Loud and Proud: NCAA Records That Will Never Be Broken (#10)

The NCAA Tournament commenced in 1939, which was one year after the NIT triggered national postseason competition. An overlooked "versatile athlete" feat occurring in 1938 that never will be duplicated took place at Arkansas, where the quarterback for the football squad (Jack Robbins) repeated as an All-SWC first-team basketball selection, leading the Razorbacks (19-3) to the SWC title. After the season, Robbins became an NFL first-round draft choice by the Chicago Cardinals (5th pick overall) and senior football/basketball teammates Jim Benton (11th pick) and Ray Hamilton (41st pick) went on to become wide receivers for at least six years in the NFL. Yes, that was three members of a league championship basketball squad who promptly were among the top 41 selections in the NFL draft.

What are some other school and individual records that will never come close to being matched let along exceeded? Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports cited his list of "Untouchables" earlier this summer. A similar series from CollegeHoopedia.com in the ensuing days will either reinforce, embellish or be somewhat different regarding the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #10 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953).

Chambers, standing a mere 6-4, grabbed an NCAA-record 51 rebounds for William & Mary in a 105-84 victory against Virginia on Valentine's Day. He finished third in the nation in 1952-53 in retrieving missed shots with 21.8 rpg, finishing behind Fordham's Ed Conlin (23.5 rpg) and Seton Hall's Walter Dukes (22.2 rpg). Chambers later became his alma mater's all-time winningest coach in a nine-year coaching career with the Tribe from 1957-58 through 1965-66 (modest win total could be surpassed in 2012-13).

No individual has grabbed more than 35 rebounds in a single NCAA Division I game since Pacific's Keith Swagerty (39 vs. UC Santa Barbara) and East Tennessee State's Tommy Woods (38 vs. Middle Tennessee State) in 1964-65. The last 32 teams to lead the nation in rebounding margin averaged 42 rebounds per contest. Here is the line score of Chambers' performance:

WILLIAM & MARY (105): Mahoney 5 6-11 16, Savage 0 0-4 0, Berry 1 1-2 3, Harris 10 0-1 20, Chambers 16 5-6 37 51, Hume 6 4-7 16, Drake 0 0-0 0, Hoitsma 4 5-6 13. Team 42 21-37 (.568) 105.
VIRGINIA (84): Roach 2 2-5 6, Burlage 1 3-4 5, Cooke 2 1-1 5, Esckilsen 6 1-5 13, Gamble 2 5-6 9, Wilkinson 10 8-8 28, Dohner 7 2-2 16, Casey 1 0-0 2. Team 31 22-31 (.710) 84.