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On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 23

Extra! Extra! As a new season shifts into high gear, you can wait for deranged #Dimorats to come to their senses regarding support of illegal-alien criminals and Iranian Muslim misfits or read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former Illinois Wesleyan hoopers Bill Conroy and Cal Neeman contributed significant performances as MLB catchers on this date. Ex-Wisconsin hoopers John DeMerit and Harvey Kuenn plus ex-Mississippi hoopers Joe Gibbon and Jim Hickman also made MLB news on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 23 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 23

  • New York Giants LF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati basketball letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) went 4-for-4 in a 7-2 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1932.

  • Milwaukee Braves rookie LF Howie Bedell (averaged 3.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg for West Chester PA in 1955-56) banged out a career-high three safeties against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1962. Bedell hit safely in his first eight MLB games earlier in the month.

  • Seattle Mariners LF Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) went 4-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins in a 1982 contest.

  • Boston Red Sox C Bill Conroy (Illinois Wesleyan hooper in early 1930s) collected a career-high three hits in a 1942 game against the Washington Senators.

  • In a celebrated fracas, New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (letterman for LSU and USL during World War II) confronted Jackie Robinson (Pacific Coast Conference leading scorer both seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) after the Brooklyn Dodgers' INF bowled over a Giants pitcher covering first base on a bunt in 1955. The previous year, Robinson swiped second, third and home in the sixth inning before doubling in the winning run in the 13th in a 6-5 decision over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Two years earlier, Dark delivered three extra-base hits against the Pirates in 1953.

  • Philadelphia Athletics LHP Chubby Dean (reserve guard for Duke in 1936) hurled a four-hit shutout against the New York Yankees in 1940.

  • Milwaukee Braves RF John DeMerit (Wisconsin letterman in 1956-57 when averaging 2.2 ppg and 2.1 rpg) contributed a career-high three hits in a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1961.

  • A pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 10th inning by Dick Gernert (Temple letterman in 1948-49 when averaging 2.7 ppg) tied the score for the Detroit Tigers in an eventual 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Angels in 1961.

  • In 1960, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie LHP Joe Gibbon (two-time All-SEC forward for Ole Miss was nation's second-leading scorer as senior in 1956-57) won his first two MLB appearances.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 5-for-5 and scored four runs against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1994 outing.

  • In 1983, San Francisco Giants P Atlee Hammaker (averaged 5.3 ppg as freshman in 1976-77 and 4.9 ppg as sophomore in 1977-78 under East Tennessee State coach Sonny Smith) hurled his second of back-to-back shutouts en route to pacing the N.L. in ERA (2.25).

  • In 1958, Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) hammered milestone 300th of his 370 MLB career homers.

  • RHP Jay Hook (Northwestern's third-leading scorer as a sophomore with 10.7 ppg in 1955-56) posted the expansion New York Mets' first-ever victory (9-1 at Pittsburgh in 1962) after they dropped their initial nine contests.

  • Detroit Tigers rookie SS Harvey Kuenn (played briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV squad previous season) supplied his fourth three-hit game in first nine outings of the 1953 campaign.

  • St. Louis Cardinals SS Doc Lavan (Hope MI hooper from 1908 through 1910) delivered four hits against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1922 contest.

  • 3B Vance Law (averaged 6.8 ppg for Brigham Young from 1974-75 through 1976-77) hit safely in his first 16 games with the Chicago Cubs in 1988.

  • St. Louis Cardinals rookie CF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) went 5-for-5 but the Milwaukee Braves won, 7-5, in 14 innings in 1954 when Hank Aaron hammered his first of 755 MLB homers.

  • First MLB homer for rookie C Cal Neeman (Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in 1947-48 and 1948-49), a 10th-inning blast off the Milwaukee Braves' Lew Burdette, was the difference in a 3-2 win for the Chicago Cubs in 1957.

  • RHP Allie Reynolds (listed on roster of Hank Iba-coached Oklahoma A&M squad in game program for first-ever contest at Gallagher-Iba Arena in 1938-39) tossed his second of two shutouts in his first two starts with the New York Yankees in 1947.

  • OF Ted Savage (led Lincoln MO in scoring average in 1955-56) involved in four-player swap going from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968 in exchange for OF-1B Jim Hickman (freshman hooper for Ole Miss in 1955-56).

  • Los Angeles Angels RHP Jack Spring (freshman hooper for Washington State in 1951-52) earned victory on his way to going unscored upon in six relief appearance during the month.

  • Chicago Cubs LF Riggs Stephenson (Alabama hoops letterman in 1920) went 4-for-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1929 contest.

  • LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) held opponents scoreless in his first 25 relief appearances with the Washington Nationals until yielding a run against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) went 4-for-4 against the Houston Colt .45's in a 1963 game.

  • New York Yankees RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) smacked two homers against the Cleveland Indians in a 1987 contest.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Active NCAA DI Coaches Leaving Alma Maters

We don't know if the song "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" was the background music when Mike Krzyzewski chose to leave his alma mater (Army) four decades ago for Duke in the early 1980s. Coach K departed after five campaigns with the Cadets. Seven years ago, Mick Cronin left following 13 seasons at Cincinnati - the same tenure recently-retired Keith Dambrot had at Akron before abandoning ship for Duquesne. Pat Conroy (The Citadel) returned to his alma mater he previously shunned. Following is an alphabetical list of active mentors who voluntarily left their Division I alma maters after Casey Alexander departed Belmont for Kansas State:

Active Coach Alma Mater (Coaching Years) Subsequent Job (Years)
Casey Alexander Belmont '95 (2019-20 through 2025-26) Kansas State (since 2026-27)
Mick Cronin Cincinnati '96 (2006-07 through 2018-19) UCLA (since 2019-20)
Bryce Drew Valparaiso '98 (2011-12 through 2015-16) Vanderbilt (2016-17 through 2018-19)
Joe Golding Abilene Christian '98 (2011-12 through 2020-21) Texas-El Paso (since 2021-22)
Fred Hoiberg Iowa State '95 (2010-11 through 2014-15) NBA's Chicago Bulls (2015-16 to 2018-19)
Darrin Horn Western Kentucky '95 (2003-04 through 2007-08) South Carolina (2008-09 through 2011-12)
Nick McDevitt UNC Asheville '01 (2013-14 through 2017-18) Middle Tennessee State (since 2018-19)
Danny Sprinkle Montana State '99 (2019-20 through 2022-23) Utah State (since 2023-24)

NOTE: Drew (Grand Canyon), Hoiberg (Nebraska), Horn (Northern Kentucky) and Sprinkle (Washington) currently coach other colleges.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 22

Extra! Extra! Unless you're celebrating Earth Day from a zealous climate-change claptrap perspective, hoping you're in a Soros-supported DA district while destroying Teslas and manipulating voting process or protesting on behalf of Hamas and illegal-alien criminals like some coddled Ivy Leaguer, you can instead read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former San Diego State hoopers Tony Gwynn and Graig Nettles each went 4-for-4 in a MLB game on this date. Ex-hoopers from three Louisiana colleges - Zeke Bonura (Loyola New Orleans), Lyle Mouton (Louisiana State) and Cecil Upshaw (Centenary) - also made MLB news on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 22 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 22

  • Cincinnati Reds OF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati basketball letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) provided four hits in a 9-4 triumph against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1929.

  • Seattle Mariners 1B Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) hit safely in first 14 games of 1979 campaign until his streak was snapped by the Minnesota Twins.

  • 1B Zeke Bonura (best basketball forward for Loyola LA in late 1920s and early 1930s) belted two homers and drove in all five runs for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-5 setback against the St. Louis Browns in 1935.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Leon Brinkopf (Southeast Missouri State basketball letterman in 1944-45) scored his lone MLB run in a 1952 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • Oakland Athletics LF Glenn Burke (averaged 16.3 ppg in six basketball games with Nevada-Reno in 1974-75) scored three runs in a 7-6 win against the California Angels in 1979.

  • Kansas City Athletics LF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska's career scoring list in 1949-50 when finishing college career) clubbed two homers against the Cleveland Indians in a 1958 game.

  • Milwaukee Braves 2B Jack Dittmer (Iowa hooper in 1949-50) jacked a homer in his third consecutive contest in 1953.

  • New York Giants 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) furnished four hits against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 1923 outing.

  • Houston Astros RHP Dave Giusti (Syracuse hooper in 1959-60) went 3-for-3 at the plate while hurling a shutout against the San Francisco Giants in 1966. A little over seven weeks later, he also went 3-for-3 against the Chicago Cubs.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81 who twice led league in assists) went 4-for-4 against the San Francisco Giants in a 1991 game. It came on the third anniversary of milestone 1,000th of 3,141 MLB career hits (single off Hall of Fame Houston Astros RHP Nolan Ryan).

  • In 1953, New York Giants RHP Jim Hearn (Georgia Tech hoops letterman in 1941-42) posted his 12th consecutive win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • 2B Tommy Herr (hooper with Delaware's freshman team in 1974-75) traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to Minnesota Twins in 1988.

  • Kansas City Athletics SS Billy Hunter (multi-sport athlete for Indiana PA post-WWII) hammered a three-run homer for the second time in three games in 1958.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Don Kessinger (three-time All-SEC selection for Mississippi from 1961-62 through 1963-64 while finishing among nation's top 45 scorers each year) contributed three hits, including an inside-the-park homer, in a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, snapping P Mike Torrez's 11-game winning streak dating back to previous season.

  • Chicago Cubs CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after he was Furman's runner-up in scoring the previous season) scored four runs in a 16-12 triumph against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980.

  • OF Lyle Mouton (starter in Louisiana State's backcourt with All-American Chris Jackson for 1989 NCAA playoff team) shipped by the New York Yankees to the Chicago White Sox in 1995 to complete an earlier deal involving P Jack McDowell.

  • New York Yankees 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) went 4-for-4 against the Texas Rangers in a 1979 contest.

  • Reliever Cecil Upshaw (led Centenary in scoring as junior while averaging 13.7 ppg and 6 rpg from 1961-62 through 1963-64) traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Houston Astros in 1973.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers rookie 1B Preston Ward (second-leading scorer for Southwest Missouri State in 1946-47 and 1948-49) went 2-for-5 against the New York Giants in each of his first three MLB games in 1948.

  • Kansas City Royals C John Wathan (averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 games for San Diego in 1968-69) went 4-for-4 with three RBI in 7-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980.

Hard-Hitting Impact On Ex-College Hoopers Picked in 1st Round of NFL Draft

Did you know that WR DeAndre Hopkins, a first-round draft selection in 2013, played basketball for Clemson in 2010-11? Hopkins led the NFL in touchdown catches with 13 in 2017 and supplied at least 96 receptions in five of the previous nine seasons (at least 75 catches in eight of first 11 campaigns) before scoring a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI with the Kansas City Chiefs. Historically, the first 15 NFL drafts from 1936 through 1950 had a former college basketball regular selected among the top 10 picks. Four of the top six choices and five of the top 11 in the 1957 draft were ex-college hoopers.

Back in 1963 when men were men before social scholar kneeling knuckleheads, commissioner hugging plus all of the ESPC-contrived Sam Who I Am draft-day crying/kissing and diversity sensitivity training (#BringBackOurMen), six of the top 22 picks, including five from schools that have always been or subsequently became members of the Big Ten Conference, were in the same category. Ex-hoopers for Notre Dame provided five top seven NFL draft choices in 23-year span from 1946 through 1968. Baylor, Michigan and Ohio State have had four former hoopers chosen in the opening round of NFL draft.

Six overall #1 choices were former college hoopers (Oregon State's Terry Baker, Syracuse's Ernie Davis, Michigan's Tom Harmon, Rice's King Hill, Notre Dame's Paul Hornung and Tennessee State's Ed "Too Tall" Jones). There has also been six such #2 selections overall. In the average NFL draft, nearly half of the athletes selected also competed in basketball in high school. Joe Stydahar, a tackle from West Virginia, appears to be the first former hooper selected in the NFL's inaugural draft in 1936 (sixth pick overall by Chicago Bears). Former Michigan State hooper Keon Coleman came close in 2024 as the wide receiver was 33rd pick overall after transferring to Florida State. There likely won't be a former college hooper selected in opening round of this year's NFL draft, but following is an alphabetical list of first-round draft choices who played varsity college basketball for a current NCAA Division I university:

Hooper/1st-Round Choice Pos. College Selected in Draft By NFL Pick Overall
Don Allard QB Boston College Washington Redskins 4th in 1959
Neill Armstrong OE-DB Oklahoma A&M Philadelphia Eagles 8th in 1947
Doug Atkins DE Tennessee Cleveland Browns 11th in 1953
Terry Baker QB-RB Oregon State Los Angeles Rams 1st in 1963
Sammy Baugh QB Texas Christian Boston Redskins 6th in 1937
*Hub Bechtol E Texas Tech/Texas Pittsburgh Steelers 5th in 1947
Max Boydston WR Oklahoma Chicago Cardinals 2nd in 1955
Johnny Bright RB Drake Philadelphia Eagles 5th in 1952
Jim Brown RB Syracuse Cleveland Browns 6th in 1957
Ray Buivid QB Marquette Chicago Cardinals 3rd in 1937
Bob Carey WR Michigan State Los Angeles Rams 13th in 1952
Fred Carr LB Texas Western Green Bay Packers 5th in 1968
Shante Carver DE Arizona State Dallas Cowboys 23rd in 1994
Lynn Chandnois HB Michigan State Pittsburgh Steelers 8th in 1950
George Connor OL-DT-LB Notre Dame New York Giants 5th in 1946
Olie Cordill HB Rice Cleveland Browns 5th in 1940
Ernie Davis HB Syracuse Washington Redskins 1st in 1962
Glenn Davis HB Army Detroit Lions 2nd in 1947
Len Dawson QB Purdue Pittsburgh Steelers 5th in 1957
Joseph "Bill" Dellastatious B Missouri Detroit Lions 8th in 1946
Mike Ditka TE Pittsburgh Chicago Bears 5th in 1961
Rickey Dudley TE Ohio State Oakland Raiders 9th in 1996
Billy Joe Dupree TE Michigan State Dallas Cowboys 20th in 1973
Ray Evans TB-DB Kansas Chicago Bears 9th in 1944
James Francis LB Baylor Cincinnati Bengals 12th in 1990
Reuben Gant TE Oklahoma State Buffalo Bills 18th in 1974
Tony Gonzalez TE California Kansas City Chiefs 13th in 1996
Otto Graham QB Northwestern Detroit Lions 4th in 1944
Harry "Bud" Grant E Minnesota Philadelphia Eagles 14th in 1950
Bob Griese QB Purdue Miami Dolphins 4th in 1967
Linus "Parker" Hall TB-P Mississippi Cleveland Rams 3rd in 1939
Kevin Hardy DL Notre Dame New Orleans Saints 7th in 1968
Tom Harmon HB-DB Michigan Chicago Bears 1st in 1941
Napoleon Harris LB Northwestern Oakland Raiders 23rd in 2002
Todd Heap TE Arizona State Baltimore Ravens 31st in 2001
King Hill QB Rice Chicago Cardinals 1st as bonus pick in 1958
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch OE Michigan Cleveland Rams 5th in 1945
DeAndre Hopkins WR Clemson Houston Texans 27th in 2013
Paul Hornung RB Notre Dame Green Bay Packers 1st as bonus pick in 1957
Jack Jenkins FB-LB Vanderbilt Washington Redskins 10th in 1943
Ed "Too Tall" Jones DL Tennessee State Dallas Cowboys 1st in 1974
Matt Jones E Arkansas Jacksonville Jaquars 21st in 2005
Billy Kilmer QB UCLA San Francisco 49ers 11th in 1961
Ron Kramer WR Michigan Green Bay Packers 4th in 1957
Johnny Lattner HB Notre Dame Pittsburgh Steelers 7th in 1954
Bobby Layne QB Texas Chicago Bears 3rd in 1948
Marcedes Lewis TE UCLA Jacksonville Jaguars 28th in 2006
Drake London WR Southern California Atlanta Falcons 8th in 2022
Ronnie Lott DB Southern California San Francisco 49ers 8th in 1981
Johnny Lujack QB Notre Dame Chicago Bears 4th in 1946
Don Lund FB-LB Michigan Chicago Bears 7th in 1945
Bob MacLeod B Dartmouth Brooklyn Dodgers 5th in 1939
Jim McDonald B Ohio State Philadelphia Eagles 2nd in 1938
Banks McFadden HB Clemson Brooklyn Dodgers 3rd in 1940
Rich McGeorge TE Elon Green Bay Packers 16th in 1970
Donovan McNabb QB Syracuse Philadelphia Eagles 2nd in 1999
R.W. McQuarters CB Oklahoma State San Francisco 49ers 28th in 1998
Leonard Mitchell DE Houston Philadelphia Eagles 27th in 1981
Mack Mitchell DE Houston Cleveland Browns 5th in 1975
Julius Peppers DE North Carolina Carolina Panthers 2nd in 2002
Pat Richter TE Wisconsin Washington Redskins 7th in 1962
Andre Rison WR Michigan State Indianapolis Colts 22nd in 1989
Jack Robbins QB Arkansas Chicago Cardinals 5th in 1938
Dave Robinson LB Penn State Green Bay Packers 14th in 1963
Reggie Rogers DL Washington Detroit Lions 7th in 1987
Art Schlichter QB Ohio State Baltimore Colts 4th in 1982
Don Scott HB Ohio State Chicago Bears 9th in 1941
Del Shofner E Baylor Los Angeles Rams 11th in 1957
Norm Snead QB Wake Forest Washington Redskins 2nd in 1961
Joe Stydahar T West Virginia Chicago Bears 6th in 1936
David Verser WR-KR Kansas Cincinnati Bengals 10th in 1981
Doak Walker HB-DB Southern Methodist New York Bulldogs 3rd in 1949
Byron "Whizzer" White B Colorado Pittsburgh Steelers 4th in 1938
Alfred Williams DE Colorado Cincinnati Bengals 18th in 1991
Jack Wilson HB Baylor Cleveland Browns 2nd in 1942
Kendall Wright WR Baylor Tennessee Titans 20th in 2012

*Bechtol played in the AAFC, where he was a second-round pick (9th overall).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 21

Extra! Extra! As left-leaning online outlets and legacy #MessMedia misfits fond of illegal-alien criminals and Iranian "Death to America" chants perish comparable to influence of a progressive Pope, you can read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former hoops All-Americans Ernie Andres (Indiana) and Billy Werber (Duke) made news as infielders for the Boston Red Sox on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 21 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 21

  • Lone MLB RBI for 3B Ernie Andres (NCAA consensus first-team basketball All-American with Indiana in 1939) helped the Boston Red Sox outlast the Philadelphia Athletics, 12-11, in the opener of a 1946 doubleheader.

  • St. Louis Browns rookie RF Beau Bell (two-year hoops letterman for Texas A&M in early 1930s) contributed four hits and four RBI against the Chicago White Sox in a 1935 game.

  • Chicago White Sox RF Ken Berry (freshman hooper for Wichita in 1959-60) contributed multiple hits in his sixth straight game in 1967. He assembled a career-long 20-game hitting streak later in the campaign.

  • Chicago White Sox 1B Zeke Bonura (best basketball forward for Loyola LA in late 1920s and early 1930s) banged out four hits against the St. Louis Browns in 1937 season opener.

  • Baltimore Orioles CF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) supplied four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1982 contest.

  • Washington Senators RHP Casey Cox (juco recruit averaged 1.7 ppg and 1.2 rpg for Cal State Los Angeles in 1961-62) won his first three starts in 1970.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates INF Gene Freese (West Liberty WV hoops captain of 1952 NAIA Tournament team) pinch-hitting for Willie Stargell, delivered a decisive three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning for an 8-5 win against the Chicago Cubs in 1964.

  • In his MLB debut, Philadelphia Phillies RHP Bob Greenwood (St. Mary's hoops letterman second half of 1940s) tossed 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954. His first strikeout victim was All-Star CF Duke Snider.

  • LHP Steve Hamilton (All-Ohio Valley Conference selection was Morehead State's leading scorer and rebounder in 1956-57 and 1957-58) traded by the Washington Senators to the New York Yankees for P Jim Coates in 1963.

  • New York Mets CF Jim Hickman (freshman hooper for Ole Miss in 1955-56) homered in both ends of a 1963 twinbill against the Milwaukee Braves. A grand slam helped him secure five RBI in the opener.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Howie Judson (Illinois' third-leading scorer with 8.5 ppg as sophomore in 1944-45) won his 1949 season debut (5-2 against Detroit Tigers) before dropping next 14 decisions through August.

  • California Angels C Art Kusnyer (led Kent State in field-goal percentage in 1965-66 as team's third-leading scorer and rebounder) contributed a career-high three hits against the Texas Rangers in a 1972 outing.

  • Cleveland Indians CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's hoops leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) collected three hits and three stolen bases against the Minnesota Twins in a 1994 contest.

  • St. Louis Cardinals LF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago Cubs in the nightcap of a 1957 doubleheader.

  • Oakland Athletics CF Billy North (played hoops briefly for Central Washington in 1967-68) went 4-for-4 against the Detroit Tigers in a 1976 game.

  • Cleveland Indians LF Leon Wagner (Tuskegee AL hooper in 1952-53) homered twice, including game-winning blast in bottom of the 10th inning, in a 6-5 win against the California Angels in 1965.

  • Boston Red Sox SS Billy Werber (first Duke hoops All-American in 1929-30) registered multiple extra-base hits in his third consecutive contest in 1934.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) supplied multiple hits in five of his first seven games in 1962.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Jim Wilson (hoops letterman for San Diego State's 1942 NAIA Tournament participant) opened the 1957 campaign with a 10-inning shutout against the Kansas City Athletics.

  • New York Yankees DH Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) smacked two homers against the Texas Rangers in a 1990 game.

Back-to-Back Bonanza: Purdue 1st School With Two Straight 500-Win Coaches

Barely over 1/4 of NCAA Division I schools feature an all-time winningest coach with more than 300 victories at major-college level. What are the odds promoted Alan Huss (nation's winningest first-year head coach with High Point in 2023-24) can give Creighton three coaches in a row winning more than 300 games? The Bluejays are one of only seven schools boasting a coach and his successor each winning more than 300 games with the same university.

Michigan State has the winningest set of back-to-back mentors after surpassing Louisville in mid-season last year when Purdue also crossed the 1,000-win plateau as Matt Painter joined Gene Keady in becoming first back-to-back bench bosses with in excess of 500 wins. Villanova supplied a stunning number of five consecutive coaches (Alex Severance, Jack Kraft, Rollie Massimino, Steve Lappas and Jay Wright) covering 86 seasons (from 1936-37 through 2021-22) posting at least 174 triumphs apiece although the Wildcats aren't among the following seven institutions with back-to-back mentors winning more than 300 contests:

Major University First 300+ Win Coach Second 300+ Win Coach Total Wins
Michigan State George "Jud" Heathcote (340-220 from 1976-77 through 1994-95) Tom Izzo (764-310 from 1995-96 through 2025-26) 1,104
Louisville Denny Crum (675-295 from 1971-72 through 2000-01) Rick Pitino (416-143 from 2001-02 through 2016-17) 1,091
Kansas Roy Williams (418-101 from 1988-89 through 2002-03) Bill Self (648-167 from 2003-04 through 2025-26) 1,066
Purdue Gene Keady (512-270 from 1980-81 through 2004-05) Matt Painter (501-224 from 2005-06 through 2025-26) 1,013
Dayton Tom Blackburn (352-141 from 1947-48 through 1963-64) Don Donoher (427-275 from 1963-64 through 1988-89) 779
Utah Vadal Peterson (384-224 from 1927-28 through 1952-53) Jack Gardner (339-154 from 1953-54 through 1970-71) 723
Creighton Dana Altman (327-176 from 1994-95 through 2009-10) Greg McDermott (366-189 from 2010-11 through 2025-26) 693

NOTE: Joe Lapchick (335-129 from 1936-37 through 1946-47 and 1956-57 through 1964-65) and successor Lou Carnesecca (526-200 from 1965-66 through 1969-70 and 1973-74 through 1991-92) each registered more than 300 triumphs for St. John's. Carnesecca's tenure was interrupted by a three-year stint with the ABA's New York Nets from 1970-71 through 1972-73.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 20

Extra! Extra! As a new season shifts into high gear, you can shake your head in disgust regarding deranged #Dimorats supporting illegal aliens more than U.S. citizens or read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former college hoopers Joe Adcock (Louisiana State), Dick Gernert (Temple) and Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD) belted multiple homers in MLB games on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 20 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 20

  • Cincinnati Reds LF Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) jacked two homers against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the nightcap of a 1952 twinbill.

  • Cincinnati Reds RF Frankie Baumholtz (MVP in 1941 NIT and first player in Ohio University history to score 1,000 career points) contributed four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1948 game.

  • Philadelphia Phillies rookie 1B Ed Bouchee (freshman hooper for Washington State in 1951-52) went 4-for-4 with three runs scored in a 6-5 win against the New York Giants in 1957 contest. His seventh-inning homer provided decisive tally.

  • In his first appearance in 1956, Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Roger Craig (forward with North Carolina State's 1949-50 freshman hoops team) fired a four-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • Boston Red Sox 1B Dick Gernert (Temple hoops letterman in 1948-49) smashed three homers in a doubleheader sweep of the Washington Senators in 1953.

  • In his MLB debut in 1923, pinch-runner Hinky Haines (Penn State hoops letterman in 1919-20 and 1920-21) scored the tying tally on Babe Ruth's ninth-inning, game-winning two-run double in the New York Yankees' 4-3 win against the Boston Red Sox.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 2B Tommy Herr (hooper with Delaware's freshman team in 1974-75) went 4-for-4 and scored three runs in a 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1982.

  • Washington Senators RF Chuck Hinton (played multiple sports for Shaw NC before serving two years in U.S. Army in mid-1950s) went 4-for-4 against the New York Yankees in a 1963 contest.

  • Philadelphia Phillies rookie RHP Harry Hoch (member of sophomore hoops squad for Dickinson PA in 1911) hurled his second of two complete-game victories in his first two MLB starts in 1908.

  • New York Giants RHP Walt Huntzinger (All-Ivy League forward with Penn in 1921-22) didn't allow an earned run in 8 1/3 innings en route to registering his first MLB victory (2-1 against the Boston Braves in 1924).

  • Chicago Cubs 3B Davey Lopes (NAIA All-District 15 selection for Iowa Wesleyan averaged 16.9 ppg as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS where he became an All-CIC choice for 1968 NAIA Tournament team) went 5-for-5 and walked twice in a 17-inning game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986.

  • A single by Kansas City Royals RF Jerry Martin (Furman's second-leading scorer in 1969-70 and third-leading scorer in 1970-71) was the only hit Detroit Tigers P Milt Wilcox surrendered in an 8-0 shutout in 1982.

  • In 1981, Philadelphia Phillies RF Bake McBride (averaged 12.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg in 21 games for Westminster MO in 1968-69 and 1969-70) provided his third two-double outing in a six-game span.

  • Chicago Cubs RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hooper in mid-1930s) blasted two homers, including a grand slam, and supplied six RBI in a 7-4 win at St. Louis in 1947.

  • In 1961, 2B Mel Roach (averaged 9.3 ppg for Virginia in 1952-53) tied the score with the Philadelphia Phillies by ripping a two-out, three-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Braves went on to prevail, 7-6, in 11 frames.

  • Minnesota Twins RHP Mike Smithson (teammate of Tennessee All-American Ernie Grunfeld averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg under coach Ray Mears in 1974-75 and 1975-76) won his first three starts in 1987.

  • Cleveland Indians rookie 2B Riggs Stephenson (Alabama hoops letterman in 1920) accounted for multiple hits in each of first six MLB outings in 1921.

  • RHP Kent Tekulve (freshman hooper for Marietta OH in mid-1960s) traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1985. Two years earlier, Tekulve permitted his only earned run in first 17 relief appearances of the 1983 campaign.

  • 2B Wayne Terwilliger (two-year letterman for Western Michigan averaged 5.6 ppg in his final season in 1947-48) collected an eighth-inning single for the Washington Senators' lone safety in a 7-0 loss against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954.

  • Boston Red Sox C Sammy White (All-PCC Northern Division first-five selection for Washington in 1947-48 and 1948-49) stroked three doubles against the Washington Senators in the nightcap of a 1953 doubleheader.

  • New York Yankees RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) doubled in his fifth straight game in 1986.

  • Tampa Bay Devil Rays CF Randy Winn (Santa Clara backcourtmate of eventual two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash in 1993-94) supplied an extra-base safety in his sixth consecutive contest in the midst of eight multiple-hit outings in a 10-game span in 2002.

Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Leading Power-League Members

In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking mega-conferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact among power-conference members.

Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-NCAA Division I school.

Arkansas bench boss Hog John Calipari, a graduate of Clarion (Pa.) State, guided Kentucky to the 2012 national championship before Michigan's John Beilein (Wheeling Jesuit NY) and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon VA) directed teams to the Final Four the second half of the previous decade. Following is an alphabetical list of fraternity of active power-league mentors - eight of them in ACC - working their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:

Current Head Coach Power-League Member Small-College Alma Mater
Casey Alexander Kansas State (Big 12) Belmont (Tenn.) '95
Dana Altman Oregon (Big Ten) Eastern New Mexico '80
Rick Barnes Tennessee (SEC) Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) '76
Randy Bennett Arizona State (Big 12) UC San Diego '85
Brad Brownell Clemson (ACC) DePauw (Ind.) '91
John Calipari Arkansas (SEC) Clarion (Pa.) State '82
Ed Cooley Georgetown (Big East) Stonehill (Mass.) '94
Andy Enfield Southern Methodist (ACC) Johns Hopkins (Md.) '91
Steve Forbes Wake Forest (ACC) Southern Arkansas '88
Greg Gard Wisconsin (Big Ten) Wisconsin-Platteville '95
Ross Hodge West Virginia (Big 12) Texas A&M-Commerce '03
Bryan Hodgson Providence (Big East) Fredonia State (N.Y.) '11
Chris Holtmann DePaul (Big East) Taylor (Ind.) '94
Tom Izzo Michigan State (Big Ten) Northern Michigan '77
Chris Jans Mississippi State (SEC) Loras College (Iowa) '91
Tommy Lloyd Arizona (Big 12) Whitman College (Wash.) '98
Steve Lutz Oklahoma State (Big 12) Texas Lutheran '95
Ben McCollum Iowa (Big Ten) Northwest Missouri State '03
Nate Oats Alabama (SEC) Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) '97
Ryan Odom Virginia (ACC) Hampden-Sydney (Va.) '96
T.J. Otzelberger Iowa State (Big 12) Wisconsin-Whitewater '01
Lamont Paris South Carolina (SEC) College of Wooster (Ohio) '96
Mike Rhoades Penn State (Big Ten) Lebanon Valley (Pa.) '95
Micah Shrewsberry Notre Dame (ACC) Hanover College (Ind.) '99
Shaka Smart Marquette (Big East) Kenyon (Ohio) '99
Kyle Smith Stanford (ACC) Hamilton (N.Y.) College '92
Brent "Buzz" Williams Maryland (Big Ten) Oklahoma City '94
Kevin Young Brigham Young (Big 12) Clayton State (Ga.) '04
Mike Young Virginia Tech (ACC) Emory & Henry (Va.) '86

NOTE: Belmont, UC San Diego and Texas A&M-Commerce subsequently were classified as NCAA DI universities while OCU previously was designated as a major college.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 19

Extra! Extra! As a new season shifts into high gear, you can shake your head in sorrow at political and press pestilent #Dimorats seemingly supporting Iran more than USA or read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former hoops All-Americans Danny Ainge (Brigham Young) and Bosey Berger (Maryland) made MLB news on this date. Ditto ex-CA juco hoopers Steve Barber (Riverside City), Garth Iorg (Redwoods) and Jackie Robinson (Pasadena City) plus other J.C. hoopers Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military) and Carl Reynolds (Lon Morris TX). Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 19 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 19

  • Toronto Blue Jays LF Danny Ainge (three-time Brigham Young basketball All-American and national player of year as senior in 1980-81) went 3-for-3 in an 8-1 setback against the Cleveland Indians in 1980.

  • Only MLB decision for RHP Steve Barber (J.C. starter under coach Jerry Tarkanian before attending La Verne CA) was a 9-8 victory for the Minnesota Twins against the Kansas City Royals in 1971.

  • San Diego Padres RHP Andy Benes (joined Evansville's shorthanded basketball squad in 1985-86 under coach Jim Crews) allowed only one earned run in his first three starts in 1992 covering 23 1/3 innings.

  • 3B Bosey Berger (Maryland's first hoops All-American in 1931-32) awarded on waivers from the Cleveland Indians to the Chicago White Sox in 1937.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) provided four hits against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1966 game.

  • SS Lee Elia (averaged 13.7 ppg in three basketball games for Delaware in 1957-58) traded by the Chicago Cubs to New York Yankees in 1969.

  • Washington Senators RHP Mark Filley (Williams MA hooper in early 1930s) made his lone MLB appearance, hurling one-third of an inning in relief against the Boston Red Sox in 1934.

  • In midst of going deep in four consecutive contests, Chicago White Sox C Carlton Fisk (runner-up in scoring with 13.7 ppg and top rebounder for New Hampshire's 1965-66 freshman squad) homered twice in 1988 game against the Seattle Mariners.

  • In 2017 in his third MLB start, Amir Garrett (averaged 7.4 ppg and 4 rpg for St. John's under coach Steve Lavin in 2011-12 and 2012-13 before RS transfer year at Cal State Northridge) tied a Cincinnati Reds record for a rookie LHP by fanning 12 Baltimore Orioles batters.

  • Cincinnati Reds RHP Ken Hunt (freshman hooper for Brigham Young in 1957-58) won his first MLB start (4-2 against the San Francisco Giants in 1961), fanning Felipe Alou and Willie McCovey.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Walt Huntzinger (All-Ivy League forward with Penn in 1921-22) toiled 14 innings but lost, 5-4, against the Chicago Cubs in 1926. He was waived to the Cubbies two months later.

  • Toronto Blue Jays 3B Garth Iorg (juco hooper with College of the Redwoods CA in mid-1970s) went 4-for-4, including a game-winning triple in bottom of the ninth inning, in 2-1 win against the Baltimore Orioles in 1984.

  • New York Giants 1B Monte Irvin (Lincoln PA hooper 1 1/2 years in late 1930s) collected six RBI against the Boston Braves in the nightcap of a 1951 doubleheader.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 1B George Kernek (Oklahoma hoops letterman in 1959-60 and 1960-61) contributed three hits for the second time in four games in 1966.

  • Five hits by CF Bake McBride (averaged 12.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg in 21 games for Westminster MO in 1968-69 and 1969-70) were in vain as the St. Louis Cardinals incurred a 17-inning, 4-3 loss against the New York Mets in 1976.

  • In a 1961 contest, Los Angeles Dodgers LF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) supplied two homers and five RBI against his original team (St. Louis Cardinals).

  • In 1942, Chicago Cubs RHP Claude Passeau (Millsaps MS hooper in late 1920s and early 1930s) didn't yield a hit until there was one out in the eighth inning when CF Harry Craft (Mississippi College hooper first half of 1930s) singled for the Cincinnati Reds.

  • Chicago White Sox LHP Gary Peters (Grove City PA hooper from 1955-57) drilled two doubles good for four RBI in first three innings of a 1964 contest against the Boston Red Sox.

  • Oakland Athletics INF Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) banged out four hits in a 1986 game against the Seattle Mariners. The next day, he collected three safeties and scored three runs against Seattle.

  • Boston Red Sox CF Carl Reynolds (Southwestern TX hoops MVP and captain in mid-1920s) went 4-for-4 (including two triples) in the nightcap of a 1934 twinbill against the Washington Senators.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers LF Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) went 4-for-4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1954.

  • RHP Sonny Siebert (team-high 16.7 ppg for Missouri in 1957-58 as All-Big Eight Conference second-team selection) traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Boston Red Sox in a six-player swap in 1969.

Marlin is Winningest Coach to Unsuccessfully Fish For NCAA Tournament Win

Talk about a major void in your professional life. Ed DeChellis, after retiring last year at Navy, became one of eight former coaches with more than 400 career wins but none of them in the NCAA Tournament despite multiple playoff appearances (lost two contests - one each with East Tennessee State and Penn State - by total of only five points). He had been one of seven active bench bosses with at least 100 triumphs for three or more NCAA Division I schools although he went emptyhanded at The Big Dance. Another frustrated pilot surely was Tom Apke, who lost all three of his playoff contests with Creighton by a total of only eight points.

Going head-to-head to replace DeChellis as the winningest active coach in this category is Leon Rice (336-189 in first 16 seasons with Boise State; 0-5 in NCAA tourney in 2013-15-22-23-24 by 7.2 ppg). Bob Marlin is atop the following list of retired coaches with at least 300 Division I career victories - 14 with more triumphs than Jones and Rice - but winless in NCAA playoffs despite participating in multiple tourneys since inception of the event in late 1930s (Bill Reinhart guided Oregon 12 seasons in era just before the Ducks won inaugural NCAA tourney):

Former Coach Summary of DI Coaching Career Including Multiple NCAA Tourneys Winless Playoff Record
Bob Marlin 494-329 with Sam Houston State and Louisiana-Lafayette in 27 years from 1998-99 to 2024-25 0-4 in 2003-10-14-23 by average of 13 ppg
Jim Baron 462-430 with St. Francis (Pa.), St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island and Canisius in 29 years from 1987-88 through 2015-16 0-2 in 1991 and 2000 by 9 ppg
Oliver Purnell 448-384 with Radford, Old Dominion, Dayton, Clemson and DePaul in 27 years from 1988-89 through 2014-15 0-6 in 1992 and 2000-03-08-09-10 by 8.3 ppg
George Blaney 432-364 with Dartmouth, Holy Cross and Seton Hall in 28 years from 1969-70 through 1996-97 0-3 in 1977-80-93 by 15.7 ppg
Dave Loos 420-410 with Austin Peay State in 27 years from 1990-91 through 2016-17 0-4 in 1996 and 2003-08-16 by 19.75 ppg
Ed DeChellis 415-461 with East Tennessee State, Penn State and Navy in 29 years from 1996-97 through 2024-25 0-2 in 2003 and 2011 by 2.5 ppg
Tom Green 407-351 with Fairleigh Dickinson in 26 years from 1983-84 through 2008-09 0-4 in 1985-88-98 and 2005 by 9.75 ppg
Mike Vining 401-303 with Louisiana-Monroe in 24 years from 1981-82 through 2004-05 0-7 in 1982-86-90-91-92-93-96 by 18 ppg
John Bach 399-326 with Fordham and Penn State in 29 years from 1949-50 through 1977-78 0-2 in 1953 and 1954 by 7.5 ppg
Charlie Woollum 387-315 with Bucknell and William & Mary in 25 years from 1975-76 through 1999-00 0-2 in 1987 and 1989 by 22.5 ppg
Fran O'Hanlon 361-433 with Lafayette in 27 years from 1995-96 through 2021-22 0-3 in 1999, 2000 and 2015 by 29.3 ppg
Robert Moreland 350-363 with Texas Southern in 25 years from 1977-78 through 2000-01 and 2007-08 0-3 in 1990-94-95 by 10.3 ppg
Rick Samuels 344-349 with Iowa State and Eastern Illinois in 25 years in 1979-80 and 1981-82 through 2004-05 0-2 in 1992 and 2001 by 32 ppg
Murry Bartow 338-274 with UAB, East Tennessee State, South Florida and UCLA in 20 years from 1996-97 through 2001-02, 2003-04 through 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2018-19 0-4 in 1999 and 2004-09-10 by 13.75 ppg
Tom Apke 328-292 with Creighton, Colorado and Appalachian State in 22 years from 1974-75 through 1995-96 0-3 in 1975-78-81 by 2.7 ppg
Scott Sutton 328-247 with Oral Roberts in 18 years from 1999-00 through 2016-17 0-3 in 2006-07-08 by 17 ppg
Bob Williams 313-260 with UC Santa Barbara in 19 years from 1998-99 through 2016-17 0-3 in 2002-10-11 by 16.7 ppg
Bill Strannigan 308-289 with Colorado State, Iowa State and Wyoming in 23 years from 1950-51 through 1972-73 0-4 in 1954 and 1967 by 19.75 ppg
Ray McCallum 300-281 with Ball State, Houston and Detroit in 19 years from 1993-94 through 2003-04 and 2008-09 through 2015-16 0-3 in 1995, 2000 and 2012 by 12.7 ppg
M.K. Turk 300-267 with Southern Mississippi in 20 years from 1976-77 through 1995-96 0-2 in 1990 and 1991 by 17.5 ppg
Bob Weltlich 300-335 with Mississippi, Texas, Florida International and South Alabama in 22 years from 1976-77 through 1987-88, 1990-91 through 1994-95 and 1997-98 through 2001-02 0-3 in 1981-95-98 by 17.3 ppg

NOTE: Coaches Fred Enke (480 career wins with Louisville and Arizona including 15 seasons before start of NCAA tourney/lost vs. Kansas State by two points in 1951), Larry Hunter (397 with Ohio University and Western Carolina/Indiana by 12 in 1994), Nick Macarchuk (374 with Canisius, Fordham and Stony Brook/Massachusetts by 27 in 1992), Danny Kaspar (365 with Stephen F. Austin and Texas State/Syracuse by 15 in 2009), Carroll Williams (341 with Santa Clara/Iowa by 23 in 1987), Joe Lapchick (334 with St. John's/Wake Forest by 23 in 1961), Mike Dement (331 with Cornell, UNC Greensboro and Southern Methodist/Arizona by 40 in 1988) and Hank Egan (303 with Air Force and San Diego/Auburn by 1 in 1987) each lost in their only NCAA Tournament appearance.

As for coaches cracking the NCAA playoff win column at least once, no one is close to being as far underwater as recently-retired Fran Dunphy (3-17 mark with Penn and Temple). Fran McCaffery, after returning to his alma mater (Penn), became the ninth individual among the following mentors at least seven games below .500 in tourney competition:

Coach (Games Below .500) Summary of NCAA Tournament Appearances (Victories)
Fran Dunphy (-14) 3-17 with Penn and Temple (defeated Nebraska, Penn State and North Carolina State)
Stew Morrill (-8) 1-9 with Montana and Utah State (Ohio State)
Everett Shelton (-8) 4-12 with Wyoming (Oklahoma, Texas, Georgetown and Oklahoma City)
Rick Byrd (-7) 1-8 with Belmont (Temple)
Pete Carril (-7) 4-11 with Princeton (North Carolina A&T, Oklahoma State, San Diego and UCLA)
Bryce Drew (-7) 1-8 with Valparaiso, Vanderbilt and Grand Canyon (Saint Mary's)
Hugh Greer (-7) 1-8 with Connecticut (Manhattan)
Fran McCaffery (-7) 6-13 with Lehigh, UNC Greensboro, Siena, Iowa and Penn
Bob McKillop (-7) 3-10 with Davidson (Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin)

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 18

Extra! Extra! As a new season shifts into high gear, you can listen to how self-absorbed #Dimorat politicians are more concerned about criminal illegal aliens than American citizens impacted by their farting Eric misdeeds or read news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Syracuse and UCLA - NCAA playoff kingpins at some point in their respective histories - had former hoopers make MLB news on this date. Ditto five ex-hoopers from Pennsylvania small colleges - Albright, Grove City, Mansfield, Susquehanna and Wilkes - before they became MLB pitchers. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 18 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 18

  • Chicago White Sox rookie 1B Zeke Bonura (best basketball forward for Loyola LA in late 1920s and early 1930s) belted two homers against the Detroit Tigers in 1934 in his second MLB game. Four years later with the Washington Senators, Bonura contributed three hits and four RBI in a 12-8 win against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1938 season opener.

  • Philadelphia Phillies INF Gene Freese (West Liberty WV basketball captain of 1952 NAIA Tournament team) smacked a pinch grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1959 game.

  • Atlanta Braves RHP Kevin Gryboski (backup hooper for Wilkes PA in 1991-92 and 1992-93) surrendered his only run in first 17 relief appearances of 2004 campaign.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 5-for-5 against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1993 contest.

  • Texas Rangers 1B Mike Hargrove (Northwestern Oklahoma State hoops letterman) collected four hits and five RBI against the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a 1976 doubleheader.

  • St. Louis Browns 1B Dick Kauffman (Susquehanna PA multi-sport athlete/class of 1909) contributed a career-high three hits - two for extra bases - in game against the Cleveland Indians in 1915.

  • RHP Jim Konstanty (Syracuse hooper in late 1930s) traded by the Cincinnati Reds with cash to the Boston Braves in 1946.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops squad in 1953-54) threw the second of two immaculate innings in his career when he struck out the side on nine pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in third frame in 1964.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Frank Linzy (listed on Oklahoma State's freshman hoops roster in 1959-60) posted his third save in a week in 1971.

  • Atlanta Braves CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) provided a homer among his five hits in a 14-0 romp over the Colorado Rockies in 1997. Five years later with the Chicago White Sox, Lofton delivered multiple safeties seven times in a span of eight games while raising his batting average from .250 to .426 in 2002.

  • Davey Lopes (NAIA All-District 15 selection for Iowa Wesleyan averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS and becoming All-CIC choice for 1968 NAIA Tournament team) fired as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002.

  • San Francisco Giants CF Billy North (played hoops briefly for Central Washington in 1967-68) stole three bases against the Atlanta Braves in a 1981 contest.

  • Chicago White Sox LHP Gary Peters (Grove City PA hooper from 1955-57) knocked in four runs with a pair of doubles in 1964 game against the Boston Red Sox.

  • Minnesota Twins 3B Rick Renick (played in one basketball game for Ohio State in 1963-64 under coach Fred Taylor) ripped a grand slam homer against the Oakland Athletics in 1970.

  • Montreal Expos RHP Steve Renko (averaged 9.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg as Kansas sophomore in 1963-64) won his first start of season against the New York Mets before dropping last 10 decisions of the 1972 campaign.

  • St. Louis Cardinals LF Rip Repulski (occasional hoops starter for St. Cloud State MN in 1946-47) went 4-for-4 in a 1955 outing against the Cincinnati Redlegs.

  • Hall of Fame RHP Robin Roberts (one of Michigan State's top three scorers each season from 1944-45 through 1946-47) surrendered the first hit on artificial turf in 1966 when Los Angeles Dodgers SS Maury Wills singled to center at Houston's Astrodome.

  • 1B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) ripped his first homer for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 (against New York Giants). The blast was Robinson's lone round-tripper in his first 30 MLB games.

  • Cleveland Indians LHP Joe Shaute (hooper for Mansfield PA in early 1920s) allowed only one earned run in tossing complete-game victories in his first two appearances of 1928 campaign.

  • New York Yankees RHP Roy Sherid (Albright PA hoops center in 1926-27 and 1927-28) toiled 15 innings but lost, 5-4, against the Boston Red Sox in 1931.

  • Chicago White Sox DH Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) swatted two homers in 2007 game against the Texas Rangers.

  • RHP Cecil Upshaw (led Centenary in scoring as junior while averaging 13.7 ppg and 6 rpg from 1961-62 through 1963-64) registered his fourth victory hurling at least three innings of relief in the Atlanta Braves' first 11 games of the 1971 season.

  • Philadelphia Athletics 3B Billy Werber (first Duke hoops All-American in 1929-30) provided four safeties in season opener en route to seven multiple-hit games in his first 11 outings of the 1938 campaign. Ellis also coached two DI schools in Alabama (South Alabama and Auburn).

Exit Strategy: > Six Playoff Coaches Seek Greener Pastures 7th Year in Row

March Madness included seventh consecutive campaign a minimum of seven NCAA tourney coaches capitalized on notoriety to move on to new outposts. Utah State has lost three tourney coaches in that span. They all think duplicating what Michigan did in hiring Dusty May two years ago can happen to them (losing 24 games one season before reaching Sweet 16 the next year and capturing NCAA crown in two years). Virginia Commonwealth, after losing a stunning number of six coaches in last 20 years on heels of playoff appearance, lured a playoff pilot of its own last year by negotiating deal with Bryant's Phil Martelli Jr.

Maddeningly to many jilted fans, an average of four coaches per tourney left NCAA playoff teams since seeding started in 1979. In every year since 1968, directing a team to the NCAA Tournament has been a springboard to what many believed was bigger-and-better things at a "poach-a-coach" school. Connecticut has had two mentors in this category go on to direct the Huskies to national crowns (Jim Calhoun from Northeastern and Danny Hurley from Rhode Island).

"Movin' On Up" doesn't always work out. On the heels of a 20-win campaign, ACC-bound SMU fired Rob Lanier after only two seasons upon him leaving Georgia State. Time will tell for Ed Cooley after he left a "lifetime" contract with Providence three years ago for more dough to clean up the mess another All-American (Patrick Ewing) left behind at Georgetown. Following are head coaches since the tourney field expanded to at least 64 entrants in 1985 who had a change of heart and accepted similar job at a different major college promptly after directing team to the NCAA playoffs:

1985 (six) - J.D. Barnett (Virginia Commonwealth to Tulsa), Craig Littlepage (Penn to Rutgers), Nolan Richardson Jr. (Tulsa to Arkansas), Andy Russo (Louisiana Tech to Washington), Tom Schneider (Lehigh to Penn), Eddie Sutton (Arkansas to Kentucky)

1986 (four) - Jim Calhoun (Northeastern to Connecticut), Paul Evans (Navy to Pittsburgh), Clem Haskins (Western Kentucky to Minnesota), George Raveling (Iowa to Southern California)

1987 (two) - Jim Brandenburg (Wyoming to San Diego State), Benny Dees (New Orleans to Wyoming)

1988 (two) - Dave Bliss (Southern Methodist to New Mexico), Tom Penders (Rhode Island to Texas)

1989 (four) - Tommy Joe Eagles (Louisiana Tech to Auburn), Bill Frieder (Michigan to Arizona State), Rick Majerus (Ball State to Utah), Lynn Nance (Saint Mary's to Washington)

1990 (five) - Kermit Davis Jr. (Idaho to Texas A&M), Mike Jarvis (Boston University to George Washington), Lon Kruger (Kansas State to Florida), Mike Newell (UALR to Lamar), Les Robinson (East Tennessee State to North Carolina State)

1991 (four) - Tony Barone (Creighton to Texas A&M), Jim Molinari (Northern Illinois to Bradley), Stew Morrill (Montana to Colorado State), Steve Newton (Murray State to South Carolina)

1992 (one) - Charlie Spoonhour (Southwest Missouri State to Saint Louis)

1993 (one) - Eddie Fogler (Vanderbilt to South Carolina)

1994 (eight) - Tom Asbury (Pepperdine to Kansas State), Rick Barnes (Providence to Clemson), Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T to Old Dominion), Kevin O'Neill (Marquette to Tennessee), Skip Prosser (Loyola MD to Xavier), Kelvin Sampson (Washington State to Oklahoma), Ralph Willard (Western Kentucky to Pittsburgh), Jim Wooldridge (Southwest Texas State to Louisiana Tech)

1995 (three) - Dick Bennett (Wisconsin-Green Bay to Wisconsin), Scott Edgar (Murray State to Duquesne), Tubby Smith (Tulsa to Georgia)

1996 (one) - Ben Braun (Eastern Michigan to California)

1997 (five) - Ernie Kent (Saint Mary's to Oregon), Mack McCarthy (UT-Chattanooga to Virginia Commonwealth), Jim O'Brien (Boston College to Ohio State), Steve Robinson (Tulsa to Florida State), Al Skinner (Rhode Island to Boston College), Tubby Smith (Georgia to Kentucky)

1998 (seven) - Rick Barnes (Clemson to Texas), Larry Eustachy (Utah State to Iowa State), Rob Evans (Mississippi to Arizona State), Mark Gottfried (Murray State to Alabama), Mike Jarvis (George Washington to St. John's), Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte to Texas A&M), Tim Welsh (Iona to Providence)

1999 (four) - Steve Alford (Southwest Missouri State to Iowa), Dave Bliss (New Mexico to Baylor), Jim Harrick (Rhode Island to Georgia), Dan Monson (Gonzaga to Minnesota)

2000 (four) - Barry Collier (Butler to Nebraska), Ray McCallum (Ball State to Houston), Buzz Peterson (Appalachian State to Tulsa), Bill Self (Tulsa to Illinois)

2001 (five) - Thad Matta (Butler to Xavier), Dave Odom (Wake Forest to South Carolina), Skip Prosser (Xavier to Wake Forest), Gary Waters (Kent State to Rutgers), Jay Wright (Hofstra to Villanova)

2002 (three) - Stan Heath (Kent State to Arkansas), Steve Merfeld (Hampton to Evansville), Jerry Wainwright (UNC Wilmington to Richmond)

2003 (eight) - Cy Alexander (South Carolina State to Tennessee State), Ed DeChellis (East Tennessee State to Penn State), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky to Georgia), Ben Howland (Pittsburgh to UCLA), Oliver Purnell (Dayton to Clemson), Bill Self (Illinois to Kansas), Dereck Whittenburg (Wagner to Fordham), Roy Williams (Kansas to North Carolina)

2004 (eight) - Jessie Evans (Louisiana-Lafayette to San Francisco), Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington to Utah), Billy Gillispie (Texas-El Paso to Texas A&M), Trent Johnson (Nevada to Stanford), Thad Matta (Xavier to Ohio State), Matt Painter (Southern Illinois to Purdue), Joe Scott (Air Force to Princeton), John Thompson III (Princeton to Georgetown)

2005 (two) - Travis Ford (Eastern Kentucky to Massachusetts), Bruce Pearl (Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Tennessee)

2006 (eight) - Mike Anderson (UAB to Missouri), Brad Brownell (UNC Wilmington to Wright State), Mick Cronin (Murray State to Cincinnati), Mike Davis (Indiana to UAB), Fran Dunphy (Penn to Temple), Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa to Iowa State), Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma to Indiana), Herb Sendek (North Carolina State to Arizona State)

2007 (four) - Ronnie Arrow (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to South Alabama), Todd Lickliter (Butler to Iowa), Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M to Kentucky), Gregg Marshall (Winthrop to Wichita State)

2008 (five) - Jim Christian (Kent State to Texas Christian), Tom Crean (Marquette to Indiana), Keno Davis (Drake to Providence), Darrin Horn (Western Kentucky to South Carolina), Trent Johnson (Stanford to Louisiana State)

2009 (three) - John Calipari (Memphis to Kentucky), Anthony Grant (Virginia Commonwealth to Alabama), Sean Miller (Xavier to Arizona)

2010 (five) - Tony Barbee (Texas-El Paso to Auburn), Steve Donahue (Cornell to Boston College), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State to Louisiana-Lafayette), Fran McCaffery (Siena to Iowa), Oliver Purnell (Clemson to DePaul).

2011 (seven) - Mike Anderson (Missouri to Arkansas), Patrick Chambers (Boston University to Penn State), Ed DeChellis (Penn State to Navy), Sydney Johnson (Princeton to Fairfield), Lon Kruger (UNLV to Oklahoma), Jim Larranaga (George Mason to Miami FL), Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M to Maryland)

2012 (six) - Larry Eustachy (Southern Mississippi to Colorado State), Jim Ferry (Long Island to Duquesne), John Groce (Ohio University to Illinois), Frank Martin (Kansas State to South Carolina), Tim Miles (Colorado State to Nebraska), Sean Woods (Mississippi Valley State to Morehead State)

2013 (two) - Steve Alford (New Mexico to UCLA), Andy Enfield (Florida Gulf Coast to Southern California)

2014 (three) - Danny Manning (Tulsa to Wake Forest), Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee to California), Saul Phillips (North Dakota State to Ohio University)

2015 (two) - Bobby Hurley (Buffalo to Arizona State), Shaka Smart (Virginia Commonwealth to Texas)

2016 (seven) - Chris Beard (UALR to UNLV to Texas Tech), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh to Texas Christian), Scott Nagy (South Dakota State to Wright State), Steve Pikiell (Stony Brook to Rutgers), Tubby Smith (Texas Tech to Memphis), Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt to Pittsburgh), Brad Underwood (Stephen F. Austin to Oklahoma State)

2017 (six) - Chris Holtmann (Butler to Ohio State), Kevin Keatts (UNC Wilmington to North Carolina State), Archie Miller (Dayton to Indiana), Brad Underwood (Oklahoma State to Illinois), Will Wade (Virginia Commonwealth to Louisiana State), Paul Weir (New Mexico State to New Mexico)

2018 (three) - Mike Davis (Texas Southern to Detroit), Danny Hurley (Rhode Island to Connecticut), Chris Mack (Xavier to Louisville)

2019 (seven) - John Brannen (Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati), Mick Cronin (Cincinnati to UCLA), Ron Hunter (Georgia State to Tulane), Eric Musselman (Nevada to Arkansas), Nate Oats (Buffalo to Alabama), Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech to Texas A&M), Mike Young (Wofford to Virginia Tech)

2021 (eight) - Chris Beard (Texas Tech to Texas), Joe Golding (Abilene Christian to Texas-El Paso), Pat Kelsey (Winthrop to College of Charleston), Shantay Legans (Eastern Washington to Portland), Wes Miller (UNC Greensboro to Cincinnati), Porter Moser (Loyola of Chicago to Oklahoma), Shaka Smart (Texas to Marquette), Craig Smith (Utah State to Utah)

2022 (seven) - Todd Golden (San Francisco to Florida), Shaheen Holloway (Saint Peter's to Seton Hall), Chris Jans (New Mexico State to Mississippi State), Rob Lanier (Georgia State to Southern Methodist), Matt McMahon (Murray State to Louisiana State), Lamont Paris (Chattanooga to South Carolina), Kevin Willard (Seton Hall to Maryland)

2023 (11) - Amir Abdur-Rahim (Kennesaw State to South Florida), Tobin Anderson (Fairleigh Dickinson to Iona), Chris Beard (Texas* to Mississippi), Ed Cooley (Providence to Georgetown), Steve Lutz (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Western Kentucky), Paul Mills (Oral Roberts to Wichita State), Ryan Odom (Utah State to Virginia Commonwealth), Rick Pitino (Iona to St. John's), Mike Rhoades (Virginia Commonwealth to Penn State), Micah Shrewsberry (Penn State to Notre Dame), Danny Sprinkle (Montana State to Utah State)

2024 (11) - Mark Byington (James Madison to Vanderbilt), John Calipari (Kentucky to Arkansas), Darian DeVries (Drake to West Virginia), Pat Kelsey (College of Charleston to Louisville), Steve Lutz (Western Kentucky to Oklahoma State), Dusty May (Florida Atlantic to Michigan), Dan Monson (Long Beach State to Eastern Washington), Mark Pope (Brigham Young to Kentucky), Kyle Smith (Washington State to Stanford), Preston Spradlin (Morehead State to James Madison), Danny Sprinkle (Utah State to Washington)

2025 (12) - Lennie Acuff (Lipscomb to Samford), Alan Huss (High Point to Creighton as head-coach-in-waiting), Phil Martelli Jr. (Bryant to Virginia Commonwealth), Ben McCollum (Drake to Iowa), Niko Medved (Colorado State to Minnesota), Sean Miller (Xavier to Texas), Ryan Odom (Virginia Commonwealth to Virginia), Eric Olen (UC San Diego to New Mexico), Richard Pitino (New Mexico to Xavier), Will Wade (McNeese to North Carolina State), Kevin Willard (Maryland to Villanova), Buzz Williams (Texas A&M to Maryland)

2026 (9) - Randy Bennett (Saint Mary's to Arizona State), Jerrod Calhoun (Utah State to Cincinnati), Scott Cross (Troy to Georgia Tech), Rick Croy (California Baptist to Arizona State as assistant), John Groce (Akron to College of Charleston), Bryan Hodgson (South Florida to Providence), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa to Utah State), Gerry McNamara (Siena to Syracuse), Will Wade (North Carolina State to Louisiana State)

*Fired in mid-season.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 17

Extra! Extra! As new season swings into high gear, you can curse political windbags immersed in lawfare, Plagiarist Biledumb fabricating story about Uncle Bosey devoured by cannibals, #Dimorat officials supporting illegal-alien criminals and claiming they knew nothing about farting Eric's sexcapades or read news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former college hoopers Joe Adcock (Louisiana State), Frank Bolling (Spring Hill AL) and Johnny Logan (Binghamton) supplied significant offensive performances for the Milwaukee Braves on this date while ex-Oklahoma hoopers Eddie Fisher and Elmer Ponder provided sterling pitching performances and ex-Mississippi College hoopers Harry Craft and Hal Lee contributed N.L. hitting headlines. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 17 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 17

  • Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) contributed four hits against the Cincinnati Reds in the nightcap of a 1955 twinbill.

  • Philadelphia Phillies LF Harry Anderson (averaged 7.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg for West Chester PA in 1951-52) hammered two homers against the Milwaukee Braves in a 1960 game.

  • Milwaukee Braves 2B Frank Bolling (averaged 7.3 ppg for Spring Hill AL in 1950-51) smacked two homers in a 5-2 win against the Houston Colt .45s in 1964.

  • Baltimore Orioles CF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) stroked four hits against the Kansas City Royals in 1981.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B Tony Clark (San Diego State's leading scorer in Western Athletic Conference games in 1991-92) homered in his third consecutive contest in 1997.

  • Arizona Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (hooper for Mohawk Valley Community College NY in 2007-08) tossed a one-hit shutout against the San Francisco Giants in 2018.

  • Cincinnati Reds CF Harry Craft (four-sport hoops letterman with Mississippi College in early 1930s) accumulated four hits and five RBI in a 7-6 setback against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Eddie Fisher (hooper for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) hurled his first complete game in 10 years. Fisher also won his next three starts by yielding only one earned run covering 18 innings.

  • Boston Red Sox C Carlton Fisk (runner-up in scoring with 13.7 ppg and top rebounder for New Hampshire's freshman squad in 1965-66) swatted two homers in game against the Detroit Tigers in 1973

  • Kansas City Royals RHP Dave Frost (averaged 10.5 ppg and 4 rpg for Stanford from 1971-72 through 1973-74) registered his third of three relief victories in a four-game team span early in 1982.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Joe Gibbon (two-time All-SEC forward for Ole Miss was the nation's second-leading scorer as a senior in 1956-57), making his MLB debut in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in 1960, threw two scoreless innings of relief and emerged as the winner when the Bucs erupted for six runs in the ninth.

  • Utilityman Chuck Harmon (freshman starter was Toledo's second-leading scorer for 1943 NIT runner-up) became the second black player for the Cincinnati Reds when pinch-hitting against the Milwaukee Braves in a 1954 contest.

  • Boston Red Sox LHP Bill Henry (hoops letterman for Houston's 1947 NAIA Tournament team featuring co-captain Guy Lewis) won his MLB debut, yielding only five hits in eight innings of 9-2 triumph against the Washington Senators in 1952.

  • Baltimore Orioles 2B Davey Johnson (averaged 1.7 ppg with Texas A&M in 1961-62) provided back-to-back four-hit games against the Boston Red Sox in 1969.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Bob Keegan (Bucknell hoops letterman in 1941-42 and 1942-43) toiled at least eight innings for the first of 10 straight starts in 1954, including a pair of shutouts.

  • Detroit Tigers SS Harvey Kuenn (played briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV hoops squad previous season) stroked three doubles among his four hits against the Kansas City Athletics in a 1955 game.

  • Boston Braves 2B Hal Lee (Mississippi College hooper in mid-1920s before coaching basketball at Auburn and Louisiana Tech the first half of the 1930s) went 3-for-3 with two extra-base hits in 1934 season opener against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

  • Milwaukee Braves SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) jacked two homers in a 5-1 win against the Cincinnati Reds in 1954.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Ted Lyons (two-time All-SWC first-team selection for Baylor in early 1920s) hurled a shutout against the Cleveland Indians in his season debut. The 41-year-old Lyons went the distance in all 20 starts during the 1942 campaign en route to posting an A.L.-best 2.10 ERA.

  • Philadelphia Phillies RF Bake McBride (averaged 12.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg in 21 games for Westminster MO in 1968-69 and 1969-70) collected two homers and five RBI against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1979 contest.

  • California Angels 3B Bob Oliver (All-Valley Conference basketball choice for American River Community College CA in 1962) smacked two homers in a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Twins in 1974.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Elmer Ponder (Oklahoma hoops letterman in 1913-14 and 1915-16) tossed a 13-inning shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1920.

  • New York Giants RF Dave Robertson (one of two reserves on North Carolina State's first basketball team in 1911) contributed three hits and five RBI in an 8-3 triumph against the Brooklyn Robins in 1917.

  • Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) secured his first safety with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. It was one of his 19 bunt hits as a rookie.

  • Cleveland Indians LHP Joe Shaute (hooper for Mansfield PA in early 1920s) twirled a four-hit shutout against the St. Louis Browns in 1925.

  • Chicago Cubs LF Riggs Stephenson (Alabama hoops letterman in 1920) supplied three extra-base hits, including a homer, in a six-inning, 3-0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930.

  • Detroit Tigers RF Champ Summers (led SIU-Edwardsville in scoring in 1969-70 after doing same with Nicholls State in 1964-65) collected four hits against the Boston Red Sox, igniting a career-high 17-game hitting streak in 1980.

  • In 1989, Cincinnati Reds RHP Kent Tekulve (freshman hooper in mid-1960s for Marietta OH) passed Hoyt Wilhelm as MLB's all-time leader in relief appearances.

  • Kansas City Royals 1B John Wathan (averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 games for San Diego in 1968-69) hit safely in his first eight games of the 1983 campaign.

Burnout: Coaching NCAA Titlist Took a Toll On More Than Just Jay Wright

Dusty May, coach of Michigan's NCAA Tournament champion, is only 50 years old. But even if he promptly retired with a title in hand, he wouldn't be the youngest bench boss to depart on heels of earning a crown.

Much of media was abuzz about Jay Wright stepping down as Villanova's coach at the age of 60 after capturing NCAA Tournament crowns with the Wildcats in 2016 and 2018. But a total of 13 title bench bosses bowed out of coaching when they were younger than Wright. Following is a list of NCAA DI championship coaches who departed profession as college head coach by the age of 60 (including five of the first six titlists from 1939 through 1944):

Championship Coach Age Title Team Year(s)
Pete Newell 44 California 1959
Jim Valvano 44 North Carolina State 1983
Kevin Ollie 47 Connecticut 2014
Al McGuire 48 Marquette 1977
Fred Taylor 51 Ohio State 1960
Harold "Bud" Foster 52 Wisconsin 1941
Howard Hobson 52 Oregon 1939
Everett Dean 53 Stanford 1942
Phil Woolpert 53 San Francisco 1955 and 1956
Ken Loeffler 54 La Salle 1954
Joe B. Hall 56 Kentucky 1978
E. "Branch" McCracken 56 Indiana 1940 and 1953
John Thompson Jr. 57 Georgetown 1984
Vadal Peterson 60 Utah 1944
Ed Jucker 60 Cincinnati 1961 and 1962
Nolan Richardson Jr. 60 Arkansas 1994
Jay Wright 60 Villanova 2016 and 2018

NOTE: Billy Donovan was 49 when he left Florida (2006 and 2007) for the NBA.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 16

Extra! Extra! As a new season gains steam, you can listen to leftist lunatics on #MSLSD and CNN Sucks about deporting "MD Man" (a/k/a illegal-alien criminal) and why they had their heads up a crevice regarding farting Eric or learn something reading news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former San Diego State hoopers Tony Gwynn and Graig Nettles supplied significant National League hitting performances as lefthanded batters on this date. Several ex-hoopers from Illinois colleges - Cal Neeman (Illinois Wesleyan), Wally Roettger (Illinois) and Jim Thome (Illinois Central) - also made N.L. news on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 16 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 16

  • Detroit Tigers 2B Frank Bolling (averaged 7.3 ppg for Spring Hill AL basketball team in 1950-51), en route to hitting .632 through first five games of the 1958 campaign, banged out four hits in a 5-4 win against the Chicago White Sox.

  • Kansas City Athletics LF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska's career scoring list in 1949-50 when finishing college career) collected three extra-base hits and five RBI in a 9-4 triumph against the Cleveland Indians in 1958.

  • Philadelphia Athletics starting LHP Chubby Dean (reserve guard for Duke in 1936) did not allow an earned run in 10 innings in a 2-1 win against the New York Yankees in 1940.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B Walt Dropo (first player in Connecticut history to average 20 ppg in single season with 21.7 in 1942-43) knocked in five runs with two extra-base hits in a 1953 game against the Cleveland Indians.

  • 1B Kerby Farrell (key hooper for couple of strong Freed-Hardeman TN squads in mid-1930s) purchased from the Boston Braves by the Chicago White Sox in 1945.

  • Houston Astros C Joe Ferguson (played in 1967 NCAA playoffs with Pacific) furnished three extra-base hits against the Atlanta Braves in a 1977 game.

  • Philadelphia Athletics RF Walt French (hoops letterman for Rutgers and Army) furnished four hits against the Washington Senators in a 1926 contest.

  • Debut with San Francisco Giants for RHP Rich Gale (led New Hampshire with 7.2 rpg in 1975-76) was a success, hurling a three-hit, 6-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds in 1982.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) and Philadelphia Phillies P Cal McLish both failed to finish first inning when each starter allowed six runs in the Cards' 12-6 win at Philly in 1962.

  • Chicago White Sox C Frank Grube (Lafayette starting hoops guard as senior in 1926-27) went 4-for-4 against the Cleveland Indians in a 1932 game.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-Western Athletic Conference second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 5-for-5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1987 contest en route to N.L.-high 218 hits.

  • Cleveland Indians CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) delivered three extra-base hits against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 1993 contest.

  • Milwaukee Braves SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) went 5-for-5 against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1955 game.

  • Rookie C Cal Neeman (Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in 1947-48 and 1948-49) scored the Chicago Cubs' only run of 1957 season opener after notching his initial big-league hit (single to right-center off Warren Spahn in bottom of fifth inning of 4-1 setback).

  • Final blast of 390 MLB career homers by 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) was a pinch-hit, game-tying round-tripper for the Montreal Expos against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1988.

  • RHP Roy Parmelee (hoops letterman for Eastern Michigan in 1924-25 and 1925-26) purchased from the Chicago Cubs by the Boston Red Sox in 1938.

  • In a 1931 contest, Cincinnati Reds RF Wally Roettger (Illinois hoops letterman in 1921-22 and 1922-23) went 5-for-5 against his original team (St. Louis Cardinals).

  • Texas Rangers RHP Mike Smithson (teammate of Tennessee All-American Ernie Grunfeld averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg under coach Ray Mears in 1974-75 and 1975-76) won his first three starts in 1984.

  • Philadelphia Phillies 1B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) went 4-for-4 in 2004 game against the Montreal Expos.

  • Detroit Tigers rookie CF Hub Walker (Ole Miss hooper in 1927 and 1929) secured three hits as leadoff batter in his first two MLB games in 1931.

MLB Celebrates Jackie's Anniversary By Featuring Uniform #42 of Ex-Hooper

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." - Jackie Robinson

The entirety of SportsNation accepts the cultural significance of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual event commemorating and honoring the groundbreaking day he made his debut 79 years ago on April 15 with the Brooklyn Dodgers as MLB's first African-American player. It doesn't appear as if BLM (Buy Large Mansions) hucksters claiming systemic racism and police brutality will diminish his justifiable accolades.

Observers might not know about Robinson also impacting basketball. UCLA's initial all-conference hooper in the 1940s was a forward who compiled the highest scoring average in the Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with the Bruins (12.3 points per league game in 1939-40 and 11.1 ppg in 1940-41) after transferring from Pasadena (Calif.) City College. Continuing his scoring exploits, the six-time National League All-Star also materialized as the leading scorer for the Los Angeles Red Devils' barnstorming team in 1946-47. He certainly brought a massive load of more credibility to thought-provoking table than opportunistic steamy-romance novelist Stacey Abrams (a/k/a Selena Montgomery) plus fellow budding Lizzo backup dancers Letitia James and Fani Willis.

In 1949, Jackie triggered a streak of eight different African-Americans winning a total of 11 N.L. MVPs in 14-year span through 1962. In deference to Robinson's uniform number, following is an alphabetical list of 42 more of the best African-American basketball players for four-year colleges who subsequently competed at the MLB level:

College Hooper Four-Year College Summary of College Basketball Career Summary of MLB Career
Ron Allen Youngstown State Averaged 14.7 ppg from 1961-62 through 1963-64, leading Penguins in scoring and rebounding as sophomore. Only hit in 11 MLB at-bats for 1B and brother of Dick Allen and Hank Allen was homer with St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego in 1972.
George Altman Tennessee State Four-year letterman was forward on teams compiling 88-17 record from 1951-52 through 1954-55 (including two NAIA Tournament appearances). Two-time All-Star 1B hit .269 with 102 home runs in nine seasons from 1959 through 1967 with Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets before playing eight years in Japan.
Jim Bibby Fayetteville State (N.C.) Backup hooper's brother, Fred, set Fayetteville State single-season record with 18.1 rpg in 1963-64. Their younger brother, Henry, was consensus first-team All-American guard with UCLA in 1971-72. RHP compiled 111-101 record and 3.76 ERA with St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 seasons from 1972 through 1984. Hurled first no-hitter in Rangers history in 1973 and started two games for victorious Pirates in 1979 World Series.
Dorian "Doe" Boyland Wisconsin-Oshkosh Averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.4 rpg in half a season in 1974-75. 1B had two hits in 19 at-bats with Pittsburgh Pirates in three years from 1978 to 1981. Traded to San Francisco Giants but never played for them.
Al Bumbry Virginia State Averaged 16.7 ppg (team runner-up) as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.4 ppg plus 4.6 rpg as junior in 1966-67. Lefthanded-swinging OF hit .281 with Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres in 14 years from 1972 through 1985. Hit .337 as A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1973 when tying MLB single-game record with three triples. Finished among top nine in stolen bases five times in first nine years. Participated in World Series in 1979 and 1983.
Ray Burris Southwestern Oklahoma State Two-sport standout is in school's Hall of Fame. RHP compiled 108-134 record and 4.17 ERA with Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Oakland A's, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in 15 years from 1973 through 1987. Started three postseason games for Expos in 1981 after averaging 227 innings pitched last four full seasons with Cubs.
Tony Clark Arizona/San Diego State Swingman averaged 11.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg for Aztecs as sophomore in 1991-92, leading them in scoring in WAC games. 1B averaged 31 HRs annually in four-year span from 1996 through 1999 with Detroit Tigers. Tallest switch-hitter (6-7) in MLB history hit .262 with 251 homers and 824 RBI in 15 seasons from 1995 through 2009 with Tigers, Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
Donn Clendenon Morehouse (Ga.) Earned letters in four collegiate sports before leading Army base at Fort Jackson (Columbia, S.C.) to hoop title before discharge in time for spring training in 1959. 1B hit .274 with 159 home runs and 682 RBI with Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in 12 years from 1961 through 1972. World Series MVP with "Miracle Mets" in 1969 when hitting three home runs (Games 2, 4 and 5).
Vince Colbert East Carolina ECU's first African-American hooper averaged 14.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg in 1966-67 and 1967-68. J.C. transfer led Pirates in rebounding as junior. RHP compiled 9-14 record and 4.57 ERA with Cleveland Indians in three years from 1970 through 1972. He was their only winning pitcher (7-6) with 10 or more starts in 1971.
George Crowe Indiana Central Four-year hoops letterman from 1939-40 through 1942-43 for college now known as University of Indianapolis after becoming first Indiana H.S. player named state's "Mr. Basketball." 1B hit .270 in nine years (1952, 1953 and 1955 through 1961) with Boston/Milwaukee Braves, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. One year after named All-Star, led N.L. in pinch-hits (17) in first season with Cards in 1959 before slugging MLB-record 11th pinch-hit HR in 1960.
Arthur "Bill" Davis Minnesota Averaged 6.4 ppg and 5 rpg from 1961-62 through 1963-64 under coach John Kundla. Forward contributed 12.5 ppg as senior for team including eventual NBA standouts Archie Clark and Lou Hudson. 1B hit .181 with Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres in three seasons (1965, 1966 and 1969).
Larry Doby Virginia Union Attended LIU on hoops scholarship but transferred to VU after Uncle Sam summoned him for World War II service. Reserve guard on team winning 1943 CIAA title. Seven-time All-Star OF hit .283 with 253 HRs and 969 RBI in 13 years from 1947 through 1959 with Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. First black player in A.L. twice led league in homers (1952 and 1954). Smacked 20 or more HRs eight seasons in row from 1949 through 1956.
Don Eaddy Michigan One of first two African-Americans to play hoops for Wolverines averaged 11.4 ppg in four seasons from 1951-52 through 1954-55. Led team in scoring in Big Ten Conference competition as sophomore. INF played briefly with Chicago Cubs in 1959.
Amir Garrett St. John's Averaged 7.4 ppg and 4 rpg in 2011-12 and 2012-13 under coach Steve Lavin prior to transferring to Northridge State, where he had RS year before focusing only on baseball. After representing Cincinnati Reds at 2016 All-Star Futures Game, LHP won his first two MLB decisions in April 2017 with six shutout innings in each start. In his third start, he tied Reds record for rookie LHP by fanning 12 Baltimore Orioles batters. In 2018, Garrett didn't allow a run in his first eight relief appearances and had a 1.35 ERA after 21 outings. Traded to the Kansas City Royals in spring of 2022.
Bob Gibson Creighton First Bluejays player to average 20 ppg for his career (20.2). Led school in scoring in 1955-56 (40th in country with 22 ppg) and 1956-57 after being second-leading scorer in 1954-55. Hall of Famer compiled 251-174 pitching record with 3,117 strikeouts and 2.91 ERA in 17 seasons from 1959 through 1975 with St. Louis Cardinals. In 1968, RHP tossed 13 shutouts en route to a 1.12 ERA. Ranked among N.L. top six in strikeouts 11 times from 1961 through 1972. He hit 24 home runs and won nine consecutive Gold Gloves (1965 through 1973). Notched 7-2 mark and 1.89 ERA in nine World Series games, including strikeout record of 17 Tigers in 1968 contest.
Tony Gwynn San Diego State Averaged 8.6 ppg and 5.5 apg from 1977-78 through 1980-81. Second-team All-WAC selection as junior and senior set school DI single-game mark with 18 assists vs. UNLV. San Diego Padres OF hit .338 in 20 seasons (1982 through 2001), winning eight N.L. batting titles - 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. Played in 15th All-Star Game in 1999 before topping 3,000-hit plateau later in year.
Chuck Harmon Toledo Second-leading scorer as sophomore in 1946-47 (13.6 ppg) and as junior in 1947-48 (8.8). As freshman starter in 1942-43, swingman was second-leading scorer for 22-4 team finishing NIT runner-up. Utilityman hit .238 in four seasons from 1954 through 1957 with Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Billy Harrell Siena When school's first African-American player finished career, he held school records for most points in season (396 in 1951-52), career and game (28 against Arizona State in 1951) plus most rebounds in season (387 in 1949-50). INF hit .231 in 173 games with Cleveland Indians (1955, 1957, 1958) and Boston Red Sox (1961).
Chuck Hinton Shaw (N.C.) Played multiple sports before serving two years in U.S. Army in mid-1950s. His brother, Checo, was lineman with him on football squad and power forward for hoops team. OF-INF played every defensive position while hitting .264 with Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and California Angels in 11 A.L. seasons from 1961 through 1971. In 1962, he was runner-up in stolen bases in A.L. and finished fourth in batting average. First expansion Senator to be named to All-Star team was final Senator to hit .300.
Monte Irvin Lincoln (Pa.) Athletic career was nearly prematurely ended when infection from scratched hand in hoops game kept him close to death for seven weeks. Hall of Fame OF-1B hit .293 with 99 HRs and 443 RBI in eight years from 1949 through 1956 with New York Giants and Chicago Cubs. Irvin led N.L. in RBI with 121 in 1951 (same year led World Series in hitting with .458 mark vs. crosstown Yankees).
Anthony "Tony" Johnson LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.) J.C. transfer forward was All-VSAC selection in 1976-77 and 1979-80 as team's top scorer. LF hit .232 with Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays in two years in 1981 and 1982.
"Sweet" Lou Johnson Kentucky State Teammate of legendary Alcorn State coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg in 1951-52. OF hit .258 with Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles/California Angels, Milwaukee Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians in eight seasons from 1960 through 1969. Contributed two homers and two doubles for Dodgers in 1965 World Series against Minnesota Twins.
Lynn Jones Thiel (Pa.) Averaged 10.4 ppg from 1970-71 through 1973-74. OF hit .252 with Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals in eight seasons from 1979 through 1986. Doubled and tripled as pinch-hitter for Royals in 1985 World Series against St. Louis Cardinals.
David Justice Thomas More (Ky.) Led team in assists in 1984-85 while averaging 9.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Three-time All-Star OF hit .279 in 14 seasons from 1989 through 2002 with Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Oakland A's. Jacked 40 homers (N.L. runner-up) with 120 RBI (also runner-up) in 1993 with Braves and total of 41 homers (fourth in A.L.) with 118 RBI in 2000 with Indians and Yanks.
Kenny Lofton Arizona Averaged 4.8 ppg and 2.6 apg in four seasons from 1985-86 through 1988-89 under coach Lute Olson. Leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record. Lefthanded CF hit .299 and stole 622 bases in 17 seasons from 1991 through 2007 with Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers. Four-time Gold Glover led Indians with .325 batting mark (fourth in A.L.) and paced majors with 70 stolen bases in 1993. After trade to Cleveland, hit .285 for Indians in 1992 and led the A.L. in stolen bases with 66 (record for A.L. rookie). Six-time All-Star led A.L. in stolen bases five consecutive years from 1992 through 1996, hitting career-high .349 in 1994.
Davey Lopes Iowa Wesleyan/Washburn (Kan.) NAIA All-District 15 selection averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg as All-IIAC first-team choice freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach. All-CIC selection in 1967-68 when averaging 7.6 ppg for NAIA Tournament team. Four-time All-Star 2B hit .263 with Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A's, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros in 16 seasons from 1972 through 1987. Led N.L. in stolen bases in back-to-back campaigns in 1975 (77) and 1976 (63) after finishing runner-up in 1974 (59). Swiped five bases in game in 1974, tying 70-year-old N.L. record before establishing since-broken N.L. mark with 38 consecutive successful thefts in 1975.
Terrell Lowery Loyola Marymount Two-time All-WCC first-team selection and league-leading scorer. Tallied career-high 48 points against Idaho State as junior in 1990-91 when finishing among top five nationally in scoring (28.5 ppg) and assists (9.1 apg). OF hit .282 with Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and San Francisco Giants from 1997 through 2000. Stroked five hits for Giants in single game against Milwaukee Brewers in 2000.
Arnold "Bake" McBride Westminster (Mo.) Averaged 12.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg in 21 games in 1968-69 and 1969-70. Lefthanded-swinging OF hit .299 with St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians in 11 seasons from 1973 through 1983. N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1974 when hitting .309 with Cardinals was named to N.L. All-Star team two years later.
Lyle Mouton Louisiana State Averaged 8.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg as sophomore in 1988-89 under coach Dale Brown. Started in backcourt with All-American Chris Jackson when Tigers lost to UTEP in West Regional of NCAA playoffs. OF hit .280 for Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Marlins in seven years from 1995 through 2001.
Billy North Central Washington Collected two points and two rebounds in four games in 1967-68. Switch-hitting CF posted .261 batting average with Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in 11 years from 1971 through 1981. Paced A.L. in stolen bases in 1974 (54) and 1976 (75).
Curtis Pride William & Mary Averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.1 apg from 1986-87 through 1989-90. Led team in steals three times and assists twice. Named to CAA All-Rookie team pick as freshman and All-Defensive team selection next two seasons. Born with 95% hearing disability, lefthanded-swinging OF hit .250 in 11 seasons from 1993 to 2006 with seven franchises (Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees and Anaheim/California Angels).
Dave Ricketts Duquesne Three-year starter led Dukes in scoring as senior with 17.9-point average in 1956-57, finishing fourth in nation in free-throw percentage (86.2%). Converted school-record 42 FTAs in row. Catcher hit .249 in six seasons (1962, 1965 and 1967 through 1970) with St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Switch-hitter played with Cards in 1967 and 1968 World Series.
Dick Ricketts Duquesne Second-team consensus All-American choice as junior in 1953-54 and first five consensus All-American selection as senior in 1954-55. Converted all 19 FTAs in game against Dayton. School's all-time leading scorer averaged 17.7 ppg and 12.2 rpg in starting all 111 games during four-year career. Compiled 1-6 pitching record in only season with St. Louis Cardinals in 1959.
Earl Robinson California Three-time All-PCC second-team selection averaged at least 10 ppg each season from 1955-56 through 1957-58 under coach Pete Newell. Averaged 15.5 points in four NCAA Tournament games his last two years, leading Bears in scoring in two of four playoff contests. OF hit .268 in four seasons from 1958 to 1964 with Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles.
Ted Savage Lincoln (Mo.) Led in scoring average with 13.5 ppg in 1955-56 before averaging 14.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 1956-57. OF hit .233 in nine seasons (1962, 1963 and 1965 through 1971) with Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals.
Ken Singleton Hofstra Freshman hooper in mid-1960s. Three-time All-Star OF hit .282 with 246 HRs and 1,065 RBI with New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles in 15 years from 1970 through 1984. Switch-hitter exceeded 20 HRs in five seasons, including high of 35 (fifth in A.L.) in 1979 with Orioles.
Lee Smith Northwestern State Forward averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.9 rpg in 1976-77 as teammate of Billy Reynolds, the nation's ninth-leading scorer that season. Seven-time All-Star was all-time saves leader when he retired, notching 478 in 18 seasons from 1980 through 1997 with Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos until Trevor Hoffman broke his mark in 2006. Set N.L. record in 1991 (subsequently broken) for most saves in season with 47 for Cardinals. RHP led N.L. in saves three times (1983-91-92) and A.L. once (1994).
Nate Smith Tennessee State Letterman in 1953-54 and 1954-55. Catcher went 2 for 9 in five games with Baltimore Orioles in 1962.
Bob Veale Benedictine (Kan.) Scored 1,160 points from 1955-56 through 1957-58 as center for school previously called St. Benedict's. LHP compiled 120-95 record and 3.08 ERA in 13 seasons from 1962 through 1974 with Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. Led N.L. in strikeouts with 250 in 1964 (first of four consecutive years he won at least 16 games and ranked among top seven in strikeouts).
Will Venable Princeton All-Ivy League first-team selection as junior and second-team choice as senior averaged 9.3 ppg under coach John Thompson III from 2001-02 through 2004-05. Lefthanded OF hit .249 with San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers in nine seasons from 2008 through 2016. Finished among N.L. top 10 in triples (8th with 7) and stolen bases (9th with 29) in 2010.
Bill White Hiram (Ohio) Three-sport letterman played two years of hoops. Five-time All-Star 1B hit .286 with New York/San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in 13 N.L. seasons in 1956 and from 1958 through 1969. Lefthander ranked among N.L. top 10 in RBI five times (1961-62-63-64-66). Placed among N.L. top eight in both doubles and triples three straight campaigns from 1959 through 1961. Gold Glover seven consecutive years from 1960 through 1966.
Desi Wilson Fairleigh Dickinson FDU's all-time leading scorer (1,902 points) was NEC player of year in 1989-90. Leading scorer (23.8 ppg) and rebounder (9.2 rpg) for 1990-91 league co-champion. Lefthanded-swinging 1B hit .271 with San Francisco Giants in 1996.
Dave Winfield Minnesota Averaged 6.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg as junior in 1971-72 and 10.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg as senior in 1972-73 under coach Bill Musselman. Played entire playoff game in 1972, collecting eight points and eight rebounds against eventual Final Four participant Florida State, in Gophers' first NCAA Tournament appearance. Hall of Fame OF hit .283 with 465 home runs, 1,833 RBI and 3,110 hits in 22 seasons (1973 through 1988 and 1990 through 1995) with San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. Led N.L. in total bases in 1979 with 333 before ranking among A.L. top four in batting average in 1984 (.340) and 1988 (.322). Seven-time Gold Glover appeared in 12 All-Star Games after never playing in minors. Participated in World Series with Yankees (1981) and Blue Jays (1992).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 15

Extra! Extra! Did you file your taxes on time so Social Security can pay some "dead #Dimorats" between them voting? As a new season gains traction with African-Americans comprising only 6% of current MLB rosters, you can read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. In a historical milestone, Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers as a first baseman in 1947, becoming the first black player to appear in a MLB game. Fellow Pasadena City CA juco hooper Darrell Evans smacked a milestone homer on this date. Robinson's historic appearance completely dwarfed four-year Army veteran Fuzz White serving as leadoff batter for crosstown rival (New York Giants), which was 14 years before fellow ex-Drury MO hooper Bill Virdon homered twice in another National League contest. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a taxing April 15 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 15

  • New York Giants 2B Andy Cohen (Alabama basketball letterman in 1924 and 1925) went 3-for-4 for the second time in first three games of 1928 campaign.

  • LHP Chubby Dean (reserve guard for Duke in 1936) hurled a complete game in the Philadelphia Athletics' season opener to give them a 3-1 win against the New York Yankees in 1941.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers RF Ox Eckhart (Texas hoops letterman in 1923) smacked his lone MLB homer (against New York Giants in 1936).

  • Atlanta Braves 3B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) launched milestone 100th of his 414 MLB career homers.

  • New York Yankees 3B Mike Gazella (premier hooper for undefeated Mansfield PA hoops squad in 1918) contributed a pair of triples in 6-3 victory against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1927.

  • RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) made his St. Louis Cardinals debut at Los Angeles in 1959, hurling the final two innings in a 5-0 setback against the Dodgers. He became the first future Hall of Famer to yield a homer to first batter he faced in the majors (3B Jim Baxes went downtown in seventh inning).

  • First appearance and start in 1961 for Philadelphia Phillies RHP Dallas Green (Delaware's second-leading scorer and rebounder in 1954-55) wound up becoming a five-hit shutout against the San Francisco Giants.

  • INF Gene Handley (Bradley hoops letterman in 1932-33 and 1933-34) purchased from the Pittsburgh Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1940.

  • Boston Red Sox LHP Bill Henry (hoops letterman for Houston's 1947 NAIA Tournament team featuring co-captain Guy Lewis) restricted the Washington Senators to three hits in a complete-game victory in 1954.

  • C Cal Neeman (Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in 1947-48 and 1948-49), not Ernie Banks, collected the Chicago Cubs' first homer of 1958 (at St. Louis in season opener).

  • Kansas City Royals RF Bob Oliver (All-Valley Conference basketball choice for American River Community College CA in 1962) whacked a two-out, game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning en route to an 11-inning, 2-1 win against the Chicago White Sox in 1972 season opener.

  • In 1952, Boston Braves 2B Billy Reed (Ripon WI hooper in 1942-43) banged out two singles in his MLB debut off Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Preacher Roe (Harding AR hooper in late 1930s).

  • 1B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first black player to appear in a MLB game. Before Robinson was replaced by Howie Schultz (Hamline MN hooper in early 1940s), he went hitless in three at-bats against the visiting Boston Braves a year before President Truman desegregated the military.

  • OF Art Ruble (Maryville College TN hooper in early 1920s) purchased from the Detroit Tigers by Toronto (International) in 1929.

  • In 2000, Cleveland Indians DH Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) jacked the 200th of his 612 MLB career round-trippers.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates CF Bill Virdon (Drury MO hooper in 1949) belted two homers in a 4-1 triumph against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961.

  • Washington Senators rookie RHP Monte Weaver (hoops center for Emory & Henry VA in mid-1920s) won his season debut in 1932 with a four-hit shutout against the Boston Red Sox.

  • CF Fuzz White (Drury MO hoops letterman during second half of 1930s) was leadoff batter for the New York Giants in their 1947 season opener.

  • Boston Red Sox C Sammy White (All-PCC Northern Division first-five selection for Washington in 1947-48 and 1948-49) went 4-for-4 against the Washington Senators in a 1954 contest.

  • Philadelphia Phillies CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) homered twice against the Boston Braves in a 1922 game.

  • San Diego Padres RHP Chris Young (All-Ivy League first-team selection as Princeton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1999-00) tied a MLB record with 25 straight starts on the road without a defeat before bowing at Los Angeles against the Dodgers in 2007.

Sweet Revenge: Textbook Turnarounds Color Power-Conference Competition

NCAA champion Michigan won at Purdue by 11 points in mid-season before the Wolverines bowed to the Boilermakers by eight in Big Ten Conference Tournament. The seemingly significant 19-point swing pales in comparison, however, to robust reversal results in power-conference competition over the years.

In 1997-98, Missouri rebounded from its most-lopsided loss in school history (111-56 at Kansas State) to defeat the Wildcats in their Big 12 Conference return engagement (89-59 at Mizzou) for an incredible 85-point turnaround in margin. Following is a look at about-faces of at least 60 points in the same season between power-league rivals (including nine results with at least a 48-point margin):

Points Season Power-League Opponents Splitting Verdicts First Game Second Game
85 1997-98 Missouri vs. Kansas State in Big 12 Kansas State 111-56 Missouri 89-59
68 1997-98 Alabama vs. Auburn in SEC Auburn 94-40 Alabama 76-62
67 1996-97 UCLA vs. Stanford in Pacific-10 Stanford 109-61 UCLA 87-68
66 1997-98 Michigan vs. Indiana in Big Ten Indiana 80-62 Michigan 112-64
63 1984-85 Illinois vs. Purdue in Big Ten Purdue 54-34 Illinois 86-43
62 1951-52 Colorado vs. Kansas State in Big Seven Kansas State 92-40 Colorado 67-57
62 1992-93 Kentucky vs. Tennessee in SEC Tennessee 78-77 Kentucky 101-40*
62 1993-94 Minnesota vs. Indiana in Big Ten Indiana 78-66 Minnesota 106-56
61 1992-93 Arkansas vs. Mississippi State in SEC Mississippi State 80-76 Arkansas 115-58
61 2002-03 Connecticut vs. Boston College in Big East Boston College 95-71 Connecticut 91-54
60 1957-58 Kansas vs. Nebraska in Big Eight Kansas 104-46 Nebraska 43-41

*SEC Tournament (Tennessee lost at Kentucky, 84-70, earlier in season).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 14

Extra! Extra! Rather than listening to farting Eric best buddy Ruben Gallego play role of Sgt. "I Know Nothing" Schultz amid DC Swamp stories involving disgraced Congressional creatures, you can read news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former hoops All-American Frank Howard (Ohio State) hammered a couple of milestone homers on this date four years apart. Ex-college hoopers Denny Doyle, Sandy Koufax, Rick Leach, Kenny Lofton, Graig Nettles, Paul Splittorff, Jack Spring and Ed Wells made MLB news as lefthanded hitters or pitchers on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 14 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 14

  • Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Joe Black (Morgan State hooper in mid-1940s) won 1953 season opener with six innings of two-hit relief.

  • 2B Denny Doyle (averaged 2.7 ppg for Morehead State's basketball squad in 1962-63) stroked a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.

  • Boston Red Sox C Carlton Fisk (runner-up in scoring with 13.7 ppg and top rebounder for New Hampshire's freshman squad in 1965-66) contributed three hits for third time in first four games of 1973 season against the New York Yankees.

  • OF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection when leading Ohio State in scoring and rebounding in 1956-57 and 1957-58) launched a pair of milestone homers four years apart - 100th of his career with Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964 and 200th with Washington Senators in 1968.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops team in 1953-54) threw the ninth complete game without permitting a walk in his career by blanking the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, in 1964 in his only Opening Day start.

  • A two-run pinch single by Rick Leach (averaged 15.5 ppg for Michigan's JV squad in 1975-76) provided the margin of victory in the Texas Rangers' 4-2 verdict over the Detroit Tigers in 1989.

  • Atlanta Braves CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling a 35-3 record) contributed five hits and five runs scored in a 14-5 rout of the Cincinnati Reds in 1997.

  • New York Yankees 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64), en route to tying a MLB record with 11 homers in the month of April, collected four round-trippers - two in each game - during a 1974 doubleheader split opposing his former team (Cleveland Indians).

  • LF Paul Schramka (JV hooper for San Francisco in late 1940s for coach Pete Newell's program) served as a pinch-runner with the Chicago Cubs in their 1953 season-opening victory. Schramka wore uniform #14 before Hall of Famer Ernie Banks inherited it late in the season.

  • Kansas City Royals LHP Paul Splittorff (runner-up in scoring and rebounding for Morningside IA in 1967-68) tossed a two-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox in 1973.

  • LHP Jack Spring (freshman hooper for Washington State in 1951-52) obtained from the Kansas City Athletics by Los Angeles Angels as part of a minor league working agreement.

  • LHP Ed Wells (multi-sport athlete graduated in 1924 from Bethany WV) purchased from the New York Yankees by the St. Louis Browns in 1933.

National Review: NCAA Tourney History State-By-State Winners and Sinners

No state is close to winning as much as two-thirds of its NCAA Tournament games and none has as many as five different schools with winning playoff records. The champio Michigan Wolverines had reached the 2018 NCAA final instead of the Kansas Jayhawks enabling Michigan (.6284) to nudge ahead of Kansas (.6279) as the state with highest all-time winning percentage before the Michigan State Spartans padded the state's advantage with a 2019 Final Four appearance, both schools reaching at least the Sweet 16 each of the last two years (elevating state's winning percentage to in excess of 64%). Kansas, one of 20 states represented by four or fewer members in the U.S. House of Representatives, is represented much more in the NCAA playoffs by ranking eighth with 176 victories from only three universities although Kansas posted the state's only triumph in the last three years.

Pennsylvania - Lehigh, Penn and Villanova - sustained three opening-round exits in 2026. Oklahoma, one of the 13 states securing more than 100 all-time NCAA tourney triumphs, failed to have any representation this year. Texas had the most participants last year with five and this season with seven. With neither UK and Louisville reaching the Final Four since 2015, California passed the Commonwealth in total NCAA playoff triumphs. Additional stately views of national winners and sinners you might want to review include:

  • Despite going winless in 2021 and notching only one victory in 2023, schools from the state of North Carolina have collected more NCAA Tournament triumphs (352 after Duke reached regional final this year) than a total of 22 states including those with power-conference members such as Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey and West Virginia.
  • All four ACC members in Carolina have more than 25 playoff triumphs. Each of them (Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest) has more all-time wins than entire states such as Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
  • California is the only state with as many as 18 schools winning at least one NCAA Tournament game. Alas, fewer than 1/6 of them (four) have winning marks.
  • Other than Syracuse, Canisius is the only current New York Division I school to compile a winning NCAA playoff record (6-4) as the state went winless in 2023. CCNY, the NCAA's DI champion in 1950, assembled a 4-2 mark ledger before de-emphasizing its program.
  • Villanova (plus 31 in PA; 71-40) and Syracuse (plus 29 in NY; 70-41) are the most games above .500 in states with overall losing playoff marks. On the flip side, Miami OH (minus 13; 7-20) and Murray State KY (minus 13; 5-18) are tied for most games below .500 in states with overall winning worksheets.
  • Abilene Christian enabled Texas earlier this decade to briefly nudge ahead of California for most different schools participating in the tourney with 24 although Baylor and Houston are the only institutions from the Lone Star State posting a winning record. Texas has a total of 15 Final Four teams but is more games under .500 than any state (minus 29 including nine different participants never winning a playoff contest). California moved back ahead of Texas with 25 delegates after UC San Diego and California Baptist made their playoff debuts the past two tourneys.
  • None of Louisiana's 13 schools appearing in the playoffs have notched a winning record. South Carolina has the most universities participate in the tourney (nine) without any of them posting a break-even or winning playoff record. Kansas has only three different colleges appear in the NCAA Tournament but boasts more than six times as many victories as entire state of South Carolina and in excess of four times as many triumphs as all of Louisiana.
  • All six Mid-American Conference members from Ohio have losing records, combining for a 21-59 mark (.263).
  • Tennessee, the winningest state in NCAA playoff history despite never having a national champion, is the only state with as many as six schools at least five games below .500 in NCAA tourney competition.
  • Virginia is the only one of 13 different schools from its state to post a winning record.
  • Memphis (35-29) is joined by Spokane, Wash.-based Gonzaga (48-28) as the only mid-major schools leading a state with total of more than 40 playoff wins.
  • The only two states with fewer than 50 tourney triumphs assembling overall winning records are Nevada (39-30 by 6-11 Nevada and 33-19 UNLV) plus New Hampshire (10-7 by Dartmouth).
  • Utah is the only state saddled with as many as three schools posting tourney marks more than 10 games below .500 - Brigham Young (17-36), Utah State (8-28) and Weber State (6-17).

Plagiarist Biledumb, despite big tech and much of #MessMedia hiding details about his soap-opera family, "showers" prospect of success telling truth about attending HBCU Delaware State a mite more than the NCAA Tournament win total of the state he served as Senator because Delaware is 0-7. At least four different schools from Texas posted a minimum of one NCAA tourney triumph for the fifth straight year as the Longhorn State secured the most wins in 2026 with nine. Following are NCAA Division I playoff cumulative records listed by most state victories through 2026:

STATE (# of Tourney Schools) Overall Record Pct. School-By-School NCAA Playoff Marks (Listed Alphabetically)
NORTH CAROLINA (18) 352-216 .620 Appalachian State (0-3), Campbell (0-1), Charlotte (7-12), Davidson (8-16), Duke (129-43), East Carolina (0-2), Gardner-Webb (0-1), High Point (1-2), North Carolina (134-52), North Carolina A&T (1-10), North Carolina Central (0-4), North Carolina State (41-29), UNC Asheville (2-5), UNC Greensboro (0-4), UNC Wilmington (1-7), Queens (0-1), Wake Forest (28-23) and Western Carolina (0-1)
CALIFORNIA (25) 259-240 .519 California (20-19), California Baptist (0-1), UC Davis (0-1), UC Irvine (1-2), Cal Poly (1-1), UC San Diego (0-1), UC Santa Barbara (1-7), Cal State Bakersfield (0-1), Cal State Fullerton (2-4), Cal State Los Angeles (0-1), Cal State Northridge (0-2), Fresno State (2-6), Long Beach State (7-11), Loyola Marymount (5-5), Pacific (4-10), Pepperdine (5-14), Saint Mary's (8-15), San Diego (1-4), San Diego State (13-17), San Francisco (21-15), San Jose State (0-3), Santa Clara (11-14), Southern California (17-23), Stanford (23-16) and UCLA (117-47)
KENTUCKY (seven) 242-168 .590 Eastern Kentucky (0-8), Kentucky (135-58), Louisville (77-46), Morehead State (6-10), Murray State (5-18), Northern Kentucky (0-3) and Western Kentucky (19-25)
TEXAS (24) 203-232 .467 Abilene Christian (1-2), Baylor (24-18), Hardin-Simmons (0-2), Houston (47-32), Houston Christian (0-1), Lamar (5-6), North Texas (1-4), Prairie View A&M (1-3), Rice (2-5), Sam Houston State (0-2), Southern Methodist (10-15), Stephen F. Austin (2-5), Texas (43-43), Texas A&M (16-19), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-3), Texas-Arlington (0-1), Texas Christian (8-12), Texas-El Paso (14-16), Texas-San Antonio (1-4), Texas Southern (3-11), Texas State (0-2), Texas Tech (23-23), Trinity (0-1) and West Texas A&M (0-1)
PENNSYLVANIA (15) 198-219 .475 Bucknell (2-8), Drexel (1-5), Duquesne (5-6), Lafayette (0-5), La Salle (14-11), Lebanon Valley (1-2), Lehigh (1-6), Penn (13-27), Penn State (10-12), Pittsburgh (26-28), Robert Morris (2-9), Saint Francis (0-2), Saint Joseph's (19-25), Temple (33-33) and Villanova (71-40)
INDIANA (nine) 197-156 .558 Ball State (3-7), Butler (24-16), Evansville (1-5), Indiana (68-36), IUPUI (0-1), Indiana State (5-4), Notre Dame (40-41), Purdue (54-37) and Valparaiso (2-9)
OHIO (12) 180-185 .493 Akron (0-8), Bowling Green (1-5), Cincinnati (46-32), Cleveland State (3-3), Dayton (20-21), Kent State (4-7), Miami (7-20), Ohio University (8-15), Ohio State (58-35), Toledo (1-4), Wright State (1-5) and Xavier (31-30)
KANSAS (three) 176-105 .626 Kansas (118-52), Kansas State (40-36) and Wichita State (18-17)
MICHIGAN (eight) 166-93 .641 Central Michigan (3-4), Detroit (3-6), Eastern Michigan (3-4), Michigan (76-31), Michigan State (78-38), Oakland (2-4), Wayne State (1-2) and Western Michigan (2-4)
NEW YORK (22) 146-185 .441 Albany (1-5), Binghamton (0-1), Buffalo (2-4), Canisius (6-4), CCNY (4-2), Colgate (0-7), Columbia (2-4), Cornell (2-6), Fordham (2-4), Hofstra (0-5), Iona (1-16), Long Island (0-8), Manhattan (3-9), Marist (0-2), NYU (9-9), Niagara (2-4), St. Bonaventure (7-10), St. John's (30-34), Siena (4-7), Stony Brook (0-1), Syracuse (70-41) and Wagner (1-2)
ILLINOIS (11) 109-106 .507 Bradley (11-9), DePaul (21-25), Eastern Illinois (0-2), Illinois (50-37), Illinois-Chicago (0-3), Illinois State (3-6), Loyola of Chicago (15-7), Northern Illinois (0-3), Northwestern (3-3), Southern Illinois (6-10) and SIU-Edwardsville (0-1)
FLORIDA (12) 109-81 .574 Florida (55-23), Florida A&M (1-3), Florida Atlantic (4-3), Florida Gulf Coast (3-3), Florida International (0-1), Florida State (23-18), Jacksonville (4-5), Miami (16-13), North Florida (0-1), South Florida (2-4), Stetson (0-1) and UCF (1-6)
OKLAHOMA (five) 106-98 .520 Oklahoma (43-34), Oklahoma City (8-13), Oklahoma State (39-28), Oral Roberts (4-7) and Tulsa (12-16)
TENNESSEE (11) 92-131 .413 Austin Peay (2-8), Belmont (1-8), Chattanooga (3-12), East Tennessee State (2-11), Lipscomb (0-2), Memphis (35-29), Middle Tennessee State (4-9), Tennessee (34-29), Tennessee State (0-3), Tennessee Tech (0-2) and Vanderbilt (11-18)
VIRGINIA (13) 90-118 .433 George Mason (5-6), Hampton (2-6), James Madison (5-6), Liberty (1-6), Longwood (0-2), Norfolk State (2-4), Old Dominion (3-12), Radford (1-3), Richmond (9-10), Virginia (36-26), Virginia Commonwealth (14-20), Virginia Military (3-3) and Virginia Tech (8-13)
WISCONSIN (four) 89-75 .543 Green Bay (1-5), Marquette (44-38), Milwaukee (3-4) and Wisconsin (41-28)
WASHINGTON (five) 83-68 .550 Eastern Washington (0-3), Gonzaga (48-28), Seattle (10-13), Washington (19-18) and Washington State (6-6)
ARIZONA (four) 82-63 .566 Arizona (66-39), Arizona State (15-18), Grand Canyon (1-4) and Northern Arizona (0-2)
CONNECTICUT (five) 79-50 .612 Central Connecticut State (0-3), Connecticut (77-34), Fairfield (0-3), Hartford (0-1) and Yale (2-9)
IOWA (four) 72-74 .493 Drake (7-8), Iowa (34-32), Iowa State (26-25) and Northern Iowa (5-9)
ALABAMA (nine) 69-81 .460 Alabama (34-27), Alabama A&M (0-1), Alabama State (1-5), Auburn (23-14), Jacksonville State (0-2), Samford (0-3), South Alabama (1-8), Troy (0-4) and UAB (10-17)
UTAH (five) 69-115 .375 Brigham Young (17-36), Southern Utah (0-1), Utah (38-33), Utah State (8-28) and Weber State (6-17)
MARYLAND (eight) 59-62 .488 Coppin State (1-4), Loyola (0-2), Maryland (46-30), Maryland-Baltimore County (1-3), Morgan State (0-2), Mount St. Mary's (3-7), Navy (8-12) and Towson (0-2)
ARKANSAS (four) 57-44 .564 Arkansas (54-37), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1), Arkansas State (0-1) and UALR (2-5)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (five) 52-52 .500 American University (0-4), Catholic (0-2), George Washington (4-11), Georgetown (47-30) and Howard University (1-5)
MASSACHUSETTS (nine) 48-67 .417 Boston College (22-19), Boston University (2-7), Harvard (2-6), Holy Cross (8-13), Massachusetts (11-9), Northeastern (3-9), Springfield (0-1), Tufts (0-2) and Williams (0-1)
NEW JERSEY (seven) 44-72 .379 Fairleigh Dickinson (3-7), Monmouth (1-4), Princeton (15-30), Rider (0-3), Rutgers (6-9), Saint Peter's (3-5) and Seton Hall (16-14)
LOUISIANA (13) 44-83 .346 Grambling State (1-1), Louisiana-Lafayette (4-12), Louisiana-Monroe (0-7), Louisiana State (27-27), Louisiana Tech (4-5), Loyola of New Orleans (0-3), McNeese (1-5), New Orleans (1-5), Nicholls State (0-2), Northwestern State (2-3), Southeastern Louisiana (0-1), Southern (1-9) and Tulane (3-3)
OREGON (four) 43-43 .500 Oregon (28-18), Oregon State (15-21), Portland (0-2) and Portland State (0-2)
NEVADA (two) 39-30 .565 Nevada (6-11) and UNLV (33-19)
GEORGIA (six) 33-45 .423 Georgia (7-14), Georgia Southern (0-3), Georgia State (2-6), Georgia Tech (23-17), Kennesaw State (0-2) and Mercer (1-3)
WEST VIRGINIA (two) 33-37 .471 Marshall (1-6) and West Virginia (32-31)
MISSOURI (four) 33-51 .393 Missouri (23-31), Missouri State (3-6), Saint Louis (7-12) and Southeast Missouri State (0-2)
SOUTH CAROLINA (nine) 27-70 .278 Charleston Southern (0-1), Clemson (14-16), Coastal Carolina (0-4), College of Charleston (1-7), Furman (2-9), South Carolina (8-11), South Carolina State (0-5), Winthrop (1-11) and Wofford (1-6)
RHODE ISLAND (four) 25-37 .403 Brown (0-2), Bryant (0-2), Providence (17-23) and Rhode Island (8-10)
NEBRASKA (three) 23-37 .383 Creighton (21-27), Nebraska (2-9) and Omaha (0-1)
MISSISSIPPI (six) 21-41 .339 Alcorn State (3-6), Jackson State (0-3), Mississippi (7-10), Mississippi State (11-14), Mississippi Valley State (0-5) and Southern Mississippi (0-3)
NEW MEXICO (two) 20-46 .297 New Mexico (9-18) and New Mexico State (11-28)
COLORADO (four) 19-37 .339 Air Force (0-4), Colorado (13-18), Colorado State (6-14) and Northern Colorado (0-1)
MINNESOTA (one) 14-14 .500 Minnesota (14-14)
NEW HAMPSHIRE (one) 10-7 .588 Dartmouth (10-7)
WYOMING (one) 9-21 .300 Wyoming (9-21)
IDAHO (three) 9-28 .243 Boise State (0-10), Idaho (1-5) and Idaho State (8-13)
NORTH DAKOTA (two) 2-6 .250 North Dakota (0-1) and North Dakota State (2-5)
VERMONT (one) 2-8 .200 Vermont (2-8)
MONTANA (two) 2-20 .091 Montana (2-14) and Montana State (0-6)
HAWAII (one) 1-6 .143 Hawaii (1-6)
SOUTH DAKOTA (one) 0-7 .000 South Dakota State (0-7)
DELAWARE (two) 0-7 .000 Delaware (0-6) and Delaware State (0-1)

NOTE: Two states - Alaska and Maine - never had a school participate in the NCAA Division I Tournament.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 13

Extra! Extra! Rather than watching lamestream #MessMedia misfits trying to prop up their next Michael #Avenaughty (ESPN's Screamin' A. Stiff) as presidential timber after allowing disgraced Eric Swalwell set Guinness Book of Records for most guest appearances on CNN Sucks and #MSDNC, you can read news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Ivy League hoopers Bill Almon (Brown) and Tony Lupien (Harvard) made MLB news on this date. Ex-college hoopers Tommy Herr (Delaware), Wally Moon (Texas A&M) and Lee Smith (Northwestern State) generated headlines for the St. Louis Cardinals on this date. Former HBCU hoopers "Sweet" Lou Johnson (Kentucky State) and Leon Wagner (Tuskegee AL) were outfielders traded for each other in 1961. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 13 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 13

  • Montreal Expos SS Bill Almon (averaged 2.5 ppg in half season for Brown's 1972-73 basketball team ending school's streak of 12 straight losing records) stroked four hits in a 5-4 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.

  • In his first MLB game in 1954, Detroit Tigers 2B Frank Bolling (averaged 7.3 ppg for Spring Hill AL in 1950-51) belted a homer off Baltimore Orioles P Don Larsen.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-Western Athletic Conference second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) and two teammates establish a MLB record by each hitting a homer as the first three batters in the bottom of first inning of their 1987 home opener against San Francisco Giants RHP Roger Mason (multiple-year letterman in late 1970s for Saginaw Valley State MI).

  • St. Louis Cardinals 2B Tommy Herr (hooper with Delaware's freshman team in 1974-75) went 3-for-3 and scored three runs in a 1985 contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • OF "Sweet" Lou Johnson (teammate of legendary HBCU coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg for Kentucky State in 1951-52) traded by the Los Angeles Angels to Toronto (International League) for OF Leon Wagner (Tuskegee AL hooper in 1952-53) in 1961.

  • Boston Red Sox C Duane Josephson (led Northern Iowa in scoring in 1962-63 and 1963-64 under coach Norm Stewart) opened the scoring with a second-inning, two-run homer off Denny McLain in a 5-3 victory against the Washington Senators in 1971.

  • 1B Tony Lupien (Harvard hoops captain in 1938-39) awarded on waivers from the Boston Red Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944.

  • St. Louis Cardinals CF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) swatted a homer against the Chicago Cubs in his first at-bat en route to becoming 1954 N.L. Rookie of the Year.

  • Minnesota Twins RHP Jim Perry (averaged more than 20 ppg in late 1950s for former juco Campbell) fired a four-hit shutout against the New York Yankees in his first start of 1968 campaign.

  • INF-OF Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) traded by the Detroit Tigers to the California Angels in 1995.

  • Detroit Tigers RHP Jeff Robinson (two-time NAIA All-District 3 hoops honoree in early 1980s left Azusa Pacific CA as school's No. 9 all-time scorer) hurled a four-hit shutout against the Minnesota Twins in 1989.

  • St. Louis Cardinals closer Lee Smith (averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.9 rpg with Northwestern State in 1976-77) set MLB record for most career saves in 1993 (RHP's mark stood for 13 years).

  • Chicago White Sox DH Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) smacked a homer in his fourth consecutive contest in 2006.

  • RHP Jim Wilson (hoops letterman for San Diego State's 1942 NAIA Tournament participant) purchased from the Milwaukee Braves by the Baltimore Orioles in 1955.

  • California Angels RF Dave Winfield (starting forward with Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) collected 15 total bases and six RBI on three homers, a double and single in a 15-9 verdict over the Minnesota Twins in 1991.

Looks Are Deceiving: All-Americans Reveal H.S. Recruiting Ranking Con Job

The herd-mentality "experts" on lame-stream TV were routinely mistaken on coronavirus issues large and small - from effectiveness of donning masks, reusable bags, virus modeling and hydroxychloroquine treatments. Their frequent stunning litany of deity Dr. Fraudci failure is reminiscent of ranking high school basketball recruits and their eventual impact. Vaping loyalists for big-name schools count on remaining or returning to elite status via recruiting services. Typically, the herd-mentality national media falls in lockstep predicting most of them will be back to at least near the top of the national polls. But welfare writers (accepting guesswork handouts from well-meaning but ineffectual middle men) better hope the recruiting gurus ranking high school hotshots emerge from a sorry slump typified by nine of 10 NCAA consensus All-Americans last year nowhere to be found on consensus Top 100 recruiting lists when they left high school. Duke's Cooper Flagg was the lone exception. This year, Braden Smith and JT Toppin repeated as consensus A-As and were joined on nowhere to be found on Top 100 list by Thomas Haugh, Joshua Jefferson, Yaxel Lendeborg and Keaton Wagler.

Back-to-back unanimous national player of the year Zach Edey (Purdue) wasn't listed among premier recruits in 2020. Another textbook example five seasons ago was consensus national player of the year Obi Toppin (Dayton) not ranking among the nation's Top 100 recruits coming out of high school. Five years ago, unanimous national player of the year Luka Garza (Iowa) barely cracked the Top 100. Ditto Final Four Most Outstanding Player that year Jared Butler (Baylor).

Assessing standouts three years ago, NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans Ochai Agbaji (Kansas), Johnny Davis (Wisconsin) and Keegan Murray (Iowa) weren't Top 100 recruits coming out of high school along with JD Notae (Arkansas). Elsewhere, Jaden Ivey (Purdue) and Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona) barely cracked the H.S. Top 100 in 2019.

Eight years ago, Kansas guard Devonte' Graham was nowhere to be found among the nation's Top 100 high school recruits in 2014. Six years ago, national POY teammate Frank Mason wasn't among the consensus Top 75 coming out of high school in 2013. But at least Mason was somewhere between 75 and 100 similar to Michigan State's Denzel Valentine, who shared national POY awards eight seasons ago with Oklahoma's Buddy Hield (outside Top 100 in 2012). Well, if roof-top dancing bartender AOC is correct about climate change and defending colleague's outrageous "some people did something," we only need to tolerate college hoopdom's crowning jewel for junk science about 10 more years.

What good are prep player rankings and ESPN's periodic commitment announcements if the "brainiac" analysts can't come close to pinpointing a prospect who will emerge among the elite collegiate players in a couple of years? Eleven seasons ago provided ample evidence of rating ineptitude when four of the five NCAA unanimous All-American first-team selections, including national player of the year Trey Burke (Michigan), weren't ranked among the consensus Top 100 H.S. recruits assembled by RSCI the years they left high school. First-teamer Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga) and Final Four MOP Luke Hancock (Louisville) weren't among the top 100 in 2009. First-teamers Doug McDermott (Creighton) and Victor Oladipo (Indiana) plus honorable mention All-American Russ Smith (leading scorer for NCAA champion Louisville) weren't among the top 100 in 2010.

The player pimps, "hustling" more than ambulance-chasing attorney Ben Crump to profit off multitude of miscreants, certainly lack credibility. Burke, McDermott, Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) and Hield pooled their previously overlooked assets to assemble a string of four straight national POY honorees. Burke wasn't included among the consensus top 100 in 2011 although every scout in this burgeoning charade saw him play on the same high school squad with eventual Ohio State All-American Jared Sullinger. Ditto McDermott with regal recruit Harrison Barnes (North Carolina).

Media hacks as confused as Bruce Jenner, inauguration boycotters, disgraced California Rep. Katie Hill, know-nothing leftist lunatics banning plastic straws and #MadMaxine expounding on college loans, apparently incapable of calculating the difference between AAU-pickup street ball and genuine team ball, should be deep-sixed when you compared Hield and Valentine against the following list of mediocre players ranked among the consensus Top 40 recruits in 2012: Chaquille Cleare (averaged 3.5 ppg for Maryland and Texas), DaJuan Coleman (4.8 ppg/Syracuse), Grant Jerrett (5.2 ppg/Arizona) and Omar Calhoun (6 ppg/Connecticut).

As a cautionary measure when considering prize prospects lists, pore over this information again the next time some lazy broadcaster needing a drool bucket begins slobbering over a pimple-faced teenager without ever seeing him play firsthand and only using recruiting services as a resource. The dopey devotees intoxicated by recruiting services should simply be ignored for accepting as gospel player rankings dwelling on wingspans, weight reps, Soul Train dance moves and carnival-like dunk contests. How about focusing solely on whether they'll continue to improve against comparable athletes, boast the proper attitude to learn to fit in with teammates in a me-myself-and-I generation and make a major bottom-line impact on the game rather than strut-your-stuff swagger? When pass is considered a dirty four-letter word, the chronic over-hyping doesn't appear as if it will end anytime soon.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and three-point shooting sensation Stephen Curry (Davidson) is perhaps the premier collegian thus far this century. If you've got a life, you don't have time to go over all of the no-names ranked better than Curry when he graduated from high school in 2006. You'd have an easier task competing in the national spelling bee, trying to size up all of the issues involving coach Frank Haith's checking account when he was at Miami (Fla.), helping Bruce Pearl remember decor inside of his old TN residence, discerning how much Roy Williams "earned" in academic progress bonuses at North Carolina or believing Rick Pitino's Sgt. "I-Know-Nothing" Schultz routine at Louisville regarding recruiting regaling.

Rating recruits - the ultimate sports distortion foisted upon dupes - is akin to believing government grifters telling the gullible masses taxpayer-financed Muslim extremist terrorism is workplace violence or fueled by a largely-unseen movie (such as #ShrillaryRotten lying about video in front of caskets at Andrews AFB duplicating her honesty when describing dodging Bosnian bullets). Pilfering a propaganda-like phrase spun during the institutionalizing of political correctness to the detriment of the safety of the American people, the player ratings are authentic "man-made disasters." They need to make a dramatic turnaround comparable to the Obama White House's post-marathon bombing appeasing administration lauding Cambridge/Boston area police after previous exploitation portraying them as "acting stupidly" when it suited their agenda. Amid the insulting misinformation overload, it might be time to visit Rev. Wrong's church and see if he is recruiting susceptible supporters by telling his captive audience "America's Chechens have come home to roost." Truth-escape artists supporting chronic criminals rather than law enforcement and opponents of Tsarnaev receiving a death-penalty sentence can simply deny you ever heard or read such impudence.

The same play-dumb mindset comparable to the Benghazi stonewalling, VA executive comparing veteran care waits to long lines at Disney theme park, IRS conservative-group targeting and general incompetence, #ShrillaryRotten's State Department IT chief unable to provide his emails or being willing to talk to investigators plus fondness for determining transgender dumping grounds applies to entitlement-era "ridiculists" stemming from recruiting service player ratings. Resembling Jason Collins' long-time fiancée, you look like a full-fledged fool by putting a significant amount of stock in these breathless rush-to-judgment projections spawning a slew of blue-chippers turned prima donnas. But don't muzzle 'em with a jock jihad or sound as lucid as the buffoonish Bomb Mom. Just give the sane a barf bag when clueless adults hold their collective breath to see if coddled scholar dons their alma mater's cap on TV announcing a college choice. Why can't we simply wait until impressionable teenagers such as Dayton dynamo Toppin, Murray State marvel Ja Morant plus KU kinetic knockouts Mason and Graham compete in an actual game on both ends of a college court against comparable athletes before rendering assessments on their ability at the next level?

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Securing MLB Headlines on April 12

Extra! Extra! Instead of listening to #MessMedia misfits on MSLSD and CNN Sucks transparently try to support the #Dimorats' Spit Show including how Fang Fang fling Eric Swalwell stinks more than his farting, you can read news about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Two former small-college hoopers from Pennsylvania - Dick Hall (Swarthmore) and Lynn Jones (Thiel) - made MLB news on this date. Joining Jones among small-college hoopers generating headlines for the Detroit Tigers on this date were Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military) and Jeff Robinson (Azusa Pacific CA). Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 12 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 12

  • RHP Rich Beck (listed on Gonzaga's basketball roster in 1961-62) was purchased from the Philadelphia Phillies by the New York Yankees in 1965.

  • In his initial MLB appearance in 1961, San Francisco Giants INF Ernie Bowman (East Tennessee State hoops letterman in 1954-55 and 1955-56) scored the game-winning tally as a pinch-runner in a 2-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • RHP Dick Hall (averaged 13.5 ppg from 1948-49 through 1950-51 for Swarthmore PA Middle Atlantic States Conference Southern Division champions) traded by the Kansas City Athletics to the Baltimore Orioles in 1961.

  • In 1961, San Francisco Giants C Tom Haller (backup forward for Illinois in 1956-57 and 1957-58 under coach Harry Combes) stroked his first MLB hit, a homer off Pittsburgh Pirates P Vern Law.

  • A pinch-hit homer by OF Lynn Jones (averaged 10.4 ppg for Thiel PA from 1970-71 through 1973-74) accounted for the Detroit Tigers' only runs in a 6-2 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981.

  • Cleveland Indians rookie CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) swiped four bases against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 1992 doubleheader.

  • Detroit Tigers 3B Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) went 4-for-4 in a 1990 game against the Boston Red Sox.

  • Seattle Mariners RF Leon Roberts (grabbed one rebound in four basketball games for Michigan in 1970-71 under coach Johnny Orr) contributed a sacrifice fly and two solo homers, including game-winning blast in bottom of the 10th inning, in 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980.

  • Detroit Tigers RHP Jeff Robinson (two-time NAIA All-District 3 hoops honoree in early 1980s left Azusa Pacific CA as school's No. 9 all-time scorer) won his MLB debut, allowing only one run in seven innings in a 7-1 victory against the Chicago White Sox in 1987.

  • After a pair of rainouts, 1B-OF Norm Siebern (member of Southwest Missouri State's back-to-back hoops NAIA Tournament titlists in 1952 and 1953) socked a decisive eighth-inning HR to give the New York Yankees a season-opening 3-2 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox in 1959.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Kent Tekulve (freshman hooper for Marietta OH in mid-1960s) commenced a streak of 12 relief appearances in a row without allowing an earned run in 1978.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Bob Veale (scored 1,160 points from 1955-56 through 1957-58 with Benedictine KS) outdueled San Francisco Giants P Juan Marichal, 1-0, in 1965.

  • San Diego Padres RF Will Venable (All-Ivy League first-team selection as junior and second-team choice as senior averaged 9.3 ppg under Princeton coach John Thompson III from 2001-02 through 2004-05) scored four runs against the Atlanta Braves in 2010.

Resume Building: Job Titles Don't Always Keep Up to Executive Remuneration

In the wake of three SWAC head coaches departing to become assistants for more prominent programs, it should be acknowledged that aides for NBA teams and power-conference members frequently are paid significantly more than head coaches for mid-major colleges. Just ask David Patrick, who reportedly doubled his salary six years ago when forsaking head-coaching responsibilities with UC Riverside to become chief assistant at Arkansas and likely duplicated the feat two years ago when abandoning job as bench boss for Sacramento State to become an aide at Louisiana State.

Matthew Driscoll was North Florida's head coach for 16 seasons before becoming an aide at Kansas State. New Eastern Michigan coach Billy Donlon, joining Clemson's staff as an aide four seasons ago, became the second UMKC mentor this century joining the following alphabetical list of NCAA Division I head coaches who had years remaining on their contract when they departed to become an assistant for a power-conference member or NBA franchise:

Head-to-Assistant Coach Mid-Major College (Tenure) Power-League Member/NBA Team
Griff Aldrich Longwood (2018-19 through 2024-25) Virginia
John Andrzejek Campbell (2025-26) Louisville
Ben Betts Jr. South Carolina State (2003-04 through 2005-06) Oklahoma
Austin Claunch Nicholls State (through 2018-19 through 2022-23) Alabama
Brian "Penny" Collins Tennessee State (2019-20 through 2024-25) Memphis Grizzlies
Rick Croy California Baptist (2018-19 through 2025-26 at DI level) Arizona State
Donny Daniels Cal State Fullerton (2000-01 through 2002-03) UCLA
Dean Demopoulos Missouri-Kansas City (2000-01) Seattle Sonics
Dave Dickerson USC Upstate (2018-19 through 2023-24) Ohio State
Billy Donlon Kansas City (2019-20 through 2021-22) Clemson
Matthew Driscoll North Florida (2009-10 through 2024-25) Kansas State
Baker Dunleavy Quinnipiac (2017-18 through 2022-23) Villanova
Orlando Early Louisiana-Monroe (2005-06 through 2009-10) South Carolina
Dane Fife IPFW (2005-06 through 2010-11) Michigan State
Alan Huss High Point (2023-24 and 2024-25) Creighton
Johnny Jones Texas Southern (2018-19 through 2025-26) Louisiana State
Billy Lange Saint Joseph's (2019-20 through 2024-25) New York Knicks
Jeff Linder Wyoming (2020-21 through 2023-24) Texas Tech
Tony Madlock Alabama State (2022-23 through 2025-26) Memphis
Kevin McKenna Indiana State (2007-08 through 2009-10) Oregon
Jack Murphy Northern Arizona (2012-13 through 2018-19) Arizona
Bill Musselman South Alabama (1995-96 and 1996-97) Portland Trail Blazers
Dave Odom East Carolina (1979-80 through 1981-82) Virginia
Chris Ogden Texas-Arlington (2018-19 through 2020-21) Texas
Kevin O'Neill Northwestern (1997-98 through 1999-00) New York Knicks
Matt Painter Southern Illinois (2003-04) Purdue
David Patrick UC Riverside (2018-19 and 2019-20) Arkansas
David Patrick Sacramento State (2022-23 and 2023-24) Louisiana State
Robert "Buzz" Peterson Coastal Carolina (2005-06 and 2006-07) Charlotte Bobcats
Kenneth "Doc" Sadler Southern Mississippi (2014-15 through 2018-19) Nebraska
Ron Sanchez Charlotte (2018-19 through 2022-23) Virginia
Heath Schroyer UT Martin (2014-15 and 2015-16) North Carolina State
Andy Stoglin Southern LA (1982-83 and 1983-84) Oklahoma State
Damon Stoudamire Pacific (2016-17 through 2020-21) Boston Celtics
Rodney Terry Texas-El Paso (2018-19 through 2020-21) Texas
Ralph Willard Holy Cross (1999-00 through 2008-09) Louisville
Brent "Buzz" Williams New Orleans (2006-07) Marquette
Maurice "Mo" Williams Jackson State (2023-24 through 2025-26) Kentucky

NOTE: Huss, Painter and Williams were head-coaches-in-waiting. Williams (Maryland) is now a power-conference head coach.

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