member leagues, asked the Southern to change to two divisions to have a more equitable distribution in line with the rest of Division I. The league refused and the NCAA responded by threatening to revoke the Southern's certification and legitimacy. Quarrels began to break out among conference members over whether or not to acede to the NCAA's demands. Finally, at a mid-June meeting of the Southern Conference presidents, Richmond's Barnabas Southby stood up and announced, "The University of Richmond formally withdraws from this league. We are a private school that prides itself on its academics and to be in the same confederation as such public inferiors like the University of West Virginia is something we will no longer do." Southby then stormed out of the meeting, followed by the presidents of Duke and Furman. The three private schools announced their intentions to form a private school only league the day after and convinced Davidson and Wake Forest to join. A special exemption was later granted to public school William & Mary, who applied and argued that together, they could form an answer to the northern Ivy League. The others agreed and so the Southern Stars conference was born, the Southern to signify their origins, the Stars to declare their ascendancy over the remaining Southern Conference members. The rift caused by this split was so great that anger still persists to this day, particularly towards William & Mary for betraying its public brethren in joining with the private school defectors. The inciting incident also ignited a Richmond/West Virginia rivalry whose bitterness has lessened only slightly with the passing decades. Although this unexpected resolution satisfied the NCAA, it also led to Northern ridicule of the South at the very idea that a league comparable to the Ivy could be formed out of any six schools in the South. It was considered so ludicrous that the service academies Army and Navy, Boston College, Boston University, and a few other schools formed the North Star conference as a direct repudiation of the Southern Stars. The new opposition league also scored a major coup by convincing Notre Dame to join the Northern Star as a basketball only member. As Boston College's president remarked at the press conference announcing the North Star, "Unlike the Southern Stars, which came from dispute and discord, the North Star is singular, united and firm in our purpose of academic and athletic excellence." This chain of events would create the first ever three-way conference rivalry in American collegiate sports history, with the Southern Stars hating the North Star, the North Star scorning the Southern Stars and the Southern loathing the Southern Stars. Still, every school but four was able to find a conference home. Only Bucknell, Creighton, La Salle, and Loyola (MD) were forced to play that first season as independents. Inaugural Conferences Atlantic Six ------------------ Georgetown Holy Cross Iona St. Bonaventure St. Joseph’s Virginia Big 8 ----------------------------- Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma State Big 10 -------------- Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Northwestern Ohio State Purdue Wisconsin Empire ----------------- Fordham Long Island Manhattan Rutgers St. Francis (NY) St. John’s Great Lakes ----------------- Akron Dayton DePaul Loyola (IL) Marquette Niagra Valparaiso Ivy -------------- Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale MAC -------------------- Bowling Green Butler Cincinnati Kent State Miami (OH) Ohio Toledo Western Michigan Missouri Valley ------------------------ Bradley Detroit Drake St. Louis Tulsa Wichita State Mountain States --------------------------- BYU Colorado State Denver Utah Utah State Wyoming North Star ------------------------ Army Boston College Boston University Colgate Lafayette Lehigh Navy Notre Dame Ohio Valley --------------------- Eastern Kentucky Louisville Marshall Western Kentucky Xavier Youngstown State Pacific Coast ------------------ California Idaho Montana Oregon Oregon State Stanford UCLA USC Washington Washington State SEC --------------- Alabama Auburn Florida Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky LSU Mississippi Mississippi State Tennessee Tulane Vanderbilt Southern Conference --------------------------- Citadel Clemson George Washington Maryland North Carolina North Carolina State South Carolina Virginia Tech VMI West Virginia Southern Stars ------------------------ Davidson Duke Furman Richmond Wake Forest William & Mary Southwest Conference ----------------------------- Arkansas Baylor Rice SMU Texas Texas A&M TCU Steel ---------------- Drexel Duquesne Penn State Pittsburgh Temple Villanova Sun West ------------------ Arizona Idaho State Montana State Nevada St. Mary’s (CA) San Francisco Santa Clara Yankee ------------------------- Canisius Connecticut Rhode Island Seton Hall Siena Syracuse Independents ------------------------- Bucknell Creighton La Salle Loyola (MD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 6, 2010 Author Share Posted June 6, 2010 That first season was a disaster as far as the sportswriters' poll was concerned. Sectional biases and bribes led to wholly inaccurate Top 25 lists the whole season long, save for the fact that, in a decided triumph for the Southern conference, for virtually the entire year, South Carolina was the undisputed #1 team in the nation. The Game****s began Southern play with a scorching 10-0 mark before falling to Clemson on the road. They finished 28-4 (16-2) by the tournament's start. Recognizing the complete ineptitude of the sportswriters, the NCAA tournament's selection committee threw out Top 25 consideration, concentrating solely on record and a new formula called the RPI. This reliance on scientific data ensured that just one sub-.500 team entered the field of 64, 15-17 Missouri, who'd stunned the Big 8 by winning the conference tournament as, of all things, the 8 seed. Indeed, the committee was so efficient with their choices that the only quarrel arose was when they invited Cornell. The Big Red were ranked 71st in RPI and finished 4th in the Ivy League. The committee responded by saying they wanted to be sure every conference got at least two bids and that Cornell fit the winning record criterion. This argument was eventually accepted by all but the most devoted RPI loyalists. The Southern Conference pinned its hopes on #1 South Carolina, but it also had North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the field. Meanwhile, the Southern Stars were represented by Davidson, Furman, and Wake Forest. And to complete the triangle, the North Star sent Boston College, Lafayette, and Navy. The #1 seeds were awarded to South Carolina, Montana, Texas A&M, and TCU, much to the surprise of independent school Loyola-Maryland, who thought certain they would be a #1 selection. The Greyhounds angrily claimed conference member bias, but that was a difficult argument to swallow, given that 3 of the 4 independent teams were invited to the NCAA tournament, La Salle the only loser. NCAA First Round Upsets West #12 Temple over #5 Colorado State #11 Washington over #6 Wisconsin Midwest #14 San Francisco over #3 Illinois #15 Marshall over #2 Oregon #16 Rutgers over #1 Texas A&M South #10 Cornell over #7 Georgia Tech #11 Purdue over #6 Davidson East #10 Tulane over #7 Manhattan #11 Bucknell over #6 St. Mary's #12 Seton Hall over #5 LSU Cornell's upset of the Yellow Jackets was a considerable relief to the committee. However, the Big Red's triumph was completely undone by upstart Rutgers' #16 seed over #1 Texas A&M shocker. This gave Loyola-Maryland far more ammunition than anyone could have expected. As for the Big 10, it was thankful for Purdue's knockoff of Davidson, given how poorly Wisconsin and Illinois played on their way out. Of course, the committee's biggest nightmare was the Midwest region, where all 3 of the top seeds went out in the first round, destroying the brackets of what was then a fledgling group of gamblers. Round 2 Upsets West #12 Temple over #4 Auburn Midwest #14 San Francisco over #6 Iowa State #15 Marshall over #7 Creighton South #11 Purdue over #3 Arkansas #8 Wake Forest over #1 TCU The troubles of the Texas top seeds continued with the second round ouster of the Horned Frogs by the 8th seed Demon Deacons. But what really gave the committee ulcers was seeing the 14th seed Dons and 15th seed Thundering Herd continue their reign of terror and their meeting in the Sweet 16 guaranteed at least one double-digit seed would make the Elite 8. Sweet 16 Conference Breakdown Atlantic Six (3) Georgetown Big 10 (11) Purdue Great Lakes (9) Loyola-Illinois North Star (4) Boston College Ohio Valley (15) Marshall Pacific Coast (1) Montana (2) USC (3) UCLA (4) Stanford Southern (1) South Carolina Southern Stars (8) Wake Forest Southwest (2) Rice Steel (12) Temple Sun West (14) San Francisco Yankee (4) Connecticut Independents (2) Loyola-Maryland That the Pacific Coast was the top conference in the country, no one could deny. A full quarter of that first Sweet 16 class were from the PCC and all of them had top 4 seeds. But the most press was being generated by #2 seed Loyola-Maryland, who continued their fight to prove that they should have had a #1 seed. Alas for Loyola-Maryland, they were beaten 72-62 by 3 seed UCLA, Bruins redshirt junior PG Gary Oakley winning Player of the Game with a 13 point, 7 assist, 5 rebound, 1 block all-around performance. #14 seed San Francisco beat #15 seed Marshall in the committee's horror matchup, #9 Loyola-Illinois stunned PCC member and #4 seed Stanford 64-46 and #8 seed Wake Forest of the Southern Stars struck a triumphant blow for the league, downing hated North Star #4 seed Boston College 64-61. Senior Demon Deacons SG Russell Hollins immediately became Wake Forest's first legendary hero with a spell-binding 25 point game. On the second day, #1 seed Montana handled #12 seed Temple with ease, and #1 seed South Carolina also advanced, barely surviving a 65-64 scare from #4 Connecticut. #2 seed Rice beat #3 seed Georgetown in a 64-62 classic and #2 seed USC ended #11 seed Purdue's Cinderella run. Elite 8 Matchups #1 seed Montana vs #2 seed Rice (West) #9 seed Loyola-Illinois vs #14 seed San Francisco (Midwest) #1 seed South Carolina vs #2 seed USC (South) #3 seed UCLA vs #8 seed Wake Forest (East) The Pacific Coast continued to assert its dominance with almost half of the Elite 8 squads. The regional final that excited most people was the South Carolina/USC battle in the South, although the Cinderella lovers eagerly cheered for the Dons to become the first double-digit seed in the Final Four. Despite a heroic effort of 24 and 21 points by senior swingmen Larry Bonner and David Grande, San Francisco lost by a single point, 77-76. That crushing blow was all the more devastating because the general feeling was, with Bonner and Grande graduating, it would be a long time before the Dons would get this far again. UCLA, on the other hand, beat Wake Forest by a comfortable 64-50 margin, led by senior swingman Del Cruz's 25 points. Russell Hollins's collegiate career ended with a fine 18 points, but no one was there to support him. The Elite 8's marquee matchups were the next day and neither one was close. Montana ripped Rice 81-62, due largely to sophomore Newton Richardson's 22 points. Richardson averaged 17.3 points during the regular season and the NCAA, always looking for a marquee program and young player to invest marketing in, were greatly pleased with Richardson's star quality and the Grizzlies' #1 seed and Final Four run. #1 seed South Carolina, cheered by all Southern Conference fans, topped Southern California 68-57 in the War of the USCs. Final Four #1 seed Montana vs #1 seed South Carolina #3 seed UCLA vs #9 seed Loyola-Illinois As you might expect, virtually everyone considered the Grizzlies/Game****s matchup to be the true national championship game. Most figured on an All-PCC, All-Bears Mascots Final of Grizzlies vs. Bruins. Newton Richardson added to his fast-growing legacy by scoring 26 points in leading the Grizzlies to a surprisingly easy 83-68 win over South Carolina. It was the UCLA/Loyola-Illinois matchup that proved the most thrilling, a back-and-forth brawl that ended with the Bruins on top, 102-100. Del Cruz and Gary Oakley combined for 31 and 20 points a piece to rescue UCLA and the committee from embarassment. 1948 National Championship Game #1 Montana vs. #3 UCLA And so it all came down to this. An All-PCC championship. Sophomore Newton Richardson vs. senior Del Cruz and junior Gary Oakley. The Grizzlies were heavily favored, thanks to having won both regular season matchups and to one of the best offenses in the country at 69.6 points a game, 5th best. Montana also ranked 4th in defensive rebounds and 9th in rebounds overall. UCLA, on the other hand, was 3rd in scoring at 71 points a game, 5th team in assists at 15.1 and the absolute best in the nation at shooting percentage, converting 46.6% of their shots. On the other hand, the Bruins were a pedestrian 117th in scoring defense. The game was all Grizzlies and all Newton Richardson, who just missed a triple-double in the national championship game, racking up 19 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds. 87-69 final and as the stands broke out into celebration, Richardson cutting down the nets and savoring the joy of his Montana Grizzlies winning the first-ever national title, just one question loomed large. Could the Grizzlies also become the first dynasty with Richardson? Player of the Year: JR SF Garland Kyser Connecticut 19.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.4 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PG Gene Barnes Wyoming 15.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.9 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Julius Durfee South Carolina 32 - 5 (16 - 2) All-American 1st Team: C SR Dewayne Ducharme Saint Louis 11.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 3.0 BPG PF SR Gautier Deva Santa Clara 12.1 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.2 BPG SF JR Garland Kyser Connecticut 19.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR Jerrell Forbes Duquesne 22.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SO Newton Richardson Montana 17.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-American 2nd Team: C SR Alan Whitfield Long Island 9.0 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.5 BPG PF SR Hernando Ramirez Harvard 14.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.4 BPG SF SR Del Cruz UCLA 18.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR Hoyt Osborne Illinois 19.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Caleb McCray Connecticut 14.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-American 3rd Team: C SR Cliff Orcutt Saint Mary's 10.6 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.1 BPG PF SR Marshall McCabe Dayton 12.4 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF SR Scott McCleary Georgetown 17.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG JR Michael Jones Louisiana State 24.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Gregory Whisenant Georgia 8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG All-Freshman Team: C FR Charles Patnode Xavier 9.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG PF FR Charlie Sprinkle Long Island 9.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Chris Knorr Alabama 13.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Bryan Keyser Ohio 13.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG FR Gene Barnes Wyoming 15.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG In addition to being a 1st Team All-American, Newton Richardson was the Pacific Coast Player of the Year. Del Cruz and Gary Oakley were All-PCC 1st and 2nd Team respectively. Wake Forest's Russell Hollins was All-Southern Stars 1st Team, but was beat out for Player of the Year by senior Duke point guard Frankie Liggett. 1. Baylor SWC SF Vernon Huss ***** 1 0 0 2 0 2. Washington PCC SG Pedro Six ***** 1 1 1 0 0 3. Illinois Big Ten PG Jerry Bussell ***** 2 0 0 1 1 4. Santa Clara Sun West C Elden Jimenez ***** 1 1 0 1 0 5. Purdue Big Ten SF Barney Williams ***** 1 0 1 0 2 6. Kansas State Big 8 PF James Beaton **** 0 2 1 0 0 7. Pittsburgh Steel Conference C Charles Evans ***** 1 0 0 0 1 8. Georgia SEC SG Blaine Deaver ***** 1 0 0 0 1 9. UCLA PCC C James Bolinger **** 0 1 1 1 1 10. Texas A&M SWC C Ray Guzman **** 0 2 0 2 0 11. Dayton Great Lakes PF Alonzo Nash ***** 1 0 1 0 2 12. Southern California PCC SG Daniel Creamer **** 0 2 0 0 2 13. Oregon State PCC SG Sergio Soler ***** 1 0 1 0 2 14. Holy Cross Atlantic Six PF Joseph McKnight ***** 1 1 0 0 0 15. Montana State Sun West SG Warren Apodaca **** 0 1 1 1 0 16. Georgia Tech SEC C Jacob Alleman **** 0 1 1 0 2 17. Vanderbilt SEC SG Dannie Byler **** 0 1 3 0 0 18. Kansas Big 8 PG Prince Wells ***** 1 0 0 1 0 19. Michigan State Big Ten PF Thomas Brown **** 0 1 0 0 3 20. Loyola-IL Great Lakes C James Lanham ***** 1 0 0 0 1 21. California PCC PF Hilaire Debouvines **** 0 1 1 0 1 22. Rice SWC SG Jamaal Love **** 0 1 2 0 0 23. Bradley MVC PG Julian Marshall **** 0 1 1 0 1 24. Loyola-Maryland Independent PF Michael Weinberger **** 0 2 0 0 1 25. Texas SWC PF Alfred Silvey **** 0 1 1 1 1 Montana was a shocking 80th in recruiting, which boded ill for their dynastic hopes, especially with the rest of the PCC performing so well. 1 Vernon Huss SF 6-5 Baylor Southwestern Conference 2 Charles Evans C 6-7 Pittsburgh Steel Conference 3 Blaine Deaver SG 6-1 Georgia Southeastern Conference 4 Barney Williams SF 6-6 Purdue Big Ten Conference 5 Charles Gish SG 6-3 6 Prince Wells PG 6-3 Kansas Big 8 Conference 7 Kristopher Harrison SG 6-1 8 James Lanham C 6-11 Loyola-IL Great Lakes Conference 9 Jerry Bussell PG 6-1 Illinois Big Ten Conference 10 Thomas Brown PF 6-9 Michigan State Big Ten Conference 11 Elden Jimenez C 6-9 Santa Clara Sun West Conference 12 James Bolinger C 6-8 UCLA Pacific Coast Conference 13 Kelley McKinney C 6-8 14 Charles Bennett PF 6-5 Richmond Southern Stars League 15 Blair Mock C 6-8 Illinois Big Ten Conference 16 Pedro Six SG 6-4 Washington Pacific Coast Conference 17 Rubin Dryer SF 6-5 18 Fred Short SF 6-7 19 Joseph McKnight PF 6-6 Holy Cross Atlantic Six Conference 20 Jeffrey Johnson PF 6-8 NON-QUALIFIER 21 Alonzo Nash PF 6-7 Dayton Great Lakes Conference 22 Cyrus Elgin C 6-9 NON-QUALIFIER 23 Warren Apodaca SG 5-11 Montana State Sun West Conference 24 Todd Davis SF 6-7 St. John's Empire Conference 25 Sergio Soler SG 6-3 Oregon State Pacific Coast Conference The Bobcats' stealing of Apodaca particularly rankled for some Grizzlies' fans, but the watchphrase heading into the season was "In Newton we trust, with all our gravity." 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Jestor Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 1949 Conference Movement Following their Sweet 16 appearance, Loyola-Maryland was invited to join the Atlantic Six, but the Greyhounds flatly refused, saying they were now quite happy to be independents. The rejection alarmed the conference, particularly since Georgetown, a Sweet 16 team themselves, as well as the Atlantic Six's reigning champion, was giving serious consideration to joining the academically stronger North Star. And in fact, that is precisely what the Hoyas decided to do, the temptation to join an elite academic league that had a Sweet 16 team of its own in Boston College too great to pass up. The Atlantic Six recovered by inviting NCAA second round independents Bucknell to the conference, who gleefully accepted. The New Universities Miami (FL) Providence Two new schools entered Division I play in the 1949 season, the University of Miami and Providence. The Atlantic Six, mindful of Georgetown's defection, was quick to snap up the Friars of Providence. Miami (FL) applied to join the Southern Stars, but was denied on the grounds that they were not considered academically strong enough, even though they met the private school requirement. This rebuttal caused considerable consternation, not only in Coral Gables, but in Williamsburg, where William & Mary, a reluctant founding member to begin with, felt ever greater misgivings at the league's elitism. The Tribe decided to stay for the time being, however, as their departure would mean the end of the conference. The SEC and Southern conferences had no interest in expanding and so, declining an invitation from the Pennsylvania-centric Steel conference and lacking the clout to convince a consortium to break away from the SEC and Southern to form a new league, the Miami Hurricanes opted for independent status their first season. Freshman To Watch - 1948 Recruiting Class #0 SG Blaine Deaver - Georgia - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-1 Weight: 177 High School: Carrollton High School Hometown: Carrollton, GA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 58 49 63 60 40 40 32 5 10 47 50 23 43 78 32 70 92 Potential: B B B A C C C F F C A D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 68 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Achievements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1948 High School: Rated ***** and #3 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1948 High School: All-State (Georgia) 1948 High School: Mr. Basketball (Georgia) 1948 High School: All-American Many believed Deaver was the next Newton Richardson and were very intrigued to watch his career with the Bulldogs. Regular Season Montana began the season as the clear-cut #1 preseason favorite, with 40 first place votes, but the Grizzlies would not hold their top status. But then again, corruption and misinformation still ruled much of the sportswriters' voting. Only the Top 3 prior to the 1948 tournament were considered legitimate by most (South Carolina, Loyola-Maryland, Montana) and it didn't look as though things would be improved much, if at all, in the NCAA's second year of play. Still, by March, Montana, Nevada, and Rice established themselves as the unquestioned Top 3 teams in the country, even in the sportswriters polls. A note on the Atlantic Six conference tournament: In order to preserve the legitimacy of the conference's name, only the top 6 teams were allowed to play in the tournament. This method of all but one was also adopted by the North Star after Georgetown joined, which suited both the original members and the new Hoyas just fine, especially after the 3rd seeded Hoyas knocked off 1 seed Navy 60-59 in the North Star tournament final for Georgetown's second straight automatic NCAA bid. Bucknell was also more than happy to have joined the Atlantic Six, as they not only won the regular season crown, but the tournament title as well, whipping 2 seed Holy Cross 68-45 in the final. Missouri also won their second straight automatic entry from the Big 8, although this time, it was as a much more legitimate 2 seed. Montana beat 3 seed California 81-56 in the PCC tournament final and looked locks to again be a #1 seed in the NCAA, while South Carolina narrowly beat Clemson in the Southern final to earn an automatic berth, although nobody thought the Game****s an elite squad that year. NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Montana Rice Arkansas Lafayette Two #1 seeds to the Southwest Conference was a stunning, but well-deserved accomplishment and the SWC further showed its muscle by having Baylor as a #2 seed. Clearly, they were the year's PCC. Returning NCAA Tournament members Arkansas Auburn Baylor Bucknell Cincinnati Colorado State Cornell Dayton Denver Duquesne Fordham Furman Georgetown (Sweet 16) Georgia Tech Harvard Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (Final 4) Loyola-Maryland (Sweet 16) LSU Marshall (Sweet 16) Mississippi Missouri Montana (National Champion) Navy Nevada North Carolina Oregon State Penn State Purdue (Sweet 16) Rice (Elite 8) San Francisco (Elite 8) Seton Hall South Carolina (Final 4) Texas A&M TCU USC (Elite 8) Villanova Washington Wisconsin 10 Sweet 16 returnees, 6 Elite 8 returnees, 3 Final 4 returnees, and, of course, the defending national champion Montana Grizzlies. UCLA's absence was the most notable, but absent Del Cruz, the Bruins had swooned to a 13-17 (9-9) record. First Round Upsets West #13 San Francisco over #4 Cornell #16 VMI over #1 Montana Midwest #12 Iowa over #5 Bowling Green #14 Michigan State over #3 Nevada #15 Washington over #2 Cincinnati South #12 Clemson over #5 Pittsburgh #14 Purdue over #3 South Carolina East #10 Western Kentucky over #7 Holy Cross #11 Denver over #6 Duquesne #12 William & Mary over #5 Fordham #13 USC over #4 Seton Hall #14 Niagra over #3 Texas A&M #15 Georgia Tech over #2 Maryland #16 Marshall over #1 Lafayette Yes, you're reading that right. The highest seed left in the East after the first round was #8 North Carolina and on top of it defending champion Montana lost 61-59 on the first day and two #16 seeds beat two #1 seeds in the opening round. It was the ultimate public relations disaster for the NCAA, who now had to hope the Tarheels could make the East region's Final Four representative respectable and that some other hero school would emerge in the other regions. Round 2 Upsets (Greater than 1 seed difference) West #13 San Francisco over #5 Navy #7 Auburn over #2 Baylor Midwest #15 Washington over #7 Duke #14 Michigan State over #6 TCU South #8 Furman over #1 Arkansas (by 1 point) #7 Penn State over #2 Bucknell #14 Purdue over #6 California East #15 Georgia Tech over #10 Western Kentucky #14 Niagra over #11 Denver Disaster compounded disaster for the NCAA. By the end of the first weekend, only #1 Rice remained out of the 1 and 2 seeds. This was somewhat mitigated by the fact that Loyola-Maryland, San Francisco, Rice, Loyola-Illinois, Purdue, Georgetown, and USC were all Sweet 16 returnees, although San Francisco, Purdue and USC's seeding gave the committee palpitations. Sweet 16 Notes #9 Marquette eliminated #13 San Francisco and independent #3 Loyola-Maryland broke past the Sweet 16 hurdle by downing #7 Auburn. #1 Rice survived an ugly game against #4 Loyola-Maryland 46-45, while #14 Michigan State absolutely crushed #15 Washington to set up one of the biggest Elite 8 mismatches in history. #4 Georgetown celebrated its North Star debut by advancing to the Elite 8 over #8 Furman, much to the fury of the Southern Stars, while #7 Penn State eliminated the #14 Purdue threat. #8 North Carolina continued giving the NCAA hope by toppling #13 USC, while #15 Georgia Tech awaited them after beating #14 Niagra. Elite 8 Matchups #3 Loyola-Maryland vs #9 Marquette #1 Rice vs #14 Michigan State #4 Georgetown vs #7 Penn State #8 North Carolina vs #15 Georgia Tech Independent vs Great Lakes, Southwest vs Big 10, North Star vs Steel, and Southern vs SEC. The NCAA wanted a Marquette/Rice/Georgetown/North Carolina Final Four, while most of the country was hoping to see the determined Greyhounds beat Marquette and were split among the rest. Marquette and Georgetown both won easily, as did Rice and North Carolina. In fact, the closest contest was the Tarheels' 72-60 win over the Yellow Jackets. Final 4 #4 Georgetown vs #9 Marquette #1 Rice vs #8 North Carolina After all the handwringing, the Final Four's sanctity was saved from double-digit seed crashing. Georgetown was the sentimental favorite of most of the country, as nobody took the Atlantic Six seriously and the Hoyas' promotion of sorts was applauded as being appropriately American. The NCAA, of course, wanted Rice. Rice won easily, smashing the Tarheels 74-49. But the Georgetown/Marquette game was a nailbiter, only secured after junior SF Cary Martinez nailed 4 free throws down the stretch, 8 of 9 from the charity stripe on the night, to send the Hoyas to the championship game on a 63-62 final. National Championship #1 Rice vs #4 Georgetown The Owls, by virtue of their Elite 8 appearance in 1948 and their title appearance in 1949, had quietly become one of the top programs in the country, while everybody was in love with the Hoya story. A competitive game followed, in which Rice senior forward Richard Cooper had the game of his life at just the right time, scoring 20 points, including the three point buzzer beater to give the Owls their first national championship by a score of 75-72. Player of the Year: SR PG Gregory Whisenant Georgia 9.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 8.8 APG 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PG Corey Willman Missouri 12.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.0 APG 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Charles Luna Maryland 21 - 10 (15 - 3) All-American 1st Team: C SR Chris Jones Wyoming 9.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.3 SPG, 3.5 BPG PF SR Jayson Holman Rice 12.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.4 BPG SF JR Wilfredo Gonzalez Dayton 21.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR David Nations North Carolina 26.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Gregory Whisenant Georgia 9.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 8.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-American 2nd Team: C JR James Lanham Loyola-IL 13.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG PF SR Melvin Pouliot Nevada 9.3 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG SF JR Brian Fernandez Baylor 17.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG SR David Peterson Western Kentucky 18.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG JR Newton Richardson Montana 17.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.7 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG All-American 3rd Team: C JR Hubert Vollmer Iowa 17.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.9 BPG PF SR Harrison McDonald Bucknell 11.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF FR Scott Halstead Rhode Island 20.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Garland Kyser Connecticut 17.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG SR Tyron Fix Georgetown 9.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 6.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-Freshman Team: C FR Jackson Swift Tennessee 11.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG PF FR Gilbert Monge Lafayette 12.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Scott Halstead Rhode Island 20.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Blaine Deaver Georgia 19.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Corey Willman Missouri 12.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG The Player of the Year choice was a shocking one, especially since the Bulldogs were a first round tournament exit, but the voters felt Whisenant epitomized the type of selfless, balanced play the ideal college man should bring to the court. Blaine Deaver, as you can see, had a terrific freshman year for the Bulldogs, although it was a mystery as to why neither he nor Scott Halstead won Freshman of the Year. 1. Illinois Big Ten PF Erick Garrard ***** 1 1 0 0 1 2. San Francisco Sun West SF David Urquhart ***** 2 0 1 0 1 3. Michigan Big Ten SG German Eccles ***** 1 2 0 0 0 4. Arizona Sun West SG Chris Applegate ***** 2 0 0 1 0 5. UCLA PCC SG Joey Young ***** 1 1 1 0 1 6. Auburn SEC PG Mark Cervantes ***** 1 0 0 1 2 7. Army North Star PF Donnell Schwarz ***** 1 0 0 0 2 8. Oregon State PCC SG Paul Gilmore ***** 1 1 0 0 1 9. Northwestern Big Ten SG Derrick Carruthers **** 0 2 0 1 1 10. Loyola-IL Great Lakes SF Harland Isaacson **** 0 2 1 1 0 11. Notre Dame North Star SG Alfred Franzen ***** 1 0 0 0 3 12. Alabama SEC SF Jerry Story ***** 1 0 0 0 1 13. Bowling Green MAC PF Don Schroeder **** 0 2 1 0 1 14. Western Kentucky Ohio Valley SF Cesar Humphries ***** 1 1 0 0 0 15. Wake Forest Southern Stars PF Elliott Dance ***** 1 0 0 1 0 16. Georgia SEC PG Donn Sadler ***** 1 0 1 0 2 17. Rice SWC PF Jose Baker **** 0 2 0 1 1 18. Columbia Ivy League C J.C. Nelson ***** 1 0 0 0 0 19. Pittsburgh Steel Conference SF Scott Gregory **** 0 2 1 0 0 20. Kansas State Big 8 C David Andrews ***** 1 0 0 1 1 21. Southern Methodist SWC PF Omar Davis ***** 1 0 0 2 1 22. Siena Yankee League SG Charles Wolfe ***** 1 0 0 0 2 23. Georgetown North Star SF Michael Isaacs **** 0 1 1 2 0 24. Virginia Tech Southern C James Ramos **** 0 2 0 0 2 25. Miami Independent PF Daniel Seal **** 0 1 1 1 0 The Hurricanes of Miami pulled off the biggest shock, getting a Top 25 class after an abysmal first year of play. San Francisco looked prime to continue its rise as a national power after grabbing the #2 class. Rice improved vastly over 1948 champion Montana by getting the 17th class to the Grizzlies' 80th. Montana, by the way, leapt up to 51st. 1 Erick Garrard PF 6-7 Illinois Big Ten Conference 2 Donnell Schwarz PF 6-5 Army North Star League 3 Mark Cervantes PG 6-0 Auburn Southeastern Conference 4 Jerry Story SF 6-4 Alabama Southeastern Conference 5 Antonio Leclair SF 6-7 6 Norbert Helmsteiner SF 6-7 NON-QUALIFIER 7 Alfred Franzen SG 6-3 Notre Dame North Star League 8 J.C. Nelson C 6-9 Columbia Ivy League 9 Elliott Dance PF 6-9 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 10 Godofredo Romero SG 6-4 NON-QUALIFIER 11 Charles Wolfe SG 6-2 Siena Yankee League 12 David Urquhart SF 6-4 San Francisco Sun West Conference 13 David Andrews C 6-7 Kansas State Big 8 Conference 14 Omar Davis PF 6-7 Southern Methodist Southwest Conference 15 Cesar Humphries SF 6-9 Western Kentucky Ohio Valley Conference 16 Paul Gilmore SG 5-11 Oregon State Pacific Coast Conference 17 Alfonzo Holman PF 6-6 NON-QUALIFIER 18 German Eccles SG 6-2 Michigan Big Ten Conference 19 Chris Applegate SG 5-11 Arizona Sun West Conference 20 Joey Young SG 6-2 UCLA Pacific Coast Conference 21 Donn Sadler PG 5-9 Georgia Southeastern Conference 22 Joshua Smart SF 6-6 Rutgers Empire Conference 23 Norman Smith C 6-11 Arizona Sun West Conference 24 Nicholas Botts PF 6-6 San Francisco Sun West Conference 25 Robert Byrum SF 6-5 Niagara Great Lakes Conference Two Top 25 players. There was little doubt indeed that the Dons were on their way to sustained greatness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHK1978 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I have to say that I am enjoying this diary thus far! I usually never read backstory but I did read this one and it was very well written. Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="28157" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I have to say that I am enjoying this diary thus far! I usually never read backstory but I did read this one and it was very well written. Keep up the great work!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Glad to hear you're enjoying it! <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> And I'll try.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 <p><strong>1950 Conference Movement</strong></p><p> Enticed by the Top 25 class, the Southern Stars extended an invitation to Miami, who was only too happy to escape the purgatory of the Independents. The blatant hypocrisy involved in this maneuver was the final straw for William & Mary, who applied to and was accepted by the North Star.</p><p> </p><p> With two additions in as many years to the North Star League, Notre Dame, which had performed poorly its first two seasons, began making noise about going independent. But when no one, not even Boston College, seemed to care what the Fighting Irish did, the Golden Dome went silent.</p><p> </p><p> Loyola-Maryland received numerous offers to join a conference, but the Greyhounds, still stinging over their initial failure to find a league, declared that they would stay independent until they chose to become the founding members of a new conference.</p><p> </p><p> As of yet, no league had clearly emerged as a power conference. Two years was too soon to start assigning a hierarchy.</p><p> </p><p> No new teams came into the fold for the 1950 season, although the NCAA confirmed that 7 new schools would be joining in 1951, thus likely signaling significant realignment.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>1950 Freshman to Watch</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><pre class="ipsCode"> #34 SF Jerry Story - Alabama - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-4 Weight: 237 High School: Gainesville High School Hometown: Gainesville, FL Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 73 35 60 31 57 14 27 24 56 34 6 28 51 47 58 46 63 Potential: A B A C B F C C B C F C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 26 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1949 High School: Rated ***** and #4 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1949 High School: All-State (Florida) 1949 High School: Mr. Basketball (Florida) 1949 High School: All-American</pre><div></div><p></p><p> </p><p> The story went that Story's ability to shoot from anywhere on the court foretold great things for his collegiate years.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Coach Movement</strong></p><p> Two seasons was enough to see 8 coaches get fired, including Notre Dame's. It was also the first time a head coach moved schools, as <strong>Brian Soler</strong> went from Duke and the Southern Stars to Georgia Tech and the SEC (8 prestige to 21 prestige) and <strong>Gus Seely</strong>, with 2 NCAA appearances at Baylor, moved to Loyola-Illinois (13 prestige to 24 prestige). A number of assistants also found head coaching jobs, ironically after getting fired, including two Georgia Tech assistants, who Soler fired to be able to bring in his own staff.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Regular Season</strong></p><p> Rice was awarded the preseason #1 and Montana, despite its shocking first round loss the year before, was accorded #2 on the strength of <strong>Newton Richardson</strong>'s senior season. Loyola-Maryland proudly ranked #3.</p><p> </p><p> By the beginning of March, the story was not that the sportswriters had a Top 5 of 20+ wins for the first time in association history, but that <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> had led his Grizzlies to <strong>an amazing 23-0 record</strong> before losing to California. It was the single best start in the young association's history, as astounding in its feat as Montana State's 10-22 record in winning its conference tournament for an automatic bid the year before had been.</p><p> </p><p> Other incredible storylines included <strong>Missouri winning its third straight automatic bid by winning the Big 8 tournament despite never having won a regular season title</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> Despite being a 10 team league, the North Star continued to hold to its 8 team policy and newcomer William & Mary nearly replicated Georgetown's feat from the year before. Alas, the Tribe, who won the regular season crown, fell short in the tournament final, losing 78-71 to 7 seed Navy.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Montana doubled on 3 seed Oregon, winning the Pacific Coast tournament 105-49, giving the Grizzlies a 31-1 mark before the start of the NCAA tournament</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> San Francisco won both the Sun West titles and hoped to finally get the respect of a single digit seed. The two new head coaches split in how they fared. <strong>Gus Seely</strong>'s Loyola-Illinois team finished second to Marquette in the Great Lakes and then lost to the Warriors in the championship final, while <strong>Brian Soler</strong> captured the SEC regular season title with Georgia Tech before falling to Auburn in the conference tournament final.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>NCAA Tournament</strong></p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">#1 seeds</span></p><p> Montana</p><p> Marquette</p><p> SMU</p><p> San Francisco</p><p> </p><p> A 31-1 team and former national champion in Montana, a last year's Final Four in Marquette, and a two-time Sweet 16, two years ago Elite 8 in San Francisco. It was great pedigree for the top seeds, although SMU was far below the other three.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Three Consecutive NCAA Appearances</strong></p><p> Arkansas</p><p> Auburn (1 Sweet 16)</p><p> Baylor</p><p> Bucknell</p><p> Cincinnati</p><p> Colorado State</p><p> Denver</p><p> Cornell</p><p> Dayton</p><p> Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Championship Game)</p><p> Fordham</p><p> Furman (1 Sweet 16)</p><p> Lafayette</p><p> Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final Four)</p><p> Loyola-Maryland (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8)</p><p> Marshall (1 Sweet 16)</p><p> Montana (1 National Championship)</p><p> Mississippi</p><p> Missouri</p><p> Navy</p><p> Oregon State</p><p> Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 National Championship)</p><p> San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8)</p><p> South Carolina (1 Final Four)</p><p> TCU</p><p> USC (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8)</p><p> Washington (1 Sweet 16)</p><p> </p><p> The Rice Owls, incidentally, were a #9 seed in 1950's bracket, in the West region with none other than Montana.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">First Round Upsets</span></p><p> <strong>West Region</strong></p><p> #13 Bradley over #4 Loyola-Illinois (so much for <strong>Gus Seely</strong>)</p><p> #10 Indiana over #7 Dayton</p><p> #11 Wyoming over #6 Colorado</p><p> <strong>Midwest Region</strong></p><p> #10 Valparaiso over #7 Minnesota</p><p> #11 Georgetown over #6 Oregon State</p><p> <strong>South Region</strong></p><p> #13 Marshall over #4 Wake Forest</p><p> #14 Wisconsin over #3 VMI</p><p> <strong>East Region</strong></p><p> #13 Holy Cross over #4 Illinois</p><p> #12 Auburn over #5 Maryland</p><p> #10 BYU over #7 West Virginia</p><p> #14 Army over #3 Furman</p><p> </p><p> Defending champion Rice bowed out in the first round, 55-47, to Navy, continuing a disappointing trend of underperformance first established by Montana. Although the upsets were considerable in the East, and a minimum #12 seed would advance to the Sweet 16 there, the NCAA was happy with the results of the first round and was even pleased to see the Hoyas advance. Meanwhile, the Big 10 continued its ability to both upset and be upset.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Round 2 Upsets (More than 1 seed difference as with all rounds, including first)</span></p><p> <strong>West</strong></p><p> #13 Bradley over #5 Colorado State</p><p> #10 Indiana over #2 Cornell</p><p> #11 Wyoming over #3 St. Mary's</p><p> <strong>Midwest</strong></p><p> #9 Washington over #1 Marquette</p><p> <strong>South</strong></p><p> #13 Marshall over #5 Drexel</p><p> #7 Miami over #2 Columbia</p><p> #14 Wisconsin over #6 Missouri</p><p> </p><p> On the one hand, all the upsets in the West seemed to clear the path for Montana's return to the Final Four. On the other hand, if the Grizzlies went down, a double-digit seed in the Final Four was certain. Marshall reprised its double-digit upset ways into the Sweet 16, much as it had done the year before, but the story everyone was talking about was <strong>Miami going from 10 wins in their first year of play to 22 wins a minimum Sweet 16 appearance in their second. The Southern Stars move was a great one for them, and so was that Top 25 class. It was the fastest year to year change in association history</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Sweet 16</strong></p><p> #1 overall seed Montana beat #13 seed Bradley by 20, <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> lighting up the stage with 27 points and 7 assists. They would face #11 seed Wyoming in the Elite 8, the Cowboys victors over the 10 seed Hoosiers.</p><p> </p><p> Baylor continued to show <strong>Gus Seely</strong> the error of his ways in moving to Loyola-Illinois, as the 5 seed Bears clawed 9 seed Washington 99-64 on senior PG <strong>Brian Fernandez</strong>'s 29 points and sophomore small forward <strong>Vernon Huss</strong>, the #1 overall recruit in 1948,'s double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.</p><p> </p><p> 2 seed Cincinnati hammered 3 seed TCU 84-59 thanks largely to two-time defending MAC Player of the Year <strong>Harold Bell</strong>, as the senior swingman put up 22 points for the Bearcats.</p><p> </p><p> #1 SMU survived a 70-69 scare from #13 seed Marshall and #7 Miami dispatched #14 Wisconsin 72-62, extending the Hurricanes' dream sophomore season.</p><p> </p><p> And finally, in the sweetest victory yet for the NCAA, the East region was all chalk, as top seed San Francisco made it back to the Elite 8, decimating Holy Cross 71-42 and rising power #2 seed Syracuse squashed #6 seed independent darling Loyola-Maryland by 30, again thwarting the Greyhounds' Final Four dreams.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Elite 8</strong></p><p> #1 Montana vs. #11 Wyoming</p><p> #2 Cincinnati vs #5 Baylor</p><p> #1 SMU vs #7 Miami</p><p> #1 San Francisco vs #2 Syracuse</p><p> </p><p> The storylines naturally favored Montana, Baylor, Miami, and San Francisco, but in the NCAA's view, any combination that resulted in the Cowboys going home was a winning situation.</p><p> </p><p> There was no way <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> was going to let his senior national title dreams die just short of the Final Four. He put on a masterful 24 point, 14 assist, 6 rebound, 4 steal, 2 block performance that still ranks among the best NCAA performances of all time for its completeness. Freshman small forward <strong>John Grass</strong> was inspired to score a career high 21 points and the Grizzlies buried the Cowboys 117-58.</p><p> </p><p> Cincinnati made it to their first Final Four, winning 70-65 over Baylor. <strong>Vernon Huss</strong>'s 18 points just wasn't enough to overcome the Bearcats' balanced attack.</p><p> </p><p> The most amazing one year turnaround in college basketball history continued, as the Hurricanes surprised #1 seed SMU 81-63. From 10 wins to Final Four team. It was as beautiful as it was unbelievable.</p><p> </p><p> Sadly for San Francisco, the Dons fell 60-51 to Syracuse. Just as in 1948, they got so close, only to be thwarted at the last step.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Final Four</strong></p><p> #1 Montana vs #7 Miami</p><p> #2 Cincinnati vs #2 Syracuse</p><p> </p><p> That Grizzlies/Hurricanes Final Four game became the most watched and most listened to contest in college basketball history to that point. It was the ultimate tale of a legendary player of a 35-1 team, playing for his final hopes of a repeat title, against the Little Hurricanes that could, who were the Cinderella sports story of the century, if not all of world sports history.</p><p> </p><p> Or at least it was the most watched and listened to until halftime. <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> put on another virtuoso game - 21 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds to just miss the triple-double again, and 2 steals. 92-51 the final and Richardson congratulated Miami after the game for having the kind of season no one could have expected from them.</p><p> </p><p> Cincinnati crushed the Orangemen 75-58 on the undercard, but few paid attention to <strong>Harold Bell</strong>'s 20 points, because everyone was abuzz about Richardson.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>National Championship</strong></p><p> #1 Montana vs. #2 Cincinnati</p><p> </p><p> The 1948 national title game was hyped because it was the first one, but if it hadn't been the first, few outside the Pacific Coast Conference region would have cared, given that it was an All-PCC final. </p><p> </p><p> The 1949 game didn't generate all that much buzz because while the Georgetown switching conferences angle was interesting, neither the Owls nor the Hoyas had anything truly compelling in terms of their players or their history.</p><p> </p><p> But the 1950 national title game was different. <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> vs. <strong>Harold Bell</strong> in the battle of the senior stars. One was recognized as arguably the greatest collegiate player ever, the other virtually unknown outside of the MAC despite winning Conference Player of the Year honors two seasons in a row.</p><p> </p><p> 36-1 against 31-6. The overall #1 seed taking on a #2 seed. And, perhaps most importantly, it was the first national championship that established a real West vs. East feeling that the lesser lights of the 1949 title game couldn't. Hence, it became the most anticipated of the three national championships to date, the betting heavy on the Grizzlies.</p><p> </p><p> What followed was a game that was back and forth until 4:14 in the first half, when, with the score tied at 28, <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> hit a dazzling 3 point shot. From then on, the Grizzlies never trailed, although the Bearcats would make run after run to stay close. But in the end, not even a stupid last-second foul by <strong>Jerry Lafontaine</strong> could keep Montana from winning its second national title in <strong>Newton Richardson</strong>'s senior year. The Grizzlies won 89-88 following the two Bearcat free throws to make it a one point final.</p><p> </p><p> Richardson concluded his career with 22 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal.</p><p> </p><p> </p><pre class="ipsCode"> Player of the Year: SR PG Newton Richardson Montana 20.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.9 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR C J.C. Nelson Columbia 12.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.5 APG 0.6 SPG, 1.9 BPG Coach of the Year: Britt Allen Southern Methodist 27 - 8 (10 - 2) All-American 1st Team: C SR Zachary Wilson Fordham 12.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG PF SR James Lanham Loyola-IL 14.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.9 BPG SF JR Cesar Humphries Western Kentucky 14.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG JR Frederic Ramirez Penn State 22.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Newton Richardson Montana 20.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG All-American 2nd Team: C JR Jerry Pollock VMI 11.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG PF SO Joseph McKnight Holy Cross 18.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG SF SO Vernon Huss Baylor 17.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SR Wilfredo Gonzalez Dayton 22.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Mark Cervantes Auburn 24.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG All-American 3rd Team: C SR Edward Drew Syracuse 9.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 2.6 BPG PF SR Brian Watson Army 16.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF SR Michael Romano Wisconsin 16.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG SO Jeromy Betz Bradley 16.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Gene Barnes Wyoming 17.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-Freshman Team: C FR J.C. Nelson Columbia 12.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.9 BPG PF FR Donnell Schwarz Army 11.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF FR John Grass Montana 12.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG FR Derek Mariano Creighton 13.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Paul Gilmore Oregon State 13.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG </pre><div></div><p></p><p> </p><p> How fitting, that <strong>Newton Richardson</strong> finally wins the National Player of the Year award in his senior season, on the wings of his second national title. The award will henceforth be known as the Newton Richardson Award, in honor of his accomplishments.</p><p> </p><p> A look back...</p><p> </p><p> </p><pre class="ipsCode"> PLAYER DETAILS #20 PG Newton Richardson - Montana - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-3 Weight: 204 High School: Darby High School Hometown: Darby, MT Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 48 55 89 97 84 100 35 22 41 51 31 60 84 100 41 79 66 1949: 45 52 84 92 74 90 34 20 38 48 29 56 84 100 39 77 58 1948: 43 48 77 85 63 79 33 19 35 44 27 51 84 100 37 76 51 1947: 42 47 75 83 60 76 32 18 34 43 26 50 84 100 35 75 43 Potential: C C A A A A C D C C D B Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 52 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1948 37 37 29.4 17.6 1.2 3.3 4.2 2.5 1.67 0.7 0.2 2.1 1949 33 33 28.4 17.4 1.3 3.5 5.7 1.4 4.00 0.7 0.3 2.5 1950 38 38 30.9 20.1 1.1 3.5 7.9 1.4 5.47 1.1 0.4 2.5 Career 108 108 29.6 18.4 1.2 3.4 6.0 1.8 5.47 0.8 0.3 2.4 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1948 5.7 12.8 .443 3.2 3.7 .868 3.0 7.0 .432 1.37 8.05 1949 5.6 12.7 .443 3.3 3.9 .852 2.8 6.3 .445 1.37 10.91 1950 6.8 13.9 .491 2.6 3.4 .773 3.8 7.9 .480 1.45 19.42 Career 6.1 13.2 .461 3.0 3.6 .832 3.2 7.1 .455 1.40 12.93 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1948 37 37 1086 650 45 121 155 93 26 8 78 1949 33 33 937 574 42 115 188 47 22 11 84 1950 38 38 1173 762 43 134 301 55 43 16 95 Career 108 108 3196 1986 130 370 644 195 91 35 257 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1948 210 474 118 136 112 259 298 1949 186 420 109 128 93 209 360 1950 259 527 99 128 145 302 738 Career 655 1421 326 392 350 770 1396 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 31 3 10 14 4 2 4 12 23 7 9 7 13 Career 35 5 10 14 4 2 7 12 24 12 14 7 13 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 56 1948 NCAA Champion 1948 1st Team All-American 1948 1st Team All-Conference (Pacific Coast Conference) 1948 Conference Player of the Year (Pacific Coast Conference) 1949 2nd Team All-American 1949 1st Team All-Conference (Pacific Coast Conference) 1949 Conference Player of the Year (Pacific Coast Conference) 1950 NCAA Champion 1950 National Player of the Year 1950 1st Team All-American 1950 1st Team All-Conference (Pacific Coast Conference) 1950 Conference Player of the Year (Pacific Coast Conference)</pre><div></div><p></p><p> </p><p> Although his records will no doubt be broken by someone next year who has played all four seasons, Newton graduates as <strong>#1 all-time in career points and assists, #2 in field goals made, #2 in 3 pointers made, and #4 in free throws made.</strong> </p><p> </p><p> On the other hand, his career points total for the Pacific Coast recordbooks may stay #1 for a long time and the same may be true of his career assist totals.</p><p> </p><p> But for now, let's salute and enjoy his marvelous career, which I've enjoyed almost as much as Mateen Yeaton's. In fact, I'm almost tempted to buy FBB just to follow his pro career, although I wish I could import into DDS:PB instead.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 1950 Top 25 Recruiting Classes 1. Southern California PCC PF Gregory Red ***** 1 2 1 0 0 2. Baylor SWC C Harold Mulvaney **** 0 4 0 0 1 3. Loyola-Maryland Independent PG John Simpson ***** 2 1 0 0 0 4. Loyola-IL Great Lakes PG Thomas Branson ***** 1 1 0 1 1 5. California PCC SG Larry Satterwhite ***** 1 0 1 0 2 6. Citadel Southern PF Max Williams ***** 1 0 1 0 0 7. Stanford PCC SG Edwin Aceves ***** 1 1 1 2 0 8. Mississippi State SEC PF Gregory Neace **** 0 2 3 0 0 9. Duquesne Steel Conference C Bennie Almond ***** 1 0 0 1 1 10. Rice SWC SG Ollie Serna ***** 1 0 0 2 0 11. Long Island Empire C Gregory Zendejas ***** 1 1 0 0 0 12. Mississippi SEC PG Graham Page ***** 1 0 2 1 0 13. Colorado Big 8 PG Marcos Velasco **** 0 1 2 1 0 14. Oregon PCC SG John Trinh **** 0 2 0 0 2 15. North Carolina Southern C Isidro Carlsen **** 0 2 0 2 1 16. Siena Yankee League SF Leland Forehand ***** 1 0 0 0 3 17. Davidson Southern Stars PF Jeffrey Johnson **** 0 1 2 1 0 18. Detroit MVC SF Harald Hornung ***** 1 0 0 0 1 19. Marquette Great Lakes PF Charles Medlock **** 0 2 0 0 3 20. Georgetown North Star SG Tracy Allen **** 0 2 0 0 0 21. Ohio MAC SG Eric Fernandez ***** 1 0 1 0 1 22. Southern Methodist SWC C Randal Bundy **** 0 1 1 1 1 23. Cornell Ivy League PF Lyndon Zeller ***** 1 0 0 1 2 24. Valparaiso Great Lakes SF Joe Simonds ***** 1 0 1 0 2 25. Texas Christian SWC PF John Rose **** 0 1 1 2 0 1 Gregory Red PF 6-9 Southern California Pacific Coast Conference 2 Larry Satterwhite SG 6-2 California Pacific Coast Conference 3 Max Williams PF 6-8 Citadel Southern Conference 4 Thomas Branson PG 6-0 Loyola-IL Great Lakes Conference 5 Bennie Almond C 6-8 Duquesne Steel Conference 6 Ollie Serna SG 6-4 Rice Southwest Conference 7 Harald Hornung SF 6-4 Detroit Missouri Valley Conference 8 Leland Forehand SF 6-8 Siena Yankee League 9 Robert Gates PG 5-10 10 Derrick Pettaway PG 5-9 11 John Simpson PG 6-2 Loyola-Maryland Independent 12 John Harrod PF 6-5 Army North Star League 13 Gregory Zendejas C 6-8 Long Island Empire Conference 14 Fermin Castillo SG 6-2 15 Daniel Leboeuf PG 6-2 16 Edwin Aceves SG 6-4 Stanford Pacific Coast Conference 17 Jermaine Nunez SF 6-4 Texas A&M Southwest Conference 18 Oliver Steele PG 5-11 19 Lyndon Zeller PF 6-8 Cornell Ivy League 20 Eric Fernandez SG 6-5 Ohio Mid-American Conference 21 Chris Yap SF 6-5 22 Aron Gormley PF 6-9 Loyola-Maryland Independent 23 Joe Simonds SF 6-6 Valparaiso Great Lakes Conference 24 Devon Tso PG 6-0 For once, the #1 player in the country truly did look worthy of his ranking. #35 PF Gregory Red - Southern California - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 243 High School: Poway High School Hometown: Poway, CA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 64 49 25 0 23 45 62 47 55 3 38 30 22 22 72 49 44 Potential: A C D F D B A B A F B C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 74 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 High School: Rated ***** and #1 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1950 High School: All-State (California) 1950 High School: All-American 1951 Conference Movement The 1950-51 offseason was the most contentious ever in the history of the fledgling NCAA basketball world. There were seven new teams, all in the West, scheduled to start play in 1951, and although the most sensible plan would have been to put them all in their own new conference, with no automatic tournament bid, a plan the schools themselves were willing to agree to, the NCAA refused to allow a new league while there were still so many conferences with just six members. This created a major problem, given the newcomers' geographic location, as the list below shows. 1951 New Members -------------------- Arizona State Houston New Mexico New Mexico State Northern Arizona Texas Tech UTEP The problem was further compounded by the fact that for the first time in NCAA history, the conferences were assigned prestige rankings. 5 prestige ---------------- Great Lakes Pacific Coast Southern Stars Southwest 4 prestige --------------- Independents Mountain States 3 prestige --------------- North Star Southern Sun West 2 prestige --------------- Big 10 MAC Missouri Valley Steel Yankee 1 prestige ---------------- Atlantic Six Big 8 Empire Ivy Ohio Valley SEC The Southern Stars' inclusion as one of the best conferences in the country was a triumph for the upstart, private school only league with high academic credentials. Unfortunately, their on-court success meant that Vanderbilt, who applied to join, was rejected, because the Commodores, who had just had their first .500 season in 1950, were not considered a good enough athletic addition. In truth, none of the new schools were considered good enough to join the West conferences already established, which made the NCAA's ruling all the more frustrating. As it was, the PCC and SWC were considering voting out Washington State and Texas respectively, the consensus worst teams in their leagues. Two things saved the Longhorns from SWC expulsion. First, they were a football powerhouse. Second, the Arkansas Razorbacks, who were a football giant in their own right, and a solid hardcourt team with three straight NCAA bids, threatened to leave if Texas was voted out. The Cougars had a much harder case, because of the following: 0 prestige schools (excl. newcomers) ------------------------------------ Akron Providence Washington State Furthermore, the only team to stand up for Washington State was their in-state rivals, Washington, who, while owners of three straight NCAA bids and two consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, were dwarfed in power and prestige by Montana, Baylor, USC and even UCLA, the Bruins still living off their 1948 NCAA championship appearance, despite missing the tournament the prior two seasons. In addition, the Pacific Coast was quite eager to add the University of San Francisco to their ranks, but did not want to expand to an odd number of teams. Nor did they want to expand to 12 members, because they saw what happened to the 12 member SEC, which was widely scorned nationally despite the presence of one-time Elite 8 school Georgia Tech. Real-life historical side note: The PCC would have been especially eager to land the Dons in this timeline because of how good the football team was. The biggest issue facing the PCC wasn't whether or not to remove Washington State. It was to find another replacement for Washington if the Huskies bolted as threatened. St. Mary's, the Dons' Sun West partner, generated a lot of discussion, as they were actually slightly higher prestige than the Huskies and made sense geographically, but the PCC couldn't quite bring itself to do it. Finally, the other members of the conference talked Washington into letting Washington State go. Montana pointed out that Montana State was not in the PCC and felt no qualms about it and USC and UCLA were positively thrilled to have theirs be the only major rivalry left. Losing San Francisco devastated the Sun West, which was downgraded to a 1 prestige conference and then lost Nevada, who successfully fled to the Mountain States. Saint Mary's, seeing this flight, went Independent, and just like that, the Sun West was down to just four members. Into the breach stepped all seven expansion schools, thus very neatly solving the difficulty created by the NCAA and making everyone happy, even new conference powerhouse Arizona, who gained an in-state rivalry with Arizona State. Despite Loyola-Maryland's protests, Washington State was forced to go Independent, as no conference was interested in housing a 0 prestige team and one that was a second-class team even on the gridiron. Unlike other conferences who found themselves expanding, the Sun West allowed all its members into the conference tournament, arguing that with so many newcomers, it would be unfair to restrict entry. And so the list of changes continued to grow. Conference Changes Georgetown ------------ Atlantic Six (1948) North Star (1949- ) Miami ------------ Independent (1949) Southern Stars (1950- ) William & Mary ------------- Southern Stars (1948-1949) North Star (1950- ) San Francisco -------------- Sun West (1948-1950) Pacific Coast (1951- ) Washington State ------------- Pacific Coast (1948-1950) Independent (1951- ) St. Mary's ------------- Sun West (1948-1950) Independent (1951- ) 1951 Coaching Changes Far more firings and hirings occurred this season than any other year in history. 21 coaches were fired, leading to a coaching carousel. Head Coach Switches -------------------- Bruce Loos - VMI to Texas -Took the Keydets to two straight NCAA tournament appearances before the lure of coaching in a power conference became too strong. Most considered, and rightly so, that he'd have his work cut out in Austin. Julius Durfee - South Carolina to Wake Forest -The Game****s looked worse each season, so Durfee cashed in on his 1948 Final Four appearance to take the job with the Demon Deacons before he got fired. Kieth Slayton - Auburn to George Washington -Three straight 2nd round or better NCAA appearances with the Tigers wasn't enough to keep him in the inferior SEC, so he jumped to the Colonials, in a better conference. Brian Leonard - Fordham to North Carolina State -Took the Rams to 3 straight NCAA tournaments, but never got out of the first round, so he got out of the lackluster Empire Conference while his stock was still high. Sammy Taylor - Cornell to VMI -Like Slayton and Leonard, three straight tournament bids with a school from a 1 prestige conference. Taylor sent Loos a postcard, thanking him for the opportunity to continue what Bruce started with the Keydets. James Geyer - North Carolina to San Francisco -The Dons' beloved Thomas Cotten retired and Geyer, despite missing the NCAA tournament last season, gets in because of his 1949 NCAA Final Four showing with the Tarheels and at 36, if he pans out, he could be here for a long, long time. Frederick Batson - Lafayette to Stanford -Another 3 bid head coach and similar to Durfee, Batson's Leopards squads appeared on the downswing. The Cardinal is another tough coaching challenge, akin to Texas in the Southwest. Burton Huber - Marshall to Boston University -Huber led the Thundering Herd to two upset Sweet 16 appearances, but he tired of the disrespect and so moved up the conference coaching ladder. Thomas Roemer - Colorado to Colgate -Two straight tournament bids with the Buffaloes, but the Big 8's lowly status meant they couldn't hang on to their man. Charles Luna - Maryland to DePaul -Credentials were identical to Roemer's and it was a powerhouse conference job that enticed Luna to leave the Terrapins. Sandy Medeiros - Syracuse to Niagra -The biggest shocker of them all saw the Final Four coach jump ship from the Orangemen, lured by the prospect of coaching in one of the nation's best conferences. Many considered this move a mistake for the 67 year old, even if he did stay in New York state. Gary Corder - Penn State to Washington State -Pressure was intense in Happy Valley after Corder's Nittany Lions went from Elite 8 to no tournament bid, so he escaped to Pullman where expectations were not only low, but the fanbase gave him a hero's welcome as a rare spot of bright news following a dismal offseason. 1951 Regular Season USC, thanks largely to Gregory Red, was voted the #1 overall team in the preseason poll. Defending champion Montana, despite the loss of Newton Richardson to graduation, still held the #3 spot. As always, the polls were largely a joke, much to the disappointment of those who hoped a conference hierarchy would lend credibility. On the other hand, the sportswriters had a legitimate Top 8 teams on March 1st for the first time in polling history, so progress, however slow, was at least being made with each year. There would be no 37-1 miracle repeat, however, either by the Grizzlies, or the #1 team in the country at the start of March, 23-3 Rice, the Owls back as a national power. Missouri won its 4th straight Big 8 conference tournament, this time as the #1 seed. In the newly configured Sun West, Arizona legitimatized its conference powerhouse status by capturing both titles, beating 3 seed Montana State 82-72 in the final. VMI showed no sign of slacking under Sammy Taylor, who led the Keydets to the double and a 60-46 win over 7 seed Virginia Tech. Miami proved its Final Four run the year before was no fluke, winning the double in the prestigious Southern Stars, its tourney title coming 73-64 over 2 seed Furman. 1951 NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Loyola-Illinois Rice Oregon State Georgetown This was the mostly heavily criticized group of #1s to date. Although nobody had problem with Rice or Georgetown, Loyola-Illinois and Oregon State over USC and Miami met with a firestorm of indignation. The onus would be on the Ramblers and Beavers to prove they belonged. 4 Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances Auburn (1 Sweet 16) Bucknell Colorado State Cornell Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Championship Game) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4) Loyola-Maryland (2 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Marshall (2 Sweet 16) Mississippi Montana (2 NCAA Championships) Missouri Oregon State Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (2 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8 TCU (1 Sweet 16) USC (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) First Round Upsets West #13 St. Mary's over #4 Texas A&M #12 Wyoming over #5 Arizona #10 Army over #7 Ohio #14 Marshall over #3 Auburn #11 Citadel over #6 Drexel Midwest #15 LSU over #2 California #11 William & Mary over #6 Marquette South #13 Kansas State over #4 Boston College #12 Davidson over #5 Holy Cross #15 Providence over #2 Miami East #12 Syracuse over #5 St. John's #15 Valparaiso over #2 Duquesne It was a tough tournament for the #2 seeds, but no upset was more shocking than that of the Friars over the Hurricanes. It was the sweetest victory in Providence's young history, made doubly so by the fact that they and Miami entered the league together in 1949. The Friars were in their first tournament and got their first win over a heavily favored squad. And of course, there was the problem of 3 guaranteed double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16, but the NCAA had come to accept this problem as one that would not go away any time soon. So long as the Final Four stayed pure, they were fine with whatever else happened. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West #14 Marshall over #11 Citadel South #6 Mississippi over #3 San Francisco East #15 Valparaiso over #7 Columbia The Dons' stunning loss to Ole Miss was both a boon to the SEC and an embarrassment to the PCC, who was not at all happy to see its newest member perform so poorly relative to their prior tournament successes. Marshall, on the other hand, had yet another double-digit upset Sweet 16 run. Sweet 16 The West had a #1 seed and #2 seed vs a #13 and #14 seed respectively, while the Midwest was double-digit seed free, #7 TCU the highest one remaining. The South had a 13 seed left, but the matchups everyone wanted to see were both in the East. #1 Georgetown vs #4 Loyola-Maryland and defending champion #3 Montana vs Cinderella #15 Valparaiso. Loyola-Illinois and USC set up a chalk 1 vs 2 Elite 8 matchup in the West. The Ramblers beat newly independent St. Mary's 68-49 via freshman phenom guard Thomas Branson's 26 points (#4 overall) and the Trojans dispatched the Thundering Herd 63-58 on senior center Orville Haddad's 14 point, 14 rebound double-double. Oregon State proved worthy of its #1 seed, besting Kansas State 63-52, and Mississippi continued its run, beating Detroit 76-75 in a back-and-forth thriller. Rice handled Xavier 74-63, courtesy of junior point guard Heath Walker's 27 points, while Bowling Green stoppered TCU's Elite 8 dreams, 66-63. Loyola-Maryland once again failed to break through the barrier, falling 66-56 to Georgetown because they had no answer to the Hoyas' sophomore Michael Issacs going 11/11 from the FT line en route to 20 points. Montana secured the dream matchup for the mass media networks, destroying Valparaiso 86-67. Sophomore forward John Grass, who'd played well as a freshman during the Newton Richardson-fueled tournament run the year before, led the way with 23 points and he was aided by junior Lorencio Diez's 20 points. Elite 8 #1 Loyola-Illinois vs. #2 USC #1 Rice vs #3 Bowling Green #1 Oregon State vs #6 Mississippi #1 Georgetown vs #3 Montana In many ways, it was the most exciting Elite 8 up until that point. For the first time in history, all the #1 seeds made it to the Elite 8 and a shot at an All-#1 Final Four. Even better, the only two champions in NCAA history were both present and everyone but Oregon State, Bowling Green, and Mississippi had been this far before. In short, it was the Elite 8 for everyone, whether you liked the traditional powers, cheered for Montana's dynasty to continue, or wanted to see a new champion. That one new Final 4 team would be there was certain and that was the winner of Oregon State/Ole Miss. Loyola-Illinois/USC was hyped because of many who thought the Trojans should be the 1 seed and Georgetown/Montana was a guaranteed draw because it was Montana against a former runner-up. The first day's games proved shockingly dull. Junior swingman Chris Berry had a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a block in Loyola-Illinois's 77-53 yawner over USC, vindicating the committee. Oregon State beat Mississippi 74-63 in an equally uninteresting game, although it did mean two #1 seeds to the Final Four for the first time since 1948. Much to the networks' disappointment, the Sunday games were no better. Rice ran over Bowling Green 84-59 and Georgetown steamrolled Montana 70-50 as John Grass played the worst game of his two year career, going 1 for 11. Meanwhile, Hoyas freshman guard Tracy Allen scored 20 points. Final Four #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #1 Oregon State #1 Rice vs #1 Georgetown For the first time ever, an all #1 seed Final Four. Much like the 1948 series, the Rice/Georgetown game, a rematch of the 1949 national championship, was considered the true title game, with Ramblers vs Beavers considered the undercard. Money was heavy on Loyola-Illinois, while it was a pick 'em for Owls and Hoyas. One blowout happened and it wasn't the one everyone thought. Rice once again tripped up Georgetown's championship hopes, the Owls shredding the Hoyas 69-47. But Loyola-Illinois and Oregon State was a classic. The Beavers led 44-34 at halftime and then freshman Thomas Branson led a fast and furious comeback that took the game into overtime. What followed was a sloppy extra period, with numerous traveling and shotclock violations, but in the end the Ramblers won 80-79. Oregon State sophomore Hugo Gabriel was the game's goat, committing the foul that gave Loyola-Illinois the two free thows needed for the win and, on the very last play of the game, with a chance to win it and be the hero, getting whistled for traveling. Corvallis was an unhappy place indeed the next fall for the young man. Branson finished with 21 points. Championship #1 Loyola-Illinois vs. #1 Rice Thomas Branson, the hotshot freshman, against a junior-laden Rice squad that was around for the 1949 title, including three-year starters center Ike Mahone, shooting guard Jamaal Love, and point guard Heath Walker, all three of whom had won All-Southwest honors the year before. The oddsmakers favored the experienced Owls heavily, as you might imagine. Unlike that 1949 championship game, this one generated quite a bit of interest, with some wondering if Branson was the next Newton Richardson. And then Chris Berry reminded everyone that he was still around. He scored 21 points and was named MVP as the Ramblers pulled off the stunner, upsetting the Owls 66-52. Loyola-Illinois spoiled the hopes of 4 rings among 2 teams. But in the process, they'd given rise to a new marquee star. Thomas Branson Awards National Freshman of the Year All-Freshman Team 3rd Team All-American Great Lakes Player of the Year Great Lakes 1st Team All-Conference Great Lakes Freshman of the Year Great Lakes Freshman All-Conference Player of the Year: JR PG Corey Willman Missouri 14.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.1 APG 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SG Thomas Branson Loyola-IL 15.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.2 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Ralph Penn California 22 - 10 (12 - 6) All-league 1st Team: C SR Jerry Pollock VMI 11.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG PF JR Joseph McKnight Holy Cross 18.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF JR Rubin Dryer Miami 19.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Randy Stott Wake Forest 16.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR Corey Willman Missouri 14.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C JR Gilbert Monge Lafayette 15.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF SR Charles Patnode Xavier 10.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.4 BPG SF JR Jeromy Betz Bradley 16.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.0 BPG SG SR Andrew Crouch Florida 23.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Gene Barnes Wyoming 17.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Ahmed Newman William & Mary 13.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 2.2 BPG PF JR Luke Harsh Texas A&M 17.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG SF SR Antonio Leclair Iona 18.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Thomas Branson Loyola-IL 15.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Wade Lee Missouri 15.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 5.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Bruce Turner Boston College 6.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Max Williams Citadel 12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF FR Jermaine Nunez Texas A&M 11.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Thomas Branson Loyola-IL 15.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR John Simpson Loyola-Maryland 15.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG Oh and one more thing. Newton Richardson was indeed the #1 overall pick, or at least projected by virtually every mock draft in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 Other 1951 Notes The most noteworthy thing about Loyola-Illinois's championship was the sweet revenge it provided Gus Seely. Seely, who was roundly criticized for leaving Baylor for the Ramblers post, especially after the Bears made it to the Elite 8 and Loyola-Illinois bowed out in the first round in 1950, could now savor the pleasure of a ring in a year when Baylor failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Making it all the sweeter was the fact that Thomas Branson, Seely's own recruit, played one of the biggest roles in winning that title. But even with the title, Seely still did not rank among the three coaches with over 100 wins after four seasons. That trio was instead: Mack Halbert - Montana Grizzlies - 117 wins The two national championships were, of course, a highlight. But besides the wins and the rings, what really made Halbert the most legendary coach in the country was the fact that his 1951 Grizzlies team became the first defending champion to get out of the first round. In fact, they ran all the way to the Elite 8 before falling to Georgetown in their first year without Newton Richardson. On the other hand, at 56 years old, Halbert was certain to eventually be passed by much younger head coaches when all careers were said and done. Frank Hill - Rice Owls - 105 wins Hill's record after four seasons was identical to Halbert's, save that Hill didn't have the second title that Halbert did. But then, the 36 year old Owls coach looked primed to have a long, illustrious career with Rice, one that appeared destined to reach the heights of personal and team dynastic success. Duane Edwards - Georgetown Hoyas - 103 wins Although Edwards didn't have the banners that Halbert and Hill did, the 37 year old had a national runner-up, a Final Four, a Sweet 16, and a second-round exit to his credit and looked to rival Hill for individual success. 34 year old Charles Henson of Loyola-Maryland also deserved recognition. With 90 wins under his belt and 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8 on his resume, he'd turned the Greyhounds into a national power, and, although he'd failed to break through to the Final Four to that date, his teams never missed the tournament's second weekend. 1. Wake Forest Southern Stars PF Henry Wolff ***** 2 0 1 0 0 2. Furman Southern Stars PF Rodger Gee ***** 1 3 0 0 0 3. La Salle Independent SF Norbert Helmsteiner ***** 2 0 1 1 0 4. Akron Great Lakes SF Robert Hagler ***** 1 2 0 1 0 5. Niagara Great Lakes SG Eric Saul ***** 1 2 0 0 1 6. Georgetown North Star C Darrell McDaniel **** 0 4 0 0 2 7. Miami Southern Stars PF Logan McDonald ***** 1 1 0 0 0 8. Rice SWC SF Michael Appleby ***** 1 1 1 0 0 9. Maryland Southern SG Willard Negrete ***** 1 0 1 0 1 10. Southern California PCC PF Alfonzo Holman **** 0 3 0 1 0 11. San Francisco PCC C Trent Towery ***** 1 1 1 0 3 12. Montana PCC C James Asberry ***** 1 0 0 0 4 13. Minnesota Big Ten PG Victor Roux ***** 1 0 1 1 0 14. Loyola-IL Great Lakes C Charles Mickle ***** 1 0 1 2 0 15. Valparaiso Great Lakes SG Alexander Volkman **** 0 2 1 1 2 16. Southern Methodist SWC PG Frankie Baker **** 0 1 2 2 0 17. Saint Mary's Independent PG Frankie Martinez **** 0 1 2 2 1 18. Marquette Great Lakes SF Darrel Balderas **** 0 2 0 0 1 19. Army North Star SF Haywood Howze **** 0 2 0 1 1 20. Richmond Southern Stars PF Billy Walling **** 0 2 0 0 1 21. Colorado State Mountain States SG John Steinbach ***** 1 0 0 0 3 22. Harvard Ivy League SF Gino Rickman ***** 1 0 0 0 3 23. Duke Southern Stars SG Sherman Nicol **** 0 1 2 0 1 24. Boston University North Star PG Jack Plascencia **** 0 1 1 0 2 25. Loyola-Maryland Independent PG Frank Mojica **** 0 1 2 0 1 A few things worthy of note about the 1951 recruiting class: It was Montana's first-ever Top 25 class. Miami also followed the astonishing inaugural 1949 25th recruiting class with a Top 10 class here and the Southern Stars overall, with 3 of the Top 10, including #1 and #2, were absolutely dominant on the recruiting trail. This bullet point was one which the conference, heavily criticized for its elitist attitude and its controversial founding, was especially proud of. 1 Henry Wolff PF 6-5 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 2 Rodger Gee PF 6-9 Furman Southern Stars League 3 Willard Negrete SG 6-3 Maryland Southern Conference 4 Sean Salters SF 6-4 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 5 James Asberry C 6-11 Montana Pacific Coast Conference 6 Dewey Perez SG 6-1 7 Logan McDonald PF 6-8 Miami Southern Stars League 8 Norbert Helmsteiner SF 6-7 La Salle Independent 9 Robert Hagler SF 6-5 Akron Great Lakes Conference 10 Leslie Hook PG 5-10 11 Cornell Szymanski PF 6-9 NON-QUALIFIER 12 Michael Appleby SF 6-5 Rice Southwest Conference 13 Joseph McAtee SG 5-11 14 Clarence Witter PG 6-1 15 Victor Roux PG 5-8 Minnesota Big Ten Conference 16 Frank Crawford SG 6-5 La Salle Independent 17 Tony Nielsen PG 5-7 18 Karl Poynter SG 6-0 19 Godofredo Romero SG 6-4 20 John Steinbach SG 6-3 Colorado State Mountain States Conference 21 Jonathan Hazelwood PG 5-11 NON-QUALIFIER 22 Gino Rickman SF 6-4 Harvard Ivy League 23 Eric Saul SG 6-2 Niagara Great Lakes Conference 24 Trent Towery C 6-8 San Francisco Pacific Coast Conference 25 Charles Mickle C 6-7 Loyola-IL Great Lakes Conference #32 SF Robert Hagler - Akron - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-5 Weight: 205 High School: North Ridgeville High School Hometown: N Ridgeville, OH Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 82 53 33 45 15 22 26 9 24 42 29 43 45 45 48 46 42 Potential: A B C C D D C F C B C B Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 85 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1951 High School: Rated ***** and #9 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1951 High School: All-State (Ohio) 1951 High School: Mr. Basketball (Ohio) At #9, the lowest featured recruit thus far. But Hagler was worthy of note, particularly because of where he signed. Remember, Akron was just one of three non-newcomer schools with 0 prestige at the start of the season and the Zips had just one double-digit win season in their history (11-19 in 1948). So this was an epic recruiting coup and the Akron faithful had extraordinarily high hopes for Hagler. 1952 Conference Movement It was the quietest year yet, but that didn't mean it was completely silent. Discussions arose around the idea of moving Syracuse to the North Star, who was hungry to raise its profile from a 3 star conference to an elite level. The Orangemen, who had three straight NCAA berths, including a 1950 Final Four appearance, in addition to strong academics, were just as eager to move to a better athletic and academic conference. But the Yankee League, widely acknowledged as the worst in the country, could not find a suitable replacement and, under NCAA regulations, would have to fold if it did not find a sixth member. Thus, the Syracuse move appeared dead. Until La Salle stepped in. Fresh off a mind-boggling #3 recruiting class, the Explorers desperately wanted out of the ranks of independents, long dominated by Loyola-Maryland. The Yankee League immediately accepted, entranced by that stellar class, and Syracuse was free to join the ranks of the North Star. Syracuse Yankee League (1948-1951) North Star League (1952- ) La Salle Independent (1948-1951) Yankee League (1952- ) Nevada* Sun West (1948-1950) Mountain States (1951- ) * - Although I mentioned it in the 1951 Conference Movement, I forgot to include it in the list of conference changes with the others, so here it is now. With this expansion to 11 teams, the North Star increased its conference games from 14 to 18, but still allowed only the top 8 teams to participate in the conference tournament. 1952 Coach Movement An unlucky 13 coaches were fired prior to the start of the 1952 season and although that was far fewer than the record 21 the year before, that didn't prevent a carousel. Head Coach Migrations Gil Scott - Citadel to Akron -Scott, after finishing around the .500 mark each of his three seasons with The Citadel, finally got them to the tournament last year, where the Bulldogs lost in the second round. This one-off success propelled the 54 year old Scott to the Zips, where he'll be responsible for Robert Hagler's development. Efren Bazemore - Army to Niagra -A year after Sandy Medeiros unexpectedly left the Syracuse Orangemen for the Purple Eagles, he just as suddenly retired after a disappointing 14-17 season. Enter 51 year old Bazemore, who took the Black Knights to the tournament the last two seasons and who has a reputation for being the most gifted scout and teacher in the game. Brian Suiter - Bowling Green to Nevada -An Elite 8 appearance and suddenly Suiter's bolted West, leaving the MAC for the more prestigious Mountain States, where he'd try to return the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament after a two year absence. Abe Esquivel - Michigan State to Utah -Esquivel's reputation was built on the Spartans' 1949 Elite 8 run and Michigan State's Big 10 conference tournament victory to make the NCAAs last season. Both screamed fluke and many fans were unhappy about the hire, particularly since Suiter had two winning seasons to Esquivel's one. Duane Edwards - Georgetown to UCLA -Hubris. That was the word that came to mind when the shocking news broke that Edwards was going to UCLA. He said in his press conference that he wanted to coach against the very best, like Mack Halbert, on a regular basis and this was his chance to do it. Bruins faithful were ecstatic with the coup of a hire and looked forward to a return to the 1948 season, where UCLA made the championship final and lost to Montana. The move was particularly important since the Bruins hadn't been back to the tournament since, and in fact had just season even .500 in the three years after their 1948 run in the first NCAA tournament. Gerald Heater - Duquesne to Georgetown -Although the 50 year old Heater wasn't considered an exceptional hire by Hoyas nation, he did have three 20+ win seasons and NCAA tournament bids to his credit. The problem was, he'd never taken the Dukes to the second weekend in those appearances. Brian Kinard - Bucknell to William & Mary -This was another surprising hire, as the Bison lost an alumnus head coach in Kinard. Four straight NCAA appearances as he took Bucknell successfully from independent status to Atlantic Six power. But like Heater, he never made it to the second weekend. Then again, neither had the Tribe, in spite of three consecutive NCAA bids of their own. Charles Cruz - Holy Cross to Citadel -Three straight 20+ win seasons and an NCAA tournament bid allowed Cruz to step into the Bulldogs' to spot, where his proven pedigree auguered well for Citadel to build on the prior season's success. Andrew Bouldin - Mississippi to Virginia Tech -The Rebels' Elite 8 run meant Bouldin was looking to move up to a better conference and the Hokies were happy to oblige the man who led Ole Miss to four straight tournament appearances, as the SEC was still considered an inferior conference. Marlon Norman - UCLA to Davidson* -Norman became the first ever fired head coach to land a gig successfully elsewhere in the same season, and thanks to his slick recruiting charm, he landed in another power conference in the Southern Stars with Davidson. Could he resurrect his 1948 magic with the Bruins? Signs pointed to no. Porter Gutierrez - Boston College to Richmond -This hire added further fuel to the North Star/Southern Stars rivalry. Gutierrez guided the Eagles to two NCAA tournament bids, but his accomplishments were overshadowed by the archrival Star conference angle and some older folks in Boston curse Gutierrez's name even to this day for what they called his treachery. It hurt even more that at 36, he was a young, up and coming coach. Andrew Brinkman - Detroit to Duquesne -A Sweet 16 run not only saved Brinkman's job, his first NCAA appearance, it also landed him a gig at a much better university in Duquesne. The pressure would be on him to make NCAA bids a consistent habit and prove that the trip with the Titans the year before wasn't a fluke. Scott Stowe -William & Mary to Duke -Like so many others, Stowe turned a three NCAA tournament appearance track record into a power conference job. The Blue Devils had just one winning season in their history, in 1949, where they'd advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in their lone postseason appearance. 1952 was not only the first time a fired coach immediately found a head coach job elsewhere, it was the first time assistants were directly promoted to head coach jobs at their school. Bucknell's Brady Smith, Holy Cross's Bruce Woodruff, Bowling Green's Herman Wilkinson, and Mississipi's Todd Foster all went from being assistants to head coaches after their mentors left for other positions. In addition, Youngstown State and Oklahoma hired alums Marquis Miele and Richard Sanabria respectively. Another close-connection tie came with Detroit's hire of Bill Miller, who not only was the assistant at Michigan State the four years prior, but was a Fowlerville, MI native. He'd gone to Alabama for his college education, however. 1952 Regular Season Loyola-Illinois ranked 7th in the Preseason Top 25. USC was #1, followed by Miami, Rice, Montana, San Francisco, Illinois in a total surprise, and then the Ramblers. As usual the polls were a joke for anything but the top 5 at the start of March, with #1 Rice, a surprise Bradley team #2, defending champion Loyola-Illinois #3, a resurgent South Carolina #4 and USC #5. Missouri won its 5th straight conference tournament by a single point, 68-67 as a 2 seed over 4 seed Iowa State. Bowling Green's Herman Wilkinson kept the magic going with the double, proving the university brass was smart to promote him, while the Falcons' old head coach, Brian Suiter, did the double with the Nevada Wolfpack. Brian Kinard showed he made the right move in leaving his alma mater by sweeping the North Star titles with William & Mary and Andrew Brinkman took Duquesne to both Steel conference titles, among the multitude of successes by the new coaches. Youngstown State alum Marquis Miele captured the regular season crown with the Penguins, but lost by 27 to 4 seed Louisville in the second round of the Ohio Valley conference tournament. NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Loyola-Illinois Bradley USC South Carolina Despite the #1 spot in the polls and winning the double, the Rice Owls were downgraded to a #2 seed, which enraged the entire country. It made no sense for them not to be a 1 seed. In happier news, Duane Edwards brought UCLA back to the tournament as a 3 seed in the West, although many considered the Bruins to be significantly overseeded. Georgetown earned a 4 seed in the Midwest. 5 Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (3 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Mississippi (1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Oregon State (1 Final 4) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) Down to 11 schools who had never failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Round 1 Upsets West #14 Georgia Tech over #3 UCLA #11 Dartmouth over #6 St. Mary's Midwest #16 Siena over #1 Bradley #13 Texas over #4 Georgetown #12 Wyoming over #5 DePaul #14 St. Joseph's over #3 Valparaiso #11 Manhattan over #6 Wichita State South #12 Louisville over #5 William & Mary #10 Kent State over #7 Idaho East #13 Columbia over #4 Loyola-Maryland #11 California over #6 Niagra Two of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history to date occurred this round. The first #16 seed over #1 seed since 1949's #16 VMI upset over defending champion #1 Montana was all the more shocking because Siena was 14-18 (4-6) and in their first ever NCAA tournament. The other stunner was 13 seed Columbia sending Loyola-Maryland home on the first weekend for the first time in the Greyhounds' history. And then of course, there was the decimated Midwest bracket, where only 2 seed Rice and 7 seed Youngstown State remained of the single digit seeds... and they played each other in the second round. Round 2 Upsets (Greater than 1 seed) West #9 Duquesne over #1 Loyola-Illinois #14 Georgia Tech over #11 Dartmouth Midwest #16 Siena over #8 Montana #14 St. Joseph's over #11 Manhattan South #13 Columbia over #5 Furman Two historic firsts occurred after the second round. For the first time ever, a #16 seed was going to the Sweet 16, after the Saints upended the most prestigious team in the country in the Montana Grizzlies. Also, 1952 marked the first time a region went all chalk in the Sweet 16, with the South sending 1 seed USC, 2 seed Virginia Tech, 3 seed Creighton, and 4 seed Wake Forest into the second weekend. Sweet 16 In a matchup of new coaches, #4 Nevada barely edged #9 Duquesne in a 64-63 thriller. #2 Citadel had a much easier time beating #14 Georgia Tech 71-64 on sophomore power forward Max Williams's 21 points and 14 rebounds. Siena's Cinderella run ended 59-47 at the hands of 13 seed Texas, the Longhorns grabbing 16 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks from senior forward Alfred Silvey. And then the sickening started in the NCAA's stomachs. 14 seed St. Joseph's stunned 2 seed, senior-studded Rice 62-60 on a buzzer-beater to guarantee a double-digit seed in the Final Four for the first time. 1 seed USC beat 4 seed Wake Forest 84-76, despite Demon Deacon freshman forward Henry Wolff's heroic 25 points and 10 rebounds. 2 seed Virgina Tech kept the chalk going, topping 3 seed Creighton 53-46 in an ugly game that once again denied an independent the Final Four. Senior big man Gerald Carey kept the Hokies going with the game of his life, netting 18 points and 12 rebounds. Chalk held in the South as well, with 1 seed South Carolina ending 13 seed Columbia's run 82-66, thanks in large part to senior Efrain Webb's matching 16s of points and rebounds. 2 seed Miami steamrolled 3 seed Bowling Green 92-65 as senior swingman Rubin Dryer, formerly #17 in his class and Texas All-State his senior year, a 1951 1st Team All-American, erupted for 31 points. Elite 8 #4 Nevada vs #2 Citadel #13 Texas vs #14 St. Joseph's #1 USC vs #2 Virginia Tech #1 South Carolina vs #2 Miami It was the first time two regions had held chalk through the Elite 8 in this already incredible, history-making tournament. The NCAA and television execs prayed for the Longhorns to win because of the lower seed and huge television exposure from the state of Texas. USC was the preferred winner over the Hokies. South Carolina-Miami was a toss-up, as was Nevada-Citadel, which featured a matchup of new coaches Brian Suiter and Charles Cruz. Texas did indeed save everyone's face, beating St. Joseph's 80-70 via 20 points a piece from juniors Coy Moore and Eddie Tinsley. South Carolina stopped the Hurricanes 71-62 as senior guard Augustus McCarthy scored 24 and sophomore center Henry Vaughn scrabbled out 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Citadel had all five starters in double-digit scoring, led by Max Williams's 22 points, but Nevada fired back with 26 points from junior big Silas Hopkins and 23 points from junior forward Luis Michael and the two classmates combined to send the Wolfpack to a 95-84 win and their first ever Final Four appearance. Virginia Tech-USC played out a similar story, Trojans junior 6th man Dudley Peters electrifying the crowd with 25 points in 26 minutes. Unfortunately for USC, the Hokies got 26 points from junior Joe Hudspeth and 22 points from freshman Ray Bassett as Virgina Tech once again thwarted the Trojans' chase for the Final Four by a score of 90-78. Final Four #4 Nevada vs #2 Virginia Tech #13 Texas vs #1 South Carolina Only the South Carolina Game****s had been this far before and as a matter of fact, they were the only one of the Final Four teams who had even been out of the first round before. As you might expect, then, the money was heavy on South Carolina to win it all. Virginia Tech-Nevada was a nailbiter, with no team able to command control. It finally panned out that the Hokies won 62-60, as the Wolfpack got just 5 points from their bench. Neither squad had a standout performance from any individual; it was all gritty team effort. And then the impossible happened. 13 seed Texas beat 1 seed South Carolina by a score of 73-38. That's right. The Game****s scored just 38 points and not one South Carolina player reached double-digit figures. They just couldn't get anything going and so South Carolina once more missed out on their chance at a title, while the Longhorns stampeded on to become the first 13 seed in the national championship game. National Championship #2 Virginia Tech vs. #13 Texas The whole state of Texas turned out for this one, a loud and rowdy crowd eager to send their Longhorns to a championship banner. The underdogs were the one saving grace for the networks, ironically, because nothing about the Hokies inspired viewing audience outside of Virginia. So it was that millions watched a dull, painful game that ended in a 68-45 final... for the 13 seed Longhorns. Although the partisan crowd and the state of Texas erupted in joyous raptures and celebration, everyone else couldn't help but feel cheated. The high scorer was Longhorn Eddie Tinsley with 13 points and just four players total reached double-digit scoring. It was a major disappointment, a flat ending and letdown to what had been one of the most exciting tournaments ever. Indeed, the only one smiling was Bruce Loos, the head coach who was called crazy for leaving VMI for the Longhorns. The year before, his first season in Austin, he'd taken Texas to their first ever tournament. And now, the two-year turnaround was complete. He gave the basketball Longhorns a ring, an event that raised the profile of the hoops program immensely, although it still had a long way to go before it rivaled football in the hearts and minds of Texans. Last year, Gus Seely with the first year first round exit, second year national title with his new team. This season, Bruce Loos followed that same route with Texas. Who else was following that same exact path? Duane Edwards, head coach of the UCLA Bruins. Gamblers immediately started betting on UCLA as 1953 champions. Player of the Year: JR C J.C. Nelson Columbia 17.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.1 APG 0.8 SPG, 3.6 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PF Henry Wolff Wake Forest 15.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 APG 0.5 SPG, 2.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Charles Luna DePaul 20 - 12 (7 - 5) All-league 1st Team: C JR J.C. Nelson Columbia 17.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 3.6 BPG PF SR Jacob Alleman Georgia Tech 16.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.7 BPG SF SR Rubin Dryer Miami 18.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Davis Patterson Bradley 17.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 2.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG SR Corey Willman Missouri 13.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Ike Mahone Rice 17.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 3.5 BPG PF SO Max Williams Citadel 17.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG SF SR Vernon Huss Baylor 18.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG SG JR Alfred Franzen Notre Dame 19.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.0 BPG PG SR Heath Walker Rice 16.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Bennie Almond Duquesne 11.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.6 BPG PF SR Luke Harsh Texas A&M 19.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG SF SR Joseph McDonald William & Mary 13.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG SG SO John Simpson Loyola-Maryland 18.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Jeromy Betz Bradley 18.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Darrell McDaniel Georgetown 8.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Henry Wolff Wake Forest 15.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.1 BPG SF FR Gino Rickman Harvard 19.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Wilbur Diller Furman 15.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Frankie Baker Southern Methodist 10.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG A look back at the 1948 Featured Freshman, Georgia Bulldog Blaine Deaver: #0 SG Blaine Deaver - Georgia - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-1 Weight: 185 High School: Carrollton High School Hometown: Carrollton, GA Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 77 63 74 81 57 57 43 7 13 61 80 32 43 82 38 74 100 1951: 76 62 73 76 52 52 41 7 12 60 73 29 43 80 36 73 100 1950: 68 58 72 70 47 47 37 6 11 56 65 27 43 80 35 72 100 1949: 62 53 67 64 42 42 34 5 10 51 56 25 43 80 34 71 100 1948: 58 49 63 60 40 40 32 5 10 47 50 23 43 78 32 70 92 Potential: B B B A C C C F F C A D Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 68 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1949 32 32 31.7 19.2 1.6 2.8 1.5 2.8 0.54 1.5 0.2 3.2 1950 31 31 31.4 17.7 1.3 2.4 2.2 2.4 0.93 1.7 0.1 3.0 1951 33 33 31.2 17.7 1.6 2.8 2.6 3.1 0.83 1.8 0.2 3.3 1952 29 29 29.7 21.2 1.4 2.9 2.4 2.9 0.82 1.4 0.1 3.1 Career 125 125 31.0 18.9 1.5 2.7 2.2 2.8 0.82 1.6 0.2 3.2 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1949 7.3 16.0 .456 2.5 3.4 .718 2.2 5.9 .363 1.20 5.00 1950 6.2 14.2 .437 3.4 4.9 .695 1.9 5.5 .347 1.25 2.35 1951 6.0 15.4 .389 3.8 4.9 .770 1.9 5.1 .379 1.15 -3.88 1952 7.6 16.4 .461 3.1 4.7 .654 2.9 6.3 .462 1.29 -0.03 Career 6.7 15.5 .435 3.2 4.5 .711 2.2 5.7 .388 1.22 0.83 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1949 32 32 1013 614 50 91 48 89 48 7 103 1950 31 31 974 548 41 74 68 73 54 4 93 1951 33 33 1029 584 52 91 85 103 60 6 110 1952 29 29 860 614 42 83 69 84 42 4 89 Career 125 125 3876 2360 185 339 270 349 204 21 395 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1949 233 511 79 110 69 190 160 1950 192 439 105 151 59 170 73 1951 198 509 124 161 64 169 -128 1952 220 477 89 136 85 184 -1 Career 843 1936 397 558 277 713 104 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 36 3 8 6 4 1 6 13 25 8 15 6 13 Career 36 6 10 7 7 2 8 13 27 10 15 6 13 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 28 1948 High School: Rated ***** and #3 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1948 High School: All-State (Georgia) 1948 High School: Mr. Basketball (Georgia) 1948 High School: All-American 1949 Freshman All-American 1949 2nd Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1949 Freshman All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1949 Conference Freshman of the Year (Southeastern Conference) 1950 1st Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1952 1st Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) Deaver graduates #1 in points scored in school history by a wide margin. His 2360 points is more than double of second-place Edmond Farmer, who had 893 points. He's also 5th in Georgia career rebounds, 2nd in offensive rebounds and assists, 1st in steals (over double margin - 204 vs Farmer's 98) and 5th in blocks. He's also first in points scored in SEC history, LSU's Michael Thebault 2nd with 1,751 points, 8th in assists, and tied for 1st in steals with Kentucky's Gavin Feltner. Nationally, Deaver ranks 2nd all-time in points scored behind Clemson's Mark Sevilla and tied for 3rd all-time in steals. And yet, despite all these accomplishments, the Bulldogs didn't do so well during Blaine's time on campus. Although Georgia went 18-14 and made the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history his freshman year, the following three seasons were marked with losing records, including a school-worst 10-23 in 1951, his junior year. His senior season, Georgia was 14-17 (10-10), only the second .500 or better SEC record in the program's history. 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Astil Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 This... is all kinds of awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 19, 2010 Author Share Posted June 19, 2010 Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I apologize for not having updated lately; things have been quite hectic here and will be for at least the next week/week and a half. I'll get one in now, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 19, 2010 Author Share Posted June 19, 2010 1952 Top Recruiting Classes 1. Niagara Great Lakes C Joe Newkirk ***** 2 3 0 0 0 2. Wake Forest Southern Stars PG Delbert Nick ***** 3 0 0 0 0 3. Marquette Great Lakes SG Mark Barr ***** 1 2 2 0 0 4. Southern California PCC C Larry Dykes ***** 2 1 1 1 0 5. San Francisco PCC PF Antony Lind ***** 1 3 0 0 0 6. Montana PCC SF Theodore Brennan ***** 1 2 0 0 0 7. Davidson Southern Stars C Don Haywood **** 0 2 3 0 0 8. Wyoming Mountain States SF Randall Federico ***** 1 2 0 0 0 9. California PCC PF Arthur Rollins **** 0 2 1 0 0 10. Richmond Southern Stars SG Arthur Neel ***** 1 0 0 1 0 11. Texas A&M SWC SG Octavio Perez ***** 1 0 1 1 1 12. DePaul Great Lakes PG Anderson Allen ***** 1 1 0 0 0 13. Citadel Southern SF Terry Jack ***** 1 0 1 0 1 14. Boston College North Star PG Gerry Bailey **** 0 3 0 0 2 15. Dayton Great Lakes SG Amos Nunnally **** 0 1 3 1 0 16. Rice SWC C Franklin Winchester **** 0 2 1 0 0 17. Minnesota Big Ten C Isidro Sly ***** 1 0 1 1 1 18. Army North Star SF Charles Michell ***** 1 0 1 0 2 19. Miami Southern Stars SG Albert Johnson **** 0 2 3 0 0 20. Saint Mary's Independent C Don Blum **** 0 2 0 1 0 21. Syracuse North Star SG Samual Helwig **** 0 2 1 0 2 22. Pittsburgh Steel Conference PF Scott Heilman ***** 1 0 0 2 1 23. Texas Christian SWC SG Kerry Moore ***** 1 0 0 2 0 24. Iona Atlantic Six PG Eldridge Teague ***** 1 0 0 0 2 25. Oregon PCC C Rocky Avalos **** 0 1 2 0 1 1 Delbert Nick PG 6-0 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 2 Arthur Neel SG 6-6 Richmond Southern Stars League 3 Mark Barr SG 6-3 Marquette Great Lakes Conference 4 Terry Jack SF 6-9 Citadel Southern Conference 5 Joe Newkirk C 6-9 Niagara Great Lakes Conference 6 Larry Dykes C 6-6 Southern California Pacific Coast Conference 7 Randall Federico SF 6-8 Wyoming Mountain States Conference 8 Anderson Allen PG 5-11 DePaul Great Lakes Conference 9 Octavio Perez SG 6-2 Texas A&M Southwest Conference 10 Theodore Brennan SF 6-6 Montana Pacific Coast Conference 11 Kerry Moore SG 6-2 Texas Christian Southwest Conference 12 Eldridge Teague PG 5-7 Iona Atlantic Six Conference 13 Charles Michell SF 6-4 Army North Star League 14 Manual Crawford PF 6-10 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 15 David Kempf SG 6-3 Niagara Great Lakes Conference 16 Scott Heilman PF 6-10 Pittsburgh Steel Conference 17 Joshua Casarez PG 6-2 Southern California Pacific Coast Conference 18 Antony Lind PF 6-8 San Francisco Pacific Coast Conference 19 Phillip Heine PG 6-0 Wake Forest Southern Stars League 20 Adam Delebecque SF 6-7 21 Patrick Butts SF 6-8 22 Fritz Anderson PG 5-10 23 Isidro Sly C 6-8 Minnesota Big Ten Conference 24 Scott Leslie SF 6-7 25 Thomas Beggs SG 6-0 Featured Recruit #25 SG Arthur Neel - Richmond - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-6 Weight: 187 High School: Spingarn High School Hometown: Washington, DC Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 69 78 75 85 35 34 9 22 15 29 34 42 33 75 45 92 44 Potential: A A A A B C F D D D B C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 29 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1952 High School: Rated ***** and #2 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1952 High School: All-State (District of Columbia) 1952 High School: Mr. Basketball (District of Columbia) Seel was hailed for his ability to shoot from literally anywhere on the court and it was only his questionable academics that prevented him from being named an All-American and the #1 overall recruit in the nation. In any case, provided he could keep his grades straight at a Southern Stars school, he stood a good chance of becoming truly legendary. It was no surprise that the Pacific Coast dominated recruiting, for they did the same in terms of national prestige after five years of NCAA play. 1952-53 Top 20 Most Prestigious Schools --------------------------------------- 1. Montana* - 68 2. Rice@ - 63 3. Loyola-Illinois$ - 60 4. San Francisco* - 56 5. USC* - 53 T6. Loyola-Maryland% - 50 T6. Marquette$ - 50 8. Furman# - 48 9. Georgetown^ - 47 10. Miami# - 46 11. Oregon State - 44 T12. South Carolina& - 43 T12. Wyoming= - 43 14. Wake Forest# - 42 T15. Baylor@ - 41 T15. TCU@ - 41 T17. California* - 40 T17. SMU@ - 40 19. Dayton$ - 39 20. Valparaiso$ - 38 * - Pacific Coast @ - Southwest $ - Great Lakes % - Independent # - Southern Stars ^ - North Star & - Southern = - Mountain West Three of the Top 5 schools, all from the Pacific Coast, not to mention two national titles in the person of Montana. 1953 Conference Movement Two more Western schools joined for the 1953 season, Gonzaga and San Jose State. The most obvious solution would have been to put them in the Sun West, but that would've turned the conference into a 13 member behemoth and the nation's largest. The NCAA didn't want one of its worst conferences to also be its biggest. Arizona, the Sun West's most prestigious school, and Santa Clara, fast-rising with two straight NCAA bids and the only Sun West team to get to the second round, were the natural candidates for relocation. But the Wildcats did not want to move from their position as kings of the conference to accept a mid-tier spot elsewhere, and the Broncos' pedigree was not established enough for the other western conferences. Furthermore, Arizona enjoyed being in the same conference as Arizona State and Northern Arizona. As a result, the Bulldogs and Spartans were forced to go independent. Just when it seemed that for the first time ever, no teams would be changing conferences, the independent Creighton Blue Jays got calls from the Big 8, the Missouri Valley, and the Ohio Valley. The MVC was the most prestigious of the three conferences, so it was a no-brainer for Creighton to move there. This led Detroit, alarmed at the westward shift, to apply to join the Great Lakes, but the Titans were rejected as not being worthy of joining one of the nation's top conferences. Fortunately, Detroit was able to make a lateral move into the MAC, a conference that fit them much better geographically. Creighton Independent (1948-1952) Missouri Valley (1953- ) Detroit Missouri Valley (1948-1952) Mid-American (1953- ) 1953 Coach Movement A comparatively low 14 coaches were pinkslipped, but that didn't mean a slow carousel, as there were a few surprising hires. Abram Lindberg - Purdue to Gonzaga Despite having no West Coast ties and three NCAA appearances in five seasons with the Boilermakers, the 38 year old Lindberg jumped ship to the newcomer Bulldogs. On the other hand, it wasn't so strange as it first looked. Despite leading Purdue to two straight Sweet 16 appearances his first two seasons, things were getting mighty hot in West Lafayette with only a first round exit in the three seasons since, so Lindberg cleared out while the getting was good. Carlo Bloch - Connecticut to San Jose State A Sweet 16 appearance his first year and an increasingly worse performance since. Two barely above .500 records, followed by two sub-.500 seasons. Like Lindberg, the 38 year old Bloch faced serious pressure in Storrs and figured the time was right to move while he had a chance. Dong White - St. Joseph's to Creighton Two years ago, White, 38, was in danger of losing his job after two of three seasons with not even so much as 10 wins. Now, after two NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 showing last season, he's become a hot commodity and moves from the Atlantic Six to the Missouri Valley, joining new conference member Creighton, where he'll be expected to continue the quietly proud Blue Jay tradition. Kent Garza - Bradley to Denver Never had a losing season with the Braves, and made it to the NCAAs four out of five years, with a Sweet 16 appearance to his credit. Can he have the same type of success with the Pioneers, who despite three NCAA appearances from 1948-1950, have never made it to the second weekend and who are largely an average team? Jerrell Hemphill - Arizona to Lehigh The 67 year old has never taken the Wildcats past the first round in four appearances, but just an NCAA appearance at all would thrill the Mountain Hawks fanbase, because Lehigh's never gone dancing. In fact, they're on their third coach in six seasons. Tom Smith - Columbia to West Virginia The Ivy League's been a graveyard for coaches, which makes Smith's move not shocking in the least, despite leading the Lions to the first-ever Sweet 16 showing for the league last season, part of three straight NCAA bids for Columbia. He'll have a hard task building a Mountaineers program that has only one winning season so far, a fluke 19-14 1950 NCAA one and done appearance. Columbia retained Brad Hammack, the scouting director, as their new head coach and Connecticut did the same with Leon Bennett, the Huskies' top assistant for the last five years. 1953 Regular Season Despite the Gus Seely Principle, Duane Edwards's UCLA squad was not the preseason #1. That distinction belonged to Pacific Coast rival USC. The Bruins did rank #19 in the preseason Top 25, however, one spot ahead of the defending champion Texas Longhorns. The start of March saw the most respectable polls in NCAA history to that point, with the Top 11 teams all valid entries, headed by #1 Virginia Tech, who had come out of nowhere to have a 26-2 season to that point, validating the Hokies' appearance in the lackluster championship the year before. For the sixth year in a row, the Missouri Tigers won the Big 8 tournament title, this time a #1 seed, 80-73 over #6 seed Iowa State. Denver celebrated its first ever double, winning both the regular season Mountain States title and the tournament title, as new head coach Kent Garza continued his unbroken string of winning seasons. Duane Edwards and his Bruins won the regular season Pacific Coast title, but lost in the conference tournament to eventual champion California, thus ruining all hope of a top seed in the NCAA tournament. 1953 NCAA Tournament #1 Seeds Loyola-Illinois Rice Virginia Tech Valparaiso No dispute over the top seeds in 1953, as it was considered a very strong group, good enough to possibly go all chalk, even though the Owls lost so many seniors to graduation. 6 Consecutive NCAA Appearances Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (3 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Oregon State (1 Final 4) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8) In case you need further proof of the Pacific Coast's dominance, 4 of the remaining 10 schools to always have made the NCAA tournament were from that conference. Round 1 Upsets West #14 Arizona over #3 TCU South #14 Cornell over #3 Creighton East #13 Davidson over #4 USC #14 Virginia over #3 Denver #11 Loyola-Maryland over #6 Army It was the least upset-filled first round in history, with the Midwest having no true upsets, only #9 Marquette over #8 Northwestern preventing a total high seeds sweep. The 3 seeds fared poorly, but the general consensus was they were all overrated. How ironic for Jerrell Hemphill that the year he leaves Tucson is the one the Wildcats finally break through to the second round. 2nd Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) Midwest #7 Drake over #2 Furman The NCAA selection committee was thrilled with the results of the first weekend. #11 Loyola-Maryland was the only double-digit seed remaining and the independent Greyhounds always made an entertaining story as they fought to try and break into the Final Four. Without a doubt, the second round's most thrilling game was #3 Montana and #6 Dayton, the Grizzlies edging the Flyers 80-79 on senior John Grass's 22 points and 10 rebounds. Newton Richardson he was not, but Grass had learned a lot from the Grizzlies' hero about how to lead a team and now Montana was back in the second weekend. Sweet 16 #1 seed Loyola-Illinois topped #4 seed Citadel 85-73 thanks to junior Thomas Branson's 11 points and 11 assists. Branson, you may recall, was the 1951 tournament's star freshman, and although he didn't make noise his sophomore year, he was back in form in his third season for the Ramblers. The Gus Seely Principle fell to the wayside as the #6 seed Nevada Wolfpack proved last season's Final Four run no fluke in stunning the 2 seed UCLA Bruins 80-63. Senior forward Luis Michael led the way with 24 points and 7 rebounds. #1 Rice fended over #4 Wyoming 68-65 and #7 Drake continued their mini-Cinderella run, stopping #3 Montana 80-58 with brilliant team defense and 23 points from senior guard John Loudermilk. #1 Virginia Tech continued the top seed wins, beating 4 seed SMU 70-63, senior center James Ramos doubling for 10 points and 16 rebounds. 2 seed Wake Forest advanced to face the Ramblers by winning over 6 seed William & Mary 64-56. Senior forward Elliott Dance provided the steps with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Demon Deacons. Loyola-Maryland's run for the Final Four once again finished in frustration, as the Greyhounds lost 56-61 to 2 seed Georgia Tech and senior Grady Royston's 21 points. Georgetown prevented the possibility of an all 1 seed Final Four, knocking off Valparaiso 73-58. Elite 8 #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #6 Nevada #1 Rice vs #7 Drake #1 Virginia Tech vs #2 Wake Forest #5 Georgetown vs #2 Georgia Tech It was a good mixture of traditional powers, up-and-comers, and new entrants, one that promised an exciting conclusion to the tournament. Junior-college transfer Harold Gallant stole the show, scoring 25 points and getting 3 steals in Loyola-Illinois's 85-64 laugher over the Wolfpack, but Thomas Branson was a highlight himself, with 19 points and 9 assists. Demon Deacons senior sub Vladimir Sykora had the game of his life with 24 points, but Virginia Tech won 68-67 thanks to a Charles Bellinger steal, followed by an offensive rebound when the insurance shot failed. The Hokies also were aided by 20 points from junior Jacob Burrell and double-doubles from senior post men James Ramos (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Bellinger (13 points, 12 rebounds). Rice rode senior big Jose Baker's 12 points and 10 rebounds to a 72-65 win over Drake, while Georgia Tech used a balanced offense to thwart Georgetown 68-61. Final Four #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #1 Virginia Tech #1 Rice vs #2 Georgia Tech Unlike last season, where three of the four entrants were entirely new to the championship series, only the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech were novices. With Loyola-Illinois and Virginia Tech battling, the national title game would have at least one old hand and with Rice in the other half, a Loyola-Illinois/Rice championship match would guarantee the country's first two-time champion since Montana. Loyola-Illinois did its part in the drive to keep the banner club exclusive, winning 79-72. Thomas Branson put on a fantastic 28 point, 9 assist, 5 rebound, 2 steal game and Harold Gallant again formed a dynamic duo with him, scoring 25 points with 2 steals. The other game was much less exciting, Grady Royston's 23 points taking Georgia Tech to an easy 81-65 win over Rice. Championship Game #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #2 Georgia Tech Thomas Branson and Harold Gallant vs Grady Royston. The bookies heavily favored the Ramblers to reprise their 1951 title, as you can imagine, but the Yellow Jackets were determined to say otherwise. A tense, back and forth game ensued, with lead changes and runs galore. It all boiled down to 1:03 on the clock and Thomas Branson stepping up to the free throw line. The score - Georgia Tech 80 Loyola-Illinois 78. First one - swish. Second one... clunk. Yellow Jacket Andres Thompson grabbed the board and Tech played keep-away. Harold Gallant made a desperation foul with 12 seconds left and although Georgia Tech missed both free throws, it came too late for the Ramblers to even get a shot off. No Newton Richardson was Thomas Branson indeed, despite his 17 points and 8 assists and Harold Gallant's 20 points before fouling out. Grady Royston scored 18, but it was really sophomore reserve Wilfredo Hartzell's 17 points that gave Georgia Tech its upset and first ever national championship. Player of the Year: JR PF Max Williams Citadel 20.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.9 APG 0.4 SPG, 1.5 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SG Octavio Perez Texas A&M 20.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.4 APG 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Dana Benford Valparaiso 29 - 5 (9 - 3) All-league 1st Team: C SR David Andrews Kansas State 15.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 SPG, 4.1 BPG PF JR Max Williams Citadel 20.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.5 BPG SF SR John Grass Montana 16.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG SR Jerry Story Alabama 21.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG PG JR Thomas Branson Loyola-IL 14.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR J.C. Nelson Columbia 17.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 3.8 BPG PF SR Donnell Schwarz Army 18.6 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.7 BPG SF SR Charles Wolfe Siena 18.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Abram Moore UCLA 22.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG JR John Simpson Loyola-Maryland 20.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Norman Smith Arizona 21.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.2 SPG, 1.8 BPG PF SO Henry Wolff Wake Forest 16.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.4 SPG, 2.8 BPG SF SR Joseph Steinke Colorado State 19.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG SG SO Frankie Baker Southern Methodist 15.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Daniel Leboeuf Valparaiso 15.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Joe Newkirk Niagara 10.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.9 BPG PF FR William Barajas Montana 12.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF FR Terry Jack Citadel 15.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Octavio Perez Texas A&M 20.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Joshua Casarez Southern California 11.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG As for the 1949 Featured Freshman, Jerry Story... #34 SG Jerry Story - Alabama - Senior -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-4 Weight: 242 High School: Gainesville High School Hometown: Gainesville, FL Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 89 60 93 41 76 17 33 30 71 52 10 39 51 52 65 50 90 1952: 87 53 84 38 71 16 31 28 66 48 10 36 51 51 63 50 84 1951: 82 45 74 35 66 15 30 27 62 43 9 33 51 50 62 49 79 1950: 77 39 66 33 61 14 29 26 58 38 8 30 51 49 61 48 74 1949: 73 35 60 31 57 14 27 24 56 34 6 28 51 47 58 46 63 Potential: A B A C B F C C B C F C Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 26 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 31 31 26.7 15.7 1.4 4.0 1.8 1.9 0.97 0.6 0.3 3.1 1951 34 34 27.6 16.2 1.6 4.8 1.6 1.6 0.96 0.6 0.2 2.5 1952 32 32 29.4 17.5 1.9 5.1 2.5 1.6 1.60 0.3 0.5 2.8 1953 30 30 33.0 21.2 2.6 6.2 2.9 1.8 1.56 0.9 0.4 2.7 Career 127 127 29.1 17.6 1.9 5.0 2.2 1.7 1.56 0.6 0.3 2.8 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 6.0 14.8 .406 3.7 4.9 .758 0.0 0.1 .000 1.07 1.23 1951 6.4 14.9 .425 3.4 4.5 .770 0.1 0.4 .231 1.09 1.26 1952 6.3 15.3 .412 4.9 5.7 .857 0.0 0.2 .200 1.14 4.03 1953 8.2 18.7 .440 4.7 6.0 .789 0.0 0.4 .083 1.13 2.07 Career 6.7 15.9 .422 4.2 5.3 .796 0.0 0.3 .147 1.11 2.14 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 31 31 828 488 44 123 57 59 20 8 95 1951 34 34 938 552 56 163 54 56 22 6 85 1952 32 32 940 561 62 162 80 50 11 16 89 1953 30 30 991 637 77 187 86 55 28 12 81 Career 127 127 3697 2238 239 635 277 220 81 42 350 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 186 458 116 153 0 4 38 1951 216 508 117 152 3 13 43 1952 202 490 156 182 1 5 129 1953 247 562 142 180 1 12 62 Career 851 2018 531 667 5 34 272 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 33 6 11 7 3 1 5 13 29 10 15 1 3 Career 33 7 11 7 3 2 7 13 29 14 15 1 3 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Player of the Game: 24 1949 High School: Rated ***** and #4 overall by the FBCB scouting service. 1949 High School: All-State (Florida) 1949 High School: Mr. Basketball (Florida) 1949 High School: All-American 1950 2nd Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1950 Freshman All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1950 Conference Freshman of the Year (Southeastern Conference) 1951 1st Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1952 1st Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1953 1st Team All-American 1953 1st Team All-Conference (Southeastern Conference) 1953 Conference Player of the Year (Southeastern Conference) Another SEC Featured Recruit, Jerry had better success than Blaine Deaver in that his Crimson Tide finished with a winning record three of his four years. Unfortunately, Alabama only made the NCAA tournament once his four years there, making it to the second round in 1951, his sophomore year. More frustratingly, the Tide went 13-17 his senior season, Alabama's first losing season since 1948. For the record books, Jerry is #6 all-time in points scored, #2 in SEC history behind Deaver. He ranks tied for 14th in SEC career offensive rebounds, 22nd in total rebounds, and 13th in assists. Alabama school records include 1st in points scored, 4th in offensive rebounds, 4th in total rebounds, 2nd in assists and 2nd in steals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 27, 2010 Author Share Posted June 27, 2010 Other 1953 Notes The 1953 NCAA Championship by Georgia Tech was the first time in NCAA history after the conference prestige changes that a 1 prestige conference team won the title. It made the Yellow Jackets' run all the more incredible. Jerry Story also surprisingly ranked 2nd in Alabama school history in blocks, although that was expected to end quite quickly. 1953 Recruiting Classes 1. Loyola-Maryland Independent PG Andrew Walters ***** 1 3 0 0 0 2. Marquette Great Lakes C Gilbert Whitlow ***** 2 0 0 0 0 3. Richmond Southern Stars PG Bernard Avalos ***** 1 2 0 1 0 4. Dayton Great Lakes PG Jack Tracy ***** 1 1 1 0 0 5. Rice SWC C Jose Webster ***** 2 0 0 0 0 6. Baylor SWC PG Gene Pearman ***** 1 2 0 0 0 7. Loyola-IL Great Lakes SG Sammie Rankin ***** 1 2 0 0 0 8. Duke Southern Stars SG Gregory Davis ***** 1 2 1 0 0 9. Montana PCC PF Cornell Szymanski ***** 1 1 0 0 0 10. Miami-Ohio MAC SG Harris Kahn ***** 1 0 1 1 0 11. Arkansas SWC C Chris Lim **** 0 2 2 0 0 12. Texas SWC PG César Moreno **** 0 2 2 1 0 13. UCLA PCC SF Tyrone Sterling **** 0 2 2 1 2 14. Southern California PCC PF Tyron Faber ***** 1 1 0 0 0 15. Duquesne Steel Conference SG Henry Rothrock **** 0 1 4 0 0 16. Furman Southern Stars PF Patrick Rodriguez ***** 1 0 0 1 0 17. Brigham Young Mountain States PG James Cox **** 0 1 1 1 1 18. Davidson Southern Stars C Stewart Rincon ***** 1 0 0 2 0 19. Saint Mary's Independent PF Timoteo Vazquez **** 0 1 3 0 0 20. California PCC PG Michael Nichols **** 0 1 2 0 0 21. Georgetown North Star SG Danial Becerra **** 0 2 0 0 0 22. Citadel Southern PG Brian Leonard **** 0 1 1 2 0 23. Virginia Tech Southern C Gavin Turnbull *** 0 0 4 1 1 24. DePaul Great Lakes C Perry Weber **** 0 1 2 1 0 25. San Francisco PCC SG Wilbur German **** 0 1 1 0 0 26. Gonzaga Independent C Luitpold Poser **** 0 1 0 1 1 Gonzaga's #26 overall recruiting class in their first season recalled Miami's success that made the Hurricanes a rising power. 1 Gilbert Whitlow C 6-7 Marquette Great Lakes Conference 2 Jose Webster C 6-10 Rice Southwest Conference 3 Jack Tracy PG 5-9 Dayton Great Lakes Conference 4 Patrick Rodriguez PF 6-7 Furman Southern Stars League 5 Vladislav Masek PF 6-8 6 Hank Sain SG 6-1 Rice Southwest Conference 7 Cornell Szymanski PF 6-9 Montana Pacific Coast Conference 8 Gerald Peters SG 6-3 NON-QUALIFIER 9 Stewart Rincon C 6-8 Davidson Southern Stars League 10 Bernard Avalos PG 6-0 Richmond Southern Stars League 11 Harris Kahn SG 6-3 Miami-Ohio Mid-American Conference 12 Gene Pearman PG 6-3 Baylor Southwest Conference 13 Joseph Lovins SG 5-10 14 Lonnie Gonzalez PF 6-6 NON-QUALIFIER 15 Gregory Davis SG 6-3 Duke Southern Stars League 16 Chester Reed PG 6-0 17 Tyron Faber PF 6-7 Southern California Pacific Coast Conference 18 Andrew Walters PG 6-3 Loyola-Maryland Independent 19 Scott Thornburg PG 6-1 20 Sammie Rankin SG 5-11 Loyola-IL Great Lakes Conference 21 Eric Braswell PG 6-1 22 Joshua Spearman SF 6-4 Marquette Great Lakes Conference 23 Andrew Ortiz PG 5-10 24 Jeff Bugg SF 6-5 NON-QUALIFIER 25 Jonathan Hazelwood PG 5-11 1953 Featured Recruit #21 C Luitpold Poser - Gonzaga - Freshman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Height: 6-9 Weight: 224 High School: Hometown: Kleve, Germany Attributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK PFS QKN STR JMP STA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current: 47 20 25 40 24 22 50 29 52 22 51 58 46 33 65 40 70 Potential: B D D C D C B C B C B B Health: Good Scholarship: Yes Status: Active Roster Academics: 64 Stat Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 A/T 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shooting Averages: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.0 0.0 .000 0.00 0.00 Stat Totals: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shooting Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career Highs: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards & Acheivements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1953 High School: Rated **** and #27 overall by the FBCB scouting service. Why the #27 recruit? Because the 1953 class was, by and large, uninteresting. Poser, on the other hand, intrigued because he was the Bulldogs' prize get, a German import, who, while undersized, would doubtless be the focus of Gonzaga's offense from the get-go. Conference Prestige Updates 5 prestige ---------------- Great Lakes Pacific Coast Southern Stars Southwest 4 prestige --------------- Southern (+1) Mountain States 3 prestige --------------- Big 8 (+2) Missouri Valley (+1) North Star 2 prestige --------------- Atlantic Six (+1) Big 10 Independent (-2) MAC SEC (+1) 1 prestige ---------------- Empire Ivy Ohio Valley SEC Steel (-1) Sun West Yankee (-1) Note: I changed a couple things I didn't agree with. Originally the Mountain States and Pacific Coast flip-flopped, which I found patently absurd and the same was true of the Ivy League and the MAC. I made the executive decision in both to restore the conferences to their original standing. The Independents' fall from grace surprised no one, because Loyola-Maryland and Saint Mary's simply weren't enough to keep the non-cons going. What did draw amazement was the Big 8's rise from an also-ran into a mid-tier conference. Missouri's six straight NCAA appearances and five straight second round exits had much to do with that. 1954 Conference Movement Three more schools entered the fray in Murray State, Pacific, and Portland. The Racers posed no problem, as they joined many of the other Kentucky schools in the lowly Ohio Valley. But then there were yet two more West Coast schools. This further expansion in the West spotlighted what had become a growing concern in the Pacific Coast. Some members considered the distance factor between Montana and USC/UCLA, among other extreme examples, to wear on teams, a fatigue which explained why the conference hadn't had a Final Four representative since Oregon State in 1951. Thus, a rift grew between the teams in the north and those in the south. The Pacific Coast commissioner, Bartleby Givens, proposed the idea of expanding to 12 teams and splitting into 2 divisions, but that satisfied no one. Montana, Idaho, Washington, and the two Oregon schools began making noise about joining the Mountain States. Losing four of those members didn't bother the Pacific in the least, but missing the crown jewel, the most prestigious school in the nation, in Montana, terrified the Pacific Coast. http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o395/Izulde08/montana_2.jpg The University of Montana held the key to the fates of the Pacific Coast and Mountain States Such a move would also literally split the Pacific Coast in half, but it would have no trouble surviving. In fact, when the tension started to boil over, Givens had already contacted Saint Mary's, Arizona, and Santa Clara about a possible move to the PCC. Although it would mean an 8 team conference and one far less prestigious, the Pacific Coast would still be a quality league. More importantly in the NCAA's eyes, it would relieve some of the pressure in the West and open up slots in the Sun West for two of Gonzaga, Pacific, Portland, and San Jose State. The Sun West furiously objected to these plans, angrily pointing out that they'd once been a respectable conference, with San Francisco, Nevada, and St. Mary's all original members. The league argued that it was detrimental to the rest of the country to use the Sun West as a dumping ground for new schools in the West region and suggested that the same thing could happen to the Ohio Valley in the Midwest and the Empire in the East, should those areas of the country be overloaded as well. That alarm bell gave the Sun West considerable support until the NCAA stepped in and offered a bribe to the rest of the conferences. In short, they offered to strip the Sun West of its automatic bid if the following conditions were met: 1) The five north schools in the Pacific Coast move to the Mountain States 2) Arizona, St. Mary's, and Santa Clara move to the Pacific Coast, and that the PCC also strongly consider taking on Arizona State, who had just made the NCAA tournament the year before. Although Arizona preferred to have all three Arizona schools in the conference, Northern Arizona, at 26-67 (28% winning), had no chance, even with the first double-digit win season in school history in 1953. 3) The Mountain States be elevated to a 5 prestige ranking and the Pacific Coast accept a downgrade to a 4 prestige ranking. It was a tempting offer, because it would mean another at-large bid up for grabs. The prestige demotion caused wariness among the southern Pacific Coast members, but the extra bid had huge backing from a school with no vested interest in the West mess. Loyola-Maryland, the perpetual, proud independent, immediately sided with the NCAA's plan. The Greyhounds were worried their NCAA tournament streak might end with the downgrading of the Independents, and they were also concerned about losing 36 year old Charles Henson, the head coach who had never failed to deliver a 20 win season, and who was said to be looking elsewhere if the school didn't join a powerhouse conference, even with the #1 recruiting class in the country. The natural choice, of course, was for Loyola-Maryland to join the Southern, which, despite its name, was actually more of a Mid-Atlantic league, with schools based in Maryland, the Virginias, the Carolinas, and Washington D.C. But entering into such an agreement would cost the Greyhounds their proud independence and would violate the vow that they would stay independent until they could start a new conference of their choosing. It was the longest and most contentious offseason in NCAA basketball history and no easy end was in sight. There were too many tangled threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astil Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 ARGH! Cliffhanger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 ARGH! Cliffhanger. Yeah, it's a real puzzle to sort this one out. I've been playing around with several scenarios in my head, but it may be a bit before I finally figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astil Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Yeah, it's a real puzzle to sort this one out. I've been playing around with several scenarios in my head, but it may be a bit before I finally figure it out. It's definitely interesting. I have some ideas, but without the hard #s itd be just baseless conjecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeker Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 This isn't getting a lot of views here, but this is one of the most intriguing and in-depth dynasties I've read on any board in quite some time. I'm curious to know how much the Yellowjacket's school prestige was boosted with their improbable National Title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Astil: You'll find out shortly. Beeker: Thanks for the high praise. As for Georgia Tech, they were 33 prestige the year before after making the Sweet 16 and, after winning the championship, jumped to 51 prestige. Edit: That jump to 51 prestige made the Yellow Jackets a Top 20 team prestigewise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 The first area of contention resolved itself when Loyola-Maryland, by the narrowest of margins, voted to remain independent. As the university president noted, "If Notre Dame can stay one of the country's best programs as a football independent, we can very well do the same in basketball." Far less neatly resolved was the Pacific Coast/Mountain States drama that dominated the newspapers all summer. The NCAA's proposal had a lot of adherents, but Bartleby Givens's 12 team PCC also gained traction, as member schools, despite the posturing of the split, secretly enjoyed the Pacific Coast and didn't want to see one of the nation's best conferences die. Yet, even the growing consensus to expand wasn't immune from controversy. The conference presidents wanted to include former Sun West, now independent Saint Mary's as part of the expansion with either Arizona or Santa Clara as the other candidate. The NCAA, on the other hand, wanted the PCC to take either Arizona and Santa Clara or Arizona and Arizona State. Arizona refused to abandon the Sun West without Arizona State and Loyola-Maryland actively campaigned against losing Saint Mary's from the independents. Saint Mary's, meanwhile, eagerly awaited its Pacific Coast invitation. The stalemate finally broke when the NCAA offered to strip the Sun West of its automatic bid and guarantee the PCC's 5 prestige rating for the current cycle if the Pacific Coast took Arizona and Arizona State. Although Saint Mary's was disappointed to lose its conference dreams, it took solace in the fact that another bid opened up. Santa Clara, outraged at the outcome, immediately declared for independence, much to the delight of Loyola-Maryland. Pacific and Portland, despite being far afield of the rest of the conference, joined the Sun West, which, after being stripped of its automatic bid, had 16 prestige Idaho State as its best team. Meanwhile, the PCC stayed a one division conference despite the expansion, since the 12 team SEC set the precedent for conference of that size to stay single division. Should any conference expand to 14, however, two divisions would become a virtual necessity. By the time the dust settled: Arizona Sun West (1948-1953) Pacific Coast (1954- ) Arizona State Sun West (1951-1953) Pacific Coast (1954- ) Santa Clara Sun West (1948-1953) Independent (1954- ) Coach Movement 15 coaches were fired prior to the 1954 season, setting off the carousel. Owen Grier - La Salle to Iowa State How did a coach with just one winning season and no NCAA appearances get hired? That's a question nobody had a real answer to and it's not like the Cyclones, who had 2 NCAA tournament appearances on the resume, were horrible. Bad, yes, but not bad enough to stoop to 39 year old Grier, better known for flashy recruiting than legitimate basketball tactics. Morgan Eiland - Drexel to Missouri Eiland carries him with a reputation of being one of the nation's best tactical and teaching coaches, despite just a high mark of two seasons with 22 wins and NCAA bids. The 37 year old is a terrible recruiter and he faces the pressure of not only replacing the Tigers' popular coach, but trying to maintain Mizzou's unbeaten streak in the Big 8 conference tournament. Tony Emerson - Alabama to Illinois Made his reputation on the Jerry Story recruitment and has a winning record, despite just one NCAA appearance with the Crimson Tide. The Fighting Illini have 4 NCAA bids in 6 seasons, but have lost in the first round every time. They're hoping the 40 year old can reverse those fortunes. Tony Gonzalez - Virginia to Wisconsin Gonzalez, 51, has four straight winning seasons to his credit, with NCAA bids in three of the last four years with the Atlantic Six team Cavaliers. Decent hire for the Badgers, who have never had a losing season and only missed the NCAA once. Gregory Bernard - Wisconsin to Loyola-Maryland The 33 year old Bernard is one of the hotter young coaches in the league. After two years as an assistant at Yale, he spent four years in Madison, leading the Badgers to three NCAA bids, including a Sweet 16 appearance. Like Eiland with Mizzou, Bernard's facing an unenviable task of taking over a legend. Kristopher Lieberman - Northwestern to Drake A one season wonder, 38 year old defensive specialist Lieberman gets the job at Drake after taking Northwestern to its first ever winning season, 20 win season, and NCAA appearance, just like the Bulldogs had their first 20 win season and shocker Elite 8 appearance last year. Jack Brunette - Baylor to Utah State* Fired by the Bears after three non-winning seasons following an Elite 8 appearance his first season in Waco, the 52 year old landed on his feet with the Aggies, who have just one winning season and NCAA bid in school history (1949). Brian Soler - Georgia Tech to Wyoming Soler stunned the nation by quitting his job with the NCAA champion Yellow Jackets to go to Laramie. On the other hand, in doing so, Soler earned the distinction of being the first head coach in league history to be the top man at three different schools, having coached Duke from 1948-49. He'll be expected to produce immediately for the Cowboys, who are on 5 straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 appearance and a Sweet 16 showing last season. Robert Snyder - Dartmouth to Lehigh 3 bids in the last 4 seasons allow 55 year old Snyder to escape Ivy League purgatory after toiling for 6 years for the Big Green. On the other hand, Lehigh has never had a winning season, much less an NCAA bid, so it's a tall order. Ronald Edwards - Navy to Washington Four NCAA bids and two second round appearances in six years sounds good enough until you consider Edwards' greatest success came in his first three seasons. And there's good reason for that; he's one of the worst recruiters ever and looks likely to ensure the Huskies' fall from grace after 2 Sweet 16 appearances in their first 3 seasons. Douglas Cover - Clemson to Alabama* 2 NCAA bids in 5 seasons is a pretty good ratio, but the real story here is Cover's return to coaching after a year's absence. He was fired from Clemson prior to the 1953 season and the 56 year old catches a lucky break here from the Crimson Tide. Johnny Martinez - Illinois to Georgia Tech No greater sign of the country's opinion that the Yellow Jackets' national title was a fluke than the fact the best they could do was 41 year old Martinez, who took the Illini to 4 bids in 6 seasons, with first round exits in all of them as noted above. Charles Henson - Loyola-Maryland to North Carolina Hearts broke all across Maryland when Henson packed his bags south to North Carolina. It wasn't unexpected given the downgrade of the independents, but still disappointing. On the other hand, Henson never made it to the Final Four, his closest an Elite Eight finish in 1949 despite six straight 20+ win seasons. The Tarheels made the Final Four that same 1949 season, but haven't been back to the Big Dance since. If Henson can build the Tarheels like he did the Greyhounds, he'll be a legend in two states. Erick Gleason - Drake to Baylor With just one winning season to his resume, the 24 victory, Elite 8 appearance last year, the 52 year old Gleason took advantage of the cooling heat at Drake to escape to Waco, where Baylor's been tournament absent since their 1950 Elite 8 appearance. Chris Nelson - Missouri to Texas A&M Everyone knows of course about how Nelson took the Tigers to six straight Big 8 tournament championships, but he also lead Mizzou to five consecutive second round showings. Because of his success, he finally moves to a better conference. The Aggies have just 1 losing season in their history and four NCAA bids. But like Illinois, they've never been past the first round. Chris Messier - Louisville to La Salle Messier, 58, makes a lateral move in terms of conference, but La Salle's recruiting triumph of a few years ago makes the Explorers a far more prestigious gig even though Messier guided Louisville to two NCAA appearances and La Salle has never been. What was most interesting about the coaching changes, however, is three assistants who quit prior to 1953 over salary disputes landed head coaching jobs in 1954. (Which, by the way, is one of the coolest damn minor things I've seen in this new version). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 1954 Regular Season NCAA runner-up Loyola-Illinois with senior Thomas Branson was the unanimous #1 choice in preseason polls, followed by traditional power Rice, Wake Forest, Richmond, Furman, San Francisco, Niagara, Marquette, Montana and Baylor in the Top 10. Defending champion Georgia Tech didn't receive even so much as a single vote. Rice, Wake Forest, and USC raced out to 13-0, 13-0, 11-0 and reached 17-0, 17-0 and 12-0 before losing their first games. March brought on another reasonable Top 11 for the second year in a row, led by Loyola-Illinois, who'd regained their form after a couple early season losses. Missouri won its seventh straight Big 8 conference tournament title, pulling the double in knocking off 6 seed Oklahoma State 65-57 in the final. Other teams winning both conference titles included Saint Joseph's (Atlantic Six), Wisconsin (Big Ten) Loyola-Illinois (Great Lakes), Drake (Missouri Valley), Georgia Tech (SEC), Wake Forest (Southern Stars), TCU (Southwest), and Duquesne (Steel). One conference didn't have its tournament that was expected to and that was the Mountain States. http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o395/Izulde08/blizzard_december06.jpg The great March Blizzard in of 1955 was not only unseasonable, it made travel treacherous all along the Rocky Mountain corridor. After a flurry of phone calls back and forth, the conference elected to cancel the conference tournament that year and trust in the selection committee to do the right thing. And in fact, the committee sent four teams from the Mountain States to the Big Dance, albeit two each were in the same region. Colorado State and Nevada were #7 and #8 seeds in the Midwest, Utah State and BYU #12 and #14 seeds in the South. 1954 NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Rice Loyola-Illinois Wake Forest Furman There were no arguments with the #1 seeds, although some felt Georgia Tech, the upstart defending champions, an extremely generous #2 seed. 7 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (4 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8) First Round Upsets Midwest #12 Idaho over #5 Texas A&M South #10 Indiana over #7 Alabama East #16 Duquesne over #1 Furman #10 William and Mary over #7 Canisius #14 Cornell over #3 Missouri Although the Dukes' stunner over the Paladins was a major upset, Duquesne deserved far better than their #16 seeding. Missouri was also considerably overseeded at #3. All told, however, it was a remarkably breezy first round for the higher seeds. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West #7 Texas over #2 Georgia Tech East #16 Duquesne over #8 Drake #10 William & Mary over #2 Niagara #14 Cornell over #6 Washington The Midwest and South were all chalk, seeds 1-4 making it to the second week. Texas and Georgia Tech featured two teams considered fluke national champions the previous two seasons, 1952 and 1953 respectively and the game turned out a classic. The Longhorns pulled off the 79-77 upset to advance to the Sweet 16. Duquesne continued the strongest run by a #16 seed since Siena's Sweet 16 run two years before in beating the Bulldogs handily. #10 and #14 W&M and Cornell meant a double-digit seed was a guarantee in the Elite 8, with a possible all-double digit Elite 8, should Duquesne's Cinderella form continue. Sweet 16 #1 seed Loyola-Illinois rode senior big man John Pfeiffer's 21 points and 13 rebounds and senior swingman Harold Gallant's 20 points to a 72-59 win over #4 Wisconsin, the Ramblers proving too deep despite the Badgers' successful efforts in bottling Thomas Branson to 14 points. 25 points from senior SG Andrew Washington, 22 points from former #1 overall, Featured Recruit Gregory Red, and 10 points from sophomore sixth man Larry Dykes propelled #3 seed USC to a 97-94 win over #2 seed TCU to set up an exciting date with the Ramblers in the Elite 8. #16 Duquesne became the first of its seed to reach the Elite 8, as Loyola-Maryland once again found itself stranded in the Sweet 16. The Dukes' depth, signified by sophomore reserves Theodor Rosenbucher and DeAngelo Marx with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 14 points respectively had the type of Teutonic strength and Communist equality good enough to shoot down the Greyhounds. And so a double-digit seed was guaranteed a Final 4 spot for the first time since 1952, when 13 seed Texas won it all, as 10 seed William & Mary beat 14 seed Cornell 62-45 in the other East matchup. Junior small forward Michael Appleby scored 26 to send #1 seed Rice to a 73-59 win over #4 seed Stanford and the #7 seed Longhorns set up an All-Texas Elite 8 battle by knocking off #3 seed Richmond 78-69. Three double-doubles featured in #1 seed Wake Forest's 84-77 romp over #4 seed Lafayette, ruining the Leopards' first ever trip to the second weekend in 7 tournament bids. Junior forward Henry Wolff took home Player of the Game honors with a monster game of 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks while senior SG Donny McDonough picked up 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore center Manual Crawford finished it off with 14 points and 11 rebounds. And then there was Montana. The #3 seed Grizzlies showed there was life in them yet as one of the nation's elite teams, slipping past #2 Citadel 71-69 on senior PG Aubrey Joseph's 23 points. Elite 8 #1 Rice vs #7 Texas #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #3 USC #1 Wake Forest vs #3 Montana #16 Duquesne vs #10 William & Mary Every single national champion, with the exception of Georgia Tech, was represented in that year's Elite 8. Rice and Loyola-Illinois were both heavily favored in their classic matchups, while Wake Forest/Montana and Duquesne/W&M were tossups. The Longhorns hoped to prove their 1952 title no fluke, while Rice was trying to maintain their elite status. Loyola-Illinois had virtually the same pedigree as the Owls, while USC, who had been to the Elite 8 three times before without success, desperately wanted to finally break through to the Final Four. Wake Forest was a rising power, making it to the Elite 8 for the second year in a row, third overall, while Montana determined to show their dynasty wasn't dead. Duquesne wanted to build on their history-making run and they were playing a team somewhat like themselves in the Tribe, in that each school, despite their double-digit seed, had made the tournament in all but one season. Lots of storylines in that impressive Elite 8, but it remained to be seen if the games would prove equally as thrilling. Loyola-Illinois took a page from the Wake Forest playbook as the Trojans once again were stopped in the Elite 8, 76-60. Three Ramblers netted double-doubles: John Pfeiffer (15 points, 11 rebounds), senior center Hal Greiner (12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks), and, as you might expect, Thomas Branson (12 points, 15 assists, 2 steals). In a battle of similar teams, William and Mary became the ones to earn the school's first ever Final Four appearance, senior swingman Pat Ahmad's 26 points powering the Tribe to an 83-69 win over Duquesne, whose depth and magic finally ran out. The Owls embarrassed the Longhorns 95-56 through the efforts of their senior backcourt, Hassan Johnson and Ollie Serna, with 20 points and 4 steals and 21 points respectively. True freshman center Jose Webster tacked on 12 points and 12 rebounds and provided a possible future star for Rice. But the worst shame of all came for Montana, annihilated 71-48 by Wake Forest. Not a single Grizzly reached double-digit points, while Demon Deacon seniors Emory Taylor (21 points) and Henry Wolff (10 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks) nearly beat the country's most prestigious team by themselves. Final Four #1 Rice vs #1 Wake Forest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #10 William & Mary Two Final Four newcomers. Two traditional powers with matching resumes. An up and comer and a Cinderella. Thomas Branson's last hope for redemption and a lot of senior power all around. It looked to be a thrilling Final Four, with most tabbing a Rice/Loyola-Illinois championship game that would bring the country its first two title school since Montana. The prediction made sense, as the Owls and Ramblers were both in their third Final Four in four seasons including two consecutive, Rice their fourth in six seasons. Wake Forest's Henry Wolff played magnificently with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks, but sadly for the Demon Deacons, he was the only one to show up in an 86-67 whacking. Rice won because of their backcourt and because of sophomore sixth man Daniel Roby, who'd proven a sharpshooter in the regular season with 18.9 points a game as a reserve, and who torched Wake for 26 points. Between Roby and Webster, Rice looked good to be a power team for the next few years to come. And yet, the dreamt-for matchup didn't materialize. Despite 12 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals, Thomas Branson shot just 33% and Hal Greiner's double of 10 points and 11 rebounds simply wasn't enough support in a heartbreaking 74-71 shocker to William & Mary. Even with a ring to his credit and the Final Fours and championship game appearances, Branson was still widely regarded as a failure. He'd inherited Newton Richardson's mantle as the nation's biggest star and the pressure caused him to choke, both in the 1953 championship game and in this 1954 Final Four. It was a bitter end to his college career, in direct contrast to Richardson's penultimate glory. The Tribe were led in their triumph by sophomore sixth man Cesar Warner, who scored 20. Unlike Rice's Roby, Warner actually had a starting spot his freshman season, but lost it as a sophomore and only averaged 7.5 points during the regular season. He picked precisely the right time to explode, however. Championship Game #1 Rice vs #10 William & Mary Save for the most degenerate gambler or the most diehard Tribe fan, you would be hardpressed to find anyone willing to bet on William & Mary in the 1954 final. The Owls looked too deep and too good for the 10 seed upstarts to even think of pulling off what would be the tournament's single greatest upset if it occurred. And then senior Pat Ahmad had the greatest game of his entire life. In what many called one of the most incredible performances in NCAA championship history, he erupted for a career-high 35 points and single-handedly carried the 10 seed William and Mary Tribe to an unbelievable 85-78 championship win over the Owls. How meek and weak Jose Webster's 11 points and 11 rebounds and Daniel Roby's 15 bench points for Rice looked in comparison to Ahmad's preternatural shooting and scoring. But then, the Owls had a history of falling short, as they did in the 1951 title game and in last year's Final Four, to say nothing of 1952, when their senior-star heavy lineup fell in the Sweet 16 to 14 seed St. Joseph's. For the second year in a row, the vision of a Loyola-Illinois/Rice championship fell apart and for the second consecutive title game, the half who held up their end of the bargain in that wished-for dream matchup was knocked off despite being heavy favorites. And in Montana, they smiled, for the Grizzlies were still the only team in all the land with two national titles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astil Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Kinda surprising to see Montana wuss out like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Kinda surprising to see Montana wuss out like that. I can see that, but conference pride and the joy of the national titles won under its banner swayed them. The Mountain States, even with those PCC schools, wouldn't have had quite the glamor, glitz, or power that the original Pacific Coast did. That isn't to say the PCC won't split at some point in the future. The conference has very high expectations for itself and to once again fall short of the Final Four despite two Elite Eight representatives is sure to rankle, particularly with Rice and Loyola-Illinois having essentially made the Final Four their home lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted December 4, 2010 Author Share Posted December 4, 2010 An unfortunate bump to say the dynasty's dead. The PC it was on got destroyed tonight due to viruses, which doubly ticks me off. Not only do I lose the dynasty, but I lose the hours and hours of work I spent on editing the default, compiling the list of schools with their D-I entry dates, etc. Damned frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownNDirty Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 This was truly amazing work and a great read. You have single handedly made me want to purchase FBCB. Since I'm not familiar with this game was those conference moves at the end of the year actually controlled by you? Coaches hirings and firings? I saw you had no preseason tournaments set up so the database could grow organically. Does that mean the CPU would eventually create preseason tourneys themselves? Since I have no idea the scope of this game I was hoping you could shed light on how you accomplished such a great dynasty and awesome read. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 This was truly amazing work and a great read. You have single handedly made me want to purchase FBCB. Since I'm not familiar with this game was those conference moves at the end of the year actually controlled by you? Coaches hirings and firings? The conference movements can either be automatic or manual. In my case, I chose manual so I could manipulate things how I wanted them. Coach hiring and firing are all handled by the computer, which led to some of the shocking changes in game. I saw you had no preseason tournaments set up so the database could grow organically. Does that mean the CPU would eventually create preseason tourneys themselves? No. I found out afterwards that you can't add preseason tournaments after game start. Nor can you add or delete conferences, although I've pushed for both options to be included. I don't know if HR is planning on releasing a patch with these options or not. Since I have no idea the scope of this game I was hoping you could shed light on how you accomplished such a great dynasty and awesome read. Thanks. I found a place online that had the dates schools joined Division I basketball from 1948 on. I copied down that list, which took a long time, then spent several hours rewriting the Excel files for the schools and the conferences. Some of the debate you saw in the early posts was me arguing with myself over what schools to put where. The games, recruits, coaching, hiring, firing, etc. was all done by simming and reading game reports, while keeping track of things with my own notes as I was writing (such as consecutive NCAA appearance streaks). I added the schools as they came into Division I in real life, manually adding them via the game. Because of the no new conferences after game start, I had to do a lot of creative jury-rigging, which led to things like the Sun West situation and the potential PCC divide. Eventually this dynasty would have ended because there were too many Western schools coming down the pipeline. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and hopefully I was able to shed some light on the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jestor Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Synopsis Thomas Branson graduates, wins National Player of the Year, #1 in career assists, holds a bunch of Great Lakes records, never lived up to Newton Richardson replacement hype. Loyola-Illinois and Montana, Branson and Richardson's schools, finish #1 and #2 in recruiting class rankings. SF Lon Walker of Miami, the #2 overall recruit, is the featured freshman. Loyola-Maryland decides it wants to start a conference. Duquesne quickly agrees. William & Mary signs on, wanting to get back with Mid-Atlantic schools, even though the conference was originally designed to have a Northeast bent, because the North Star (3 prestige) is New England's best conference. Georgetown gets interested after William & Mary goes and the deal's sealed for the Hoyas when George Washington jumps in to have the D.C. rivalry in effect. That's five schools, which isn't enough because the NCAA passed a new law saying all new conferences have to have seven members. Lafayette says it'll join if the NCAA can guarantee a 4 prestige award. VMI wants a smaller conference, so it signs on as well. NCAA agrees and it looks like a new conference is formed. But then Independent Power loyalists at Loyola-Maryland protest en masse and other opponents argue that defending NCAA Champion William & Mary will be seen as the leaders, not Loyola-Maryland, so the Greyhounds drop out. Virginia rescues the new conference by taking L-M's place, happy to be back among Southern schools. Conference gets named the Whig Conference after a long, brilliant speech by Georgetown's president on the multiple levels of meaning associated with the name and the mixture of North/South schools from original American colonies. Steel Conference can't survive the Duquesne defection and is disbanded, upsetting no one but Pennsylvanians. Each of the remaining five schools manages to find a new home. Duquesne Steel (1948-1954) Whig (1955- Georgetown Atlantic Six (1948) North Star (1949-1954) Whig (1955- George Washington Southern (1948-1954) Whig (19550 Lafayette North Star (1948-1954) Whig (1955- VMI Southern (1948-1954) Whig (1955- Virginia Atlantic Six (1948-1954) Whig (1955- William & Mary Southern Stars (1948-1949) North Star (1950-1954) Whig (1955- Georgetown and William & Mary are now the only schools to have been in three different conferences. There were a bunch of notes about recruiting classes, awards, the old Steel conference, the formation of the Whig, and so on, but for now the summary will have to suffice. Perhaps the rest of the stuff will come back later in the narrative. ***End Synopsis of lost info due to browser crash*** 1955 Coach Changes 17 coaches fired before the 1955 season, including one in the Whig Conference (VMI). As always, the head coach changing school notes. Richard Mask - Butler to Nebraska* Mask was fired by Butler after four straight sub-.500 seasons. On the other hand, he still has that former Loyola-Maryland assistant pedigree on him, which nets him a second chance with the Cornhuskers. Nowhere to go but up, really, as Nebraska won 4 games last year and their best record historically is a 14-18 showing in 1950. Marc Quinn - UTEP to Purdue Coached the Miners for four seasons and improved them almost every year, capping it off with an NCAA appearance last season that earned him calls from other schools. The Boilermakers started off great with two Sweet 16 appearances in 1948 and 1949, but have been to the tournament just once since (1952). Michael Levine - Colorado State to Marquette The 43 year old Levine has spent all seven years of the association coaching the Rams, leading them to five NCAA appearances in that span. On the other hand, Colorado State has never made the Sweet 16. Marquette had its streak of five straight NCAA appearances snapped last season and the Warriors' highlight remains the 1949 Final Four appearance. They haven't been back to so much as the Sweet 16 since. John Beaty - Long Island to Washington State A bit of an odd move for Beaty, who took the Blackbirds to three NCAA appearances in the last four seasons and had his first 20+ win season last year. On the other hand, the independent Cougars did just make their first ever NCAA tournament last year, so perhaps he feels Wazzou's a program on the rise. Philip Woodley - Manhattan to Kent State The Jaspers earned three NCAA appearances in Woodley's seven years there and were a solid, competitive team every season but one. He's stepping into a virtually identical program with the Golden Flashes, except that Kent State is both more prestigious and in a much better conference. Ronnie Pearl - Mississippi State to Wichita State Gradually improved the Bulldogs in his four years there and took them to the second round of the tournament last season. He'll be expected to continue and improve on the Shockers' three straight NCAA appearances, all of them first round exits. Chris Rivera - Kent State to BYU See Beaty's profile for the Jaspers for how Rivera did in seven years with the Flashes. Also see Kent State comparison with Manhattan for how the Cougars in turn compare to Kent State. Burton Huber - Boston University to Colorado State Very strange hire by the Rams. True, Huber did fantastic at Marshall, but in four years with the Terriers, all he did was raise them from absolute worst to middling mediocrity in the North Star. BYU's hire of Rivera was much better. Joseph Abbott - Cornell to Boston University Built the Big Red into an Ivy League power the last four years, with three NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 showing last year. He'll have his hands full with BU, who have never made the NCAA tournament. Then again, neither have Lehigh or Notre Dame in the North Star. Terriers' only winning record was 16-14, in 1950. There's a real opportunity for the 32 year old to become a legend here. Sammy Taylor - VMI to Colgate* Fired by the Keydets after he destroyed the program. They don't want him anywhere near their shiny, new Whig Conference. Still, he did great his first few years at Cornell, and a return to the Northeast could be just what Taylor needs. But he'll face expectations right away. The Raiders have won 20+ games and made the second round of the NCAA tournament each of the past two years, after being terrible prior to that. Thomas Roemer - Colgate to Oregon Has shown in Colorado and Colgate that he knows how to build programs. Four NCAA appearances between the two schools and now he gets to test his mettle against the best of the best in the PCC. The Ducks are very mediocre, with two first round NCAA appearances in their history. Bruce Little - BYU to Oregon State Fans of both Oregon schools will be watching very closely to see which university made the best hire. Little has very solid credentials and was seven years at BYU before Corvallis came calling. Three NCAA appearances and an always competitive Cougars squad. Oregon State made six straight NCAA appearances before an 8 win flameout last year. The Beavers also made the 1951 Final Four, their only non-first round exit in all those showings. Little will need to turn things around quickly. Rolland Rayburn - Wichita State to Arkansas Four NCAA appearances in the last five years, seven years total coaching the Shockers. The Razorbacks haven't had a winning season since 1950, also the last time they made the NCAA tournament. Carl McKibben - Oregon State to Texas* It's unbelievable that one bad season will be enough to get you fired, but that's exactly what happened to McKibben after building a nice program with Oregon State. The Longhorns have established themselves as one of the nation's rising programs, proving their 1952 title wasn't a fluke by making the Elite 8 last season. McKibben will have a short leash on which to work his magic. Jeremiah Coffee - Marquette to TCU* Both Texas schools get the benefit of a hasty AD firing a quality coach after one sub-optimal season. Coffee was a fantastic coach for the Warriors and TCU, whose only tournament miss has been 1952 and who have made multiple Sweet 16s, are pleased to land him. Gary Corder - Washington State to VMI Took the Cougars to their first NCAA appearance last year, but a very questionable hire overall. Terrible recruiting wrecked Penn State's program when he coached there and he had the benefit of low expectations at Washington State. Not the best decision by the Keydets. Regular Season Montana were the preseason favorites, a clear-cut #1 over Wake Forest. Skepticism naturally reigned about the polls, but there was always the hope that just maybe, just maybe this would be the year they could be trusted. As of December 1st, the polls looked good, with unbeatens Wake Forest, Furman, Niagra, Marquette, and Richmond all taking up the #1 to #5 spots. Come January 1st, however, corruption had once again set in, although #1 to #14 were considered correct and reasonable. At 13-0, nobody was denying that Wake Forest looked like the class of the country that year. There were also a number of one loss teams, suggesting a very strong overall group of schools at the top. Although it was still very early, at 13-3 (4-1) #11 Lafayette appeared to be the team to beat in the fledgling Whig conference. Pittsburgh was a very early surprise leader in the Ohio Valley at 2-0 conference. As of February 1st, Wake Forest and Montana were again #1 and #2, but the 21-0 Demon Deacons had the top spot locked down. The poll was considered trustworthy through #15, still an improvement over the year before. Defending national champion William & Mary surged to win the inaugural Whig conference regular season title, then pulled the double in beating 2 seed Lafayette 73-62 in the conference tournament final, held far earlier than all the other conferences. Wake Forest finally lost in February, but the 28-1 Demon Deacons had every right to be proud of having gone 25-0 before losing to #4 Furman on the road, and they still held the #1 spot in the country in a 1-15 reliable Top 25 poll. Teams Pulling the Double William & Mary - Whig Rice - SWC Montana - Pacific Coast Denver - Mountain States Marquette - Great Lakes (Won by just a point over 6 seed Dayton in final) 2 seed Kansas won the Big 8 tournament, marking the first time in NCAA history Missouri didn't win the Big 8 conference tournament. NCAA Tournament #1 Seeds Montana Marquette Wake Forest Furman Defending national champion William & Mary earned the #3 seed in the South, along with Duquesne as the #5 seed. The Whig also placed #4 seed Lafayette in the East and #8 Georgetown in the West, giving the new conference an impressive four NCAA bids. 8 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (1 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (5 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Montana (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8) Only Missouri dropped out of the streak, leaving eight schools never to have missed the tournament. No mistake that four of seven national titles came from this group. First Round Upsets West Region #13 Mississippi over #4 South Carolina #10 Nevada over #7 Washington Midwest Region #15 Kansas over #2 USC #14 Baylor over #3 Loyola-Maryland South Region #12 Dayton over #5 Duquesne #15 Harvard over #2 Citadel #14 TCU over #3 William & Mary #11 Miami over #6 Loyola (IL) East Region #12 Texas over #5 Georgia Tech #10 Connecticut over #7 Indiana #14 San Francisco over #3 Maryland Cries of "O-VER-RATED!" shook March Madness that year, as perennial powerhouse Loyola-Maryland was stunned in the first round along with USC, defending champion William & Mary, half the Whig entries, and an admittedly overrated Citadel. The upsets in the South seemed to be a case of over-under seeded. Miami, many felt, should have been higher bracketed, and nobody agreed with Citadel as a 2 seed. As for Loyola-Maryland and the Whigs, it was a case of everyone silently wondering if perhaps Karma hadn't swung her scythe through them, just as they'd swung through Pennsylvania in destroying the Steel Conference. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West Region #8 Georgetown over #1 Montana #13 Mississippi over #5 Depaul Midwest Region #15 Kansas over #7 Texas A&M #14 Baylor over #6 Valparaiso South Region #12 Dayton over #4 USC #15 Harvard over #7 Wisconsin #14 TCU over #11 Miami The bloodbath in the South continued, with only #1 Wake Forest left as a single digit seed. The Hoyas' upset of the Grizzlies sent shockwaves through many an office bracket, and only the East stayed relatively sane, with 6 seed SMU the lowest remaining seed in the bracket. Sweet 16 West #8 Georgetown vs #13 Mississippi #2 Rice vs #3 Richmond Midwest #1 Marquette vs #4 Virginia Tech #15 Kansas vs #14 Baylor South #1 Wake Forest vs #12 Dayton #15 Harvard vs #14 TCU East #1 Furman vs #4 Lafayette #2 Niagara vs #6 SMU Redemption for the Whig came in the form of Lafayette and Georgetown, still there heading into the second weekend. The NCAA was praying for traditional power Rice to make it through, as well as Wake Forest to triumph over the South. Georgetown ended Mississippi's Cinderella run, 58-46, while Rice and Richmond put on the game of the tournament before the Owls prevailed, 80-79. Junior Arthur Neel scored 33 for Richmond, but the Owls countered with junior Daniel Roby's 31 points and C Jose Webster's 19 points and 14 rebounds, raising the sophomore's profile. Wake Forest routed Dayton 95-59 on junior Delbert Nick's 36 points, and old senior war hero Henry Wolff put up 14 points, 12 rebounds. In the same region, TCU embarrassed Harvard 79-49 on junior John Gervais's 24 points. The next day saw Marquette shut down the Hokies' starters en route to a 73-61 win, Kansas ride sophomore 6th man Alphonse Wicks's 21 points to a 77-69 win over Baylor, Furman shut down Lafayette 78-64, thanks largely to Wilbur Diller's senior 28 points and a 14,14 double-double from senior center Rodger Gee, and Niagra's balanced offense produce a 79-68 win over SMU. Elite 8 #8 Georgetown vs #2 Rice #1 Marquette vs #15 Kansas #1 Wake Forest vs #14 TCU #1 Furman vs #2 Niagra Georgetown and Rice drew huge national play. One of the great powers against the hotshot new conference made for a phenomenal storyline. Then there the David vs. Goliath matchups, all adding up to the Furman/Niagra battle be the least hyped, despite the closest and best game on paper. The Hoyas dismantled Rice 80-56 in an underwhelming game, Danial Beccara breaking out with a 25 point game off the bench for the Hoyas. Daniel Roby got no help for his 20 points. Although the game itself was boring, Wake Forest's 78-46 cakewalk of TCU featured a fantastic 24 point, 17 rebound outing from PF Henry Wolff, a showcase many ranked one of the best of all time. Wolff, you may recall, was the #1 overall recruit in 1951 and was the 1952 National Freshman of the Year. His junior season the year before, he'd carried the Demon Deacons to the Final Four and had done so here again. Furman flattened Niagra 78-53, but it was the see-saw battle between Kansas and Marquette that drew everyone's attention and was the best game of the Elite 8. The Jayhawks pulled off the massive 89-87 stunner, riding 6th man Alphonse Wicks's 15 points in 16 minutes and senior Elroy Rainbolt's unconscious and unexpected 25 points. It was a bitter pill for Marquette junior Mark Barr, who scored 30 points. Final Four #1 Wake Forest vs #8 Georgetown #1 Furman vs #15 Kansas By now, everyone realized that Kansas had been grossly underseeded. The Whig Conference watched with pride as Georgetown took the floor against Wake Forest, the team most people wanted to see win the entire tournament. Furman, no one cared about. Hoyas/Demon Deacons, a spirited battle. Delbert Nick scored 20 points, Henry Wolff 24. Even lightly regarded freshman big Brian Wendel came off the bench for 12 points. But in the end, Wolff's championship dreams were simply not to be, as the Hoyas won 92-88. Danial Becerra had his second straight amazing game as the 6th man, scoring 32 points, and the NCAA, while disappointed for Wolff, wondered if they had a new star in this super sophomore sub. Paladins/Jayhawks was a scorefest, Furman winning 103-94 thanks to senior reserve Guy Gassaway's 20 points, sophomore Patrick Rodriguez's 20 points, and Rodger Gee's 15 points and 13 rebounds. National Championship #1 Furman vs. #8 Georgetown Outside South Carolina, you could scarcely find a Paladins supporter. The Hoyas had all the charm of an attractive young star in Becerra, carrying the banner of the newly formed Whig conference, and an established pedigree one of the nation's elite teams never to win a title. They'd made the 1949 title game (lost to the Rice Owls) and the 1951 Final Four, but never had they tasted the sweetness of victory. Furman, meanwhile, despite the #1 seed, were reviled as relative newcomers and they also had the stigma of belonging to the arrogant Southern Stars attached to them. Nevermind the Paladins making the tournament all years except 1951 - they'd only made it to the second weekend once, a Sweet 16 showing in 1949. Thus the stage was set. Set for Furman to control the first half, 38-32, then Georgetown to rally in the second half in a heartpounding series of lead exchanges. Here was Danial Becerra, living up to his hype and hitting 9 of 11 shots for a game-high 24 points. And here was the Paladins, with no real stars to speak of, doing just enough on defense and just enough with a balanced offense, to win the title by a single two-point bucket. 72-70 the final. Hoyas heartbroken again. "We'll be back," vowed a tearful Becerra. A feeling nation and the NCAA certainly hoped so. Meanwhile, the Southern Stars didn't care. At long last, all their boasts of greatness had come to pass. They fielded two of that year's Final Four entrants (Wake Forest the other one, who got a pass on their membership in the nation's eyes because of Wolff), and could finally claim a national title for the conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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