Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Make Major News as DI Coaches
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 on the NCAA playoffs.
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-Division I school.
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 four years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2017 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
2017 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater Dana Altman Oregon Eastern New Mexico '80 John Becker Vermont Catholic (D.C.) '90 John Beilein Michigan Wheeling Jesuit (N.Y.) '75 Randy Bennett Saint Mary's UC San Diego '85 John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (Pa.) State '82 Ed Cooley Providence Stonehill (Mass.) '94 Phil Cunningham Troy Campbellsville (Ky.) '90 Nathan Davis Bucknell Randolph-Macon (Va.) '97 Andy Enfield Southern California Johns Hopkins (Md.) '91 Steve Forbes East Tennessee State Southern Arkansas '88 Greg Gard Wisconsin Wis.-Platteville '95 Leonard Hamilton Florida State Tennessee-Martin '71 Ray Harper Jacksonville State Kentucky Wesleyan '85 Chris Holtmann Butler Taylor (Ind.) '94 Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77 Kevin Keatts UNC Wilmington Ferrum (Va.) '95 Gregg Marshall Wichita State Randolph-Macon (Va.) '85 LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central North Carolina Central '96 T.J. Otzelberger South Dakota State Wis.-Whitewater '01 Rod Senderoff Kent State Albany (N.Y.) ' 95 Mark Slessinger New Orleans Aurora (Ill.) '95 Paul Weir New Mexico State York (Toronto, Canada) Brent "Buzz" Williams Virginia Tech Oklahoma City '94
NOTE: Albany, North Carolina Central and Tennessee-Martin subsequently were classified as NCAA Division I universities.
Familiar Surroundings: Graduates Guiding Alma Mater in 2017 NCAA Tourney
When Thomas Wolfe penned, "you can never come home again," he didn't have some successful college basketball coaches in mind. Playoff participation must be extra gratifying for the following individuals coaching their alma mater in college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament:
2017 Playoff Coach Alma Mater First Season as Head Coach Jamion Christian Mount St. Mary's '04 2012-13 Mick Cronin Cincinnati '96 2006-07 Mitch Henderson Princeton '98 2011-12 Bob Huggins West Virginia '77 2007-08 Chris Mack Xavier '92 2009-10 LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central '96 2009-10 Matt Painter Purdue '93 2005-06 Roy Williams North Carolina '72 2003-04
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #1)
Is that your final answer? Do you have the wit, guile and endurance to be a "Survivor" answering 10 daily questions about "The Amazing Race" otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament?
Standardized testing is controversial, but it's time to put your NCAA playoff knowledge on the line and attempt a free shot at CollegeHoopedia.com's challenging tourney-time questions. Your "scoring ability" on these one-of-a-kind trivia quizzes will reflect retention of critical knowledge, jogging your memory, exhibiting your lack of attention to detail or revealing once and for all you didn't major in "Hoopology" or take an advanced course in Basketball History.
As you're aware, many participants in the NCAA playoffs believe it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Similarly, more and more all-around sports fans probably would pick the Final Four over the World Series and Super Bowl if they were forced to choose one of the prestigious events they could attend.
In accordance with that "one-and-only" theme, following are a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions by CollegeHoopedia.com from Selection Sunday through the NCAA championship game dealing with the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct PhD degree-like research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Name the only NCAA champion to have three players eventually score more than 15,000 points apiece in the NBA. Hint: Each of the trio was named an All-American at least two seasons and helped the school compete in 27 consecutive NCAA playoffs.
2. Name the only NBA team to have two teammates go on to coach teams in the Final Four. Hint: They were among the top three scorers for their team the first three seasons in NBA history. Their team posted the best regular-season record in the league's inaugural campaign and participated in the 1949 NBA Finals.
3. Name the only state currently with at least 10 Division I schools never to send a team to the Final Four. Hint: Just one school from the state won any NCAA playoff games from 1974 through 1996.
4. Who is the only individual to play and coach in both the NCAA and NBA playoffs? Hint: He played for a 28-5 Oregon State playoff team and on the frontline of an NBA champion with Dolph Schayes and Red Kerr. The leading scorer for his NBA playoff team was Gene Shue and the leading scorer for his NCAA tourney team was Bob Nash.
5. Who is the only coach to direct teams to Final Fours in four different decades in the 20th Century? Hint: He is the only coach to lose more than seven Final Four games and his first three NCAA Tournament championship games. His Final Four defeats were by an average of 15 points.
6. Name the only school to lose against UCLA as many as four times during the Bruins' 38-game winning streak in the NCAA playoffs from 1964 to 1974. Hint: The subject school is one of six other than UCLA to successfully defend a national championship.
7. Name the only All-American to go winless in more than five NCAA Tournament games. Hint: He played for a school winning the NCAA championship earlier in the decade he appeared in the playoffs.
8. Name the only school to reach the Final Four despite compiling a losing record in conference competition and being eliminated in the first round of its league tournament. Hint: The school's leading scorer that year had the lowest team-leading scoring average of any Final Four team since Kansas '74 had five players average from 11.3 to 12.4 points per game. Moreover, it's the only school to have as many as four at-large bids to the tournament despite compiling losing records in league play.
9. Name the only school to be top-ranked entering back-to-back tournaments but lose both opening playoff games. Hint: Two of the team's starters played more than 10 years in the NBA and one of them was on a third team for the school that lost its opening playoff game as a No. 1 seed. One of the two starters was a consensus national player of the year.
10. Name the only top-ranked team to decline a berth in the NCAA playoffs since the AP started conducting polls in 1949. Hint: The school was unbeaten the year it rejected a bid, defeated the national champion-to-be by 13 points and had only two games closer than a 12-point decision.
Day 1 answers.
Southern Living: Seven ACC/SEC Members Among Late Arrivals to NCAA Party
Ten power league members always classified as major colleges - with majority of them from the South - finished in the Top 20 of a final wire-service poll at least twice although they didn't make their initial NCAA appearance until after 1970. Florida, Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia are among the late arrivals to the NCAA party. Among the late-bloomer group, Nebraska is winless in the NCAA playoffs while Florida is a two-time NCAA champion.
Major School (Power League) 1st NCAA Tourney Star Player(s) in Playoff Debut Alabama (SEC) 1975 (0-1) Leon Douglas and T.R. Dunn Auburn (SEC) 1984 (0-1) Charles Barkley and Chuck Person Clemson (ACC) 1980 (3-1) Larry Nance Florida (SEC) 1987 (2-1) Vernon Maxwell and Dwayne Schintzius Georgia (SEC) 1983 (3-1) James Banks, Terry Fair and Vern Fleming Minnesota (Big Ten) 1972 (1-1) Jim Brewer, Clyde Turner and Dave Winfield Nebraska (Big Eight) 1986 (0-1) Brian Carr and Bernard Day Seton Hall (Big East) 1988 (1-1) Mark Bryant and John Morton South Carolina (ACC) 1971 (0-2) Kevin Joyce, Tom Owens, Tom Riker and John Roche Virginia (ACC) 1976 (0-1) Wally Walker **NOTE: Nebraska (Big Ten) and South Carolina (SEC) currently are members of other power conferences.
Quantum Leap: NKU Making Playoff Newcomer Waves Like FGCU and SDSU
Tourney returnees Florida Gulf Coast, a Sweet 16 participant in its playoff debut in 2013, and South Dakota State, making its fourth tourney appearance in last six years, will generate national headlines stemming from their relative newcomer status to the NCAA playoffs. But there has been a striking number of smaller schools over the decades make even more impressive transitions to big-time basketball than FGCU (moved up to DI in 2007-08) and SDSU (2005-06).
An overwhelming majority of dreamy schools moving up in classification from the small-college ranks to the major-college level are little more than fodder for prominent universities seeking non-conference cupcakes to devour. Amid the moving-on-up carnage, Northern Kentucky became the fifth institution making a quantum leap by earning the right to participate in the NCAA Tournament in their inaugural eligible season at Division I level - Seattle (29-4 record in 1952-53), Morehead State (19-10 in 1955-56), Long Beach State (24-5 in 1969-70) and Southwestern Louisiana (25-4 in 1971-72). Incredibly, the first four of these schools won their DI tourney debut and returned to the NCAA playoffs the next season, too.
Long Beach and USL each compiled a 25-4 mark in the 1971-72 campaign. USL's 90-83 victory over visiting LBSU early that season might have been one of the best inter-sectional matchups few people ever heard about or remember. Long Beach swingman Ed Ratleff and USL guard Bo Lamar became the only set of former high school teammates (Columbus, Ohio) named NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans in the same season. They achieved the feat again the next year.
USL (now known as Louisiana-Lafayette), powered by Lamar and two other future pros (Roy Ebron and Fred Saunders), became the only one of this rare quartet to qualify for the national semifinals in its final season sporting small-school status. The Ragin' Cajuns were upended by national champion-to-be Evansville in the 1971 College Division Tournament. Evansville, sparked by guard Don Buse, was the host school for the Division II tourney from 1957 through 1976. Lamar collected 35 points and 11 assists while Ebron amassed 33 points and 20 rebounds in USL's 112-101 victory against Marshall in the first round of 1972 Midwest Regional when the Cajuns scored the most points in tourney history for a school in its first DI playoff game.
USL, which also won its 1973 NCAA DI tourney opener, was prohibited from fielding a team for two seasons (1973-74 and 1974-75) as part of sanctions stemming from an NCAA probation. UNLV failed to appear in the NCAA playoffs in the Rebels' first five years at the DI level. Following is a summary of where LBSU and USL rank amid the quickest successful transitions by DI neophytes (appeared in DI tourney at least once in first five campaigns):
Rank | School | 1st DI Season | Summary of Prompt DI Tournament Success |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Seattle | 1952-53 | Appeared in NCAA Division I Tournament first four seasons through 1955-56 before finishing national runner-up in 1958. |
2. | Long Beach State | 1969-70 | Participated in tourney each of first four seasons at DI level. |
3. | Jacksonville | 1966-67 | National runner-up in 1970 en route to three tourney appearances in four-year span after missing event first three seasons. |
4. | UAB | 1978-79 | Seven consecutive tourney appearances from 1981 through 1987 after missing first two seasons. |
5. | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1971-72 | Won tourney games each of first two seasons at DI level before facing two seasons of exile as a penalized program. |
6. | Morehead State | 1955-56 | Competed first two major-college years in national tourney and three of first six seasons. |
7. | UNC Charlotte | 1972-73 | Reached Final Four in 1977 after missing tourney first four seasons. |
8. | Alcorn State | 1977-78 | Appeared in DI tourney four times in five years first half of 1980s after missing first two seasons at that level. |
9. | Old Dominion | 1976-77 | Four tourney appearances in seven-year span from 1980 through 1986 after missing first three seasons. |
10. | Missouri State | 1982-83 | Four consecutive tourney appearances from 1987 through 1990 after missing first four seasons. |
11. | College of Charleston | 1989-90 | Appeared in tourney four times in six-year span from 1994 through 1999 after missing first four seasons. |
12. | James Madison | 1976-77 | Three straight tourney appearances from 1981 through 1983 after missing first four seasons. |
13. | Marist | 1981-82 | Back-to-back playoff appearances in 1986 and 1987 after missing first four seasons. |
Great Expectations: Coach K Failed to Collect First NCAA Win Until 10th Year
Unrealistic expectations spread like a virus across the country when a young pup such as Brad Stevens becomes a big dawg by winning 11 NCAA Tournament games in his first four seasons coaching mid-major Butler before departing for the NBA's Boston Celtics at the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign. But many school administrations and boosters, unaware that UCLA legend John Wooden notched only one tourney triumph in his first 13 years with the Bruins, need to exercise a little patience in this era of instant gratification.
As the misguided media seeks another overnight success, they need to take a cue from ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg, who is deemed an expert after winning a grand total of one NCAA playoff game in 22 years as a DI head coach. Also, Dana Altman of upper bracket seed Oregon for second successive season failed to notch his first NCAA tourney triumph until his 10th season as a DI mentor. While ESPN canonizes coaches to secure exclusive interviews and extensive foundation donations, it should be pointed out power-league luminaries John Beilein (Michigan), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Lon Kruger (Oklahoma), Mike Krzyzsewski, (Duke), Rick Pitino (Louisville), Bill Self (Kansas) and Jay Wright (Villanova) combined to lose in the NCAA playoffs this century against mid-majors Bucknell, Bradley, George Mason, Lehigh, Mercer, Middle Tennessee State, Morehead State, Nevada, North Dakota State, Ohio University, Old Dominion, Saint Mary's, Vermont, VCU, Wichita State and Winthrop.
Still, starter-kit supporters for some schools should take a chill pill if their coach remains winless in NCAA Tournament competition by losing an opener. Krzyzewski was frustrated by the tourney long before losing against Mercer. Impatient supporters should take a long look at how long it took for the following alphabetical list of high-profile coaches, including all-time leader Krzyzewski, to secure their first NCAA playoff victory.
NOTE: The victories for retired Greer, McCarthy and Newton were the only one they posted in NCAA playoff participation.
From Here to Futility: Three Schools With > 25 Wins Denied At-Large Bids
The "Road to the Final Four" is a highway lined with daydreamers and potholes. But it defies logic why a total of three mid-major schools with more than 25 victories were consigned to NIT participation. Akron and Monmouth were shunned second successive season as a total of 26 teams in the last 11 campaigns were denied an at-large bid despite posting in excess of 25 victories.
Rather than automatically focusing on underachieving middle-of-the-pack power-alliance affiliates, shouldn't teams capturing undisputed regular-season crowns in a Division I conference warrant more extensive consideration as at-large entrants to the NCAA playoffs? Season-long excellence needs to count more than always paying homage to mediocre members of a power league. Actually, we got a pretty clear picture this season showing the power conferences really weren't all that powerful. Doubt many committee members know the following at-large entrants lost in previous tourneys to the following mid-majors: Florida (bowed to Colorado State and Creighton), Louisville (Creighton and Oral Roberts), Maryland (College of Charleston), Southern California (Illinois State), Virginia Tech (Southern Illinois), Wake Forest (Cleveland State) and Wisconsin (Davidson).
Davidson had two of 11 teams from mid-major conferences - Lafayette '78, American '81, Temple '82, William & Mary '83, Coppin State '94, Davidson '96, Austin Peay '04, Davidson '05, Norfolk State '13, Murray State '15 and North Carolina Central '15 - going undefeated in league round-robin regular-season competition but not participating in the NCAA playoffs after losing by a single-digit margin in their conference tournament since at-large bids were issued to schools other than conference champions in 1975.
Illinois State, rejected despite a sterling 27-6 worksheet, is a classic example depicting why many mid-level schools have an inferiority complex. Utah State was shunned in 2003-04 despite winning nearly 90% of its games (25-3 record).
Prior to joining the Big East Conference, Creighton's splendid season eight years ago was downplayed. Know-it-all national media types and committee members may haughtily belittle mid-major achievements because they're from the other side of the tracks, but following is an alarmingly long track record listing chronologically eligible teams winning more than 25 games yet failing to earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs since the field expanded to at least 64 in 1985:
NOTE: Cleveland State (defeated Indiana and Wake Forest), College of Charleston (Maryland), Colorado State (Colorado, Florida and Missouri), Creighton (Alabama, Florida, Louisville and Texas), Davidson (Georgetown, St. John's and Wisconsin), Illinois State (Alabama, Southern California and Tennessee), Louisiana Tech (Ohio State and Pittsburgh), ORU (Louisville and Syracuse), Saint Mary's (Villanova) and SIU (Arizona, Georgia, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech) collectively won NCAA playoff games in other years against 22 different power conference members.
Seeding Capacity: Kansas and UNC Have Been There/Done That as #1 Seed
Former national champions Marquette (41 victories) and Utah (37) have won a significant number of NCAA playoff games yet never received a No. 1 seed since seeding was introduced in 1979. It's virgin territory for majority of DI institutions, but the top spots are old hat for Kansas and North Carolina as they're revisiting the pedestal. KU might not want the designation inasmuch as the Jayhawks failed to reach the Final Four as a #1 seed five times this decade. Meanwhile, #7 South Carolina became the eighth team seeded seventh or worse this decade to reach F4.
KU was beaten in 2017 Midwest Regional final by Oregon, a #1 seed the previous season among seven former NCAA Tournament champions never to rank atop the AP national poll during the regular season. Duke, accorded a No. 1 seed eight times in a nine-year span from 1998 through 2006, and Kentucky are connected with North Carolina and Kansas among the following four universities seeded #1 at least a dozen times:
16 - North Carolina (1979-82-84-87-91-93-94-97-98-05-07-08-09-12-16-17)
13 - Duke (1986-92-98-99-00-01-02-04-05-06-10-11-15)
13 - Kansas (1986-92-95-97-98-02-07-08-10-11-13-16-17)
12 - Kentucky (1980-84-86-93-95-96-97-03-04-10-12-15)
Celebrity Gossip: Timeless Trivia Trial Tracing Tortuous Tournament Trail
Fans fond of the NCAA playoffs argue the incredibly popular event is 100% perfection. Whatever your level of expertise, CollegeHoopedia.com guarantees you a 100% score is impossible for any brave soul willing to take our "Who Am I" quiz. With the tourney in its 79th year, you can occasionally stumble across familiar faces in non-basketball endeavors by browsing through old rosters and tourney box scores. Following is an old game show "What's My Line?" format testing your NCAA Tournament acumen or helping you "Stump a Chump." You'll need a PhD in "Hoopology" to secure a passing grade correctly discerning the following individuals who made a name for themselves elsewhere after appearing in the NCAA Division I Tournament:
- I was a junior college recruit who missed a three-point attempt while playing briefly in a 111-92 defeat against Loyola Marymount in the first round of 1990 NCAA Tournament West Regional.
- One of my New Mexico State teammates was 12-year NBA guard Randy Brown.
- I was a reliever who posted a 9-6 record for the Oakland A's in four seasons from 1994 through 1997 before my contract was sold to a Japanese team.
- I compiled a 5-1 record in the strike-shortened 1994 MLB campaign when I was considered heir apparent to assume Dennis Eckersley's closer role.
Who am I? MARK ACRE
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as pro quarterback Joe Kapp (California).
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Kansas State All-Americans Bob Boozer and Jack Parr.
- I was a college teammate of Eddie Sutton before he coached four different schools in the NCAA Tournament.
- I was the second-leading scorer for Oklahoma State's NCAA Tournament team that reached the 1958 Midwest Regional final under Hall of Fame coach Hank Iba.
- I hit .254 in 1,165 games in 13 major league seasons from 1958 through 1970 with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals before playing one year in Japan.
- My teammates with the Orioles included former college basketball players Dick Hall (attended Swarthmore), Robin Roberts (Michigan State) and Norm Siebern (Southwest Missouri State).
- I participated in the 1967 World Series with the Red Sox before leaving them following the next season in the expansion draft.
- I set major league records for highest fielding average (.994) and fewest errors (five) by a second baseman in a season in 1964 and for consecutive errorless games by a second baseman (89 in 1964 and 1965).
Who am I? JERRY ADAIR
- I was an Arkansas hoop teammate of eventual San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey.
- I was third-leading scorer with six points when the Hogs lost against Washington State in 1941 NCAA Tournament national semifinals.
- In my NFL debut, I returned an interception 66 yards for the decisive score in the New York Giants' 14-7 win against the Washington Redskins in 1942. Two weeks later, I caught two touchdown passes in a victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.
- I caught 28 passes for 494 yards and five TDs in four years with the Giants through 1945.
Who am I? NEAL ADAMS
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against La Salle All-American Tom Gola.
- I was a teammate of Canisius All-America guard John McCarthy and U.S. Congressman-to-be Hank Nowak.
- I was the third-leading scorer (9.2 points per game) as a senior for Canisius' first NCAA Tournament team in 1955.
- I served in the U.S. Army for 31 years, retiring with the rank of Major General.
- I was appointed Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services by Governor Mario Cuomo.
- I was listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who of American Business Leaders.
Who am I? ROBERT ADAMS
- I was a pre-law major who scored a total of eight points in three NCAA playoff games in 1955.
- I was a member of Tom Gola-led La Salle teams in 1954 (national champion) and 1955 (runner-up to San Francisco).
- I never got off the bench at the Final Four those two years although I was the only Explorer player to hit more than three-fourths of my free throws the season they won the NCAA title.
- I joined the Central Intelligence Agency and worked my way up the chain of command to become the Director of the CIA's Office of Analysis of the Near East and South Asia, toiling closely with both the Carter and Reagan administrations.
- I was killed in Beirut in 1983 when a truck loaded with TNT on a suicide mission rammed into the facility where I was staying while serving as a liaison trying to allay contacts among the Lebanese, Syrians and Israelis in hopes of calming the escalating discord.
Who am I? BOB AMES
- I was a 6-5 forward who played in the NCAA playoffs against New Mexico State center Sam Lacey and guard Jimmy Collins.
- I was Weber State's leading scorer with 14 points in the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament debut, a 68-57 defeat in the first round of the 1968 West Regional against Lou Henson-coached New Mexico State.
- I was an All-Big Sky Conference second-team selection as a senior.
- I was on the Board of Directors of ITT.
- I was President and Chief Executive Officer of Black & Decker.
Who am I? NOLAN ARCHIBALD
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Dallas Cowboys defensive back Cornell Green (Utah State) and CBS analyst Billy Packer (Wake Forest).
- I twice played in the NCAA playoffs against Bob Knight (Ohio State).
- I was a Kentucky teammate of All-American Cotton Nash.
- I played for NCAA Tournament regional runner-up teams as a sophomore and junior before pacing UK in assists my final season with 4.3 per game.
- I was mayor of Lexington, Ky., for 10 years before representing Kentucky's Sixth District in the U.S. House of Representatives after getting more than 60 percent of the vote in 1992.
- I am a Democrat who ran for governor in 1994 and narrowly lost against Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning for a Senate seat in 1998.
Who am I? SCOTTY BAESLER
- I was a three-year letterman and Ohio State's second-leading scorer as a starting senior forward for a team that finished runner-up to Oregon in the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1939.
- I scored a game-high 25 points for the Buckeyes in their tourney opener, a 64-52 victory over Wake Forest.
- I was managing partner and CEO of major accounting firm Ernst and Ernst for 13 years, starting in 1964.
- I was a member of the Accounting Hall of Fame who served on the board of directors of such distinguished enterprises as General Electric, Anheuser-Busch and Hershey Foods.
Who am I? DICK BAKER
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against John Tresvant (Seattle), Ollie Johnson (San Francisco), Joe Caldwell (Arizona State), Ron Bonham (Cincinnati), Tom Thacker (Cincinnati), George Wilson (Cincinnati) and Jeff Mullins (Duke).
- I was an Oregon State teammate of All-American center Mel Counts.
- I was an All-West Regional selection in the NCAA Tournament in 1962 and 1963.
- I was the second-leading scorer for the Beavers' 1963 Final Four team.
- My 99-yard run from scrimmage for a touchdown accounted for the only points in a 6-0 victory against Villanova in the 1962 Liberty Bowl.
- I was a college quarterback who became a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
- I was the first Heisman Trophy winner west of the Mississippi River after rushing 115 times for 538 yards (4.7 per carry), completing 112 of 203 passes for a nation-leading 1,738 yards and 15 touchdowns.
- I was a first-round NFL draft choice who played with the Los Angeles Rams (1963 through 1965) before going to the Canadian Football League with Edmonton (1967).
- Two of my teammates with the Rams were former college basketball standout rebounders Charley Cowan (New Mexico Highlands) and Lamar Lundy (Purdue).
Who am I? TERRY BAKER
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against teams coached by Lou Carnesecca, Bob Knight, Bill Foster, Larry Brown and Lute Olson.
- I was a Purdue teammate of All-American center Joe Barry Carroll for the Boilermakers' 1980 national third-place team.
- My NFL teammates as a rookie included former college basketball player Al "Bubba" Baker (Colorado State) and All-Pro halfback Billy Sims.
- I was a linebacker with the Detroit Lions for four seasons from 1982 through 1985 after being a 10th-round draft pick.
Who am I? ROOSEVELT BARNES
- I declared for the 2005 NBA draft out of high school before withdrawing my name.
- I played in the 2008 NCAA playoffs and grabbed five rebounds in 10 minutes against an eventual Final Four participant (LSU).
- I played under Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie before he accepted a similar position with Kentucky.
- I had a career-high of 133 yards and 2 TDs against Baylor as a sophomore when earning All-Big 12 Conference second-team honors.
- I was an NFL second-round draft choice by the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 as an undergraduate (4th tight end selected).
- I was fined $22,000 by the Cowboys in 2009 for an occasionally profane rap video mentioning several teammates and front-office personnel.
- I also played for the New York Giants and Chicago Bears en route to 348 receptions for 3,586 yards and 23 touchdowns in my first eight years from 2008 through 2015 before trade to the New England Patriots. I played for Patriots in Super Bowl 51 before signing as free agent with the Green Bay Packers.
Who am I? MARTELLUS BENNETT
- I played in NCAA Tournament games against coaches Denny Crum (Louisville), Tom Davis (Iowa), Rick Pitino (Kentucky) and Roy Williams (Kansas).
- I was a Wake Forest teammate of future NBA MVP Tim Duncan.
- I was a swingman who averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in my four-year career with the Demon Deacons before playing professionally for one year in England.
- I co-starred in the romantic comedy "First Daughter" as the guy the college-aged daughter of the President of the United States falls for before discovering things aren't quite what they appear to be on the surface.
- I was a regular on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episodes playing the role of Riley Finn, Buffy's one-time love interest.
- I play the role of Matthew Donnelly in the USA Network show Necessary Roughness.
Who am I? MARC BLUCAS
- I was a Virginia teammate of future NBA players Bryant Stith and John Crotty.
- I averaged 4.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in seven NCAA Tournament games from 1989 through 1991 while battling on the boards in the playoffs against LaPhonso Ellis (Notre Dame), Derrick Coleman (Syracuse) and Billy Owens (Syracuse).
- I appeared in three bowl games--Florida Citrus (vs. Illinois), Sugar (vs. Tennessee) and Gator (vs. Oklahoma)--the same three years I competed in the NCAA playoffs.
- I was named ACC offensive football player of the year as a senior when I threw 224 passes over the entire regular season without incurring a single interception.
- I was a quarterback who became a second-round NFL draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs after passing for 2,696 yards and 25 touchdowns in my college career (including nine 200-yard passing games).
- I was a backup to Joe Montana with the Chiefs.
Who am I? MATT BLUNDIN
- I collected eight rebounds in a loss against Utah State and 10 points in a victory against Jerry Tarkanian-coached Long Beach State in the 1970 NCAA playoffs.
- My Santa Clara teammates included center Dennis Awtrey, who went on to play 12 NBA seasons with six different franchises. * Representing the Mariners the only time Seattle hosted the Midsummer Classic, I knocked in a run with a single off Gaylord Perry in All-Star Game in 1979 when I finished 10th in batting average (career-high .316) and eighth in doubles (career-high 38) along with a career-high 100 RBI.
- I was named team MVP the next year.
- I was a lefthanded first baseman-outfielder who hit .282 with the California Angels, Cleveland Indians, Mariners and Oakland A's in 12 seasons from 1974 through 1986 (missed 1983).
Who am I? BRUCE BOCHTE
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league pitcher Dave Sisler (Princeton).
- I participated in the 1952 NCAA Tournament as a freshman for a St. Louis team that was eliminated by champion-to-be Kansas when Jayhawks All-American Clyde Lovellette scored 44 points.
- I was an All-American whose career scoring average of 19.2 points per game is best in SLU history (minimum of three seasons).
- I was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection who earned a gold medal while playing for the 1956 U.S. Olympic team in Melbourne, Australia.
- I was named president of Vickers Petroleum Corporation in 1963 at the age of 29.
- I became the ninth president of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- In December 2002, I pleaded guilty in federal court in Wichita, Kan., to defrauding a bank of more than $17 million.
Who am I? DICK BOUSHKA
- I hit .315 as the first baseman for Princeton's baseball team my sophomore year.
- Among the coaches I played against in NCAA Tournament East Regionals were Jack Ramsay, Jack Kraft, Press Maravich and Joe Mullaney.
- I was an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American as a junior and senior and ranked among the nation's top five scorers all three of my varsity seasons.
- I hold the NCAA playoff record for most points in a single Final Four game (58 against Wichita State in 1965 national third-place game) en route to becoming Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
- I am a Rhodes Scholar who was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. basketball team in the 1964 Olympic Games.
- I was a three-term U.S. Senator (Democrat-N.J.) until 1995.
- I was a presidential candidate in 2000 who authored two basketball books (Life on the Run in 1976 and Values of the Game in 1998).
Who am I? BILL BRADLEY
- I played in the same NCAA tournament as eventual Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Massachusetts U.S. Congressman Joe Early and Canadian Football League Hall of Famer Hal Patterson.
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against future All-American Ken Sears.
- I was Hardin-Simmons' second-leading scorer during the season (12.5 ppg as a junior) and the team's #2 scorer with nine points in a first-round loss against eventual West Regional finalist Santa Clara.
- My promising basketball career ended because of a summer job accident when my leg was broken in two places while unloading some sheetrock.
- I was the first participant to earn $1 million in sanctioned poker tournaments.
- I am the author of several poker books, including Super/System and Poker Wisdom of a Champion.
- I am the winner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the main event in back-to-back years in 1976 and 1977.
Who am I? DOYLE BRUNSON
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as MLB reliever Steve Hamilton (Morehead State) and U.S. Congressman Hank Nowak (Canisius).
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against SMU All-American center Jim Krebs.
- I was a St. Louis University teammate of future NBA center and executive Bob Ferry.
- I was a 6-5, 190-pound forward who led SLU in rebounding with 14.9 per game as a sophomore (19th in nation in rebound percentage) and retrieved a team-high 18 missed shots in two 1957 NCAA playoff games.
- I was listed in Who's Who in America.
- I was president of Coppin State in Baltimore in 1997 when the Eagles upset No. 2 seed South Carolina in the East Regional.
Who am I? DR. CALVIN W. BURNETT
- I participated in the 1982 and 1983 NCAA Tournaments.
- I played briefly in a playoff game against an Oklahoma team featuring first-team All-American freshman Wayman Tisdale.
- My college basketball teammates included Indiana All-Americans Ted Kitchel and Randy Wittman.
- My stepfather, Tom Harp, was the head football coach for Indiana State in the mid-1970s.
- I was an assistant football coach for Michigan under Bo Schembechler before becoming an assistant for three years with the Washington Redskins.
- I played quarterback in college before becoming my alma mater's head football coach for five years from 1997 through 2001.
- I was head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2007 when they posted a franchise-worst 1-15 record between stints as an assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens.
- I was LSU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach several seasons this decade.
Who am I? CAM CAMERON
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league baseball executive Larry Lucchino (Princeton) and Dallas Cowboys punter Ron Widby (Tennessee).
- I played in the NCAA Tournament against Pacific All-American center Keith Swagerty.
One of my Texas Western teammates was All-American center David "Big Daddy" Lattin. - I collected 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds when the defending NCAA champion Miners were eliminated by Pacific, 72-63, in the 1967 West Regional semifinals before contributing eight points and five rebounds in a 69-67 victory over Wyoming in a third-place game.
- I was an NFL first-round draft choice (fifth pick overall) who played 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers (1968 through 1977).
- My fellow linebacker as an NFL rookie was Ray Nitschke.
- I had eight career interceptions (including a touchdown in 1976) and participated in the 1972 NFL playoffs after being selected as the outstanding lineman in the 1971 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl.
Who am I? FRED CARR
- I played in the 1953 NCAA Tournament against LSU All-American Bob Pettit.
- Among my Holy Cross teammates were All-American forward Togo Palazzi and U.S. Congressman-to-be Joe Early.
- I authored a book called Fighting for Life.
- I was Pennsylvania's 42nd governor who served from 1987 to 1995 after winning in my fourth attempt for the office.
- I was a heart-and-liver transplant recipient and pro-life candidate in a Democratic presidential primary.
- I am the father of a U.S. Senator with the same name.
Who am I? ROBERT P. CASEY
- I grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for TCU in 1968 when the Horned Frogs lost to Elvin Hayes-led Houston in the Midwest Regional final.
- I was the first African-American to play in the Southwest Conference.
- I was an All-SWC second-team selection as a junior when TCU won the league championship.
- I became the first black-tenured professor at Harvard in 1976.
- I was named chairman of the Harvard Business School MBA program in 1992.
Who am I? JAMES CASH
- I am my school's all-time leading rebounder who played in the NCAA playoffs in 1981 against North Carolina standouts James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Al Wood.
- I played in two West Regional games for Pittsburgh (game highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 70-69 overtime victory against Idaho and 16 points, six rebounds and game-high five steals in a 74-57 defeat against national runnerup-to-be North Carolina).
- I was a two-time All-Eastern 8 first-team selection.
- I was a third-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in the 1981 NBA draft.
- I was a defensive end who had 49 sacks in 11 seasons in pro football with the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts in the NFL and Pittsburgh and Memphis in the USFL.
- My NFL teammates included Eric Dickerson, Steve Largent and Ozzie Newsome and former college basketball players Al "Bubba" Baker (Colorado State), Pete Metzelaars (Wabash) and Brad Van Pelt (Michigan State).
- I was a 6-6 pass rushing specialist who played in two AFC championship games with the Browns.
- I was defensive line coach for the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe when they won the 1997 World Bowl.
- My son with the same name was the leading scorer and rebouder for Southern California's East Regional runner-up in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Who am I? SAM CLANCY
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against West Virginia's Gale Catlett.
- I was a Connecticut teammate of future NBA center Toby Kimball.
- I was a 5-9, 150-pound guard who scored as many points (17) as NCAA consensus second-team All-American Rod Thorn in the Huskies' 77-71 first-round setback against West Virginia in 1963.
- I was an All-Yankee Conference second-team selection as a senior when three of my teammates were first-team picks.
- I earned more than $1 million per year as Executive Vice President of ITT, a conglomerate with global sales in excess of $23 billion specializing in diversified products and services in three areas--financial and business, manufactured products and Sheraton Hotels.
Who am I? DALE COMEY
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Admiral John Dick (Oregon).
- I was a three-year letterman from 1938-39 through 1940-41 on Texas teams that combined for a 51-21 record.
- I saw action in both of the Longhorns' games in the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1939 after they captured the Southwest Conference championship.
- I was a world-famous surgeon based in Houston who performed in excess of 20,000 open-heart operations.
Who am I? DR. DENTON COOLEY
- I played in the NCAA Tournament against Southern California's Jerry Pimm, who went on to coach my alma mater in the playoffs five times in a seven-year span from 1977 through 1983.
- I scored 25 points in three NCAA playoff games in 1960 as a teammate of All-American Billy McGill.
- I was Utah's co-captain as a senior under coach Jack Gardner.
- I was Pacific Coast League MVP in 1963 with the Salt Lake City Bees.
- I was an outfielder who was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the New York Mets for first baseman George Altman in 1965.
- My only year as a regular was 1964 when I posted career highs of 16 doubles, 19 homers and 50 RBI as the Cubs center fielder and ranked among the National League top 10 in stolen bases with 12.
- I hit .236 with the Cubs, Mets, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and California Angels in eight seasons (1963 through 1965, 1967 and 1969 through 1972).
Who am I? BILLY COWAN
- I collected 16 points and 10 assists in two NCAA playoff contests in 2001.
- I led my team in assists that season when I directed North Carolina to a No. 1 national ranking and an 18-game winning streak.
- I was Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the 2001 Peach Bowl.
- I was a basketball/football teammate of Julius Peppers, the nation's top defensive lineman in 2001.
- I was a four-year starter in football who set school career records for total offense, passing yards, rushing yards by a quarterback and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
- I was activated for Super Bowl XXXVII with the Oakland Raiders as a defensive back before becoming a wide receiver for them the next year in 2003.
- I succeeded all-time great Tim Brown as a starter in 2004.
Who am I? RONALD CURRY
- I played in the same NCAA tournament as eventual AFL/NFL players Scott Eaton, Harry Gunner and Lonnie Wright.
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against All-American Dick Snyder.
- I scored 19 points under former Rhode Island All-American Ernie Calverley in a first-round loss against Lefty Driesell-coached Davidson.
- In 1971, my wife and I took over leadership of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, a small struggling congregation of some 30 people gathered in a run-down building in the inner city. It went on to become a megachurch numbering more than 10,000 members from all walks of life.
- I was nominated for a 2002 Dove Award for Musical of the Year (Light of the Year) and had three books on the best-selling list of the national religious clothbound non-fiction books (including Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire).
Who am I? JOE CYMBALA
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Pro Bowl split end Billy Wilson (San Jose State).
- I played in the 1951 NCAA Tournament against Washington All-American Bob Houbregs when Texas A&M made its first playoff appearance.
- I was a two-time first-five selection on the All-Southwest Conference team and held school season (362 points) and career (952 points) scoring records when I graduated in 1952.
- I was named to the Helms Foundation All-American third team as a junior before becoming a member of two NBA championship teams - Philadelphia Warriors in 1956 and St. Louis Hawks in 1958.
- I won AAU high jump titles in 1952 and 1953.
- I was winner of the gold medal in the 1952 Olympic Games high jump with a leap of 6'-8 1/2".
- I set the then-world high jump record of 6'-11 1/2" in 1953.
Who am I? WALTER "BUDDY" DAVIS
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as open-heart surgeon Denton Cooley (Texas).
- I was a starting junior forward for the first NCAA Tournament champion in 1939 when I led Oregon in scoring in two of three playoff contests, including a game-high 15 points in the final against Ohio State.
- I was an NCAA consensus first-team All-American the next season when I paced the Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division (forerunner of the Pacific-10) in scoring with 183 points in 16 games.
- I retired with the rank of Admiral after 32 years of service in the U.S. Navy.
- I commanded the aircraft carrier Saratoga for two years and served as chief of staff for all carrier forces in the Western Pacific.
Who am I? JOHN DICK
- I played in three consecutive NCAA playoff games against coaches that captured national titles in other seasons (Jim Calhoun, Dean Smith and Steve Fisher).
- I was an Ohio State teammate of All-American Jim Jackson.
- I collected three points and five rebounds in a 78-55 victory over Connecticut in the second round for the Buckeyes' 1992 Southeast Regional runner-up.
- I averaged 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior in 1994-95 when I led OSU in rebounding and finished third in scoring.
- I was Offensive MVP in the 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl.
- I am a tight end who was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round (9th pick overall) of the 1996 NFL draft.
- I caught 29 touchdown passes in five seasons with the Raiders before hooking on with the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- I was a member of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVII champion.
Who am I? RICKEY DUDLEY
- I was a Holy Cross teammate of Pennsylvania governor-to-be Robert Casey.
- I scored six points for the Crusaders in their 81-73 East Regional final loss to Bob Pettit-led LSU in the 1953 NCAA Tournament.
- I was a portly, rumpled cigar smoker who served in the Massachusetts state House from 1963-75.
- I am a Democrat who was a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts' Third Congressional District (1975-93).
- I lost to Republican Peter Blute in the 1992 election after being tainted by 140 overdrafts in the wake of an ethics committee investigation of members who overdrew their House bank accounts.
- By Massachusetts standards, I was a conservative who prided himself on my independence from any Democratic faction.
I was against abortion and busing and skeptical about foreign aid but when it came to labor and domestic spending, I was a New Deal Democrat.
Who am I? JOE EARLY
- I scored eight points against Seattle in the 1964 NCAA playoffs and a total of 19 points in two West Regional contests in 1966 (vs. Houston and Utah).
- One of my Oregon State teammates in 1964 was All-American center Mel Counts. Two years later when I was the Beavers' third-leading scorer with 9.9 ppg, one of my teammates was eventual NFL defensive end Harry Gunner.
- I shared OSU's Paul Valenti Award with Gunner in 1966, given annually to the player who displays the most desire and determination.
- I was an eighth-round draft choice by the New York Giants in 1967.
- My NFL teammates all five years of my stint with the Giants included Tucker Frederickson, Pete Gogolak, Carl Lockhart and Fran Tarkenton.
- I was a defensive back who intercepted 11 passes.
Who am I? SCOTT EATON
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Holy Cross All-American guard Bob Cousy.
- I was a second-team pick on the Helms All-American team in 1947-48 when I scored a team-high 15 points in Michigan's first NCAA Tournament victory, a 66-49 decision over Columbia in the Eastern Regional third-place game.
- I earned All-American honors as a senior quarterback for the Wolverines' 1948 national champion before becoming an All-Big Ten second-team selection in basketball.
- I was head football coach at Nebraska (1956), California (1957 through 1959) and Illinois (1960 through 1966) and led Cal and the Illini to Rose Bowl berths.
- I became executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Who am I? PETE ELLIOTT
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens (Tennessee-Chattanooga).
- I played in all four of Virginia's playoff games for the 1995 Midwest Regional finalist that was eliminated by eventual national runner-up Arkansas.
- I was a safety who intercepted future NFL teammate Danny Kanell twice in the Cavaliers' victory over Florida State during my senior season.
- I made the New York Giants' roster as a rookie free agent and became a significant contributor as a part-time starter and in nickel-and-dime packages.
- I had a team-leading and career-high five interceptions for the Giants in 1998.
- I intercepted 20 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns with the Giants and Cleveland Browns in six years from 1996 through 2001.
Who am I? PERCY ELLSWORTH
- I was a four-year basketball letterman for Kansas who was the second-leading scorer for the Jayhawks in the 1942 NCAA Tournament as a teammate of All-American forward Charles Black.
- I was a two-time All-Big Seven Conference first-team selection in basketball.
- I am the only Kansas athlete to earn All-American honors in football and basketball.
- I am a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and had my jersey No. 15 retired in 1997.
- I led the nation's major-college players in passes attempted (200) and completed (101) and interceptions (10) in 1942 for a rare triple crown.
- I paced Kansas to the Big Six championship and a trip to the 1948 Orange Bowl after returning from World War II.
- One of my basketball and football teammates was fellow military veteran Otto Schnellbacher, who went on to become an All-Pro defensive back who led the NFL in interceptions in 1951.
- I was a first-round NFL draft choice (9th pick overall in 1944) who played with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1948 before becoming a prominent Kansas City bank official.
Who am I? RAY EVANS
- I played in the same NCAA tournament as eventual NFL linebacker Fred Carr and punter Ron Widby.
- I scored two points against eventual NCAA champion UCLA in the 1967 West Regional final.
- I was a teammate of Pacific All-American Keith Swagerty.
- I appeared in two World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974 and 1978).
- I ranked among the National League's top eight in bases on balls in 1973 and 1977.
- I paced the N.L. in sacrifice flies in 1973 with 10 and catchers in fielding average.
- I hit .240 with 122 homers and 445 RBI for the Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and California Angels in 14 seasons from 1970 through 1983.
Who am I? JOE FERGUSON
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as NFL quarterback Brad Johnson (Florida State) and major league outfielder Kenny Lofton (Arizona).
- I hit two of four field-goal attempts for Baylor in a 75-60 defeat against Memphis State in the opening round of the 1988 Midwest Regional.
- I was an All-American linebacker before becoming an NFL first-round draft choice (12th pick overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Alfred Williams, my fellow LB with the Bengals, also played college basketball (for Colorado). Our teammates included Boomer Esiason and Anthony Munoz.
- I registered 33 sacks and returned three of my 11 interceptions for touchdowns with the Bengals in nine years from 1990 through 1998.
Who am I? JAMES FRANCIS
- I collected eight points and four rebounds against Final Four-bound North Carolina in the 2000 NCAA playoffs.
- I played against NCAA champion-to-be Duke in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, incurring four fouls in seven minutes.
- I was a Missouri teammate of eventual NBA first-round draft choice Kareem Rush.
- After beginning my college football career as a quarterback, I became a wide receiver who caught a then school-record 13 passes vs. Baylor in November 2001 en route to finishing my junior campaign one reception shy of the school single-season mark of 75.
- I set new standards the next year as a senior with 16 catches against Bowling Green and 82 receptions overall for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns before competing in the East-West Shrine Game.
- I am a two-time first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection who set virtually every Mizzou career receiving record, including receptions (200), receiving yards (2,704), touchdown passes (18) and consecutive games with a reception (34).
- I caught two touchdown passes as a rookie with the Chicago Bears after being their fifth-round pick in the 2003 NFL draft.
- I signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent in 2007 and promptly caught a career-high 55 passes before managing a career-high 6 TD receptions the next year.
- I had 10 receptions for 135 yards with the Titans in a 13-10 playoff loss against the Baltimore Ravens following the 2008 season.
Who am I? JUSTIN GAGE
- I was the leader in rebounding and field-goal percentage for the only Mid-American Conference member ever to win three games in a single NCAA Tournament.
- I played against teams in the 2002 NCAA playoffs from elite conferences such as the Big 12 (Oklahoma State), SEC (Alabama), Big East (Pittsburgh) and Big Ten (Indiana).
- I began my college career at Michigan State but never played there before transferring to junior college and subsequently to Kent State.
- I caught two touchdown passes as a rookie free-agent tight end with the San Diego Chargers in 2003 before setting an NFL record for TD receptions by a tight end the next year with 13.
- I was the only unanimous choice to the AP All-Pro team in 2005 when I caught 89 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 TDs.
- I am a seven-time All-Pro (consecutive seasons) who managed a career-high 1,157 receiving yards in 2009 before signing a lucrative five-year, $36 million deal ($20 million guaranteed).
- I became the second TE in NFL history to notch 100 career TD receptions.
Who am I? ANTONIO GATES
- I was a teammate of Washington State All-American center Paul Lindemann.
- I was WSU's fifth-leading scorer as a senior in 1941 when I averaged 5.3 points per game as an all-conference second-team selection for the NCAA Tournament runner-up.
- I was an All-West Coast first-team selection who earned football All-American first-team honors by the New York Sun as an end.
- I played in the annual East-West Shrine Game before earning All-Pro second-team honors my first two years with the Los Angeles Dons.
- Fellow end and former Great Northwest college basketball player Dick Wilkins (Oregon) joined the Dons the year after I left the team.
Who am I? DALE GENTRY
- I played in two NCAA playoff games for Georgia under coach Jim Harrick.
- As a freshman flanker, I became the first Bulldogs football player ever to have four consecutive 100-yard games in receiving.
- I returned a kickoff for 91 yards and a touchdown against Clemson the first time I touched the ball as a sophomore.
- I was the second-leading receiver the next season (43 catches for 758 yards and four TDs) with 2002 team that compiled the Bulldogs' first 13-win season, first SEC title in 20 years, a Sugar Bowl victory over Florida State and a final national ranking of #3 (highest since 1980).
- I caught two first-quarter TD passes against Purdue in a 34-27 overtime victory in the First Capital One Bowl following the 2003 campaign.
- I received All-SEC first-team honors as a senior when I hauled in a career-high 49 receptions.
- I was instrumental in helping Georgia post three straight seasons of 10 or more victories, three consecutive bowl victories and three national top six rankings in a row.
- I was a fourth-round NFL draft choice by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005.
Who am I? FRED GIBSON
- I played in the East Regional against North Carolina standouts Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison.
- I was a teammate of California All-Americans Sharef Abdur-Rahim and Ed Gray.
- I averaged 18 points and shot 61 percent from the floor in the Bears' first two NCAA Tournament games in 1997, including a team-high 23 points in an East Regional second-round victory against Villanova.
- I declared early for the NFL draft after becoming a first-team All-American.
After catching 53 passes for 768 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in 1996 for Cal's Aloha Bowl squad, I was selected in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs. - I became the Chiefs' all-time leader in pass receptions by a tight end midway through the 2000 season en route to becoming a 12-time All-Pro selection.
- I set an NFL single-season record for most receptions by a tight end with 102 in 2004.
- After being traded to the Atlanta Falcons, I became the NFL's all-time runner-up in receptions behind Jerry Rice.
- I hold the NFL career tight end records for touchdowns and reception yardage.
Who am I? TONY GONZALEZ
- I played against NFL coach-to-be Red Hickey in the 1941 NCAA Tournament.
- I was scoreless in two West Regional defeats (against Arkansas in regional semifinal and Creighton in regional third-place game).
- One of my teammates was eventual All-American Kenny Sailors.
- I played in the NCAA playoffs for my beloved state of Wyoming.
- I was host of American Sportsman and also broadcast the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament.
- I was a network broadcaster who worked two of the more memorable World Series on NBC (Miracle Mets' upset of Baltimore in 1969 and the seven-game Cincinnati-Boston series in 1975 that is credited with reviving baseball in the American sports consciousness).
Who am I? CURT GOWDY
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Congressman Scotty Baesler (Kentucky) and CBS analyst Billy Packer (Wake Forest).
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Arizona State's Joe Caldwell and UCLA's Walt Hazzard.
- I averaged 24.3 points per game in three NCAA Tournament contests and was named to the All-West Regional team.
- I was an all-league first-team selection the last three years of the Mountain States Conference.
- I was held under 10 points only once in college career and scored 46 against New Mexico on March 3, 1962.
- I remain Utah State's all-time leading rebounder and set a single-season record with 403 boards in 1959-60.
- My brother, Pumpsie, was the first black player for the Boston Red Sox, the major leagues' last integrated team.
- My NFL teammates included former college basketball players Mike Ditka (Pittsburgh), Pete Gent (Michigan State), Too Tall Jones (Tennessee State), Roger Staubach (Navy), Ron Widby (Tennessee) and Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State).
- I intercepted 34 passes as a defensive back with the Dallas Cowboys in 13 years from 1962 through 1974.
- I played in five Pro Bowl games and two Super Bowls (V and VI).
Who am I? CORNELL GREEN
- I grabbed a total of five rebounds in two NCAA playoff games in 1966 against Elvin Hayes-led Houston and Jerry Chambers-led Utah.
- One of my Oregon State teammates was eventual NFL defensive back Scott Eaton.
- I was a junior college transfer who averaged 4.4 ppg and 4.5 rpg with the Beavers in 1965-66 and 1966-67.
- I shared OSU's Paul Valenti Award with Eaton in 1966, given annually to the player who displays the most desire and determination.
- I was an eighth-round draft choice by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968.
- My NFL teammates with the Bengals included Bruce Coslet, Bob Trumpy and Sam Wyche.
- I was a defensive end who recorded a safety as a rookie and returned an interception for 70 yards and a touchdown in 1969.
- My teammates when I played for the Chicago Bears in 1970 included Dick Butkus, Bobby Douglass and Gale Sayers.
Who am I? HARRY GUNNER
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as U.S. Congressman Hank Nowak (Canisius).
- I played in the NCAA Tournament against Marshall's Hal Greer and Pittsburgh All-American guard Don Hennon.
- I grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds against Iowa All-Americans Carl Cain and Bill Logan when my team was eliminated by the national runnerup-to-be in the 1956 Midwest Regional semifinals.
- I was a 6-7, 195-pound forward-center who averaged 18.5 points for Morehead State in four NCAA Tournament games in 1956 and 1957.
- I was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as a freshman in 1954-55.
- I am the only athlete to play in a World Series and an NBA Finals (rookie in 1959 when the Lakers were swept by the Boston Celtics) after participating in the NCAA playoffs.
- I was a lefthanded pitcher who compiled a 40-31 record, 3.05 ERA and 42 saves in 421 games during 12 seasons from 1961 through 1972 with the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs.
- I was traded by the Senators to the Yankees for pitcher Jim Coates in April, 1963.
- My teammates with the Yankees included former college basketball players Gene Michael (Kent State) and Rollie Sheldon (Connecticut).
- I was a reliever in the 1963 and 1964 World Series for the Yankees.
Who am I? STEVE HAMILTON
- I played in the same NCAA Tournament as eventual major league second baseman Jerry Adair and NFL quarterback Joe Kapp.
- I collected 7 points and 7 rebounds in Boston College's NCAA playoff debut, an 86-63 defeat against Maryland in the 1958 East Regional.
- I was BC's senior captain in 1957-58, averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg.
- I was a Navy SEAL who created the New England Sports Network, which was one of the first successful cable channels.
- I was Executive Director and Trustee of the Yawkey Foundation and Boston Red Sox CEO in January 2002 when spearheading the selling of the Red Sox to a consortium led by former Florida Marlins owner John Henry for $660 million, doubling the previous record price for a pro baseball franchise.
Who am I? JACK HARRINGTON
- I missed a three-point attempt with Princeton in 2001 NCAA playoff South Regional opener against #2 seed North Carolina squad featuring eventual NFL regulars Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers.
- Eight of my 11 career field goals for the Tigers were three-pointers.
- I served as an infantry platoon leader in Iraq and was a leading candidate for head of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in the Trump Administration.
- I am CEO of Concerned Veterans for America while serving as a FOX News Channel contributor, providing analysis and commentary across FNC's daytime and prime-time programming.
Who am I? PETE HEGSETH
- I was the leading rebounder for Washington State's team that competed against Boston College in the 1994 East Regional.
- I was the Cougars' leading rebounder each of my four seasons.
- I am a two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection who was WSU's second-leading scorer as a junior and senior.
- I finished my college career as my alma mater's all-time second-leading rebounder (927) and third-leading scorer (1,496 points).
- I was a second-round NBA draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996 before playing for the Sixers, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
- I was selected six times in baseball's June draft.
- I am a 6-9 lefthanded pitcher who posted a 3-0 record and 2.45 ERA for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002. The next year, I became the first pitcher in Blue Jays' history to hit a home run.
- My best season was 2005 when I went 11-8 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before being traded the next year to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Who am I? MARK HENDRICKSON
- I had a team-high 14 points in outscoring Illinois guard Derek Harper in my first NCAA playoff game with Utah before the Utes were eliminated in the West Regional by champion-to-be North Carolina State.
- My last college game was in the NCAA tourney against North Carolina coach Dean Smith and eventual first-team All-American Kenny Smith.
- I led the Utes in assists with 5.1 per game as a sophomore before finishing my college basketball career in 1986 as the seventh-leading scorer in school history.
- As a senior, I was an All-WAC second-team selection along with Wyoming sophomores Fennis Dembo and Eric Leckner.
- One of my NFL teammates was former college basketball player Too Tall Jones (Tennessee State).
- I was a defensive back who had two interceptions with the Dallas Cowboys during my six seasons with them from 1986 through 1991.
- I recorded a safety in 1991 before the Cowboys were eliminated in the second round of the NFL playoffs by the Detroit Lions.
Who am I? MANNY HENDRIX
- I played against long-time network broadcaster Curt Gowdy and former All-Pro wide receiver Dale Gentry in the 1941 NCAA Tournament.
- I was a 6-2, 195-pound guard who earned basketball honors as a second-team All-Southwest Conference choice as a sophomore and junior and a first-team selection as a senior.
- I was a member of Arkansas' 1941 team that won the SWC title with a 12-0 record, finished 20-3 overall and reached the Final Four in its NCAA Tournament debut.
- I finished sixth in the NFL in pass receptions as a rookie.
- I was a member of the Rams' 1945 NFL title team and finished my pro career with 75 receptions for 1,378 yards and 16 touchdowns.
- I was coach of the San Francisco 49ers (27-27-1 record from 1959 through 1963) after playing end with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams for five years (1941 and 1945 through 1948).
- Among the players I coached with the 49ers were former college basketball players Billy Kilmer (UCLA), R.C. Owens (College of Idaho) and Billy Wilson (San Jose State).
Who am I? HOWARD "RED" HICKEY
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league outfielder Dave Winfield (Minnesota).
- I participated in three consecutive Final Fours for NCAA championship teams under legendary coach John Wooden.
- My UCLA teammates included five All-Americans--Henry Bibby, Curtis Rowe, John Vallely, Bill Walton and Sidney Wicks.
- I scored 10 points as a senior against Weber State in the 1972 West Regional semifinals before scoring six points against Denny Crum-coached Louisville in the national semifinals.
- I am author of a book titled with one of Wooden's most famous quotes: "Be Quick--But Don't Hurry."
- As president of CBS Productions, I was responsible for the development and production of such successful prime time programming as Touched by an Angel, Walker Texas Ranger, Rescue 911, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Dave's World.
Who am I? ANDY HILL
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against All-Americans Dennis DuVal (Syracuse) and Marvin Barnes (Providence).
- I was a Furman teammate of All-American forward Clyde Mayes.
- I scored a total of 14 points in five East Regional games from 1973 through 1975.
- I was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1990, when I narrowly lost to Dan Coats.
- I am a Democratic Congressman who was a member of the Indiana House from 1982 until succeeding retiring Lee Hamilton in the U.S. House of Representatives in a widely-watched open-seat contest in 1998.
- After losing my House seat, I recaptured it in 2006 before losing it again in 2010.
Who am I? BARON HILL
- I scored 12 points in the 1969 NCAA playoffs against coach Lou Henson and All-American-to-be New Mexico State guard Jimmy Collins.
- One of my college teammates, Paul Ruffner, was Collins' teammate with the Chicago Bulls in 1970-71.
- I was a second-team All-WAC guard as a junior and senior when I led Brigham Young in scoring each of those seasons.
- I am a son of BYU Hall of Famer Orin Howard.
- I played in the major leagues with Frank Robinson as a teammate and under him when he was a manager.
- I played five years in the majors as a first baseman-outfielder with the California Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians from 1972 through 1976.
Who am I? DOUG HOWARD
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against teams coached by Joe B. Hall, Al McGuire and Digger Phelps. Among the opposing players were All-Americans Kevin Grevey (Kentucky), Maurice Lucas (Marquette), Adrian Dantley (Notre Dame) and John Shumate (Notre Dame).
- I was a 6-4 forward who averaged seven points and seven rebounds per game in four NCAA Tournament contests in 1973 and 1974 as an Austin Peay teammate of celebrated James "Fly" Williams.
- I was an All-Ohio Valley Conference basketball selection as a senior.
- I became a wide receiver who caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Dallas Cowboys legend Roger Staubach for their final TD in a 21-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X.
Who am I? PERCY HOWARD
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against teams coached by Jack Kraft, Jack Ramsay, Fred Taylor and John Wooden.
- I was a 6-6, 245-pound forward for the 1962 Wake Forest squad featuring Len Chappell and Billy Packer that finished third in the NCAA Tournament.
- I was the first athlete in ACC history to start in both football and basketball.
- One of my pro football teammates was Hall of Fame-to-be quarterback Len Dawson, who briefly played basketball for Purdue.
- I was an All-ACC defensive end who became a third-round pick of the NFL's Chicago Bears in 1962, but chose to play with the AFL's Dallas Texans after being their fifth-round selection.
- In my only pro season, I intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards to help set up the game-winning field goal in overtime of a 20-17 victory over Houston in the AFL championship game.
Who am I? BILL HULL
- I played in the NCAA tourney against future major league outfielder and manager Sam Mele of NYU.
- I was a forward-center for Georgetown's 1943 NCAA Tournament runner-up that compiled a 22-5 record.
- I scored two points in a 53-49 victory over DePaul, a team from my Chicago hometown, and fellow freshman George Mikan in the Eastern Regional final (playoff semifinals) before going scoreless in a championship game loss to Wyoming.
- I started out as a Democrat before becoming a 12-term Republican Congressman from Illinois and eventual chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
- My towering stature as a lawmaker (6-3) made me the ideal GOP pointman to lead an impeachment inquiry of President Clinton, who earned his diploma from my alma mater 21 years after I did.
Who am I? HENRY HYDE
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as NFL linebacker James Francis (Baylor) and major league outfielder Kenny Lofton (Arizona).
- I was a Florida State teammate of All-American George McCloud.
- I hit all three of my three-point field-goal attempts in a 102-98 opening-round loss to B.J. Armstrong-led Iowa in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.
- I am a quarterback who received a four-year, $15 million contract from the Minnesota Vikings in 1996 despite being their ninth-round draft choice in 1992.
- I became a pro starter when Warren Moon was injured and directed Minnesota to the NFL playoffs.
- An injury led me to losing my starting job to Randall Cunningham in 1998 before I was traded by the Vikings to the Washington Redskins, where I set a club single-game record with 471 yards passing at San Francisco on December 26, 1999.
- I guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFL playoffs following the 2001 season after signing with them as a free agent.
- I threw a career-high five touchdown passes against the Minnesota Vikings in 2002 before leading the Bucs to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.
- I returned to the Vikings in 2005 for two seasons.
Who am I? BRAD JOHNSON
- I scored eight points in 10 minutes in a second-round victory against St. Joseph's in 2001. It was one of four times in six NCAA playoff games that I scored eight points.
- I was a teammate of Stanford All-American Casey Jacobsen when we were eliminated by national champion-to-be Maryland in the 2001 West Regional final and eventual Final Four participant Kansas in the second round of the 2002 Midwest Regional.
- I was an occasional starting forward who had career averages of 4.9 points and 3 rebounds per game with the Cardinal.
- After redshirting in 2000 as a quarterback, I became co-freshman of the year in the Pacific-10 Conference in 2001 when I caught 38 passes for 565 yards and seven touchdowns, including a TD in the Seattle Bowl against Georgia Tech.
- I am a 6-7, 240-pound wide receiver who declared for the NFL draft with two years of eligibility remaining after catching 41 passes for 467 yards and eight TDs in 2002.
- I was a second-round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders in 2003.
Who am I? TEYO JOHNSON
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league second baseman Jerry Adair (Oklahoma State).
- I was a teammate of California All-American forward Larry Friend.
- I participated as a backup forward in back-to-back West Regional finals in 1957 and 1958.
- I finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1958 when I led Cal to a Rose Bowl berth.
- I coached my alma mater and appeared as a bit actor in a dozen movies.
- I became a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame after quarterbacking Calgary (1959 and 1960) and Vancouver (1961 through 1966).
- I was an NFL Pro Bowl selection following the 1969 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
- I am the only QB to start in the Rose Bowl, Super Bowl and Grey Cup.
- I was the last QB to throw seven touchdown passes in a single NFL game.
- My teammates with the Vikings included former college basketball players Dale Hackbart (Wisconsin), King Hill (Rice) and Art Powell (San Jose State).
Who am I? JOE KAPP
- I was a Virginia teammate of future NBA players Bryant Stith and John Crotty.
- I became the Cavaliers' career rushing record with 3,348 yards on 567 carries, including a total of 14 100-yard games.
- I participated in three football bowls and scored a touchdown against Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl.
- I was scoreless in two 1990 NCAA Tournament games against Notre Dame and Syracuse before becoming a starting running back as a rookie for the Miami Dolphins in 1993.
- I was the Dolphins' leading pass receiver and second-leading rusher after being a third-round pick in the 1993 NFL draft.
- I led the Dolphins in pass receptions with 66 for 618 yards in 1995 and was again the team's second-leading rusher before I was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.
- I played with the Oakland Raiders after previously being in the same backfield with quarterbacks Dan Marino and Steve Young.
- I missed Super Bowl XXXVII because of an injury.
Who am I? TERRY KIRBY
- I was the leading scorer in the Mountain States (Big Seven) Conference with 16.4 points per game for Colorado's 1946 NCAA Tournament team.
- I am reputedly the first player selected in the NBA's first college draft in 1947 after enrolling at Washington and Jefferson (Pa.) to play on a 16-4 team with two of my brothers.
- I never appeared in the then-fledgling NBA, which doesn't have any official draft records prior to 1949. The franchise that selected me, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, folded shortly after the draft, and my rights reverted to the New York Knicks.
- I chose not to play in an uncertain situation for little money after the Knicks mailed a contract offer to me in the mail for just $3,500.
- My son, Chris, coached American University for seven seasons from 1990-91 through 1996-97.
- I was recalled to the military during the Korean War, where I was assigned to intelligence work for the Navy and later embarked on a civilian career that led to a job with the Central Intelligence Agency.
- I was the CIA's deputy director under George Bush in 1976.
Who am I? HANK KNOCHE
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against future college and NBA head coaches Mike Dunleavy (South Carolina), Larry Farmer (UCLA), Lon Kruger (Kansas State) and Brian Winters (South Carolina).
- I was a Memphis State teammate of All-Americans Larry Finch and Larry Kenon.
- I was a 5-10 guard who averaged 3.9 points per game for the Tigers' team that lost to UCLA's Walton Gang in the 1973 NCAA Tournament final.
- I breed and train horses at Crown Center Farms, south of Columbia, Mo.
- I presented Missouri with the largest single, private gift in the school's history - $10 million, which was earmarked as seed money for a new 17,000-seat, $50 million arena.
- My wife, Nancy, is the daughter of the late Bud Walton and niece of the late Sam Walton, the brothers who founded Wal-Mart. My wife and I owned the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the Kiel Center arena in St. Louis.
- I had two deals fall through while trying to purchase NBA franchises (Denver Nuggets and Vancouver Grizzlies) before courting the Charlotte Hornets.
- I was named to the state of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
Who am I? BILL LAURIE
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as NFL linebacker James Francis (Baylor) and NFL quarterback Brad Johnson (Florida State).
- I was an Arizona teammate of All-Americans Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr.
- I was a member of the Wildcats' team that compiled a 35-3 record and reached the 1988 Final Four.
- I outscored Texas-El Paso guard Tim Hardaway, 12-2, in the 1987 West Regional.
- I led the American League in stolen bases in 1992 with 66, a record for an American League rookie.
- I was a Gold Glove outfielder who led the Cleveland Indians with a .325 batting mark (fourth in the A.L.) and paced the majors with 70 stolen bases in 1993.
- I played in the major league All-Star Game in 1994 and 1995, when I led the A.L. in stolen bases with 60 and 54, respectively.
- Considered the premier leadoff hitter of the 1990s, I am a six-time All-Star who hit a career-high .349 in 1994 with the Indians.
- I stole six bases in the 1995 World Series against the Atlanta Braves before hitting .333 for them in 1997 after I was traded in a deal involving former basketball player David Justice (Thomas More).
- I was traded to contending teams (the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, respectively) midway through the 2002 and 2003 campaigns.
- I tied a major league record by scoring a run in 18 consecutive games with the Giants.
- Longtime standout Bernie Williams became a designated hitter upon my acquisition by the New York Yankees as their center fielder in 2004.
- I finished my 17-year MLB career with a .299 batting average and 622 stolen bases.
Who am I? KENNY LOFTON
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as NFL running back Terry Kirby (Virginia).
- I was a Loyola Marymount teammate of eventual All-Americans Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble in 1988-89 when the Lions (181) and U.S. International (150) competed in the highest-scoring game in NCAA history.
- I scored at least 16 points as a sophomore in each of the last three NCAA playoff outings for Loyola Marymount's 1990 West Regional runner-up (against Michigan, Alabama and UNLV). I had 23 in as many minutes against Michigan (149-115 victory) in the highest-scoring game in NCAA playoff history.
- I was a two-time All-WCC first-team selection and league-leading scorer.
- I scored a career-high 48 points against Idaho State as a junior in 1990-91 when I finished among the top five nationally in scoring (28.5 ppg) and assists (9.1 apg). During that season, I tallied a team-high 34 points when the Lions set an NCAA single-game scoring record in a 186-140 victory over USIU.
- I am an Oakland product who ranked eighth in the country in scoring as a senior with 26 points per game.
- I played in the same major league outfields with Sammy Sosa and Bobby Bonds.
- I hit .282 with the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and San Francisco Giants from 1997 through 2000 after previously being in the farm systems of the Texas Rangers and New York Mets.
- I went 15 for 34 from the plate (.441) with the Giants in 2000.
Who am I? TERRELL LOWERY
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as did Green Bay Packers linebacker Fred Carr (Texas Western) and Dallas Cowboys punter Ron Widby (Tennessee).
- I was a backup guard to eventual Princeton athletic director Gary Walters.
- I was a teammate of All-American Bill Bradley when the presidential candidate-to-be scored a Final Four-record 58 points against Wichita State in the 1965 national third-place game.
- I scored 14 points in three NCAA Tournament games in 1967 against coaches Bucky Waters (West Virginia), Dean Smith (North Carolina) and Lou Carnesecca (St. John's).
- I was employed by the U.S. Congress along with Hillary Clinton as part of a litigation team during the Watergate hearings.
- I survived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the 1980s and prostate cancer in the 1990s.
- I was a key major-league baseball executive with the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox for more than 20 years.
- I was a driving force behind the construction of Camden Yards before becoming a minority owner of the Padres.
- I was instrumental in hiring Theo Epstein in November 2002 as the youngest general manager in baseball history.
Who am I? LARRY LUCCHINO
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as six-year NFL defensive back Manny Hendrix.
- I played in the 1986 NCAA playoffs against All-Americans Rony Seikaly and Pearl Washington.
- I scored seven points for Brown in a first-round loss against Jim Boeheim-coached Syracuse before leading the Bears in scoring the next season with 17.3 ppg.
- I assumed office as Rhode Island's Attorney General in January, 2003. Six weeks later, I oversaw a criminal investigation for the state after a pyrotechnics display burned a nightclub to the ground, killing 99 people and injuring 186.
- After endorsing Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008, I competed for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010 before bowing out.
Who am I? PATRICK LYNCH
- I was a college teammate of Steve Ehlmann, a state legislator and circuit judge who contemplated running for Congress to fill Jim Tallent's seat when Tallent ran for Governor of Missouri in 2000.
- I was a junior college transfer who played for two different head coaches at Furman (Frank Selvy and Joe Williams).
- I was named MVP in the Southern Conference Tournament before collecting five points and two rebounds for the Paladins in their inaugural NCAA Tournament game, a 105-74 defeat against Digger Phelps-coached Fordham in the 1971 East Regional.
- I was an outfielder who hit .251 in 11 years from 1974 through 1984 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets.
- My major league teammates included Dick Allen, George Brett, Steve Carlton, Dave Kingman, Mike Schmidt, Darryl Strawberry and Bruce Sutter.
- I was a valuable backup who hit three pinch homers for the Phillies in 1978 in my last year with three consecutive divisional champions.
- I was involved in an eight-player trade including Ted Sizemore and Manny Trillo between the Phillies and Cubs during the winter before the 1979 season.
- I was a regular with the Cubs, collecting 42 homers and 146 RBI.
- I was a free-swinger who was suspended in 1984 for involvement with drugs.
- I served a three-month sentence in the Fort Worth Correctional Institute with Royals teammate Willie Wilson.
Who am I? JERRY MARTIN
- I participated in four NCAA playoff games, including one where I made all four of my field-goal attempts and dished out a team-high five assists in a first-round loss against Jack Hartman-coached Kansas State in 1981.
- My San Francisco teammates included All-Americans Bill Cartwright and Quintin Dailey.
- I averaged 8.5 points per game during my career with the Dons.
- My NFL teammates during five seasons in the mid-1980s with three different teams included former college basketball players Sam Clancy, Ronnie Lott and Pete Metzelaars.
- I had two interceptions and four sacks as LB-DB for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1984.
Who am I? KEN McALISTER
- I was a member of Maryland's 2002 NCAA titlist before becoming a part-time starter for the Terrapins' defending champion the next season.
- I played in the same 2001 NCAA basketball tourney as NFL defensive end Julius Peppers (North Carolina).
- I participated in two 2000 NCAA Tournament games, including one against UCLA.
- My Maryland teammates included All-ACC first-team selections Lonny Baxter, Juan Dixon and Terence Morris.
- In 1999, I finished No. 2 among Division I-A freshman quarterbacks (behind Virginia Tech's Michael Vick) in passing efficiency and total offense.
Who am I? CALVIN McCALL
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as eventual Indiana football coach Cam Cameron.
- I was a defensive specialist who fouled out when I collected seven points and five rebounds in a 1982 West Regional first-round loss against Wyoming.
- One of my Southern California teammates was Kentucky transfer Dwight Anderson. Another one of my USC teammates was Ken Johnson, who transferred after the season to Michigan State.
- My NFL teammates with the Los Angeles Rams included Eric Dickerson, Dennis Harrah, Jackie Slater, Jack Youngblood and Jim Youngblood.
- I was a tight end who caught 14 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns with the Rams and Detroit Lions in four years from 1983 to 1987.
Who am I? JAMES McDONALD
- I scored two points in two 1996 NCAA Tournament games for the eventual national runner-up.
- One of my Syracuse teammates was NBA first-round draft choice John Wallace.
- I am a former Gator Bowl MVP who was a high school basketball teammate of eventual Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker for Mount Carmel (Ill.), an all-male Catholic institution on the southside of Chicago.
- I participated in bowl games all four years in college - Gator, Liberty, Fiesta and Orange.
- I am a quarterback who completed 58.4% of my college passes with 77 TDs, including one as a freshman for 96 yards to eventual NFL standout Marvin Harrison against West Virginia in 1995.
- I finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting before becoming the second pick overall in the 1999 NFL draft.
- I finished runner-up to Marshall Faulk in voting for MVP in the NFL in 2000.
- A Super Bowl appearance climaxed my leading the Philadelphia Eagles to five consecutive NFL playoff appearances from 2000 through 2004 as a Pro Bowler each year in that span while completing 58 percent of my passes with twice as many touchdowns as interceptions.
- I set an an NFL record with 24 consecutive completions over a two-game span in 2004 when I had five games with at least four touchdown passes and established the Eagles' single-game record with 464 passing yards against Green Bay.
- I am the Eagles' all-time leader in career wins, pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns.
- I finished my career with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.
Who am I? DONOVAN McNABB
- I played against Congressman-to-be Henry Hyde (Georgetown) in the NCAA playoffs.
- I was named to the first five on the All-Metropolitan New York team as a sophomore in 1942-43 when I was NYU's leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament (losses against Georgetown and Dartmouth).
- I played for two different major league teams in a single season four times in a seven-year span, including two tours of duty as a teammate of Hall of Famer Ted Williams.
- I was an outfielder who hit .267 in a 10-year playing career from 1947 through 1956 with six teams before becoming manager of the Minnesota Twins for seven years from 1961 through 1967.
- I led the American League with 36 doubles for the Washington Senators in 1951 and drove in six runs in one inning in a 1952 game for the Chicago White Sox.
- I managed the Twins in 1965 when they won the A.L. title.
Who am I? SAM MELE
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens (Tennessee-Chattanooga) and NFL defensive back Percy Ellsworth (Virginia).
- I played in the 1996 NCAA Tournament against Temple coach John Chaney after my team was upset by Manhattan in the playoffs the previous year.
- I hold Oklahoma's record for consecutive successful free throws with 30.
- I was a member of the 1994 College World Series champion before becoming a second-round draft choice of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers in 1996 (32nd pick overall).
- I was a forward who averaged 16.5 points per game en route to finishing my career No. 6 on the Sooners' all-time scoring list (1,946 points).
- I was a two-time All-Big Eight first-team selection and conference player of the year as a junior when I averaged 23.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
- I am a third baseman who replaced Cal Ripken Jr. in the Baltimore Orioles' lineup on September 20, 1998, ending Ripken's major league record of 2,632 consecutive games played.
- I no longer was Ripken's teammate during his final season in 2001 because I was traded to the Montreal Expos.
Who am I? RYAN MINOR
- I appeared in the NCAA playoffs against Notre Dame's Kelly Tripucka, Bill Hanzlik and Bill Laimbeer.
- I played briefly for Houston in the Cougars' 100-77 opening-round setback to the Fighting Irish in the 1978 Midwest Regional after leading the Cougars in QB sacks with eight.
- I was a defensive end who became a first-round NFL draft choice.
- I played seven pro seasons (1981 through 1987) with the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.
- One of my teammates with the Eagles was former college basketball player Harold Carmichael (Southern).
Who am I? LEONARD MITCHELL
- I appeared in the NCAA Tournament against Texas-El Paso's Tim Hardaway.
- I averaged 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 1988-89 for LSU coach Dale Brown.
- I started in the same backcourt with All-American Chris Jackson in the West Regional of the 1989 NCAA playoffs.
- I was the player to be designated in a trade when pitcher Jack McDowell went from the Chicago White Sox to the New York Mets.
- I was an outfielder who hit .287 for the White Sox from 1995 through 1997 before my contract was sold to a team in Japan.
Who am I? LYLE MOUTON
- I was a 6-0 All-American forward as a junior for Dartmouth.
- I was the leading scorer for the 1942 NCAA Tournament runner-up (22-4 record) and averaged 12.6 points in seven NCAA Tournament games from 1941 through 1943.
- I was a trustee and chairman of the Finance Committee of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- I had a 29-year career as an executive (vice president in 1962, president/director in 1966, CEO in 1969 and chair/CEO from 1975-87) with the Phelps Dodge Corp., a Fortune 500 company and the nation's leading copper producer.
Who am I? GEORGE MUNROE
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Notre Dame (Kelly Tripucka, Orlando Woolridge, Bill Hanzlik and Bill Laimbeer) and Maryland (Albert King and Buck Williams).
- I was a Tennessee teammate of All-Americans Reggie Johnson and Dale Ellis.
- I collected a total of 19 points and 14 rebounds in just 36 minutes in four NCAA Tournament games in 1979 and 1980.
- I am one of the most popular figures in recent wrestling history who quietly began my career in 1990 as a WCW undercard wrestler, including billing as Oz (dressed in green cape and claimed to be "great and powerful") and Vinnie Vegas (wise guy in a pink suit and sunglasses).
- I am a former bouncer who went from a hanger-on to a 6-10, 350-pound hero in about seven months. My pin of Bob Backlund completed an unprecedented trifecta, giving me the WWF World tag team title, International title, and World title in the same calendar year.
- I was known as "Diesel" when I won the World Wrestling Federation championship in a record-setting eight-second bout in 1994.
Who am I? KEVIN NASH
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league pitcher Steve Hamilton (Morehead State).
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against North Carolina's undefeated 1957 team and All-Americans Tom Gola (La Salle), Ronnie Shavlik (N.C. State), Guy Rodgers (Temple) and Hot Rod Hundley (West Virginia).
- I was a teammate of Canisius All-America guard John McCarthy.
- I was the leading rebounder for the first three Canisius teams to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
- I was the leading scorer and rebounder for one of the winningest teams in Canisius history (22-6 record in 1956-57).
- I became a two-time NCAA Tournament All-East Regional selection (1956 and 1957) by averaging 19.4 points per game in nine NCAA playoff contests.
- I was selected in the fourth round of the 1957 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks.
- I am a Democrat who never received less than 75 percent of the general electorate vote while representing the Buffalo area for nine terms (1975-93) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Who am I? HANK NOWAK
- I played in the same NCAA Tournament as eventual Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Massachusetts U.S. Congressman Joe Early and World Series of Poker legend Doyle Brunson.
- I averaged 15.3 ppg in three NCAA playoff contests in 1953.
- I was a third-team All-American selection on Converse and United Press All-American squads as a senior when I finished second in the nation in field-goal shooting (54%).
- My twin brother was a basketball All-American who went on to play six seasons of major league baseball.
- I was an infielder-outfielder who played five seasons (1953 and 1955 through 1958) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting .236 in 231 games.
Who am I? EDDIE O'BRIEN
- I played in the same NCAA Tournament as eventual Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Massachusetts U.S. Congressman Joe Early and World Series of Poker legend Doyle Brunson.
- I was a a two-time NCAA consensus All-American who averaged 32 ppg in three NCAA playoff games in 1953 after scoring 51 points in a regular-season game against Gonzaga.
- I became the first college player to crack the 1,000-point plateau in a single season by scoring 1,051 in 37 games in 1951-52.
- My twin brother was a basketball All-American who went on to play five seasons of major league baseball.
- I was an infielder/pitcher who played 339 games in six seasons (1953 and 1955 through 1959) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Braves, hitting .250 and compiling a 1-3 pitching record.
- I was traded by the Pirates with Gene Freese to the Cardinals for Dick Schofield and cash.
- I was a second baseman for the Pirates on July 3, 1956, when I became the last N.L. position player to earn a victory on the mound until catcher Brent Mayne achieved the feat for the Colorado Rockies against the Atlanta Braves in August 2000.
Who am I? JOHNNY O'BRIEN
- I was scoreless in one minute for Tennessee-Chattanooga against No. 2 seed Connecticut in the 1995 West Regional.
- I played in the Senior Bowl after becoming UTC's all-time leading receiver (143 catches for 2,320 yards and 19 TDs).
- I started more games at receiver (10) than any San Francisco 49ers rookie since Gene Washington in 1969.
- I caught 162 passes for 2,553 yards and 26 touchdowns in my first three NFL seasons after being the 49ers' third-round draft choice in 1996.
- I became the heir apparent to Hall of Fame-bound Jerry Rice as the 49ers' go-to wide receiver after catching 15 touchdown passes in 1998, including at least one in each of the last eight regular-season games.
- My dramatic 25-yard touchdown catch from Steve Young with three seconds remaining lifted the 49ers to a 30-27 victory against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild-card game following the 1998 season.
- I set an NFL single-game record with 20 receptions in 2000 against the Chicago Bears.
- I led the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles in receiving in 2004.
- I am a six-time Pro Bowl selection who finished my 15-year NFL career with 1,078 pass receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns.
Who am I? TERRELL OWENS
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Congressman Scotty Baesler (Kentucky) and Dallas Cowboys defensive back Cornell Green (Utah State).
- I was the second-leading scorer for Wake Forest's only Final Four squad (behind All-American Len Chappell).
- I outscored Ohio State's Bob Knight 17-0 and UCLA All-American Walt Hazzard 22-15 at the 1962 Final Four.
- After earning a spot on the All-East Regional team, I scored a total of 39 points in two Final Four games for the national third-place Demon Deacons to finish the season with a 14.1-point scoring average.
- I hit just 1 of 10 field-goal attempts in a 97-74 victory over St. John's in the first round although Wake still became the only team to ever trail by as many as 10 points at halftime of a tournament game (46-36) and then win the contest by more than 20.
- I was an All-ACC first-team selection as a junior in 1960-61 with Chappell and three other All-Americans--Art Heyman, York Larese and Doug Moe.
- I was the color commentator at the Final Four for two broadcast networks.
Who am I? BILLY PACKER
- I played in the NCAA Tournament against All-Americans Arnold Short (Oklahoma City), Bob Mattick (Oklahoma A&M), Bob Houbregs (Washington) and Don Schlundt (Indiana).
- I was a football/basketball teammate of All-American defensive back Gil Reich.
- I was a starting forward and second-leading rebounder for Kansas' 1953 national runner-up.
- I was named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team in 1952 when I averaged 20 points per game for Garden City (Kan.) before enrolling with the Jayhawks.
- I was an All-Big Seven Conference first-team basketball selection as a senior.
- I scored 54 touchdowns in my 14-year CFL career and had 34 games with at least 100 yards in pass receptions.
- I became a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame after averaging 20.6 yards per pass reception with 460 catches for 9,473 yards and 64 touchdowns.
Who am I? HAL PATTERSON
- I was a member of a 2000 Final Four squad.
- I made 13 of 15 shots from the floor in NCAA playoff competition en route to leading North Carolina in field-goal shooting in 2000-01 (64.3%).
- I started both of my NCAA Tournament games in 2001, including my first double-double (10 rebounds and career-high 21 points against Penn State).
- I was a basketball/football teammate of Ronald Curry, a four-year starting quarterback.
- I was a first-team All-American as a defensive end who led the nation in sacks with 15 in 2000.
- I won the Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman and Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the nation's top defensive player in 2001 before becoming the second pick overall in the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.
- I was named NFL defensive rookie of the year in 2002 after registering 54 tackles and 12 sacks (including a pair of three-sack games) in 12 contests in 2002.
- The next year, I played in Super Bowl XXXVIII for Charlotte.
- I am an eight-time NFL Pro Bowl selection who signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Chicago Bears in 2010 and Green Bay Packers in 2014. Most recent Pro Bowl appearance was last year in my 14th NFL season.
Who am I? JULIUS PEPPERS
- I collected six points and a team-high nine rebounds for Texas Tech in a 1961 Midwest Regional semifinal loss against eventual NCAA Tournament champion Cincinnati.
- I averaged 12.1 ppg and 10.5 rpg as a junior as part of Tech's first SWC championship team in a major sport.
- I averaged 8 ppg for the Red Raiders in five NCAA playoff contests in 1961 and 1962.
- My NFL teammates included standouts such as Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Roger Staubach.
- I was a placekicker who scored 466 points with the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys in eight years from 1967 through 1974.
- I led the NFL with 25 field goals for the Bears in 1968 when I tied for third place in the league in scoring with 100 points.
Who am I? MAC PERCIVAL
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league pitcher Rollie Sheldon.
- I was a West Virginia teammate of All-American Jerry West.
- I was a backup guard for the Mountaineers in 1960 when they lost to NYU, 82-81, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament despite my five of six field-goal shooting.
- I was an infielder who hit .233 in 11 seasons (1964 and 1966 through 1975) with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
- My major league teammates included Ernie Banks, Don Drysdale, Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, Don Sutton and Billy Williams.
- I was traded with Ron Fairly by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Maury Wills and Manny Mota during the 1969 campaign.
- I went three-for-three in pinch-hitting appearances for the Pirates in the 1974 N.L. Championship Series.
Who am I? PAUL POPOVICH
- I played in the 1999 NCAA playoffs against St. John's All-American Ron Artest.
- I was a backcourt teammate of Indiana basketball All-American A.J. Guyton.
- I was 1998 Big Ten Conference freshman of the year in football before becoming the first league football player to accumulate 5,000 total yards the next season as a sophomore.
- I was a 5-11 college quarterback who compiled 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 yards rushing through my first 19 games, which is faster than anyone in NCAA Division I-A history.
- I became the first player in NCAA Division I-A history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 3,000.
- I became the only "40-40 Man" in major-college history (more than 40 passing touchdowns and more than 40 rushing/receiving touchdowns).
- I was a regular wide receiver as a rookie for the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002 after being their second-round draft choice. The next year, I caught 37 passes for 364 yards and returned two punts for touchdowns.
- I signed a seven-year, $31 million contract with the Washington Redskins as an unrestricted free agent entering the 2006 campaign before being cast adrift by Mike Shanahan in 2010 and returning to the Steelers.
- I made a two-point conversion on a run for the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV.
Who am I? ANTWAAN RANDLE EL
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Seattle All-American Elgin Baylor.
- I was a California teammate of future pro quarterback Joe Kapp.
- I averaged 15.5 points in four NCAA Tournament games in 1957 and 1958 under coach Pete Newell, leading the Bears in scoring in two of the four playoff contests.
- I was a three-time all-conference second-team basketball selection.
- I was an outfielder who hit .268 in four seasons from 1958 to 1964 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles.
- I was purchased by the Orioles from the Dodgers during the winter of 1960.
- My major league teammates included former college basketball players Jerry Adair (Oklahoma State), Dick Hall (Swarthmore), Gil Hodges (Oakland City), Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati), Robin Roberts (Michigan State) and Norm Siebern (Southwest Missouri State).
Who am I? EARL ROBINSON
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as 1996 volleyball Olympian Mike Whitmarsh.
- I was a Washington teammate of All-American forward Detlef Schrempf.
- I was a 6-6, 260-pounder when I hit four of five field-goal attempts in the Huskies' 80-78 second-round victory over Duke in 1984 in Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski's first NCAA playoff game.
- I was a first-team All-American defensive lineman who became a first-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions in 1987 (seventh pick overall).
- Placekicker Eddie Murray was my teammate on two NFL teams. Among my other NFL teammates were QB Jim Kelly, LB Chris Spielman, DE Bruce Smith, QB Vinny Testaverde and RB Thurman Thomas.
- I also played with the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a six-year NFL career.
- My older brother, Don, an outstanding safety for UCLA, was a starting defensive back for the Cleveland Browns when he died tragically.
Who am I? REGGIE ROGERS
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as major league infielder Paul Popovich.
- I was Connecticut's third-leading scorer with 13.5 points per game as a 6-4 sophomore forward for a 1960 NCAA Tournament team that was eliminated by Satch Sanders-led NYU, which advanced to the Final Four.
- I had a front-row seat when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went after Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.
- I compiled a 38-36 pitching record in five seasons (1961, 1962 and 1964 through 1966) with the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics and Boston Red Sox.
- I was 11-5 as a rookie with the A.L. champion Yankees after going 15-1 in Class D ball the previous year.
- I appeared in two games for the Yanks in the 1964 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
- I was traded by the Yanks with Johnny Blanchard to K.C. for Doc Edwards during the 1965 season.
Who am I? ROLLIE SHELDON
- One of my teammates, George Stanich, was a bronze medalist in the high jump in the 1948 Olympics.
- I scored 11 points in UCLA's first-ever NCAA Tournament game (73-59 setback against Bradley in 1950) before scoring a team-high 21 points in an 83-62 loss to Brigham Young in the Western Regional third-place contest.
- I was an All-PCC South selection as a senior when I averaged 10.4 ppg and was team captain for coach John Wooden.
- I opened the first Polly's Pie Restaurant in 1968 with my brother.
- I am a restauranteur who is the largest holder of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Anaheim-based Polly's Pies franchises in the country, operating as many as 15 KFCs and 13 Polly's in Southern California.
Who am I? EDDIE SHELDRAKE
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against future All-American Dick Ricketts of Duquesne.
- I was a starting forward and All-Ivy League second-team selection with Princeton's first NCAA Tournament squad in 1952.
- I was a major league pitcher who compiled a 38-44 record in seven seasons (1956 through 1962) with the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators and Cincinnati Reds.
- My batterymate when I broke in with the Red Sox was former college basketball player Sammy White (Washington).
- I was traded with cash by the Senators to the Reds for pitcher Claude Osteen near the end of the 1961 campaign.
- I am a son of a Hall of Fame first baseman and brother of a former Cincinnati Reds manager.
- After graduating magna cum laude, I became an executive vice president, vice chairman of the board, and branch director of St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., the largest brokerage firm headquartered outside New York, with 5,300 investment brokers in over 500 branch locations throughout 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Who am I? DAVE SISLER
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as eventual major league outfielder Jerry Martin (Furman).
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against All-Americans Ed Ratleff (Long Beach State) and Kresimir Cosic (Brigham Young).
- I averaged 22 ppg for Pacific's freshman squad in 1967-68 before averaging 8.7 ppg and 2.9 rpg in my three-year varsity basketball career from 1968-69 through 1970-71.
- I hit seven of eight field-goal attempts en route to scoring 21 points in two playoff games as a senior in 1971 after averaging a career-high 10.9 ppg as a junior.
- My Pacific basketball teammates included eventual NCAA Division I head coaches Bob Thomason and Pat Douglass and All-American center John Gianelli.
- My major league baseball teammates included Cesar Cedeno, Bill Madlock, J.R. Richard, Bruce Sutter, Bob Watson and Billy Williams.
- I was involved in a trade between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants before the 1977 season that included Madlock and Bobby Murcer.
- I was an infielder who hit .211 with the Cubs and Houston Astros in four years from 1974 through 1977.
Who am I? ROB SPERRING
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against standouts Marvin Barnes (Providence), Billy Knight (Pittsburgh), Maurice Lucas (Marquette) and UCLA's Walton Gang.
- I had a game-high seven assists for North Carolina State in a victory over Providence in the 1974 East Regional.
- I was the starting forward opposite national player of the year David Thompson for the Wolfpack's 1974 NCAA champion.
- I had a part as a menacing pitcher in a comedy film (Rookie of the Year).
- I was on major league pitching staffs with Dennis Eckersley, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry and Jim Palmer.
- I appeared in 485 games, all as a reliever, in 13 seasons (1975 and 1978 through 1989) with the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.
- I compiled a 41-35 record with 3.95 ERA and 76 saves, recording 26 of the saves for the Orioles in 1980 the year after being the winning pitcher for them in Game Four of the 1979 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- I was traded by the Padres to the Yankees for pitcher Ed Whitson during the 1986 season.
Who am I? TIM STODDARD
- I scored a team-high 16 points and contributed game highs of 8 rebounds and 3 steals in a 2004 NCAA playoff opening-round setback against Texas.
- I was an All-Ivy League first-team selection as a junior and second-team choice as a senior under Princeton coach John Thompson III.
- I didn't play baseball my freshman year in college.
- I am the son of a 12-year major league outfielder who spent most of his career in the National League and was involved in a trade from the San Francisco Giants to the Montreal Expos for Al Oliver.
- I am a lefthanded outfielder who hit .264 in 28 games for the San Diego Padres during a September call-up in 2008, hitting a triple in my first at-bat.
- I was a regular for the Padres the previous five seasons (2010 through 2014), finishing among the top 10 in the National League in triples a couple of years.
Who am I? WILL VENABLE
- I was a Drake teammate of Willie McCarter and Willie Wise.
- I blocked one of UCLA star Lew Alcindor's shots in the Bulldogs' 85-82 defeat in the 1969 national semifinals.
- I outscored Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and former Wichita State/Vanderbilt/South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler, 11-9, in the national third-place game when they were North Carolina teammates.
- I won the decathlon title at the 1971 Pan American Games, 1971 National AAU meet and 1970 NCAA meet.
Who am I? RICK WANAMAKER
- I played against Bob Knight-coached Indiana in the 1992 NCAA playoffs before averaging 8.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.5 apg and 3.3 spg in four tournament games for the 1993 Southeast Regional runner-up.
- I held my school's career record for steals when my eligibility expired in 1993-94.
- I passed and rushed for 6,636 yards in my college football career.
- I was named Orange Bowl MVP in back-to-back victories over Nebraska.
- I led Florida State to 1993 national title by passing for 3,032 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushing for 339 yards and four touchdowns.
- I was a Heisman Trophy winner and consensus All-American quarterback who captured the 1993 Sullivan Award as the nation's premier amateur athlete.
Who am I? CHARLIE WARD
- I was Washington's second-leading scorer as a junior forward behind All-American center Jack Nichols in two 1948 NCAA Tournament games.
- I was named to the first five on the All-Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division basketball team as a junior and senior. * My major league baseball teammates included Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, George Kell, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Ted Williams.
- I was a catcher who hit .262 in 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1951 through 1959), Milwaukee Braves (1961) and Philadelphia Phillies (1962).
- I was a 1953 All-Star who hit over .280 three times with the Red Sox.
- On June 18, 1953, I scored three runs in one inning when the Red Sox tallied 17 in the seventh against the Detroit Tigers.
- A trade including Russ Nixon and Jim Marshall between the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians before the 1960 campaign was cancelled when I announced my retirement.
Who am I? SAMMY WHITE
- I played in the same NCAA tourney as Washington's Reggie Rogers, an All-American defensive tackle and NFL first-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions.
- I scored a team-high 17 points for San Diego in a 65-56 loss to Pete Carril-coached Princeton in the preliminary round of the 1984 NCAA Tournament.
- I set a school DI single-game scoring record with 37 points at Loyola Marymount in 1982-83.
- I was an All-WCAC selection as a junior and senior.
- I was a fifth-round draft choice of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1984 NBA draft.
- I joined Miller Lite/AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tour in 1989, when I was rookie of the year.
- I aligned with Mike Dodd in 1993 and we subsequently became one of the premier pairs on the volleyball tour before earning a silver medal in the 1996 Olympics when two-man beach volleyball made its debut.
Who am I? MIKE WHITMARSH
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as Green Bay Packers linebacker Fred Carr (Texas Western) and major league baseball executive Larry Lucchino (Princeton).
- I was a teammate of Tennessee center Tom Boerwinkle.
- I outscored All-American forward Don May, 20-9, in the NCAA playoffs to become an all-regional selection.
- I was the game-high scorer in the Volunteers' NCAA Tournament debut although it wasn't enough to prevent a 53-52 setback against national runnerup-to-be Dayton in the 1967 Mideast Regional semifinals.
- I was a two-time All-SEC first-team basketball selection and led the league in scoring the season before LSU's Pete Maravich arrived at the varsity level.
- My NFL teammates included former college basketball players Fred Carr (Texas Western), Mike Ditka (Pittsburgh), Pete Gent (Michigan State), Cornell Green (Utah State) and Roger Staubach (Navy).
- I averaged 42 yards per punt in six seasons (1968 through 1973) with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.
- I posted the longest punt in the NFL in 1968 (84 yards as a rookie).
- I played in the Pro Bowl following the 1971 season and appeared in two Super Bowls with the Cowboys (V and VI).
Who am I? RON WIDBY
- I played in the NCAA playoffs against Arkansas All-American center George Kok.
- I am the only freshman to lead a single NCAA tourney in scoring average (22 ppg).
- I scored a game-high 23 points for Oregon in a 79-76 loss to Arkansas in a 1945 West Regional semifinal before scoring a team-high 21 points in a 69-66 win over Utah in a third-place game.
- The next season, I became the first Oregon player to crack the 1,000-point plateau and repeated as an All-PCC North Division first-team selection.
- I was the leading pass receiver (27 catches for 520 yards and five touchdowns) on the 1948 Oregon team that featured quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, compiled a 9-2 mark and won the Pacific Coast Conference championship. The Ducks lost to SMU, 21-13, in the Cotton Bowl that season despite my four receptions for 57 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass from Van Brocklin.
- I led the Dallas Texans of the All-America Football Conference with 32 catches in 1952.
Fellow end and former Great Northwest college basketball player Dale Gentry (Washington State) left the AAFC's Los Angeles Dons the year before I joined the team. - Quarterbacks on my NFL teams included Don Heinrich and Frank Tripucka.
Who am I? DICK WILKINS
- I played in the same NCAA basketball tourney as 1952 Olympic gold-medal winning high jumper Buddy Davis (Texas A&M).
- I played in the NCAA Tournament against Brigham Young All-Americans Mel Hutchins, Roland Minson and Joe Richey.
- I collected two points and seven rebounds for San Jose State in a 68-61 opening-round loss to BYU in 1951.
- I caught 10 touchdown passes my last three years for the football Spartans after spending 19 months in the Pacific with the Navy.
- I was a split end who caught 407 passes for 5,902 yards in 10 seasons (1951 through 1960) with the San Francisco 49ers.
- I was a Pro Bowl selection six consecutive seasons (1955 through 1960) and named to wire-service All-Pro teams in 1955 and 1957.
- I led the NFL in receptions three consecutive years--1955 (60 catches), 1956 (60) and 1957 (52).
- I caught passes from NFL standout quarterbacks Y.A. Tittle and John Brodie.
- A fellow receiver with the 49ers was R.C. Owens, who led the nation's small colleges in rebounding in 1953-54 with the College of Idaho.
- I was named player of the game in the 1955 Pro Bowl after catching 11 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
Who am I? BILLY WILSON
- I was a Minnesota teammate of All-American forward Jim Brewer under coach Bill Musselman.
- I played the entire game, collecting eight points and eight rebounds against eventual national runner-up Florida State, in the Gophers' first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1972.
- I didn't play college football, but was chosen in the 17th round of the 1973 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. That same year I was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the fifth round of the NBA draft and the Utah Stars in the sixth round of the ABA draft.
- My major league baseball teammates included former college basketball players Bill Almon (Brown), Kenny Lofton (Arizona), Graig Nettles (San Diego State) and Dennis Rasmussen (Creighton).
- I was an outfielder who hit .283 with 465 home runs, 1,833 RBIs and 3,110 hits in 22 seasons (1973 through 1988 and 1990 through 1995) with the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians.
- I participated in the World Series with the Yankees (1981) and Blue Jays (1992).
- I am a baseball Hall of Famer who appeared in 12 All-Star Games after never playing in the minors.
Who am I? DAVE WINFIELD
- I played against Guy Lewis' Houston squad that featured Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney.
- I was Colorado State's leading scorer for NCAA Tournament teams in 1965 and 1966.
- I was a cornerback who had a total of five interceptions in two seasons (1966 and 1967) with the AFL's Denver Broncos although I never played a down of college football.
- One of my teammates with the Broncos was receiver Lionel Taylor, who led New Mexico Highlands' basketball team in scoring average with 13.6 ppg in 1955-56 and 20.3 in 1956-57.
- I became the first player in professional sports history to compete in football and basketball (Denver Rockets) simultaneously.
Who am I? LONNIE WRIGHT
Jumping in Office Pool: Sweet 16 Tips for Improving NCAA Bracket Results
Participating in office pools for major sports events, whether for money or not, has become as American in the national workplace as filling out your vacation schedule. Both forms can be perplexing because you frequently second guess yourself on where to go, when to go and exactly what to do. More often than not, you want to modify the submissions moments after turning them in. You feel as if you've flunked Office-Pool Economics 101.
No office pool heightens your frustration more than the NCAA Tournament. The allure of the office anarchy can be attributed to the futility of the exercise. Just ask Pete Rose when he was relaxing at spring training. Still, a little sophisticated guidance is better than none at all as you strive to meet the deadline for submitting your final NCAA playoff bracket.
If you're among the ardent fans who adore the Final Four and are starving for relevant handicapping tips, a sane approach to surviving March Madness has arrived. It is time to start chewing on historical nuggets to avoid making another April Fool appearance when results are posted on the bulletin board. Pay close attention to these sweet 16 dos and don'ts on how to fill out your bracket. As events unfold, you might want to rekindle old memories by assessing CollegeHoopedia.com's most magical playoff moments and All-Time All-NCAA Tournament teams.
1. SEEDING CAPACITY
DO pick a top three seeded team to win the national title.
In the first 34 years since the NCAA Tournament embraced seeding, 30 of the champions were seeded No. 1 (19 titlists), 2 (six) or 3 (five). The only championship game without at least one No. 1 or No. 2 seed was 1989, when a pair of No. 3 seeds clashed (Michigan and Seton Hall), until last year when #3 Connecticut opposed #8 Butler.
DON'T pick more than two of the four regional No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four.
No. 1 seeds always look tempting (especially after all four advanced to national semifinals in 2008). But the Final Four did not have more than two of them any year from 1979 through 1992.
2. DOUBLE TROUBLE
DO pick two teams seeded 13th or worse to defeat teams seeded two through four and one team seeded 12th to reach a regional semifinal.
Since the seeding process started in 1979, never have all of the top four seeds in each regional survived their opening round. A No. 12 seed advanced to the round of 16 five consecutive years from 1990 through 1994.
DON'T automatically pick a perennial power to defeat a team with a double-digit seed.
More than 100 different coaches have lost at least one tournament game to an opponent with a double-digit seed since the seeding process was introduced. Playoff newcomers shouldn't be shunned if they get any break at all in the seeding process. First-time entrants assert themselves when they receive a decent draw. Of the schools making their tournament debuts since the field expanded to at least 52 teams, almost one-fourth of them survived the first round.
3. SCORING SUMMARY
DO shun a potential championship team if an underclassman guard is leading the squad in scoring.
The only freshmen to lead a national champion in scoring were Utah forward Arnie Ferrin in 1944 and Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony in 2003. Of the sophomores to lead national titlists in scoring average, the only guards were Indiana's Isiah Thomas (16 ppg in 1981) and Duke's Jason Williams (21.6 ppg in 2001).
DON'T tamper with a "curse" by picking a team with the nation's leading scorer on its roster to reach the Final Four.
No national champion has had a player average as many as 30 points per game. The only player to lead the nation in scoring average while playing for a school to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game was Clyde Lovellette, who carried Kansas to the 1952 title. The only other player to lead the nation in scoring average while playing for a team advancing to the Final Four was Oscar Robertson, who powered Cincinnati to the national semifinals in 1959 and 1960 before the Bearcats were defeated both years by California. The Bears restricted the Big O to a total of 37 points in the two Final Four games as he was just nine of 32 from the floor.
4. PICKS AND PANS
Unless vital criteria is met to suffice otherwise, DO go with better-seeded teams to win games in the four regionals.
The better-seeded teams win a little over 2/3 of the games in regional competition. However, Final Four games have virtually broken even in regard to the original seedings.
DON'T pick a team to capture the NCAA title if the club lost its conference tournament opener.
No team ever has won an NCAA championship after losing a conference postseason tournament opener.
5. DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS
DO remember the cliche "East is Least."
No Eastern school won the East Regional and the national title in the same season since the tournament went to four regionals until Syracuse achieved the feat in 2003. The first seven national champions from the East Regional since 1956 were all ACC members (North Carolina '57, N.C. State '74, North Carolina '82, Duke '92, North Carolina '93, Duke '01 and Maryland '02) before Carolina won the East Regional again in 2005.
DON'T accept the axiom that the "West is Worst."
What does the Left Coast have to do to shed a misguided image? The Pacific-12 Conference supplied two NCAA champions in a three-year span (UCLA '95 and Arizona '97) before Stanford and Utah reached the 1998 Final Four. Arizona was runner-up in 2001 before UCLA participated in three straight Final Fours from 2006 through 2008. Although the Pac-12 struggled this season, the multiple-bid Mountain West and/or West Coast could take up the slack.
6. MATHEMATICAL ODDS
DO pick two of the ten recognizable schools with the all-time best playoff records to reach the Final Four.
There is a strong possibility some familiar faces will arrive in New Orleans since at least two of the ten winningest schools by percentage (minimum of 50 playoff games) usually appear at the Final Four. The top ten schools are Duke (.744 entering the '17 tourney), UCLA (.725), North Carolina (.719), Florida (.714), Kentucky (.707), Kansas (.699), Michigan State (.683), Michigan (.672), Indiana (.667) and Ohio State (.667).
DON'T be too wary of first-rate coaches with dime-store playoff results.
High-profile coaches are occasionally grilled because of their dismal tournament resumes. But they're due to eventually turn things around and shouldn't be written off altogether. Remember: Legendary John Wooden lost his first five playoff games as coach at UCLA by an average of more than 11 points and compiled an anemic 3-9 record from 1950 through 1963 before the Bruins won an unprecedented 10 national titles in 12 years from 1964 through 1975. It doesn't seem possible, but additional elite coaches who didn't win their first NCAA playoff game until their 10th DI season or longer include Dana Altman, Rick Barnes, P.J. Carlesimo, Pete Carril, Bobby Cremins, Tom Davis, Cliff Ellis, Bill E. Foster, Hugh Greer, Leonard Hamilton, Marv Harshman, Terry Holland, Maury John, Mike Krzyzewski, Ralph Miller, Mike Montgomery, Joe Mullaney, Pete Newell, Tom Penders, George Raveling, Kelvin Sampson, Norm Sloan, Butch van Breda Kolff and Ned Wulk.
7. GO WITH MIGHTY MO?
DO remember the odds about a conference tournament champion reaching the NCAA Tournament final.
There is a theory that burnout has a tendency to set in. But more than half of the NCAA titlists since seeding started in 1979 also won their conference postseason tournament the same year.
DON'T be swayed by a postseason conference tournament title or a poor performance in an elite league tourney.
Disregard the "hot team" factor because a defeat in a league tournament is often a better motivational tool than a complacency-inducing victory.
8. LOOKING OUT FOR NO. 1
DO look for a school other than the defending champion (Connecticut in 2014) to become national titlist.
Duke was fortunate to repeat in 1992 when they reached the Final Four on Christian Laettner's last-second basket in overtime in the East Regional final against Kentucky. Florida repeated in 2007 despite winning its last five contests by 10 or fewer points.
DON'T pick the top-ranked team entering the tournament to reach the national championship game, let alone capture the crown.
There is a clear and present danger for pole sitters. Only three of the 29 schools atop the national rankings entering the NCAA playoffs from 1983 through 2011 went on to capture the national championship and only six No. 1 squads in the last 25 seasons of that span reached the title game.
9. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
DO pick at least one Final Four team with a coach making his debut at the national semifinals.
Just four Final Fours (1951, 1968, 1984 and 1993) had all four coaches arrive there with previous Final Four experience. There has been at least one fresh face among the bench bosses at the national semifinals all but one of the last 27 years. In 1993, coaches Steve Fisher (Michigan), Rick Pitino (Kentucky), Dean Smith (North Carolina) and Roy Williams (Kansas) returned to familiar surroundings at the Final Four.
DON'T pick a team to win the national title if its coach is in his first season at the school.
Steve Fisher guided Michigan to the 1989 title after succeeding Bill Frieder just before the start of the playoffs. But the only individual to capture an NCAA crown in his first full campaign as head coach at a university was Ed Jucker (Cincinnati '61 after seven years at King's Point and Rensselaer). The average championship team head coach has been at the school almost 13 years and has almost 17 years of college head coaching experience overall. The only championship head coaches with less than five years of experience were Fisher and Fred Taylor (second season at Ohio State '60).
10. SENIORS AND SHEEPSKINS
DO realize that senior experience needs to be complemented by the vigor from undergraduates.
A senior-laden lineup is not a prerequisite for capturing a national championship. An average of only two seniors were among the top seven scorers for NCAA Tournament titlists since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. Eight of the 16 NCAA champions from 1991 through 2006 boasted no more than one senior among its top seven scorers. Only three NCAA champions since Indiana '87 - UCLA (1995), Michigan (2000) and Maryland (2002) - had seniors as their top two scorers.
DON'T pick a team to capture the title if it is coached by a graduate of the school.
A champion is almost never guided by a graduate of that university.
11. CHANGE OF ADDRESS
DO pick at least one of your Final Four teams to have a transfer starter.
Almost every Final Four features at least one starter who began his college career at another four-year Division I school.
DON'T pick schools that lost a vital undergraduate to reach the Final Four if you think the defectors will become pro stars.
Ten individuals scored more than 20,000 points in the NBA or were named to at least five All-NBA teams after participating in the NCAA Division I playoffs and then leaving college with eligibility remaining - Charles Barkley (departed Auburn early), Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston), Isiah Thomas (Indiana), Wilt Chamberlain (Kansas), Karl Malone (Louisiana Tech), Magic Johnson (Michigan State), Bob McAdoo and Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Adrian Dantley (Notre Dame) and Elgin Baylor (Seattle). None of their schools reached the Final Four the year or years they could have still been in college.
12. CONFERENCE CALL
DO pick two teams from the same conference to reach the Final Four, with at least one of them advancing to the championship game.
Double your pleasure: A pair of members from the same conference frequently advance to the Final Four.
DON'T be condescending and overlook quality mid-major conference teams.
It's not a question of if but where will David defeat Goliath. There have been more than 100 Big Boy losses against members of lower-profile conferences seeded five or more places worse than the major university which is currently a member of one of the current consensus top six leagues. A total of 74 different lower-profile schools and current members of 23 different mid-major conferences (all but Great West, Northeast and Summit) have won such games since seeding started in 1979.
13. REGULAR-SEASON REVIEW
DO pick two of your Final Four teams from schools failing to finish atop their regular-season conference standings.
The best is yet to come for a team or two that might have been somewhat of an underachiever during the regular season. Almost half of the entrants since the field expanded to 48 in 1980 did not win outright or share a regular-season league title.
DON'T put much emphasis on comparing regular-season scores.
A striking number of NCAA champions lost at least one conference game to a team with a losing league mark. Many NCAA champions weren't exactly invincible as a majority of them lost a regular-season games by a double-digit margin.
14. AT-LARGE ANSWERS
DO avoid picking an at-large team with a losing conference record to go beyond the second round.
An at-large team with a sub-.500 league mark almost never wins more than one NCAA Tournament game.
DON'T pick an at-large team compiling a mediocre record to reach the regional semifinals.
Only a handful of at-large entrants winning fewer than 60 percent of their games manage to reach the second round.
15. RACIAL PROFILING
DO pick at least a couple of teams coached by African Americans to advance a minimum of two rounds in the tournament.
More often than not, at least two teams coached by African Americans reach the regional semifinals (round of 16).
DON'T pick a team to win the championship if its top two scorers are white athletes.
Duke had the only two teams in recent memory to win the NCAA title with white players comprising its top two point producers that season. In 1991, the two two scorers were Christian Laettner and Billy McCaffrey, who subsequently transferred to Vanderbilt. In 2010, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler were Duke's top two scorers. Laettner also led the Blue Devils in scoring when they captured the 1993 crown. The only other white players ranked among the top three scorers for NCAA championship teams since the field expanded to at least 40 teams included: Randy Wittman (third for Indiana '81), Steve Alford (led Indiana '87), Kevin Pritchard (third for Kansas '88), Eric Montross (led North Carolina '93), Jeff Sheppard/Scott Padgett (first and third for Kentucky '98), Gerry McNamara (third for Syracuse '03) and Tyler Hansbrough (led North Carolina '09).
16. LAW OF AVERAGES
DO pick one "sleeper" team not ranked among the top ten in either of the final wire-service polls entering the tournament to reach the championship game.
There likely will be a Rip Van Winkle finally waking up to advance to the national final after not being ranked among the top ten in an AP final poll.
DON'T pick the national runner-up from one year to win the championship the next season.
The only three teams ever to finish national runner-up one year and then capture the title the next season were North Carolina (1981 and 1982), Duke (1990 and 1991) and Kentucky (1997 and 1998).
Recipe For Success: 68 Tips Helping You Fill Out Your NCAA Tourney Bracket
Participating in pools for major sporting events, whether for money or not, has become as American as apple pie. Everyone who has ever visited a water cooler or copy room knows that no office pool spawns emotional involvement more than the invigorating NCAA Tournament. The allure of the office anarchy can be attributed to the futility of the exercise. Still, a little sophisticated guidance is better than none at all as you strive to meet the deadline for submitting your final NCAA playoff bracket.
If you're among the ardent fans who adore the Final Four and are starving for a handicapping guide to answer vital questions, here is a sane approach for surviving March Madness. Sixty-eight is a magic number for the incisive tips because that is the number of teams in the original NCAA field. If you want to March on Atlanta when pool results are posted on the bulletin board, pay close attention to these time-honored 68 dos and don'ts on how to fill out your bracket. In deference to the number of entrants, they might not all be applicable this year but these handy-dandy points to ponder should help steer you away from potholes on the Road to the Final Four.
SEEDING CLEARLY
* Pick all No. 1 seeds to win their first-round games. This one's a gimme: Top-seeded teams have never lost an opening-round game since the field was expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985.
* Pick two teams seeded 13th or worse to defeat teams seeded one through four.
* Pick one No. 3 seed to lose in the first round.
* Pick at least one No. 2 seed to lose in the first two rounds.
* Don't pick a No. 1 seed to reach the Final Four, let alone win the national tournament, if the school wasn't in the NCAA playoffs the previous year.
* Don't automatically pick a perennial power to defeat an opponent with a double-digit seeding.
* Pick a team seeded No. 1 or No. 2 to win the national title.
* Don't pick more than two of the four regional No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four.
* Pick the better-seeded team to win any second-round game pitting two double-digit seeds against each other.
* Pick one team with a double-digit seed to reach a regional semifinal.
* Don't pick more than one regional to have its top four seeds reach the regional semifinals.
* If two members of the same conference earn No. 1 seeds, don't pick both teams to reach the Final Four. Only once has two #1 seeds from the same league advanced to the national semifinals (Georgetown and St. John's from the Big East in 1985).
* Don't pick all four No. 1 seeds to reach regional finals.
CONFERENCE CALL
* Pick at least one Big East team to lose in the opening round.
* Pick at least two teams from the Big Ten and/or SEC to incur opening-round defeats.
* Don't pick a team from the Big South to win a first-round game.
* Don't pick an at-large team with a losing conference record to get beyond the second round.
* Pick at least two ACC teams to reach a regional semifinal and at least one to reach the Final Four.
* If an ACC school wins both the league's regular-season and tournament titles, pick the team to reach the Final Four.
* Don't be swayed by a postseason conference tournament title or a poor performance in an elite league tourney. Disregard the "hot team" factor because a defeat in a league tournament is often a better motivational tool than a complacency-inducing victory.
* Double your pleasure by picking two teams from the same conference to reach the Final Four.
* Don't choose a different member from the same league as the previous year's champion (Duke in the ACC) to capture the crown. There has been just seven times in NCAA playoff history for two different schools from the same conference to win the title in back-to-back years - Big Ten (Indiana '40 and Wisconsin '41); ACC (North Carolina '82 and N.C. State '83); Big East (Georgetown '84 and Villanova '85), ACC (Duke '92 and North Carolina '93); ACC (Duke '01 and Maryland '02); Big East (Syracuse '03 and Connecticut '04) and ACC (North Carolina '09 and Duke '10). Three different members from the same alliance capturing the crown over a three-year span has never happened.
* Don't pick an undisputed Big Ten champion (Wisconsin this year) to reach the Final Four.
* The Big Ten occasionally is the nation's premier conference but don't get carried away with that credential when picking a national titlist. Only one Big Ten member (Michigan State in 2000) captured an NCAA crown in the previous 25 years.
* Two of your Final Four picks should be teams that didn't finish atop their regular-season conference standings.
* Burnout has a tendency to set in. Remember that the odds are against a conference tournament champion reaching the NCAA Tournament final.
* Don't pick a team to reach the Final Four if it lost in the first round of a postseason conference tournament.
* Don't be too concerned about a regular-season defeat against a conference rival with a losing league record.
* Don't get carried away with the Pac-12 Conference. A Pac-12 team regularly loses an opening-round game to an opponent seeded 12th or worse.
* Don't pick a conference tournament champion winning four games in four nights to reach a regional semifinal.
* Pick one league to have four members reach the regional semifinals. It happened a total of 13 times in a 15-year span from 1989 through 2003.
* Don't be overwhelmed by quantity because six or seven bids for a league is not a recipe for success. Less than half conferences in this category finished with cumulative playoff records better than two games above .500.
* Don't pick a MEAC or SWAC representative to reach the Sweet 16. It has never happened.
NUMBERS GAME
* Enjoy the "mid-major" Cinderella stories but know that the clock eventually strikes midnight. Gonzaga faces a challenge because no "mid-major" since San Francisco in 1956 won the NCAA title after entering the tourney ranked atop the national polls.
* If there are as many as four first-time entrants, pick one of the novices to win its opening-round game.
* Don't pick a team with 30 or more victories entering the tournament to win the national title.
* Don't develop an aversion for coaches with impoverished playoff records. Remember: Legendary John Wooden lost his first five playoff games as coach at UCLA by an average of 11.4 points and compiled an anemic 3-9 record from 1950 through 1963 before the Bruins won an unprecedented 10 national titles in 12 years from 1964 through 1975.
* Don't be obsessed with comparing regular-season scores. Two-thirds of the NCAA champions weren't exactly invincible as they combined to lose more than 50 games by double-digit margins.
* Pick a team with at least 25 victories entering the tournament to win the championship. Villanova, entering the 1985 playoffs with 19 triumphs, was the only national champion in more than 35 years to enter the tourney with fewer than 20 wins until Arizona won it all in 1997 after also entering with 19 victories.
* Don't pick the nation's top-ranked team entering the tournament to reach the national championship game, let alone capture the crown. Also, Gonzaga has never reached the Final Four.
* The best place to start selecting the Final Four is in the previous year's round of 16. More than half of the teams reaching the national semifinals since 1988 advanced to a regional semifinal the previous season.
* Don't tamper with a "curse" by picking a team with the nation's leading scorer on its roster to reach the Final Four. No national champion has had a player average as many as 30 points per game.
* Make certain your Final Four picks include at least one 30-game winner and one team with a minimum of six defeats.
* After choosing your Final Four schools, don't automatically select the winningest remaining team to go ahead and capture the title.
* Don't pick a team to win the championship if an underclassman guard is leading the squad in scoring.
* Don't pick a team to win the championship if its top two scorers are Caucasians.
* Don't pick a team with as many as 12 defeats entering the tourney to reach a regional semifinal.
* Don't pick a team entering the tournament undefeated to go ahead and win the title. Of the first 17 teams to enter the playoffs with unblemished records, just seven were on to capture the national championship. Excluding UCLA's dominance under coach John Wooden, the only other unbeaten NCAA champion since North Carolina in 1957 is Indiana in 1976.
* Don't overdose on senior leadership. A senior-laden lineup is not a prerequisite for capturing a national championship. An average of only two seniors were among the top seven scorers for NCAA Tournament titlists since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. Half of the NCAA champions since the early 1990s had only one senior among their top seven scorers.
PICKS AND PANS
* Pick any team defeating North Carolina or Duke in the bracket to already be in or on its way to the Final Four.
* Pick Duke to advance in the bracket if they oppose members of the Big East and Big Ten. Despite Indiana's success against the Blue Devils in the 2002 South Regional and Connecticut's victory over them in the 2004 Final Four, the Dynasty in Durham rarely loses a playoff game against Big East and Big Ten competition.
* Don't pick a member of the MAC or former member of the SWC to reach the Final Four. No Mid-American member has ever reached the national semifinals and the SWC Final Four teams all failed to come home with the national championship trophy.
* Don't pick a Conference USA member to reach a regional final.
* Pick Kansas to win a regional final if the Jayhawks advance that far. KU went to the Final Four six straight times the Jayhawks reached a regional championship game (1971-74-86-88-91-93) until they were upset by Syracuse in the 1996 West Regional. Kansas has continued regional final success much of 21st Century.
* Don't pick a team to win the national title if its coach is in his first season at the school.
* Make certain the coach of your championship team has at least five years of head coaching experience.
* Don't pick a team to capture the title if it is coached by a graduate of the school.
* Pick at least one Final Four team with a coach who will be making his debut at the national semifinals. Just four Final Fours (1951, 1968, 1984 and 1993) had all four coaches arrive there with previous Final Four experience.
* Don't pick the defending champion to repeat as national titlist.
* Don't pick the defending national runner-up to win the championship the next season. The only teams ever to finish national runner-up one year and then capture the title the next season were North Carolina (1981 and 1982) and Duke (1990 and 1991).
* Don't put any stock into justifying a preseason No. 1 ranking. The runner-up won each of the four times the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams met on the hallowed ground of the NCAA final.
* Pick one team not ranked among the national top 10 entering the tournament to reach the championship game.
* Pick at least a couple of teams coached by African Americans to advance a minimum of two rounds in the tournament.
* Don't pick a school to reach the Final Four if you think a vital undergraduate defector from last season will become a pro star. Of the 10 individuals to score more than 20,000 points in the NBA or be named to at least five All-NBA teams after participating in the NCAA Division I playoffs and then leaving college with eligibility remaining, none of their schools reached the Final Four the year or years they could have still been in college - Auburn (Charles Barkley departed early), Houston (Hakeem Olajuwon), Indiana (Isiah Thomas), Kansas (Wilt Chamberlain), Louisiana Tech (Karl Malone), Michigan State (Magic Johnson), North Carolina (Bob McAdoo and Michael Jordan), Notre Dame (Adrian Dantley) and Seattle (Elgin Baylor).
* Don't be infatuated by a Final Four newbie. Before UConn in 1999, the last team to win a championship in its initial national semifinal appearance was Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) in 1966.
* Pick at least one of your Final Four teams to have a transfer starter but don't choose a squad in that category to win the title.
* Don't be infatuated with first-team All-Americans when deciding Final Four teams because a majority of NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans failed to reach the national semifinals since seeding was introduced.
* Your star search should focus more on pro prospects. Select Final Four teams that each have a minimum of one player who'll eventually become a No. 1 NBA draft choice with one of the squads reaching the championship game to have at least three players who'll become a No. 1 NBA draft pick.
TIME-TESTED TIEBREAKERS
* The vast majority of NCAA Tournament office pools have a tiebreaker category or two. One of them might be designating a player for most points in a single game of the tournament. If so, avoid selecting a player from the championship team because the highest output normally is achieved by a member of a non-titlist.
* Another possible tiebreaker is projecting the total number of points in the championship game. To get your bearings, you should know the average point total is more than 150 since the inception nationwide of both the shot clock and three-point field goal.
Cliff Clavin Factoids: Timeless Trivia Tidbits on NCAA DI League Tournaments
The amazing six-overtime thriller between Connecticut and Syracuse in the 2009 Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinals is relatively easy to remember. But one of the most titillating tourney tidbits among all leagues that gets overlooked because the Southwest Conference is defunct remains Texas Tech's Rick Bullock singlehandedly outscoring the "Triplets" from Arkansas (Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph and Sidney Moncrief) by seven points, 44-37, when he set the SWC's single-game tournament scoring record in the 1976 semifinals.
As league tourney action commences including the Ivy League's inaugural event, don't hesitate to capitalize on the links for the current Division I conferences cited below to refresh your memory about past champions and events. Following are many of the names and numbers of note only Cliff Clavin knows about regarding previous conference tournament competition you can reflect upon as teams tune up for the main event by jockeying for position in the NCAA playoff bracket:
America East - The 1989 North Atlantic Tournament was dubbed the MIT (Measles Invitational Tourney) because all spectators were banned due to a measles outbreak. Delaware competed for 17 years in the East Coast Conference and never won an ECC Tournament championship. But the Blue Hens entered the AEC predecessor, the North Atlantic, in 1992 and won their first-ever title and went to the NCAA playoffs for the initial time. They successfully defended their crown the next year before closing out the decade with another set of back-to-back tourney titles.
American Athletic - In their lone season as members of the conference, Louisville (joined ACC) routed Rutgers (Big Ten), 92-31, in 2014.
Atlantic Coast - Maryland, ranking fourth in both polls, lost in overtime against eventual NCAA champion North Carolina State, 103-100, in the 1974 final in what some believe might have been the greatest college game ever played. Three players from each team earned All-American honors during their careers - North Carolina State's David Thompson, Tom Burleson and Monte Towe plus Maryland's John Lucas, Len Elmore and Tom McMillen. The Terrapins had four players score at least 20 points - Lucas, McMillen, Owen Brown and Mo Howard - in a 20-point victory over 22-6 North Carolina (105-85) in the semifinals. The Terps, of course, didn't participate in the NCAA playoffs that year because a 32-team bracket allowing teams other than the league champion to be chosen on an at-large basis from the same conference wasn't adopted until the next season.
Atlantic Sun - Belmont hit 12 of 19 first-half shots from beyond the arc in the 2007 final against top seed East Tennessee State.
Atlantic 10 - Temple reached the tourney semifinals 19 consecutive seasons in one stretch.
Big East - St. John's doesn't seem to have any advantage at Madison Square Garden. It lost five consecutive tourney games on its homecourt by an average margin of 11.4 points from 1987 through 1991.
Big Sky - Montana, capitalizing on a homecourt advantage, overcame a jinx by winning back-to-back tournament titles in 1991 and 1992. The Grizzlies had just two losing regular-season league records from 1976 through 1990, but they didn't win the tournament title in that span, losing the championship game five times from 1978 through 1984.
Big South - The No. 1 seed won this unpredictable tourney only five times in the first 17 years. Radford failed to reach the postseason tournament final for nine years until capturing the event in 1998.
Big Ten - Illinois won as many games in the 1999 tourney as the Illini did in regular-season conference competition that season (3-13). Northwestern, en route to its initial NCAA playoff appearance, scored 31 unanswered points in the first half of a 2017 quarterfinal game against Rutgers.
Big 12 - Kansas won the first three championship games from 1997 through 1999 by at least 14 points.
Big West - Pacific didn't compile a winning league record from 1979 through 1992, but the Tigers climaxed three consecutive appearances in the tournament semifinals by advancing to the '92 championship game.
Colonial - Navy, seeded No. 8 in 1991 in its last year in the tournament before joining the Patriot League, upset top seed James Madison in overtime, 85-82, in the opening round.
Conference USA - Three of four C-USA Tournament champions from 1997 through 2000 won four games in four days. Cincinnati captured six league tournament titles in seven years from 1992 through 1998 in the Great Midwest and C-USA.
Horizon League - The first two tournament winners (Oral Roberts '80 and Oklahoma City '81) of the league's forerunner, the Midwestern City, subsequently shed Division I status and de-emphasized to the NAIA level. ORU, which also won the crown in 1984, returned to Division I status in 1993-94. Butler lost its first 12 games in the tourney until breaking into the win column in 1992.
Metro Atlantic Athletic - Eight different schools won the tournament title in an eight-year span from 1992 through 1999.
Mid-American - Bowling Green never has won the MAC Tournament.
Mid-Eastern Athletic - North Carolina A&T won seven consecutive titles from 1982 through 1988. The Aggies defeated Howard in the championship game each of the first six years of their streak with the middle four of them decided by a total of only 17 points.
Missouri Valley - Indiana State won only two of its next 20 MVC tourney games after All-American Larry Bird led the Sycamores to the 1979 title.
Mountain West - Not once has Air Force reached the championship game of the WAC or Mountain West.
Northeast - The final pitted the top two seeds against each other 11 times in a 13-year span from 1983 through 1995.
Ohio Valley - Former member Western Kentucky reached the championship game in eight of the OVC's first 10 tourneys. Tennessee Tech won only one tournament game from 1975 through 1992.
Pacific-12 - Arizona won the last three tourney finals from 1988 through 1990 by a minimum of 16 points before the league discontinued the event until reviving it in 2002.
Patriot League - No seed worse than third reached the championship game in the first 20 years of event from 1991 through 2010.
SEC - Seven of the 13 tourney MVPs from 1979 through 1991 didn't play for the champion. One of them, LSU's John Williams, didn't even compete in the 1986 title game. Although Kentucky standout center Alex Groza saw limited action in the 1947 tournament because of a back injury, the Wildcats cruised to victories over Vanderbilt (98-29), Auburn (84-18), Georgia Tech (75-53) and Tulane (55-38). UK was also without Converse All-American guard Jack Parkinson (serving in the military), but the five-man all-tourney team was comprised of nothing but Wildcats - forwards Jack Tingle and Joe Holland, center Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones and guards Ken Rollins and Ralph Beard. UK (24) has won more than half of the SEC's tourneys.
Southern - Furman's Jerry Martin, an outfielder who hit .251 in 11 years with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets from 1974 through 1984, was named MVP in the 1971 tournament after the 6-1 guard led the Paladins to the title with 22-, 36- and 19-point performances to pace the tourney in scoring. Two years earlier, current Davidson coach Bob McKillop scored three points for East Carolina against the Lefty Driesell-coached Wildcats in the 1969 SC Tournament championship game.
Southland - North Texas State's Kenneth Lyons outscored Louisiana Tech's Karl Malone, 47-6, when Lyons established a still existing single-game scoring record in the 1983 tournament quarterfinals. Malone led the SLC in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and steals (1.9 spg) that season as a freshman before going on to score more than 30,000 points in the NBA. Two years earlier, McNeese State won a first-round game after going winless in regular-season conference competition.
SWAC - Regular-season champion Grambling State lost by 50 points to Southern (105-55) in the 1987 final. An interesting twist that year was the fact Bob Hopkins, Grambling's first-year coach, had coached Southern the previous three seasons.
Summit League - The first tournament final in 1984 featured two teams with losing league records in regular-season competition (Western Illinois and Cleveland State).
Sun Belt - South Alabama's stall didn't prevent the Jaguars from losing to New Orleans, 22-20, on Nate Mills' last-second jumper in the 1978 final. The next season, the Sun Belt became the first league to experiment with a 45-second shot clock. The four different schools that accounted for the participants in six consecutive finals from 1980 through 1985 went on to join other conferences - UAB, Old Dominion, South Florida and Virginia Commonwealth. Two-time champion Charlotte also abandoned ship.
West Coast - The top two seeds didn't meet in the championship game until 2000. The most tragic moment in the history of any conference tournament occurred in the semifinals of the 1990 event at Loyola Marymount when Hank Gathers, the league's all-time scoring leader and a two-time tourney MVP, collapsed on his home court during the Lions' game with Portland. He died later that evening and the tournament was suspended. The Lions earned the NCAA Tournament bid because of their regular-season crown and advanced to the West Regional final behind the heroics of Bo Kimble, who was Gathers' longtime friend from Philadelphia.
Western Athletic - The tourney's biggest upset occurred in 1990 when No. 9 seed Air Force defeated No. 1 seed Colorado State in the quarterfinals, 58-51. Hawaii's Carl English, averaging 3.9 points per game as a freshman during the regular season, had a season-high 25 in a 78-72 overtime victory against host Tulsa in the 2001 final.
Shooting Stars: Conference Tourney Individual Single-Game Scoring Records
Do you know who boasts the highest-scoring game in history in a major-conference postseason tournament? You can find him in prison serving a life sentence without parole after facing felony charges stemming from automobile hijacking, kidnapping the driver by holding a gun to his head and robbing a convenience store following a 3 1/2-year stint in prison for a probation violation. Well, it's Marshall guard Skip Henderson, who erupted for 55 points in the 1988 Southern Conference quarterfinals against The Citadel. Marshall (also C-USA) and Texas Tech (Big 12 and SWC) are the only schools to have two players hold existing league tourney scoring marks in two different NCAA Division I alliances.
Three mid-major leagues - America East (twice after three-time MVP Jameel Warney's 18-of-22 field-goal shooting last year for Stony Brook), Big Sky and Summit - provide the only players setting existing NCAA DI conference tournament scoring marks in a tourney final. All-Americans Lennie Rosenbluth (North Carolina) and Cliff Hagan (Kentucky) accounted for the two of following DI league tourney scoring standards (ACC and SEC) standing since the 1950s:
NOTE: Scoring outbursts by Fredette (Mountain West), Garrick (Atlantic 10), Gibbs (Atlantic Sun), Harper (Mid-American), Henderson (Southern), Houston (Metro Atlantic Athletic), Johnson (Big Sky), Lyons (Southland) and Piatkowski (Big Eight) are also existing school single-game standards. Warney's output is highest for Stony Brook at DI level.
They Had Game: Former SMC Guard First Muslim Actor to Win Academy Award
Former Saint Mary's guard Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar won an Academy Award for his best supporting actor role as a Miami drug dealer named Juan in Moonlight. Among his credits was role as Remy Danton in House of Cards.
Previously known as Hershal Gilmore, he averaged 3.6 ppg and 1.1 rpg from 1992-93 through 1995-96 under coach Ernie Kent including 7 ppg as a senior. Said Ali: "When I graduated, I no longer thought of myself as an athlete. Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there. I'd see guys on the team get chewed up spat out and I was personally threatened with being shipped off to the University of Denver. All in the name of wins and productivity."
In this instance, legendary Oscar Robertson would definitely be accurate in a rambling, self-absorbed speech to describe their game as inferior to his era. But in deference to Oscar Awards, following are movie actors/directors who "had game" as well-rehearsed college basketball players before becoming famous entertainers:
LLOYD VERNET "BEAU" BRIDGES, UCLA
Actor with the hit movie Fabulous Baker Boys among his credits. He is the son of Lloyd Bridges and brother of Jeff Bridges.
The 5-9 guard averaged 0.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game for UCLA's 1960-61 freshman team that compiled a 20-2 record. He was a frosh teammate of Fred Slaughter, the starting center for the Bruins' first NCAA championship team in 1964.
JIM CAVIEZEL, Bellevue (Wash.) Community College
Former Gap model played Jesus in Mel Gibson-directed The Passion of the Christ (2004) and was in Bobby Jones Stroke of Genius the same year. Also played the part of Slovnik in GI Jane (1997) with Demi Moore, Private Wit in Thin Red Line (1998), Catch in Angel Eyes (2001) with Jennifer Lopez, and Ashley Judd's husband in High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman. In the TV drama Person of Interest on CBS, he played the role of Reese, a former member of the elite Special Forces who is now drinking heavily and at the end of his rope in New York City.
Bellevue coach Ernie Woods called Caviezel the hardest worker he had in 30 years. Caviezel's younger brother, Tim, played for the University of Washington, averaging 3.6 ppg in 1990-91 as a freshman and 4.2 ppg in 1991-92 as a sophomore before transferring to Long Beach State. Tim, a 6-7 swingman, subsequently transferred again to Western Washington, where Jim's wife, Kerri, ranks among the career leaders in five statistical categories for the women's basketball squad.
"Basketball taught me to train for every possible situation but always stay in the moment," Caviezel said.
CHEVY CHASE, Haverford (Pa.)
After a one-year stint on Saturday Night Live, Chevy quit to move to Los Angeles. Following mixed success in a variety of films, he became one of the biggest box-office draws in the U.S. in the 1980s with hits such as Caddyshack and National Lampoon's Vacation. One of his popular movie roles was as "Fletch" when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers in a dream sequence.
Chase was a JV basketball and soccer player as a freshman in 1962-63 before transferring to Bard (N.Y.).
MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN, Kankakee (Ill.) Community College/Alcorn State
Former bodyguard appeared in four films with Bruce Willis: Armageddon (1998; cast as Bear), Breakfast of Champions (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and Sin City (2005; cast as Manute, a powerful mobster). Breakout role occurred when he earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination in The Green Mile. Voiced a dog Sam in Cats & Dogs (2001) and played Colonel Attar, a gorilla, in Planet of the Apes (2001). Starred alongside his friend, The Rock, in The Scorpion King (2002) and was the criminal mastermind behemoth Kingpin in Daredevil (2003).
The 6-5 Duncan was a teammate of eventual Chicago State coach Kevin Jones with Kankakee's 31-4 squad in 1980-81 before enrolling at Alcorn State under coach Davey Whitney. An excerpt in the Braves' 1983-84 media guide said: "He adds size, speed and excellent jumping ability to the roster. A very hard worker, he'll add tremendous depth to the bench." After dropping out of college because of family problems, he spent several years digging ditches for a gas company in his hometown of Chicago. "He was a tough, physical player," Whitney told CBSSports.com. "He was undersized and didn't weigh much back then, but he was very strong and powerful. He was just tough. He'd knock guys around."
LOUIS GOSSETT JR., New York University
The son of a porter and maid, he turned to acting in high school after a leg injury temporarily impeded his hopes for a basketball career. Following his Broadway debut at 17, he attended NYU on an athletic scholarship while continuing to perform on TV and the stage. He won an Emmy in 1977 for his role in the TV miniseries Roots-Part I before winning an Oscar in 1982 as supporting actor in the box-office hit An Officer and a Gentleman.
Gossett played for NYU's freshman squad in the late 1950s.
DENNY MILLER, UCLA
Miller became the first blond Tarzan in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), which lifted most of its footage from earlier Johnny Weissmuller movies. "Playing Tarzan is like being in a circus," says the 6-4 Miller on his web site. "Go ride that elephant, play with that chimp, swing on that vine. It's a terrific job for a guy who grew up to be a kid." Miller was a regular on Wagon Train in the early 1960s as Duke Shannon (his name was then Scott Miller) and played Juliet Prowse's husband in the TV series Meet Mona McClusky in 1965. For years, he was the "Gorton Fisherman," appearing in numerous commercials in his yellow rain gear.
Denny (7.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg in only eight games) and his brother Kent (7.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) Miller were on the same Bruins squad in 1958-59 (16-9 record under coach John Wooden) as teammates of decathlete Rafer Johnson and eventual Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. Denny Miller spent three years in the U.S. Army between averaging 4 ppg in 1954-55 and 3.1 ppg and 2.3 rpg in 1957-58.
PAUL ROBESON, Rutgers
World renowned orator and baritone was a 6-3, 215-pound two-way end who finally was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. Valedictorian when he graduated in 1919, learned to speak 15 languages and forge a glorious international career as a singer and actor. Earned law degree from Columbia, financing way through school by playing pro football with the Akron Pros and Milwaukee Badgers (scored two touchdowns). Robeson, son of a runaway slave, was an outspoken antifascist and champion of racial equality and socialist causes who remained enough of a supporter of the Soviet Union to get him blacklisted on Broadway. Founder of the Progressive Party played roles in 11 films and established works such as The Emperor Jones and Show Boat and became the first black to play Othello with a white cast.
Robeson was a center for Rutgers' basketball team.
LEON ROBINSON, Loyola Marymount
Goes by the stage name "Leon." He was a lover-boy idol in Waiting to Exhale, and played a similar character in Tim Reid's acclaimed Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored. Robinson was the ruthless killer, Kinette, in Cliffhanger and was Derice, the sweet and charming captain of the Jamaican bobsled team, in the surprise comedy hit, Cool Runnings. Leon appeared as a football teammate of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves, and was the leading man as New York high school hoop sensation Earl (The Goat) Manigault in Above the Rim. Leon starred opposite Robin Givens in the TV mini-series, The Women of Brewster Place and was cast as Jesus in Madonna's controversial 1989 music video Like a Prayer. Received critical acclaim for his portrayal of two legendary singers in made-for-TV movies: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations and Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC production based on the life of the rock-and-roll pioneer.
Robinson lettered for the Lions in 1978-79 when he averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.4 rpg. The Bronx native also attended Orange Coast Community College (Calif.).
TOM SELLECK, Southern California
Television and movie star won an Emmy in 1984 for his work in Magnum, P.I. He had a two-year stint (1974-75) on The Young and the Restless. His big-screen career got a major boost with the box-office hit Three Men and a Baby in 1987.
Selleck was a 6-4, 200-pound forward for Southern California. After serving as captain of the basketball team at Los Angeles Valley Community College, he scored four points in seven games for the Trojans in 1965-66 and was scoreless in three games in 1966-67. Excerpt from USC's school guide: "Agile and quick performer who adds depth on front line. Business administration major is good jumper with fine mobility. Rapidly improving shooter has impressed coaches with his hustle in practice. Needs to work on defense."
RON SHELTON, Westmont (Calif.)
Writer-director is synonymous with sports movies such as The Best of Times (high school football/1986), Bull Durham (minor league baseball/1988), White Men Can't Jump (street basketball/1992), Cobb (major league baseball/1994), Blue Chips (college basketball/1994), Tin Cup (golf/1996) and Play It to the Bone (boxing/1999). One of his non-sports films, Blaze, became a personal milestone for him as he went on to marry one of the stars, Toronto-born Lolita Davidovich. In Blue Chips, actor Nick Nolte was coach Pete Bell, who broke the rules in order to get the players he needed to remain competitive. "I played pickup into my 40s, right up until the time I made White Men Can't Jump," Shelton said. "I knew the game. I just loved that world."
Shelton scored 1,420 points in the mid-1960s, finishing the 20th Century among his alma mater's top 10 career scorers. He went on to play five seasons of Organized Baseball as a second baseman in the Baltimore Orioles' minor league system.
RON TAYLOR, Southern California
Best known for his roles as Lothar in The Rocketeer (1991) and Roc in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). He also played Al, the tall police detective whose face is never seen, in The Naked Gun (1988) and on the TV series Police Squad. Nicknamed "Tiny Ron," the seven-footer also appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the role of the Hupyrian alien Maihar'du.
Three-year USC letterman in the late 1960s was a second-round choice by Seattle in the 1969 NBA draft (18th pick overall). He played three seasons in the ABA before competing professionally in Austria in the 1970s before starting his film career.
MIKE WARREN, UCLA
Television star portrayed Officer Bobby Hill on hit series Hill Street Blues. Also appeared in the following movies: The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990), Heaven is a Playground (1991), Buffalo Soldiers (1997) and After All (1999).
The 5-11, 160-pound guard for UCLA averaged 16.6 points per game in 1965-66 as a sophomore, 12.7 in 1966-67 as a junior and 12.1 in 1967-68 as a senior. He was an All-NCAA Tournament selection in 1967 and 1968 when the Bruins won national titles by combining for a 59-1 record. Warren was named to Converse and Helms All-American squads as a junior. In his senior season, he was named to the 10-man United States Basketball Writers Association All-America team and was a third five selection on the Associated Press and United Press International All-American squads. Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 14th round of the 1968 NBA draft.
Excerpt from school guide: "Named on the Academic All-American first team. One of UCLA's all-time great ballhandlers as well as being an outstanding driver and jump shooter."
DENZEL WASHINGTON, Fordham
Oscar award-winning actor Denzel Washington earned rave reviews for his performance as a high school football coach in Remembering the Titans. Most Hollywood buffs remember Washington's performances as a regular on the TV drama series St. Elsewhere while becoming a critically-acclaimed screen actor and major box-office draw in the 1990s with his performances in hit films Malcolm X, The Pelican Brief, and The Preacher's Wife. The hits continued with Man on Fire (2004).
But what the most ardent moviegoer doesn't know, let alone remember, is that Washington was a walk-on freshman basketball player for Fordham under coach P.J. Carlesimo. Washington probably was acting when he said "he had game" in describing his basketball ability in an interview about his movie role as the father of the nation's No. 1 player in director Spike Lee's 1998 release He Got Game.
On This Date: March Calendar of Great Games in College Basketball History
Existing single-game rebounding records for San Francisco (Bill Russell) and Santa Clara (Ken Sears) were set on the same day in West Coast Conference competition in 1955. In another oddity, Yale's single-game scoring and rebounding marks against a major-college opponent were established in the same game against Harvard in 1956. Following is a day-by-day calendar citing memorable moments in March major-college basketball history:
MARCH
1 - Kentucky's Cliff Hagan (42 points vs. Georgia in 1952 semifinals) set SEC Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . New Hampshire's Matt Alosa (39 vs. Hartford in opening round of 1996 North Atlantic Conference Tournament at Newark, DE), Saint Louis' Anthony Bonner (45 at Loyola of Chicago in overtime in 1990), Southern Illinois' Dick Garrett (46 vs. Centenary in 1968) and Southern Utah's Davor Marcelic (43 at Cal State Northridge in 1991) set school Division I single-game scoring records. . . . Larry Jeffries (40 vs. Abilene Christian in 1969) had highest-scoring game for Trinity TX in season when school made its lone NCAA DI Tournament appearance. . . . In 1952, Penn State and Pittsburgh combined for only nine field-goal attempts (fewest in a game since 1938). . . . North Carolina State ended South Carolina's school-record 32-game winning streak (43-24 in 1934) and Southern Methodist's school-record 44-game homecourt winning streak was snapped by Texas A&M (43-42 in 1958). . . . Tom Heinsohn (42 vs. Boston College in 1956) set Holy Cross' single-game rebounding record. . . . Chris Collier (23 vs. Centenary in 1990) set Georgia State's single-game rebounding record against a DI opponent.
2 - Junior forward Ralph Jukkola became the only LSU teammate to outscore NCAA all-time leading scorer Pete Maravich in a regular-season game (22-17 in 74-71 loss at Tennessee in 1968) when Pistol was limited to fewer than 20 points for the lone time in college. Jukkola averaged 9.1 ppg in his three-year varsity career compared to Maravich's lofty mark of 44.2 ppg. . . . San Francisco's Tim Owens (45 points vs. Loyola Marymount in 1991 quarterfinals) set WCC Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Colgate's Jonathan Stone (52 vs. Brooklyn in 1992), Eastern Michigan's Gary Tyson (47 vs. Wheaton IL in 1974), McNeese State's Michael Cutright (51 at Stephen F. Austin in double overtime in 1989), New Mexico's Marvin Johnson (50 vs. Colorado State in 1978) and Southern Methodist's Gene Phillips (51 at Texas in 1971) set school Division I single-game scoring records. Johnson's output is also a Western Athletic Conference record in league competition. . . . Oklahoma tied an NCAA single-game record by converting all 34 of its free-throw attempts (against Iowa State in 2013). . . . Penn State's school-record 45-game homecourt winning streak was snapped by Penn (85-79 in 1955). . . . Jameel Warney (23 vs. UMBC in 2016 America East Conference Tournament quarterfinals) set Stony Brook's single-game rebounding record against a DI opponent.
3 - Jacksonville's Dee Brown (41 points vs. Old Dominion in 1990 quarterfinals) set Sun Belt Conference Tournament single-game scoring record and Monmouth's Rahsaan Johnson (40 vs. St. Francis NY in 2000 quarterfinals) set Northeast Conference Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Drake's Philip "Red" Murrell (51 vs. Houston in overtime in 1958), Lafayette's Bobby Mantz (47 vs. Wilkes College PA in 1958), Maine's Jim Stephenson (54 vs. Colby in 1969), Robert Morris' Gene Nabors (38 vs. St. Francis PA in 2000 Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Trenton, NJ), St. John's Bob Zawoluk (65 vs. St. Peter's in 1950), Santa Clara's Carlos "Bud" Ogden (55 at Pepperdine in 1967), Temple's Bill Mlkvy (73 at Wilkes College PA in 1951), Tulsa's Willie Biles (48 vs. Wichita State in 1973) and UNLV's Trevor Diggs (49 vs. Wyoming in 2001) set school single-game scoring records. Diggs' output is also a Mountain West Conference record in league competition. . . . Florida State's Al Thornton (45 vs. Miami in 2007) and Tennessee-Martin's Lester Hudson (42 vs. Tennessee Tech in 2009) set school single-game scoring records against a Division I opponent. . . . Kentucky's Adolph Rupp became the coach to compile 800 victories the fastest with a 90-86 win at Auburn in 1969 (974 games in 37th season). . . . Army's Todd Mattson (24 vs. Holy Cross in 1990), Delaware State's Kendall Gray (30 vs. Coppin State in 2015), Iowa's Chuck Darling (30 vs. Wisconsin in 1952) and Minnesota's Larry Mikan (28 vs. Michigan in 1970) set school single-game rebounding records.
4 - Houston Baptist's Reggie Gibbs (43 points at Texas-San Antonio in 1989), Marshall's Skip Henderson (55 vs. The Citadel in 1988 Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Asheville, NC) and Montana State's Tom Storm (44 vs. Portland State in 1967) set school single-game scoring records against NCAA Division I opponents. Henderson's output is also a Southern Conference Tournament single-game record. . . . Army's Mark Lueking (43 vs. Bucknell in 1995 quarterfinals) tied Patriot League Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Villanova's school-record 72-game homecourt winning streak was snapped by St. Francis PA (70-64 in 1958). . . . San Francisco's Bill Russell (35 vs. Loyola Marymount in 1955) and Santa Clara's Ken Sears (30 vs. Pacific in 1955) set school single-game rebounding records. . . . Collis Jones (25 vs. Western Michigan in 1971) set Notre Dame's single-game rebounding record against a Division I opponent. . . . One of the most tragic moments in college basketball history occurred in semifinals of 1990 West Coast Conference Tournament at Loyola Marymount when Hank Gathers, the league's all-time scoring leader and a two-time tourney MVP, collapsed and died on his homecourt during the Lions' game with Portland.
5 - Bradley's Hersey Hawkins (41 points vs. Indiana State in 1988 Missouri Valley quarterfinals), Holy Cross' Rob Feaster (43 vs. Navy in 1994 Patriot League semifinals) and Texas Tech's Rick Bullock (44 vs. Arkansas in 1976 SWC semifinals) set conference tournament single-game scoring records. . . . Cal State Northridge's Mike O'Quinn (39 vs. Eastern Washington in overtime in 1998 Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals at Northern Arizona), Cornell's George Farley (47 at Princeton in 1960), Michigan's Cazzie Russell (48 vs. Northwestern in 1966), Minnesota's Eric Magdanz (42 at Michigan in 1962) and Wichita State's Antoine Carr (47 vs. Southern Illinois in 1983) set school Division I single-game scoring records. . . . Carnegie Tech's Melvin Cratsley set Eastern Intercollegiate Conference single-game scoring record with 34 points vs. West Virginia in 1938. . . . Boston University's Kevin Thomas (34 vs. Boston College in 1958), Delaware State's Kendall Gray (30 vs. Coppin State in 2015), Pacific's Keith Swagerty (39 vs. UC Santa Barbara in 1965) and Saint Louis' Jerry Koch (38 vs. Bradley in 1954) set school single-game rebounding records. . . . Baylor's Jerome Lambert (26 vs. Southern Methodist in 1994) and Wyoming's Leon Clark (24 vs. Arizona in 1966) set school single-game rebounding records against a DI opponent.
6 - Texas Christian's Mike Jones (44 points vs. Fresno State in 1997 quarterfinals) set WAC Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Duquesne's Ron Guziak (50 vs. St. Francis PA at Altoona in 1968), Fairfield's George Groom (41 vs. Assumption MA in 1972), Minnesota's Ollie Shannon (42 vs. Wisconsin in 1971), Missouri's Joe Scott (46 vs. Nebraska in 1961) and Sam Houston State's Senecca Wall (45 vs. Texas-Arlington in double overtime in 2001 Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals) set school Division I single-game scoring records. . . . Ohio State set an NCAA single-game record by making 14 consecutive three-point field-goal attempts (against Wisconsin in 2011).
7 - North Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth (45 points vs. Clemson in 1957 ACC quarterfinals) and Longwood's Michael Kessens (36 vs. VMI in 2013 Big South quarterfinals) set conference tournament single-game scoring records. . . . Houston Baptist's Reggie Gibbs (43 vs. Georgia Southern in 1989 TAAC Tournament quarterfinals), Lehigh's Daren Queenan (49 vs. Bucknell in double overtime in 1987 ECC Tournament semifinals at Towson State), Notre Dame's Austin Carr (61 vs. Ohio University in first round of 1970 NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional) and Rhode Island's Tom Garrick (50 vs. Rutgers in 1988 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals at West Virginia) set school Division I single-game scoring records. Carr's output is also an NCAA playoff single-game record and outputs by Garrick and Gibbs are single-game records in respective league tourneys. . . . Oklahoma State center Arlen Clark established an NCAA standard for most successful free throws in a game without a miss when he converted all 24 of his foul shots against Colorado in 1959. . . . In 1928, Butler beat Notre Dame, 21-13, in inaugural game at legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse, which was the largest basketball arena in the U.S. at the time and retained that distinction until 1950.
8 - Marshall's DeAndre Kane (40 points vs. Tulsa in 2012 C-USA quarterfinals), William & Mary's Marcus Thornton (37 vs. Hofstra in double overtime in 2015 CAA semifinals) and Wright State's Bill Edwards (38 vs. Illinois-Chicago in 1993 Summit League final) set conference tournament single-game scoring records and Kentucky's Melvin Turpin (42 vs. Georgia in 1984 quarterfinals) tied SEC Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Harvard's Brady Merchant (45 vs. Brown in 2003), Miami of Ohio's Ron Harper (45 vs. Ball State in 1985 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals) and Vanderbilt's Tom Hagan (44 at Mississippi State in 1969) set school single-game scoring records. Harper's output is also a MAC Tournament single-game scoring record. . . . Brown's Gerry Alaimo (26 vs. Rhode Island in 1958) and Georgia's Bob Lienhard (29 vs. Louisiana State in 1969) set school single-game rebounding records against a Division I opponent.
9 - Greg Ballard (43 points at Oral Roberts in 1977 NIT first round) set Oregon's single-game scoring record. . . . Marcus Mann (28 vs. Jackson State in 1996) set Mississippi Valley State's single-game rebounding record against a Division I opponent.
10 - North Texas State's Kenneth Lyons (47 points vs. Louisiana Tech in 1983 Southland quarterfinals), Northwestern's Michael Thompson (35 vs. Minnesota in 2011 Big Ten opening round) and Washington State's Klay Thompson (43 vs. Washington in 2011 Pac-12 quarterfinals) set single-game scoring records in their respective conference tournaments. Lyons' output is also a school single-game scoring record. . . . Paul Williams (45 at Southern California in 1983) set Arizona State's single-game scoring record. . . . John Lee (41 vs. Harvard in 1956) set Yale's single-game scoring record against a Division I opponent. . . . Lamar's school-record 80-game homecourt winning streak was snapped by Louisiana Tech (68-65 in 1984 SLC Tournament). . . . Ed Robinson (32 vs. Harvard in 1956) set Yale's single-game rebounding record.
11 - Connecticut's Donyell Marshall (42 points vs. St. John's in 1994 Big East quarterfinals), Texas Tech's Mike Singletary (43 vs. Texas A&M in 2009 Big 12 opening round), Cal State Fullerton's Josh Akognon (37 vs. UC Riverside in 2009 Big West opening round) and Bethune-Cookman's Richard Toussaint (49 vs. Morgan State in 2003 MEAC first round) set single-game scoring records in their respective conference tournaments. . . . Brigham Young's Jimmer Fredette (52 vs. New Mexico in 2011 Mountain West Tournament semifinals at Las Vegas), Montana's Anthony Johnson (42 at Weber State in 2010 Big Sky Tournament final) and Nebraska's Eric Piatkowski (42 vs. Oklahoma in 1994 Big Eight Tournament quarterfinals at Kansas City) set school single-game scoring records. Outputs for Fredette, Johnson and Piatkowski are also single-game scoring records in their respective conference tourneys. . . . Quinton Hooker (38 vs. Weber State in 2016 Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals) set North Dakota scoring record against a Division I opponent. . . . Indiana (95) and Michigan (57) combined for an NCAA single-game record of 152 rebounds in 1961. Walt Bellamy (33) set IU's individual rebounding record in the contest.
12 - Bradley's Bob Carney set NCAA Tournament single-game record by converting 23 free-throw attempts (against Colorado in 1954 regional semifinals). . . . Stony Brook's Jameel Warney (43 points vs. Vermont in 2016 America East final) and Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey (42 vs. Idaho in 2015 Big Sky quarterfinals at Montana) tied conference tournament scoring marks. Warney's output is also a school standard since moving up to NCAA Division I level. . . . DePaul's George Mikan (53 vs. Rhode Island State in 1945 NIT semifinals), Fairleigh Dickinson's Elijah Allen (43 vs. Connecticut in 1998 NCAA Tournament first round) and Navy's David Robinson (50 vs. Michigan in first round of 1987 NCAA Tournament East Regional) set school Division I single-game scoring records. . . . Syracuse outlasted Connecticut, 127-117, in six overtimes in 2009 Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinals in longest postseason game in NCAA history.
13 - Vermont's Taylor Coppenrath (43 points vs. Maine in 2004 final) set America East Conference Tournament single-game scoring record.
14 - Louisville's Russ Smith (42 points vs. Houston in 2014 semifinals) set American Athletic Conference Tournament single-game scoring record. Smith's output also set a school mark for most points against a major-college opponent.
15 - Andrew Goudelock (39 points vs. Dayton in 2011 NIT first round) set College of Charleston's single-game scoring record against a Division I opponent.
16 - Kentucky's Kenny Walker (11-of-11 vs. Western Kentucky in 1986 second round) became only player in NCAA Tournament history to make all of more than 10 field-goal attempts in a single playoff game. . . . Temple's Fred Cohen (34 vs. Connecticut in 1956 NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinals) set a school and NCAA Tournament single-game rebounding record. . . . Nate Thurmond (31 vs. Mississippi State in 1963 Mideast Regional third-place game) set Bowling Green's single-game rebounding record against a Division I opponent.
17 - Texas' Travis Mays (23-of-27 vs. Georgia in 1990 first round) tied NCAA Tournament single-game record for most free-throws made. . . . Maurice Stokes (43 points vs. Dayton in 1955 NIT semifinals) set Saint Francis (PA) single-game scoring record against a Division I opponent. . . . In 1939, Villanova defeated Brown, 42-30, in the first NCAA Tournament game ever played. . . . Al Inniss (37 vs. Lafayette in 1956 NIT first round) set St. Francis NY single-game rebounding record.
18 - Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer (11 three-pointers vs. Michigan in 1990 second round) became the only player in NCAA playoff history to make more than 10 three-point field-goals in a single playoff game.
19 - Louisiana State's Shaquille O'Neal (11 rejections vs. Brigham Young in 1992 first round) set NCAA Tournament single-game record for most blocked shots.
20 - Duke's Mike Krzyzewski passed North Carolina's Dean Smith (65 victories) for the most coaching wins in NCAA Tournament history with a 63-55 second-round triumph against Mississippi State in 2005. . . . Michigan State's Adrien Payne (17-for-17 from free-throw line vs. Delaware in 2014 opener) set NCAA Tournament single-game record for most successful foul shots without a miss. . . . UCLA's Gail Goodrich (18 vs. Michigan in 1965 championship game) set Final Four single-game record for most free throws made.
21 - UNC Wilmington's John Goldsberry became only player in NCAA Tournament history to make as many as eight three-pointers without a miss in single playoff game (against Maryland in 2003 first round).
22 - The only time in major-college history two undefeated major colleges met in a national postseason tournament was the 1939 NIT final between Loyola of Chicago and Long Island University (LIU won, 44-32). . . . University of Chicago ended Penn's school-record 31-game winning streak (28-24 in 1920) and LIU ended Seton Hall's school-record 41-game winning streak (49-26 in 1941 NIT semifinals).
23 - Hal Lear (48 points vs. Southern Methodist in 1956 NCAA Tournament third-place game) set Temple's single-game scoring record against a Division I opponent. . . . San Francisco's Bill Russell (27 vs. Iowa in 1956 championship game) set Final Four record for most rebounds.
24 - Askia Jones (62 points vs. Fresno State in 1994 NIT quarterfinals) set Kansas State's single-game scoring record. . . . Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox (39 vs. UCLA in 2017 South Regional semifinal) set NCAA Tournament scoring record by a freshman.
25 - Eventual 10-year N.L. OF Frankie Baumholtz scored a team-high 19 points for Ohio University in 1941 NIT final defeat against LIU.
26 - UCLA's Bill Walton (44 points vs. Memphis State in 1973) set NCAA Tournament championship game scoring record by sinking a Final Four standard 21-of-22 field-goal attempts (95.5%). . . . DePaul's Mark Aguirre (34 vs. Penn in 1979 national third-place game) set Final Four scoring record by a freshman.
28 - UNLV's Mark Wade (18 vs. Indiana in 1987 national semifinals) set NCAA Tournament single-game record for most assists. Teammate Freddie Banks established Final Four mark for most three-point field goals with 10. . . . North Carolina's Al Wood (39 points vs. Virginia in 1981) set scoring record for NCAA Tournament national semifinal game.
30 - Princeton's Bill Bradley (58 points vs. Wichita State in 1965 NCAA Tournament national third-place game) and Siena's Doremus Bennerman (51 vs. Kansas State in 1994 NIT third-place game at Madison Square Garden) set school single-game scoring records. Bradley's output was the highest in any Final Four contest.
31 - Kansas' Jeff Withey (7 rejections vs. Ohio State in 2012 national semifinals) set record for most blocked shots in a Final Four game since they became an official statistic.
Memorable Moments in February College Basketball History
Memorable Moments in January College Basketball History
Memorable Moments in December College Basketball History
Memorable Moments in November College Basketball History
Picture Perfect: Gonzaga Fails to Become 13th Unbeaten Team in DI History
"We will either find a way or make one." - Hannibal, Carthaginian military commander
UCLA, in a stellar 10-year stretch from 1963-64 through 1972-73 ruling the scene much like Hannibal, accounted for four of only 12 squads to go undefeated since the start of national tournament postseason competition in the late 1930s. Kentucky came close to becoming #13 two years ago before bowing against Wisconsin in the national semifinals.
UK was soundly whipped by undefeated LIU in 1938-39 prior to the Wildcats going unbeaten themselves 15 years later. The average number of defeats the previous year for the first 12 unbeaten teams was five. The only time in major-college history two undefeated major colleges met in a national postseason tournament was the 1939 NIT final between Loyola of Chicago and Long Island University. LIU (23-0) defeated Loyola (21-1), 44-32.
In a seven-year span, all-time greats Lew Alcindor (UCLA in 1966-67), Bill Walton (UCLA in 1971-72) and David Thompson (North Carolina State in 1972-73) weren't freshmen but they were in their first season of varsity eligibility when leading their unbeaten teams in scoring. Alcindor (29 ppg), Lennie Rosenbluth (28 ppg with North Carolina in 1956-57) and Thompson (24.7 ppg) tallied the three highest-scoring averages among these undefeated squads.
Each of the dozen unbeaten major universities had at least one outing decided by fewer than eight points. Following are the schedules and team statistics for the 12 squads, including the last one to achieve the feat in 1975-76 (Indiana won five regular-season games by fewer than five points or in overtime), to go undefeated since the start of national tournament postseason competition:
Long Island (23-0 in 1938-39)
Coach: Clair Bee (eighth of 18 seasons with Blackbirds)
1938-39 LIU Opponents | Score | LIU's High Scorer |
---|---|---|
Newark University (N.J.) | 64-14 | George Newman 14 |
Panzer College | 41-35 | Daniel Kaplowitz 15 |
Princeton/Seminary | 82-37 | John Bromberg/Irv Torgoff 10 |
McGill University (Quebec) | 77-39 | Irv Torgoff 12 |
Montclair Teachers College (N.J.) | 63-40 | Irv Torgoff 10 |
East Stroudsburg Teachers (Pa.) | 63-33 | John Bromberg 14 |
Southern California | 33-18 | Daniel Kaplowitz 12 |
Kentucky | 52-34 | John Bromberg 12 |
Marquette | 41-34 | Arthur Hillhouse 14 |
New York Athletic Club | 64-43 | Arthur Hillhouse 15 |
Toledo | 46-39 | Irv Torgoff 18 |
Geneva College (Pa.) | 48-39 | Irv Torgoff 15 |
Duquesne | 48-31 | John Bromberg 13 |
Scranton (Pa.) | 65-53 | Daniel Kaplowitz 16 |
Canisius | 62-50 | Myron Sewitch 15 |
St. Francis (N.Y.) | 61-20 | Ossie Schechtman 13 |
St. Bonaventure | 70-31 | Irv Torgoff 12 |
University of Baltimore | 52-34 | Daniel Kaplowitz 9 |
John Marshall College | 65-25 | Irv Torgoff 11 |
at La Salle | 28-21 | Daniel Kaplowitz 7 |
New Mexico State (NIT) | 52-45 | Irv Torgoff 14 |
Bradley (NIT) | 36-32 | John Bromberg 12 |
Loyola of Chicago (NIT) | 44-32 | Irv Torgoff 12 |
NOTES: La Salle game technically played on a neutral court (Philadelphia Convention Hall). . . . NIT games played at Madison Square Garden.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR LIU REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
Irv Torgoff | F | Sr. | 23 | 9.5 |
Daniel Kaplowitz | F | Sr. | 23 | 8.1 |
*Arthur Hillhouse | C | Sr. | 12 | 7.1 |
John Bromberg | G | Sr. | 23 | 6.6 |
Oscar "Ossie" Schechtman | G | Soph. | 22 | 4.8 |
Seymour "Cy" Lobello | C | Soph. | 22 | 4.4 |
**Dolly King | C | Soph. | 10 | 4.0 |
Myron Sewitch | C | Sr. | 21 | 3.9 |
Solomon Schwartz | G | Soph. | 22 | 3.8 |
George Newman | G | Sr. | 23 | 3.5 |
Joseph Shelly | G | Soph. | 20 | 3.5 |
Irving Zeitlin | G | Soph. | 18 | 1.7 |
Maxwell Sharf | G-F | Soph. | 16 | 1.4 |
*Hillhouse completed eligibility at the end of the first semester.
**King became eligible at the start of the second semester.
Seton Hall (19-0 in 1939-40)
Coach: John "Honey" Russell (fourth of 18 seasons with Pirates)
1939-40 Seton Hall Opponents | Date | Score | Pirates High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Alumni | D8 | 45-29 | Nick Parpan 12 |
Mount St. Mary's | D18 | 58-32 | Ed Sadowski 13 |
Tulane | D20 | 53-25 | Bob Davies 9 |
Florida | D28 | 43-41 | Bob Davies/Ed Sadowski 13 |
William & Mary | J6 | 51-35 | Ed Sadowski 17 |
at Scranton | J12 | 48-32 | Ed Sadowski 17 |
Becker | J17 | 69-29 | Ed Sadowski 14 |
at Kutztown (Pa.) | J24 | 42-34 | Ed Sadowski 15 |
Loyola (Md.) | F2 | 50-40 | Ed Sadowski 13 |
at St. Peter's | F3 | 55-27 | Bernie Coyle 13 |
at Brooklyn | F5 | 51-34 | Bob Fischer 13 |
Rider | F9 | 44-32 | Bob Davies/John Ruthenberg 8 |
St. Francis (Pa.) | F14 | 48-36 | Bob Davies 17 |
St. Bonaventure | F17 | 46-41 | Bob Davies 19 |
Kutztown (Pa.) | F21 | 53-33 | Bob Davies 15 |
Canisius | F23 | 52-46 | Bob Davies 17 |
Catholic (D.C.) | F26 | 53-27 | Edward Ryan 13 |
Brooklyn | F28 | 43-41 | Frank Delany 16 |
Scranton (Pa.) | M1 | 68-39 | Bob Davies 16 |
NOTE: Seton Hall played its home games at five different arenas - East Orange High School, Elizabeth Armory, Orange Armory, Orange High School and Dickinson High School (Jersey City).
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR SETON HALL REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ed Sadowski* | C | Sr. | 9 | 12.2 |
Bob Davies | F | Soph. | 18 | 11.8 |
Bob Fischer | F | Soph. | 18 | 4.9 |
John Ruthenberg | G-C | Soph. | 19 | 4.7 |
Bob Holm | G | Soph. | 17 | 4.2 |
Frank Delany | G-F | Sr. | 19 | 3.8 |
Bernie Coyle | G-F | Sr. | 18 | 3.7 |
Nick Parpan | G-F | Jr. | 14 | 3.4 |
Ken Pine | C | Soph. | 16 | 3.2 |
Ray Studwell | F-G | Soph. | 18 | 1.2 |
*Sadowski missed the second half of the season because of a broken kneecap.
Army/U.S. Military Academy (15-0 in winter of 1944)
Coach: Ed Kelleher (first of two seasons with Cadets)
1943-44 Army Opponents | Score | Army's High Scorer |
---|---|---|
Swarthmore (Pa.) | 80-29 | Bob Faas 20 |
Colgate | 69-44 | Dale Hall 18 |
St. John's | 49-36 | Dale Hall 21 |
at Columbia | 55-37 | Dale Hall 17 |
Penn State | 49-38 | Dale Hall 14 |
Coast Guard | 55-37 | Doug Kenna 11 |
West Virginia | 58-31 | Dale Hall 18 |
at Rochester (N.Y.) | 57-43 | Dale Hall 23 |
Pittsburgh | 66-32 | Ed Christl 16 |
Hobart (N.Y.) | 69-36 | Dale Hall/Doug Kenna 20 |
Pennsylvania | 55-38 | Dale Hall 18 |
Villanova | 34-22 | Dale Hall 23 |
New York University | 46-36 | Dale Hall 18 |
Maryland | 85-22 | Dale Hall 32 |
Navy | 47-40 | Doug Kenna 17 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR ARMY REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dale Hall | F | Jr. | 15 | 18.2 |
Doug Kenna | G | Jr. | 15 | 10.1 |
Ed Christl | C | Sr. | 12 | 8.3 |
Bob Faas | F | Sr. | 15 | 7.1 |
Bill Ekberg | C | Jr. | 15 | 4.7 |
Jack Hennessey | G | Sr. | 15 | 1.7 |
Kentucky (25-0 in 1953-54)
Coach: Adolph Rupp (24th of 41 seasons with Wildcats)
1953-54 UK Opponents | Date | Score | UK's High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Temple | D5 | 86-59 | Cliff Hagan 51 |
at Xavier | D12 | 81-66 | Frank Ramsey 27 |
Wake Forest | D14 | 101-69 | Cliff Hagan 18 |
at St. Louis | D18 | 71-59 | Frank Ramsey 21 |
Duke | D21 | 85-69 | Cliff Hagan 27 |
La Salle | D22 | 73-60 | Cliff Hagan 28 |
Minnesota | D28 | 74-59 | Frank Ramsey 23 |
Xavier | J4 | 77-71 | Cliff Hagan 20 |
Georgia Tech | J9 | 105-53 | Cliff Hagan 34 |
DePaul | J11 | 81-63 | Cliff Hagan/Frank Ramsey 22 |
Tulane | J16 | 94-43 | Frank Ramsey 26 |
at Tennessee | J23 | 97-71 | Frank Ramsey 37 |
at Vanderbilt | J30 | 85-63 | Frank Ramsey 24 |
Georgia Tech* | F2 | 99-48 | Cliff Hagan 23 |
Georgia | F4 | 106-55 | Frank Ramsey 29 |
Georgia* | F6 | 100-68 | Cliff Hagan 29 |
at Florida | F8 | 97-55 | Cliff Hagan 22 |
Mississippi | F13 | 88-62 | Cliff Hagan 38 |
Mississippi State | F15 | 81-49 | Cliff Hagan 26 |
Tennessee | F18 | 90-63 | Cliff Hagan 24 |
at DePaul | F20 | 76-61 | Cliff Hagan 29 |
Vanderbilt | F22 | 100-64 | Cliff Hagan 22 |
Auburn* | F27 | 109-79 | Frank Ramsey 28 |
at Alabama | M1 | 68-43 | Cliff Hagan 24 |
Louisiana State* (SEC Playoff) | M9 | 63-56 | Frank Ramsey 30 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR KENTUCKY REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cliff Hagan | F-C | Sr. | 25 | .455 | .691 | 24.0 | 13.5 |
Frank Ramsey | G | Sr. | 25 | .416 | .729 | 19.6 | 8.8 |
Lou Tsioropoulos | F | Sr. | 25 | .351 | .690 | 14.5 | 9.6 |
Billy Evans | F-G | Jr. | 25 | .372 | .778 | 8.4 | 7.2 |
Gayle Rose | G | Jr. | 23 | .346 | .646 | 6.7 | 1.3 |
Phil Grawemeyer | F-C | Soph. | 25 | .372 | .543 | 5.9 | 6.1 |
Linville Puckett | G | Soph. | 24 | .295 | .673 | 5.1 | 2.2 |
Bill Bibb | F | Soph. | 16 | .313 | .583 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
TEAM TOTALS | 25 | .383 | .678 | 87.5 | 52.7 |
San Francisco (29-0 in 1955-56)
Coach: Phil Woolpert (fifth of nine seasons with Dons)
1955-56 USF Opponents | Date | Score | USF's High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Chico State (Calif.) | D2 | 70-39 | Bill Russell 15 |
Southern California | D3 | 58-42 | Bill Russell 24 |
San Francisco State | D6 | 72-47 | Bill Russell 20 |
Marquette* | D16 | 65-58 | Bill Russell 16 |
at DePaul | D17 | 82-59 | K.C. Jones 23 |
at Wichita | D20 | 75-65 | Bill Russell 17 |
at Loyola of New Orleans | D23 | 61-43 | Bill Russell 20 |
La Salle* | D26 | 79-62 | Bill Russell 26 |
Holy Cross* | D27 | 67-51 | Bill Russell 24 |
UCLA* | D28 | 70-53 | Bill Russell 17 |
Pepperdine | J6 | 62-51 | Bill Russell 20 |
Santa Clara | J10 | 74-56 | Mike Farmer 18 |
at Fresno State | J13 | 69-50 | Bill Russell 22 |
at California | J28 | 33-24 | K.C. Jones 15 |
San Jose State | J31 | 67-40 | Bill Russell 21 |
Loyola of Los Angeles | F3 | 68-46 | Carl Boldt 20 |
at Pacific | F7 | 77-60 | Bill Russell 24 |
Fresno State | F10 | 79-46 | Bill Russell 23 |
at San Jose State | F14 | 76-52 | Bill Russell 21 |
at St. Mary's | F17 | 76-63 | Bill Russell 28 |
at Santa Clara | F24 | 80-44 | Bill Russell 29 |
Pacific | F28 | 87-49 | Bill Russell 28 |
at Pepperdine | M2 | 68-40 | Carl Boldt 14 |
at Loyola of Los Angeles | M3 | 65-48 | Bill Russell 24 |
St. Mary's | M6 | 82-49 | Bill Russell 22 |
UCLA* (NCAA Tournament) | M16 | 72-61 | Gene Brown 23 |
Utah* (NCAA Tournament) | M17 | 92-77 | Bill Russell 27 |
Southern Methodist* (NCAA Tournament) | M22 | 86-68 | Mike Farmer 26 |
Iowa* (NCAA Tournament) | M23 | 83-71 | Bill Russell 26 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR USF REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Russell | C | Sr. | 29 | .513 | .495 | 20.6 | 21.0 |
K.C. Jones* | G | Sr. | 25 | .365 | .655 | 9.8 | 5.2 |
Hal Perry | G | Sr. | 29 | .365 | .729 | 9.1 | 2.0 |
Carl Boldt | F | Jr. | 28 | .326 | .783 | 8.6 | 5.0 |
Mike Farmer | F | Soph. | 28 | .371 | .548 | 8.4 | 7.8 |
Gene Brown | G | Soph. | 29 | .377 | .641 | 7.1 | 4.4 |
Mike Preaseau | F | Soph. | 29 | .366 | .609 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
Warren Baxter | G | Sr. | 26 | .301 | .667 | 2.2 | 0.7 |
Bill Bush | G | Sr. | 22 | .208 | .625 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
Jack King | F | Jr. | 22 | .162 | .462 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
TEAM TOTALS | 29 | .388 | .604 | 72.2 | 54.2 |
*Ineligible for NCAA Tournament as a fifth-year player.
North Carolina (32-0 in 1956-57)
Coach: Frank McGuire (fifth of nine seasons with Tar Heels)
1956-57 UNC Opponents | Date | Score | Carolina's High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Furman | D4 | 94-66 | Lennie Rosenbluth 47 |
Clemson* | D8 | 94-75 | Pete Brennan 28 |
George Washington | D12 | 82-55 | Lennie Rosenbluth 27 |
at South Carolina | D15 | 90-86 | Tommy Kearns 29 |
Maryland | D17 | 70-61 | Lennie Rosenbluth 26 |
at New York University | D20 | 64-59 | Bob Cunningham 16 |
Dartmouth* | D21 | 89-61 | Lennie Rosenbluth 30 |
Holy Cross* | D22 | 83-70 | Lennie Rosenbluth 23 |
Utah* | D27 | 97-76 | Lennie Rosenbluth 36 |
Duke* | D28 | 87-71 | Lennie Rosenbluth 32 |
Wake Forest* | D29 | 63-55 | Lennie Rosenbluth 18 |
at William & Mary | J8 | 71-61 | Pete Brennan 20 |
Clemson | J11 | 86-54 | Lennie Rosenbluth 34 |
Virginia | J12 | 102-90 | Lennie Rosenbluth 30 |
at North Carolina State | J15 | 83-57 | Lennie Rosenbluth 29 |
at Western Carolina | J30 | 77-59 | Lennie Rosenbluth 26 |
at Maryland | F5 | 65-61 (2OT) | Lennie Rosenbluth 25 |
Duke | F9 | 75-73 | Lennie Rosenbluth 35 |
at Virginia | F11 | 68-59 | Lennie Rosenbluth 23 |
Wake Forest | F13 | 72-69 | Lennie Rosenbluth 24 |
North Carolina State | F19 | 86-57 | Lennie Rosenbluth 28 |
South Carolina | F22 | 75-62 | Pete Brennan 26 |
at Wake Forest | F26 | 69-64 | Lennie Rosenbluth 30 |
at Duke | M1 | 86-72 | Lennie Rosenbluth 40 |
Clemson* (ACC Tournament) | M7 | 81-61 | Lennie Rosenbluth 45 |
Wake Forest* (ACC Tournament) | M8 | 61-59 | Lennie Rosenbluth 23 |
South Carolina* (ACC Tournament) | M9 | 95-75 | Lennie Rosenbluth 38 |
Yale* (NCAA Tournament) | M12 | 90-74 | Lennie Rosenbluth 29 |
Canisius* (NCAA Tournament) | M15 | 87-75 | Lennie Rosenbluth 39 |
Syracuse* (NCAA Tournament) | M16 | 67-58 | Lennie Rosenbluth 23 |
Michigan State* (NCAA Tournament) | M22 | 74-70 (3OT) | Lennie Rosenbluth 31 |
Kansas* (NCAA Tournament) | M23 | 54-53 (3OT) | Lennie Rosenbluth 20 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR NORTH CAROLINA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lennie Rosenbluth | F | Sr. | 32 | .483 | .758 | 28.0 | 8.8 |
Pete Brennan | F | Jr. | 32 | .394 | .706 | 14.7 | 10.4 |
Tommy Kearns | G | Jr. | 32 | .434 | .711 | 12.8 | 3.1 |
Joe Quigg | C | Jr. | 31 | .434 | .719 | 10.3 | 8.6 |
Bob Cunningham | G | Jr. | 32 | .393 | .598 | 7.2 | 6.7 |
Tony Radovich | G | Sr. | 16 | .525 | .769 | 3.9 | 1.8 |
Bill Hathaway | C | Soph. | 15 | .333 | .417 | 2.8 | 5.0 |
Stan Groll | G | Soph. | 12 | .370 | .556 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
Bob Young | C | Sr. | 15 | .256 | .538 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
Ken Rosemond | G | Jr. | 15 | .400 | .556 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
Danny Lotz | F | Soph. | 24 | .350 | .391 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
TEAM TOTALS | 32 | .431 | .701 | 79.3 | 46.7 |
UCLA (30-0 in 1963-64)
Coach: John Wooden (16th of 27 seasons with Bruins)
1963-64 UCLA Opponents | Date | Score | Bruins High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Brigham Young | D6 | 113-71 | Walt Hazzard 20 |
Butler | D7 | 80-65 | Walt Hazzard 21 |
Kansas State* | D13 | 78-75 | Gail Goodrich 21 |
Kansas* | D14 | 74-54 | Gail Goodrich 23 |
Baylor* | D20 | 112-61 | Walt Hazzard 23 |
Creighton* | D21 | 95-79 | Walt Hazzard 26 |
Yale | D26 | 95-65 | Gail Goodrich 25 |
Michigan | D27 | 98-80 | Gail Goodrich 30 |
Illinois | D28 | 83-79 | Gail Goodrich 21 |
at Washington State | J3 | 88-83 | Gail Goodrich 28 |
at Washington State | J4 | 121-77 | Gail Goodrich 21 |
Southern California | J10 | 79-59 | Walt Hazzard 21 |
Southern California | J11 | 78-71 | Gail Goodrich 23 |
Stanford | J17 | 84-71 | Gail Goodrich 23 |
Stanford* | J18 | 80-61 | Walt Hazzard 31 |
UC Santa Barbara | J31 | 107-76 | Gail Goodrich/Walt Hazzard 21 |
UC Santa Barbara* | F1 | 87-59 | Gail Goodrich 31 |
at California | F7 | 87-67 | Gail Goodrich 26 |
at California | F8 | 58-56 | Walt Hazzard 17 |
Washington | F14 | 73-58 | Walt Hazzard 17 |
Washington | F15 | 88-60 | Gail Goodrich 22 |
at Stanford | F22 | 100-88 | Walt Hazzard 27 |
at Washington | F24 | 78-64 | Keith Erickson/Walt Hazzard 21 |
Washington State | F29 | 93-56 | Walt Hazzard 19 |
California | M2 | 87-57 | Gail Goodrich 23 |
Southern California | M6 | 91-81 | Gail Goodrich 23 |
Seattle* (NCAA Tournament) | M13 | 95-90 | Walt Hazzard 26 |
San Francisco* (NCAA Tournament) | M14 | 76-72 | Walt Hazzard 23 |
Kansas State* (NCAA Tournament) | M20 | 90-84 | Keith Erickson 28 |
Duke* (NCAA Tournament) | M21 | 98-83 | Gail Goodrich 27 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR UCLA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gail Goodrich | G | Jr. | 30 | .458 | .711 | 21.5 | 5.2 |
Walt Hazzard | G | Sr. | 30 | .445 | .718 | 18.6 | 4.7 |
Jack Hirsch | F | Sr. | 30 | .528 | .664 | 14.0 | 7.6 |
Keith Erickson | F | Jr. | 30 | .403 | .623 | 10.7 | 9.1 |
Fred Slaughter | C | Sr. | 30 | .466 | .484 | 7.9 | 8.1 |
Kenny Washington | F-G | Soph. | 30 | .458 | .627 | 6.1 | 4.2 |
Doug McIntosh | C | Soph. | 30 | .519 | .500 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
Kim Stewart | F | Sr. | 23 | .393 | .467 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
Rich Levin | F | Jr. | 19 | .372 | .500 | 2.0 | 0.6 |
Mike Huggins | G | Sr. | 23 | .382 | .478 | 1.6 | 1.0 |
Chuck Darrow | G | Soph. | 23 | .379 | .583 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
Vaughn Hoffman | C | Soph. | 21 | .476 | .500 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
TEAM TOTALS | 30 | .455 | .644 | 88.9 | 55.7 |
UCLA (30-0 in 1966-67)
Coach: John Wooden (19th of 27 seasons with Bruins)
1966-67 UCLA Opponents | Date | Score | Bruins High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Southern California | D3 | 105-90 | Lew Alcindor 56 |
Duke | D9 | 88-54 | Lew Alcindor/Lucius Allen 19 |
Duke | D10 | 107-87 | Lew Alcindor 38 |
Colorado State | D22 | 84-74 | Lew Alcindor 34 |
Notre Dame | D23 | 96-67 | Lew Alcindor 25 |
Wisconsin | D28 | 100-56 | Lew Alcindor 24 |
Georgia Tech | D29 | 91-72 | Lew Alcindor 18 |
Southern California | D30 | 107-83 | Lew Alcindor 25 |
at Washington State | J7 | 76-67 | Lew Alcindor 28 |
at Washington | J9 | 83-68 | Lew Alcindor 28 |
California | J13 | 96-78 | Lew Alcindor 26 |
Stanford | J14 | 116-78 | Lew Alcindor 37 |
Portland | J20 | 122-57 | Lew Alcindor 27 |
UC Santa Barbara | J21 | 119-75 | Lew Alcindor 37 |
at Loyola of Chicago | J28 | 82-67 | Lew Alcindor 35 |
Illinois* | J29 | 120-82 | Lew Alcindor 45 |
at Southern California | F4 | 40-35 (OT) | Lew Alcindor 13 |
Oregon State | F10 | 76-44 | Lew Alcindor/Lucius Allen 22 |
Oregon | F11 | 100-66 | Lucius Allen 20 |
at Oregon | F17 | 34-25 | Lew Alcindor 12 |
at Oregon State | F18 | 72-50 | Lew Alcindor 28 |
Washington | F24 | 71-43 | Lew Alcindor 37 |
Washington State | F25 | 100-78 | Lew Alcindor 61 |
at Stanford | M3 | 75-47 | Lew Alcindor 20 |
at California | M4 | 103-66 | Lew Alcindor 30 |
Southern California | M11 | 83-55 | Lew Alcindor 26 |
Wyoming* (NCAA Tournament) | M17 | 109-60 | Lew Alcindor 29 |
Pacific* (NCAA Tournament) | M18 | 80-64 | Lew Alcindor 38 |
Houston* (NCAA Tournament) | M24 | 73-58 | Lynn Shackelford 22 |
Dayton* (NCAA Tournament) | M25 | 79-64 | Lew Alcindor 20 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR UCLA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lew Alcindor | C | Soph. | 30 | .667 | .650 | 29.0 | 15.5 |
Lucius Allen | G | Soph. | 30 | .479 | .713 | 15.5 | 5.8 |
Mike Warren | G | Jr. | 30 | .465 | .758 | 12.7 | 4.5 |
Lynn Shackelford | F | Soph. | 30 | .480 | .821 | 11.4 | 5.9 |
Ken Heitz | F-G | Soph. | 30 | .506 | .600 | 6.1 | 3.2 |
Bill Sweek | G | Soph. | 30 | .479 | .565 | 4.7 | 2.8 |
Jim Nielsen | F-C | Soph. | 27 | .519 | .455 | 4.6 | 3.4 |
Don Saffer | G | Jr. | 27 | .451 | .542 | 2.9 | 0.8 |
Gene Sutherland | G | Jr. | 20 | .455 | .583 | 1.9 | 0.8 |
Neville Saner | F-C | Jr. | 24 | .308 | .667 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
Joe Chrisman | F | Jr. | 19 | .320 | .364 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
TEAM TOTALS | 30 | .520 | .653 | 89.6 | 49.8 |
UCLA (30-0 in 1971-72)
Coach: John Wooden (24th of 27 seasons with Bruins)
1971-72 UCLA Opponents | Date | Score | Bruins High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
The Citadel | D3 | 105-49 | Henry Bibby 26 |
Iowa | D4 | 106-72 | Henry Bibby 32 |
Iowa State | D10 | 110-81 | Bill Walton 24 |
Texas A&M | D11 | 117-53 | Bill Walton 23 |
Notre Dame | D22 | 114-56 | Henry Bibby 28 |
Texas Christian | D23 | 119-81 | Bill Walton 31 |
Texas | D29 | 115-65 | Bill Walton 28 |
Ohio State | D30 | 79-53 | Bill Walton 14 |
at Oregon State | J7 | 78-72 | Henry Bibby 17 |
at Oregon | J8 | 93-68 | Bill Walton 30 |
Stanford | J14 | 118-79 | Bill Walton 32 |
California | J15 | 82-43 | Bill Walton 20 |
Santa Clara | J21 | 92-57 | Keith Wilkes 16 |
Denver | J22 | 108-61 | Henry Bibby/Larry Farmer 19 |
at Loyola of Chicago | J28 | 92-64 | Henry Bibby/Bill Walton 18 |
at Notre Dame | J29 | 57-32 | Henry Bibby 15 |
Southern California | F5 | 81-56 | Bill Walton 22 |
Washington State | F11 | 89-58 | Bill Walton 25 |
Washington | F12 | 109-70 | Bill Walton 27 |
at Washington | F19 | 100-83 | Bill Walton 31 |
at Washington State | F21 | 85-55 | Larry Hollyfield/Keith Wilkes 16 |
Oregon | F25 | 92-70 | Bill Walton 37 |
Oregon State | F26 | 92-72 | Bill Walton 26 |
at California | M3 | 91-71 | Bill Walton 24 |
at Stanford | M4 | 102-73 | Greg Lee 16 |
at Southern California | M10 | 79-66 | Bill Walton 20 |
Weber State* (NCAA Tournament) | M16 | 90-58 | Henry Bibby 16 |
Long Beach State* (NCAA Tournament) | M18 | 73-57 | Henry Bibby 23 |
Louisville* (NCAA Tournament) | M23 | 96-77 | Bill Walton 23 |
Florida State* (NCAA Tournament) | M25 | 81-76 | Bill Walton 24 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR UCLA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Walton | C | Soph. | 30 | .640 | .704 | 21.1 | 15.5 |
Henry Bibby | G | Sr. | 30 | .450 | .806 | 15.7 | 3.5 |
Keith Wilkes | F | Soph. | 30 | .531 | .696 | 13.5 | 8.2 |
Larry Farmer | F | Jr. | 30 | .456 | .549 | 10.7 | 5.5 |
Greg Lee | G | Soph. | 29 | .492 | .824 | 8.7 | 2.0 |
Larry Hollyfield | F | Jr. | 30 | .514 | .651 | 7.3 | 3.3 |
Swen Nater | C | Jr. | 29 | .535 | .609 | 6.7 | 4.8 |
Tommy Curtis | G | Soph. | 30 | .437 | .636 | 4.1 | 2.1 |
Andy Hill | G | Sr. | 26 | .356 | .709 | 2.7 | 0.8 |
Vince Carson | F | Soph. | 28 | .400 | .667 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
Jon Chapman | F | Sr. | 28 | .465 | .500 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
Gary Franklin | F | Soph. | 26 | .412 | .438 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
TEAM TOTALS | 30 | .504 | .695 | 94.6 | 54.9 |
UCLA (30-0 in 1972-73)
Coach: John Wooden (25th of 27 seasons with Bruins)
1972-73 UCLA Opponents | Date | Score | Bruins High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Wisconsin | N25 | 94-53 | Bill Walton 26 |
Bradley | D1 | 73-38 | Bill Walton 16 |
Pacific | D2 | 81-48 | Keith Wilkes 18 |
UC Santa Barbara | D16 | 98-67 | Bill Walton 30 |
Pittsburgh | D22 | 89-73 | Keith Wilkes 20 |
Notre Dame | D23 | 82-56 | Keith Wilkes 18 |
Drake* | D29 | 85-72 | Bill Walton 29 |
Illinois* | D30 | 71-64 | Bill Walton 22 |
Oregon | J5 | 64-38 | Larry Farmer/Keith Wilkes 14 |
Oregon State | J6 | 87-61 | Keith Wilkes 19 |
at Stanford | J12 | 82-67 | Larry Farmer/Larry Hollyfield/Bill Walton 18 |
at California | J13 | 69-50 | Larry Farmer/Keith Wilkes 18 |
San Francisco | J19 | 92-64 | Bill Walton 22 |
Providence | J20 | 101-77 | Larry Farmer 21 |
at Loyola of Chicago | J25 | 87-73 | Bill Walton 32 |
at Notre Dame | J27 | 82-63 | Keith Wilkes 20 |
at Southern California | F3 | 79-56 | Bill Walton 20 |
at Washington State | F10 | 88-50 | Bill Walton 17 |
at Washington | F12 | 76-67 | Bill Walton 29 |
Washington | F16 | 93-62 | Bill Walton 26 |
Washington State | F17 | 96-64 | Bill Walton 29 |
at Oregon | F22 | 72-61 | Keith Wilkes 18 |
at Oregon State | F24 | 73-67 | Bill Walton 21 |
California | M2 | 90-65 | Bill Walton/Keith Wilkes 15 |
Stanford | M3 | 51-45 | Bill Walton 23 |
Southern California | M10 | 76-56 | Bill Walton/Keith Wilkes 17 |
Arizona State (NCAA Tournament) | M15 | 98-81 | Bill Walton 28 |
San Francisco (NCAA Tournament) | M17 | 54-39 | Larry Farmer 13 |
Indiana* (NCAA Tournament) | M24 | 70-59 | Tommy Curtis 22 |
Memphis State* (NCAA Tournament) | M26 | 87-66 | Bill Walton 44 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR UCLA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Walton | C | Jr. | 30 | .650 | .569 | 20.4 | 16.9 |
Keith Wilkes | F | Jr. | 30 | .525 | .652 | 14.8 | 7.3 |
Larry Farmer | F | Sr. | 30 | .511 | .701 | 12.2 | 5.0 |
Larry Hollyfield | G | Sr. | 30 | .466 | .492 | 10.7 | 2.9 |
Tommy Curtis | G | Jr. | 24 | .512 | .667 | 6.4 | 1.7 |
Dave Meyers | F | Soph. | 28 | .477 | .756 | 4.9 | 2.9 |
Greg Lee | G | Jr. | 30 | .473 | .790 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
Swen Nater | C | Sr. | 29 | .459 | .652 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Pete Trgovich | G-F | Soph. | 25 | .382 | .400 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
Vince Carson | F | Jr. | 26 | .514 | .471 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
Gary Franklin | F | Jr. | 24 | .485 | .500 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
Bob Webb | G | Jr. | 21 | .148 | .833 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
TEAM TOTALS | 30 | .519 | .632 | 81.3 | 49.0 |
Assists leader: Walton 168.
North Carolina State (27-0 in 1972-73)
Coach: Norman Sloan (seventh of 14 seasons with Wolfpack)
1972-73 N.C. State Opponents | Date | Score | Wolfpack High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
Appalachian State | N27 | 130-53 | David Thompson 33 |
Atlantic Christian | D1 | 110-40 | David Thompson 32 |
Georgia Southern | D4 | 144-100 | David Thompson 40 |
South Florida | D8 | 125-88 | David Thompson 30 |
Wake Forest* | D15 | 88-83 | David Thompson 29 |
North Carolina* | D16 | 68-61 | David Thompson 19 |
Davidson* | D19 | 103-90 | Joe Cafferky 25 |
at Georgia | D23 | 97-83 | David Thompson 26 |
at Virginia | J6 | 68-61 | Monte Towe 17 |
Duke | J10 | 94-87 | Monte Towe/Tom Burleson 20 |
Lehigh | J12 | 115-53 | Tom Burleson 30 |
at Maryland | J14 | 87-85 | David Thompson 37 |
at Clemson | J20 | 86-76 | David Thompson 24 |
at Furman | J27 | 98-73 | David Thompson 27 |
Maryland | J31 | 89-78 | David Thompson 24 |
Virginia | F3 | 64-59 | David Thompson 18 |
North Carolina | F5 | 76-73 | David Thompson 22 |
Clemson* | F9 | 68-61 | David Thompson 30 |
Georgia Tech* | F10 | 118-94 | David Thompson 36 |
East Carolina | F13 | 105-70 | David Thompson 33 |
at Wake Forest | F17 | 81-59 | David Thompson 21 |
at Duke | F21 | 74-50 | David Thompson 31 |
UNC Charlotte | F24 | 100-64 | Tom Burleson 26 |
at North Carolina | F27 | 82-78 | David Thompson 18 |
Wake Forest | M3 | 100-77 | Tom Burleson 27 |
Virginia* (ACC Tournament) | M9 | 63-51 | Tom Burleson/David Thompson 14 |
Maryland* (ACC Tournament) | M10 | 76-74 | Tom Burleson 14 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR N.C. STATE REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Thompson | F | Soph. | 27 | .569 | .825 | 24.7 | 8.1 |
Tom Burleson | C | Jr. | 27 | .512 | .730 | 17.9 | 12.0 |
Monte Towe | G | Soph. | 27 | .468 | .729 | 10.0 | 1.7 |
Rick Holdt | F | Sr. | 27 | .531 | .660 | 8.3 | 3.7 |
Tim Stoddard | F | Soph. | 27 | .482 | .569 | 7.9 | 5.3 |
Joe Cafferky | G | Sr. | 25 | .569 | .767 | 7.2 | 2.1 |
Greg Hawkins | F | Jr. | 25 | .448 | .706 | 5.6 | 3.3 |
Mark Moeller | G | Soph. | 27 | .579 | .516 | 4.7 | 1.6 |
Steve Nuce | F | Jr. | 26 | .474 | .571 | 4.4 | 2.1 |
Craig Kuszmaul | G | Soph. | 19 | .667 | .400 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
TEAM TOTALS | 27 | .520 | .715 | 92.9 | 46.5 |
INDIANA (32-0 in 1975-76)
Coach: Bob Knight (fifth of 29 seasons with Hoosiers)
1975-76 IU Opponents | Date | Score | IU's High Scorer |
---|---|---|---|
UCLA* | N29 | 84-64 | Scott May 33 |
Florida State* | D8 | 83-59 | Scott May 24 |
Notre Dame | D11 | 63-60 | Scott May 25 |
Kentucky* | D15 | 77-68 (OT) | Kent Benson/Scott May 27 |
Georgia | D19 | 93-56 | Scott May 18 |
Virginia Tech | D20 | 101-74 | Scott May 27 |
Columbia* | D26 | 106-63 | Kent Benson 15 |
Manhattan* | D27 | 97-61 | Scott May 32 |
at St. John's | D28 | 76-69 | Scott May 29 |
at Ohio State | J3 | 66-64 | Scott May 24 |
Northwestern | J5 | 78-61 | Kent Benson 22 |
at Michigan | J10 | 80-74 | Kent Benson 33 |
at Michigan State | J12 | 69-57 | Kent Benson 23 |
at Illinois | J17 | 83-55 | Scott May 27 |
Purdue | J19 | 71-67 | Scott May 32 |
at Minnesota | J24 | 85-76 | Tom Abernethy 22 |
at Iowa | J26 | 88-73 | Scott May 32 |
Wisconsin | J31 | 114-61 | Scott May 30 |
Michigan | F7 | 72-67 (OT) | Scott May 27 |
Michigan State | F9 | 85-70 | Kent Benson 38 |
Illinois | F14 | 58-48 | Kent Benson 17 |
at Purdue | F16 | 74-71 | Scott May 26 |
Minnesota | F21 | 76-64 | Tom Abernethy 22 |
Iowa | F23 | 101-81 | Quinn Buckner 24 |
at Wisconsin | F26 | 96-67 | Scott May 41 |
at Northwestern | M1 | 76-63 | Scott May 24 |
Ohio State | M6 | 96-67 | Kent Benson/Scott May 21 |
St. John's* (NCAA Tournament) | M13 | 90-70 | Scott May 33 |
Alabama* (NCAA Tournament) | M18 | 74-69 | Scott May 25 |
Marquette* (NCAA Tournament) | M20 | 65-56 | Kent Benson 18 |
UCLA* (NCAA Tournament) | M27 | 65-51 | Kent Benson 16 |
Michigan* (NCAA Tournament) | M29 | 86-68 | Scott May 26 |
*Neutral court games.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FOR INDIANA REGULARS
Player | Pos. | Class | G. | FG% | FT% | PPG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scott May | F | Sr. | 32 | .527 | .782 | 23.5 | 7.7 |
Kent Benson | C | Jr. | 32 | .578 | .684 | 17.3 | 8.8 |
Tom Abernethy | F | Sr. | 32 | .561 | .743 | 10.0 | 5.3 |
Quinn Buckner | G | Sr. | 32 | .441 | .488 | 8.9 | 2.8 |
Bobby Wilkerson | G-F | Sr. | 32 | .493 | .630 | 7.8 | 4.9 |
Wayne Radford | G | Soph. | 30 | .563 | .712 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
Jim Crews | G | Sr. | 31 | .468 | .857 | 3.3 | 0.7 |
Jim Wisman | G | Soph. | 26 | .367 | .724 | 2.5 | 0.8 |
Rich Valavicius | F | Fr. | 28 | .483 | .625 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
TEAM TOTALS | 32 | .517 | .698 | 82.1 | 41.4 |
Assists leader: Wilkerson 171.
Blocked shots leader: Benson 39.
Steals leader: Buckner 65.
Last of Unbeatens: Odds Against Gonzaga Going on to Capture NCAA Crown
No NCAA Division I men's team has compiled an undefeated record since Indiana in 1975-76. Gonzaga was the last remaining unbeaten team this season until the Zags bowed at home against Brigham Young in their 30th contest of the campaign.
The historical odds are against the Zags winning the NCAA title because only three final undefeated teams in the previous 37 years - (Duke '92, UConn '99 and Florida '06) - went on to capture the national crown.
Prior to probation-shackled SMU last season, Clemson (winner of its first 17 outings in 2006-07), was the only school in this last-of-the-unbeaten category to fail to participate in the NCAA playoffs. The Tigers finished runner-up in the NIT.
Gonzaga became the 11th of these 39 last-remaining-standing teams to suffer their first defeat at home. Following in reverse order are vital facts on final unbeaten teams since the Hoosiers a half-century ago:
Season | Last Unbeaten (Wins) | First Defeat | Date | Score | Final Record/Postseason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016-17 | Gonzaga (29)* | Brigham Young | 2-25-17 | 79-71 | To be determined |
2015-16 | Southern Methodist (18) | at Temple | 1-24-16 | 89-80 | 25-5/Probation |
2014-15 | Kentucky (38)* | vs. Wisconsin | 4-4-15 | 71-64 | 38-1/NCAA Final Four |
2013-14 | Wichita State (35)* | vs. Kentucky | 3-23-14 | 78-76 | 35-1/Second Round |
2012-13 | Michigan (16) | at Ohio State | 1-13-13 | 56-53 | 31-8/NCAA Runner-up |
2011-12 | Murray State (23)* | Tennessee State | 2-9-12 | 72-68 | 31-2/Second Round |
2010-11 | Ohio State (24) | at Wisconsin | 2-12-11 | 71-67 | 34-3/Regional Semifinal |
2009-10 | Kentucky (19) | at South Carolina | 1-26-10 | 68-62 | 35-3/Regional Final |
2008-09 | Wake Forest (16) | Virginia Tech | 1-21-09 | 78-71 | 24-7/First Round |
2007-08 | Memphis (26) | Tennessee | 2-23-08 | 66-62 | 38-2/National Runner-up |
2006-07 | Clemson (17)* | at Maryland | 1-13-07 | 92-87 | 25-11/NIT Runner-up |
2005-06 | Florida (17)* | at Tennessee | 1-21-06 | 80-76 | 33-6/NCAA Champion |
2004-05 | Illinois (29)* | at Ohio State | 3-6-05 | 65-64 | 37-2/NCAA Runner-up |
2003-04 | Saint Joseph's (27)* | vs. Xavier | 3-11-04 | 87-67 | 30-2/Regional Final |
2002-03 | Duke (12) | at Maryland | 1-18-03 | 87-72 | 26-7/Regional Semifinal |
2001-02 | Duke (12) | at Florida State | 1-6-02 | 77-76 | 31-4/Regional Semifinal |
2000-01 | Stanford (20) | UCLA | 2-3-01 | 79-73 | 31-3/Regional Final |
1999-00 | Syracuse (19) | Seton Hall | 2-7-00 | 69-67 | 26-6/Regional Semifinal |
1998-99 | Connecticut (19) | Syracuse | 2-1-99 | 59-42 | 34-2/NCAA Champion |
1997-98 | Utah (18) | at New Mexico | 2-1-98 | 77-74 | 30-4/NCAA Runner-up |
1996-97 | Kansas (22) | at Missouri (2OT) | 2-4-97 | 96-94 | 34-2/Regional Semifinal |
1995-96 | Massachusetts (26)* | George Washington | 2-24-96 | 86-76 | 35-2/NCAA Final Four |
1994-95 | Connecticut (15) | at Kansas | 1-28-95 | 88-59 | 28-5/Regional Final |
1993-94 | UCLA (14) | at California | 1-30-94 | 85-70 | 21-7/First Round |
1992-93 | Virginia (11) | at North Carolina | 1-20-93 | 80-58 | 21-10/Regional Semifinal |
1991-92 | Duke (17) | at North Carolina | 2-5-92 | 75-73 | 34-2/NCAA Champion |
1991-92 | Oklahoma State (20) | at Nebraska | 2-5-92 | 85-69 | 28-8/Regional Semifinal |
1990-91 | UNLV (34) | vs. Duke | 3-30-91 | 79-77 | 34-1/NCAA Final Four |
1989-90 | Georgetown (14) | at Connecticut | 1-20-90 | 70-65 | 24-7/Second Round |
1988-89 | Illinois (17) | at Minnesota | 1-26-89 | 69-62 | 31-5/NCAA Final Four |
1987-88 | Brigham Young (17)* | at UAB | 2-6-88 | 102-83 | 26-6/Sweet 16 |
1986-87 | DePaul (16) | at Georgetown | 1-25-87 | 74-71 | 28-3/Regional Semifinal |
1985-86 | Memphis State (20) | at Virginia Tech | 2-1-86 | 76-72 | 28-6/Second Round |
1984-85 | Georgetown (18) | St. John's | 1-26-85 | 66-65 | 35-3/NCAA Runner-up |
1983-84 | North Carolina (21) | vs. Arkansas | 2-12-84 | 65-64 | 28-3/Regional Semifinal |
1982-83 | UNLV (24) | at Cal State Fullerton | 2-24-83 | 86-78 | 28-3/Second Round |
1981-82 | Missouri (19) | Nebraska | 2-6-82 | 67-51 | 27-4/Regional Semifinal |
1980-81 | Oregon State (26)* | Arizona State | 3-7-81 | 87-67 | 26-2/Second Round |
1979-80 | DePaul (26)* | at Notre Dame (2OT) | 2-27-80 | 76-74 | 26-2/Second Round |
1978-79 | Indiana State (33)* | vs. Michigan State | 3-26-79 | 75-64 | 33-1/NCAA Runner-up |
1977-78 | Kentucky (14) | at Alabama | 1-23-78 | 78-62 | 30-2/NCAA Champion |
1976-77 | San Francisco (29) | at Notre Dame | 3-5-77 | 93-82 | 29-2/First Round |
*All-time top winning streaks.
NOTES: North Carolina lost in Pine Bluff, Ark. . . . Saint Joseph's lost in Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Dayton.
Maintaining Order: KU Extends Streak of Consecutive Conference Crowns
Kansas matched UCLA for most consecutive regular-season conference championships with 13. The Jayhawks had four ties in that span while all of the Bruins' titles were undisputed. sterling Big 12 Conference track record of titles under coach Bill Self while surviving the loss of 16 undergraduates in the previous 10 NBA drafts - 2007 (Julian Wright), 2008 (Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush), 2010 (Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry), 2011 (Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris and Josh Selby), 2012 (Thomas Robinson), 2013 (Ben McLemore), 2014 (Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins), 2015 (Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre Jr.) and 2016 (Cheick Diallo).
UCLA's streak of 13 straight undisputed league titles from 1967 through 1979, divided among three coaches, is considered one of the foremost achievements in NCAA history. Kansas' regular-season league losses in the last 13 seasons came against Baylor (one), Iowa State (five), Kansas State (five), Missouri (four), Oklahoma (three), Oklahoma State (six), Texas (four), Texas A&M (one), Texas Christian (one), Texas Tech (three) and West Virginia (four). National player of the year candidate Frank Mason III is averaging more than 20 points per game after none of the Jayhawks' previous 11 teams had a player reach that plateau.
Jerry Tarkanian was coach for two of the schools boasting the longest league streaks (Long Beach State and UNLV). Following is a summary of the eight schools securing at least eight straight regular-season league titles:
Kansas (13 in Big 12; 183-37 from 2004-05 through 2016-17)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004-05 | 12-4 | Wayne Simien (20.3) | Wayne Simien (11) | Bill Self | 23-7 |
2005-06 | 13-3 | Brandon Rush (13.5) | Brandon Rush (5.9) | Bill Self | 25-8 |
2006-07 | 14-2 | Brandon Rush (13.8) | Julian Wright (7.8) | Bill Self | 33-5 |
2007-08 | 13-3 | Brandon Rush (13.3) | Darnell Jackson (6.7) | Bill Self | 37-3 |
2008-09 | 14-2 | Sherron Collins (18.9) | Cole Aldrich (11.1) | Bill Self | 27-8 |
2009-10 | 15-1 | Sherron Collins (15.5) | Cole Aldrich (9.8) | Bill Self | 33-3 |
2010-11 | 14-2 | Marcus Morris (17.2) | Markieff Morris (8.3) | Bill Self | 35-3 |
2011-12 | 16-2 | Thomas Robinson (17.7) | Thomas Robinson (11.9) | Bill Self | 32-7 |
2012-13 | 14-4 | Ben McLemore (15.9) | Jeff Withey (8.5) | Bill Self | 31-6 |
2013-14 | 14-4 | Andrew Wiggins (17.1) | Joel Embiid (8.1) | Bill Self | 25-10 |
2014-15 | 13-5 | Perry Ellis (13.8) | Perry Ellis (6.9) | Bill Self | 27-9 |
2015-16 | 15-3 | Perry Ellis (16.3) | Perry Ellis (6.1) | Bill Self | 33-5 |
2016-17 | 16-2 | Frank Mason III (20.3) | Landen Lucas (8.3) | Bill Self | TBD |
NOTE: Kansas tied Oklahoma in 2004-05, Texas in 2005-06 and 2007-08 and Kansas State in 2012-13.
UCLA (13 in Pacific-8/10; 171-15 league record from 1966-67 through 1978-79)
Gonzaga (11 in West Coast; 143-15 from 2000-01 through 2010-11)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000-01 | 13-1 | Casey Calvary (19) | Casey Calvary (6.7) | Mark Few | 26-7 |
2001-02 | 13-1 | Dan Dickau (21) | Cory Violette (8.3) | Mark Few | 29-4 |
2002-03 | 12-2 | Blake Stepp (18) | Cory Violette (8) | Mark Few | 24-9 |
2003-04 | 14-0 | Ronny Turiaf (15.5) | Cory Violette (8.2) | Mark Few | 28-3 |
2004-05 | 12-2 | Adam Morrison (19) | Ronny Turiaf (9.5) | Mark Few | 26-5 |
2005-06 | 14-0 | Adam Morrison (28.1) | J.P. Batista (9.4) | Mark Few | 29-4 |
2006-07 | 11-3 | Derek Raivio (18) | Josh Heytvelt (7.7) | Mark Few | 23-11 |
2007-08 | 13-1 | Matt Bouldin (12.6) | Josh Heytvelt (4.9) | Mark Few | 25-8 |
2008-09 | 14-0 | Josh Heytvelt (14.9) | Austin Daye (6.8) | Mark Few | 28-6 |
2009-10 | 12-2 | Matt Bouldin (15.6) | Elias Harris (7.1) | Mark Few | 27-7 |
2010-11 | 11-3 | Steven Gray (13.9) | Robert Sacre (6.3) | Mark Few | 25-10 |
NOTE: Gonzaga tied Pepperdine in 2001-02 and Saint Mary's in 2010-11.
Connecticut (10 in Yankee; 71-8 from 1950-51 through 1959-60)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950-51 | 6-1 | Vin Yokabaskas (15.5) | William Ebel (9) | Hugh Greer | 22-4 |
1951-52 | 6-1 | Vin Yokabaskas (16.8) | Burr Carlson (14.5) | Hugh Greer | 20-7 |
1952-53 | 5-1 | Art Quimby (16.7) | Art Quimby (20.5) | Hugh Greer | 17-4 |
1953-54 | 7-0 | Art Quimby (16.3) | Art Quimby (22.6) | Hugh Greer | 23-3 |
1954-55 | 7-0 | Art Quimby (23.2) | Art Quimby (24.4) | Hugh Greer | 20-5 |
1955-56 | 6-1 | Gordon Ruddy (16.6) | unavailable | Hugh Greer | 17-11 |
1956-57 | 8-0 | Bob Osborne (15.6) | Al Cooper (11.8) | Hugh Greer | 17-8 |
1957-58 | 10-0 | Jack Rose (13) | Al Cooper (11) | Hugh Greer | 17-10 |
1958-59 | 8-2 | Jack Rose (16) | Ed Martin (12.1) | Hugh Greer | 17-7 |
1959-60 | 8-2 | John Pipczynski (15.2) | Walt Griffin (11.5) | Hugh Greer | 17-9 |
UNLV (10 in PCAA/Big West; 165-13 from 1982-83 through 1991-92)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982-83 | 15-1 | Sidney Green (22.1) | Sidney Green (11.9) | Jerry Tarkanian | 28-3 |
1983-84 | 16-2 | Richie Adams (12.7) | Richie Adams (6.7) | Jerry Tarkanian | 29-6 |
1984-85 | 17-1 | Richie Adams (15.8) | Richie Adams (7.9) | Jerry Tarkanian | 28-4 |
1985-86 | 16-2 | Anthony Jones (18) | Armon Gilliam (8.5) | Jerry Tarkanian | 33-5 |
1986-87 | 18-0 | Armon Gilliam (23.2) | Armon Gilliam (9.3) | Jerry Tarkanian | 37-2 |
1987-88 | 15-3 | Gerald Paddio (19.4) | Jarvis Basnight (6.9) | Jerry Tarkanian | 28-6 |
1988-89 | 16-2 | David Butler (15.4) | Stacey Augmon (7.4) | Jerry Tarkanian | 29-8 |
1989-90 | 16-2 | Larry Johnson (20.6) | Larry Johnson (11.4) | Jerry Tarkanian | 35-5 |
1990-91 | 18-0 | Larry Johnson (22.7) | Larry Johnson (10.9) | Jerry Tarkanian | 34-1 |
1991-92 | 18-0 | J.R. Rider (20.7) | Elmore Spencer (8.1) | Jerry Tarkanian | 26-2 |
NOTE: UNLV tied New Mexico State in 1989-90.
Idaho State (eight in Rocky Mountain; 76-4 from 1952-53 through 1959-60)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952-53 | 10-0 | Les Roh (16.6) | unavailable | Steve Belko | 18-7 |
1953-54 | 9-1 | Les Roh (17.1) | unavailable | Steve Belko | 22-5 |
1954-55 | 9-1 | Les Roh (21.7) | unavailable | Steve Belko | 18-8 |
1955-56 | 9-1 | Les Roh (20.8) | unavailable | Steve Belko | 18-8 |
1956-57 | 12-0 | Jim Rodgers (15) | Jack Allain (12.5) | John Grayson | 25-4 |
1957-58 | 10-0 | Lloyd Harris (14.7) | LeRoy Bacher (9) | John Grayson | 22-6 |
1958-59 | 9-1 | Jim Rodgers (17.4) | Homer Watkins (11.6) | John Grayson | 21-7 |
1959-60 | 8-0 | Myrl Goodwin (16.4) | unavailable | John Evans | 21-5 |
Kentucky (eight in SEC; 82-3 from 1944-45 through 1951-52)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coach | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1944-45 | 4-1 | Jack Tingle (11.7) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 22-4 |
1945-46 | 6-0 | Jack Parkinson (11.3) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 28-2 |
1946-47 | 11-0 | Ralph Beard (10.9) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 34-3 |
1947-48 | 9-0 | Alex Groza (12.5) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 36-3 |
1948-49 | 13-0 | Alex Groza (20.5) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 32-2 |
1949-50 | 11-2 | Bill Spivey (19.3) | unavailable | Adolph Rupp | 25-5 |
1950-51 | 14-0 | Bill Spivey (19.2) | Bill Spivey (17.2) | Adolph Rupp | 32-2 |
1951-52 | 14-0 | Cliff Hagan (21.6) | Cliff Hagan (16.5) | Adolph Rupp | 29-3 |
NOTES: Kentucky tied Tennessee in 1944-45 and Louisiana State in 1945-46. . . . UK did not field a team in 1952-53 before tying LSU in 1953-54 and winning outright in 1954-55.
Long Beach State (eight in PCAA; 75-13 from 1969-70 through 1976-77)
Season | League Mark | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Coaches | Overall Mark |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969-70 | 10-0 | George Trapp (16.3) | Sam Robinson (7.8) | Jerry Tarkanian | 23-5 |
1970-71 | 10-0 | Ed Ratleff (19.9) | George Trapp (11) | Jerry Tarkanian | 24-5 |
1971-72 | 10-2 | Ed Ratleff (21.4) | Nate Stephens (10.3) | Jerry Tarkanian | 25-4 |
1972-73 | 10-2 | Ed Ratleff (22.8) | Leonard Gray (9.3) | Jerry Tarkanian | 26-3 |
1973-74 | 12-0 | Clifton Pondexter (15.6) | Clifton Pondexter (8.6) | Lute Olson | 24-2 |
1974-75 | 8-2 | Rich Johnson (17.8) | Bob Gross (8.5) | Dwight Jones | 19-7 |
1975-76 | 6-4 | Anthony McGee (14.8) | Clarence Ruffen (7.4) | Dwight Jones | 14-12 |
1976-77 | 9-3 | Lloyd McMillian (15.8) | Lloyd McMillian (7.9) | Dwight Jones | 21-8 |
NOTE: Long Beach State tied Cal State Fullerton in 1975-76 and San Diego State in 1976-77.
Senior Celebrations: Pensive Parents Still Have Things They'd Like to Know
Naturally, parental pride displayed from coast to coast during Senior Night or Day the end of February and early March doesn't necessarily need to stem from athletics. Amid proper priorities, your child didn't have to be the best but he had to try his level best.
A parent knows life goes on after the anticipation of a senior salute. But how can a mom and dad express appreciation for all of the memories shared together?
Adding sports as a factor for authentic student-athletes makes the lessons-learned equation more complex. Culminating at bittersweet senior celebration, it takes a significant amount of resilience to endure withdrawal from all of the devotion and emotion, last-second decisive shots, motivational talks coping with occasional slump, chance to dance in postseason competition, title dream dashed in close contest, team awards banquet, etc., etc., etc.
Who would have thought the first time he picked up a ball that he would make such a difference and stand so tall? Reflecting on all they've experienced, the parent is fortunate to still have a pulse whether their offspring is a walk-on or team standout.
It's easy enough to substitute girl for boy in the following poem portraying a parent trying to come to terms with an impending spread-their-wings departure; whether it be from high school to college or from college to the "real world." These reflections might be therapeutic if you went through a similar range of emotions amid whatever success your own flesh and blood enjoyed along the way.
Lord, there's a little thing I need to know
Where in the world did my little boy go?
Perplexed from time to time but one thing I know today
I'm a proud parent beyond words; what more can I say
Kids go through stages but not with this sort of speed
It was only yesterday he was unable to read
Wasn't it just months ago he went from crawl to walk
Hard-headed as a mule; certainly knew how to balk
Took one day at a time raising him the very best we could
Now inspires those around him just like we believed he would
High achiever turning a corner in his life
He has got what it takes to cope with any strife
Can't carry a tune but set school shooting star records
Now, the game-of-life clock dwindles from minutes to seconds
So angels above please watch over him daily
Although some of his antics may drive you crazy
He represents everything that I value the most
For that very reason, I'm offering a toast
But if he feels sorry for himself and about to give up
Do not hesitate to give him a gentle kick in the rump
Remembering what I did wrong but at least a couple things right
Always said you could do it; just try with all your might
I just yearn to see all of his grandest plans come true
God, it's my turn to have a great commission for You
Be with him, bless him and give him nothing but success
Aid his climb up that mountain; settle for nothing less
Guide his steps in the dark and rain
Pick up the pieces and ease any pain
Time to share our best with the remainder of the world
It is much like having a family flag unfurled
How can a once infant son make grown man cry
Groping for right words trying to say goodbye
To me, he'll always be a pure and spotless lamb
Cradled in our arms or holding his little hand
If I was Elton John, I'd tell everyone this is "Your Poem"
Simply sing how wonderful life was with you in our home
My soul swells with pride at any mention of you
How long gone are you going to be; wish I knew
Sure don't believe it is at all out of line
To seek to rebound for you just one more time
Although you're going to be many miles away
I will see you in my heart each and every day
So go down that windy path; don't you dare look back
You've found faith; it will keep you on the right track
He's headed for real world and all it offers
But first, here are your final marching orders
Always do the very best you possibly can
Refuse to lose even when you don't understand
There's no telling the goals you will be able to reach
By giving proper respect to instructors who teach
Aspire each and every day you wake
Not to waste a single breath you take
Might as well let all of your ability show
Because those gifts turn to dust whenever you "go"
Don't bury your talents in the ground
Lend helping hand to those you're around
I'll never forget the times when you were all you could be
Rose to the occasion and sent playoff game to OT
Cherish all the moments - the hugs and tears
For all your passion play through these years
My little guy is bound far beyond a Final Four
Poised for more success; prosperity at his door
All things are possible; he has found out
How much I love him is what I'm thinking about
Wherever you go, you'll be best from beginning to end
To that most truthful statement, I say Amen and Amen
After Senior Night, I'll stroll into your off-limits room
Try to keep my composure when it seems like doom and gloom
You will always be on my mind
But nothing like gut-wrenching time
When I ask the Lord a big thing I need to know
Where in His big world will His maturing man go?
Misplaced Priorities: MSU Has History of Failing to Live Up to Preseason Hype
Michigan State, which finished out of the AP's Top 20 three times in an eight-year span from 2003-04 through 2010-11 after the Spartans were ranked among the preseason Top 4, has been this campaign's biggest disappointment after ranking 12th in the preseason. There has been an average of one such squad failing to live up to enormous preseason hype each year thus far this century.
The previous 21 teams in this great-expectations category incurred at least double digits in defeats. Following is a chronological list of the first 25 teams included among preseason Top 5 selections since 1968-69 but finishing out of the AP's final Top 20 poll:
Preseason Top 5 Team | Season | Preseason AP Ranking | Coach | Record | Top Players For Disappointing Squad |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notre Dame | 1968-69 | 4th | Johnny Dee | 20-7 | Austin Carr, Bob Arnzen, Bob Whitmore, Dwight Murphy, Collis Jones and Sid Catlett |
Purdue | 1969-70 | 3rd | George King | 18-6 | Rick Mount, Larry Weatherford, George Faerber, Bob Ford, William Franklin and Tyrone Bedford |
Southern California | 1971-72 | 3rd | Bob Boyd | 16-10 | Paul Westphal, Joe Mackey, Ron Riley, Dan Anderson and Mike Westra |
Florida State | 1972-73 | 2nd | Hugh Durham | 18-8 | Reggie Royals, Lawrence McCray, Otis Cole, Benny Clyde and Otis Johnson |
Indiana | 1976-77 | 5th | Bob Knight | 14-13 | Kent Benson, Mike Woodson, Wayne Radford and Derek Holcomb |
Kansas | 1978-79 | 5th | Ted Owens | 18-11 | Darnell Valentine, Paul Mokeski, John Crawford, Wilmore Fowler and Tony Guy |
DePaul | 1984-85 | 3rd | Joey Meyer | 19-10 | Tyrone Corbin, Kenny Patterson, Dallas Comegys, Marty Embry, Tony Jackson and Kevin Holmes |
Indiana | 1984-85 | 4th | Bob Knight | 19-14 | Steve Alford, Uwe Blab, Stew Robinson, Dan Dakich, Delray Brooks and Daryl Thomas |
Louisville | 1986-87 | 2nd | Denny Crum | 18-14 | Herbert Crook, Pervis Ellison, Tony Kimbro, Mark McSwain, Keith Williams, Kenny Payne and Felton Spencer |
Michigan State | 1990-91 | 4th | Jud Heathcote | 19-11 | Steve Smith, Matt Steigenga, Mike Peplowski and Mark Montgomery |
Clemson | 1997-98 | 5th | Rick Barnes | 18-14 | Greg Buckner, Terrell McIntyre, Harold Jamison and Tony Christie |
Auburn | 1999-00 | 4th | Cliff Ellis | 24-10 | Chris Porter, Doc Robinson, Scott Pohlman, Daymeon Fishback, Mamadou N'diaye and Mack McGadney |
UCLA | 2001-02 | 5th | Steve Lavin | 21-12 | Jason Kapono, Billy Knight, Matt Barnes, Dan Gadzuric and T.J. Cummings |
Arizona | 2003-04 | 4th | Lute Olson | 20-10 | Hassan Adams, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Andre Iguodala and Mustafa Shakur |
Michigan State | 2003-04 | 3rd | Tom Izzo | 18-12 | Paul Davis, Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert, Maurice Ager and Alan Anderson |
Missouri | 2003-04 | 5th | Quin Snyder | 16-14 | Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Linas Kleiza, Jimmy McKinney, Travon Bryant and Jason Conley |
Georgia Tech | 2004-05 | 3rd | Paul Hewitt | 20-12 | Jarrett Jack, B.J. Elder, Will Bynum, Luke Schenscher and Isma'll Muhammad |
Michigan State | 2005-06 | 4th | Tom Izzo | 22-12 | Maurice Ager, Paul Davis, Shannon Brown and Drew Neitzel |
Louisiana State | 2006-07 | 5th | John Brady | 17-15 | Glen Davis, Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Garrett Temple and Darnell Lazare |
Texas | 2009-10 | 3rd | Rick Barnes | 24-10 | Damion James, Avery Bradley, Dexter Pittman, J'Covan Brown, Gary Johnson and Dogus Balbay |
Kansas State | 2010-11 | 3rd | Frank Martin | 23-11 | Jacob Pullen, Rodney McGruder, Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels |
Michigan State | 2010-11 | 2nd | Tom Izzo | 19-15 | Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, Delvon Roe and Keith Appling |
Connecticut | 2011-12 | 4th | Jim Calhoun | 20-14 | Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb, Ryan Boatright, Alex Oriakhi, Shabazz Napier, Roscoe Smith and Tony Olander |
Kentucky | 2012-13 | 3rd | John Calipari | 21-12 | Willie Cauley-Stein, Archie Goodwin, Ryan Harrow, Julius Mays, Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress and Kyle Wiltjer |
Kentucky | 2013-14 | 1st | John Calipari | 29-11 | Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Julius Randle and James Young |
Presidential Candidates Way: Numerous Politicians Played NCAA Basketball
Much is written about college basketball in the daily newspaper sports pages, weekly/monthly specialty magazines and on the internet. But you might be surprised the extent to which the written word beyond The Audacity of Hoop, much of it outside the world of sports, emanates from former college basketball players who became politicians.
For instance, politician extraordinaire Dean Rusk, Davidson's most noted alumnus pre-Stephen Curry who wrote his memoirs in the book As I Saw It, was a star center in the late 1920s and early 1930s with former Davidson President Dr. D. Grier Martin (1957 until 1968).
"Basketball at Davidson reminds me of the old French proverb, 'Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose,'" said Rusk, who served as Secretary of State under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War era. "The game itself has been revolutionized since I played it. We once beat North Carolina 17-12; it was not a slowdown game. We both were trying like everything. What has remained the same has been the sheer fun of it, the stimulation of competition, the experience of losing as well as winning and the recognition that basketball is a sport in which a small college can take on the big fellows."
Former Princeton All-American Bill Bradley, a three-term U.S. Senator (Democrat-N.J.) until 1995, took on the "big fellows" as a presidential candidate in 2000 and wrote a book called We Can All Do Better. Bradley, a tax and trade expert with a strong voice on race issues and campaign finance reform, authored two basketball volumes (Life on the Run in 1976 and Values of the Game in 1998).
"The lessons learned from it (basketball) stay with you," Rhodes Scholar Bradley wrote of the sport he still loves. "I was determined that no one would outwork me."
The information is as difficult to pry loose as transcripts of Shrillary's overpaid speeches before Wall Street benefactors. You might not know it, but there is a striking number of luminaries who displayed determination in the political arena and wrote books after "working the crowd" in a college basketball arena. Essentially, the following lineup represents a rebuttal to the chronic complainers who cite politicians generally and writers specifically as individuals who don't know anything about sports generally and college hoops specifically. In deference to Presidents' Day and the prospect of former college hooper Scott Brown becoming Donald Trump's running mate, following is an alphabetical list of additional politicians-turned-authors who played the game:
SCOTT BROWN, Tufts (Mass.)
Stunning upset victory in special election in January 2010, becoming the first Republican elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate since 1979. Brown, filling the Senate seat that opened when Ted Kennedy died the previous August, drove his GMC Canyon pickup with over 200,000 miles on it everywhere during a savvy campaign. Authored a book Against All Odds released in 2011.
At Tufts (class of '81), he was known as "Downtown" Scotty Brown because of his long-range marksmanship. Averaging 9 ppg as a freshman in 1977-78, he earned an ECAC Rookie of the Week award that season. As a sophomore, he averaged 9.9 ppg and scored 35 points in a victory against Bowdoin. As a junior, he made 54.3% of his shots and had back-to-back games of 26 and 25 points against Curry and Trinity, respectively, en route to averaging 10.8 ppg. Senior co-captain capped his career with a 10.3-point scoring average, including a 35-point outburst against Brandeis. "He was not born with great basketball attributes," said his coach (John White) in a feature about Brown during his senior season. "He has gone beyond his limitations, which is very admirable." Converted more than half of his career field-goal attempts (422 of 853). Brown's 6-0 daughter, Ayla, was a starting guard most of her career with Boston College from 2006-07 through 2009-10, posting career highs of 18 points against Clemson and 14 rebounds against Wake Forest. Ayla has also released three albums after being a semifinalist in the fifth season of "American Idol," impressing the judges with her rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Reflection."
ROBERT CASEY, Holy Cross
Pennsylvania's 42nd governor served two terms from 1987 to 1995 after winning in his fourth attempt for the office. Casey, a coal miner's son, ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 1996. Pro-life candidate suffered from a rare hereditary disease that caused him to become a heart-liver transplant recipient. He died in late May, 2000, at the age of 68.
He was a 6-2 freshman in 1949-50 when Holy Cross senior Bob Cousy was an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American. The 6-2 Casey averaged 1.3 ppg in 1950-51 and 1952-53. Excerpt from Casey's 1996 autobiography Fighting for Life: "I remember best the moments I was on the court with Cousy. He was an icon in the making - a genius with a basketball. Our freshman team provided cannon fodder for Cousy and the rest of the varsity team in practice. What I remember most about Cousy was that he was always the first guy on the court at night, refining his moves a hundred times before practice even started."
WILLIAM COHEN, Bowdoin (Maine)
Moderate Republican was Secretary of Defense in President Clinton's administration after serving as a Senator from Maine. He moonlighted as an author and had a stint in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979. Cohen's first bask in the national spotlight came when he voted, as a House member, to impeach President Nixon. In 1992, he pushed to reauthorize the "independent counsel" law and became a founder of the Republican Majority Coalition. "In team sports, there's a game plan," Cohen said in Ira Berkow's Court Vision. "When you're talking military it's still a game plan, but it's a war plan.
It's either how to prevent a war from taking place or what happens if you have to go to war and how you structure your forces, what happens if, what are the contingency plans, what is the escalation. All of that is not identical to a game plan, but it's training and practice." Cohen wrote The New Art of the Leader among several books, including mysteries, poetry and (with George Mitchell) an analysis of the Iran-contra affair. His second wife is author Janet Langhart, who was known as "First Lady of the Pentagon" during Cohen's tenure as Secretary.
The New England Basketball All-Star Hall of Fame inductee led Bowdoin in scoring all three varsity seasons from 1959-60 through 1961-62 (career-high 16 ppg as a junior). "A two-handed set shot was obsolete in college when I was playing, but I shot it," Cohen said. "I was able to shoot it from very far and get it off very fast. Dolph Schayes was kind of a role model for me."
ROBERT J. DOLE, Kansas
Represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1997. Senate majority leader from 1985 to 1987 and again starting in 1995 when he began his third quest for the Republican presidential nomination. He was the Republican nominee for Vice President as Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ben Cramer described Dole as a good player who "could handle the ball, shooting that newfangled one-hand push shot, and big and tough under the boards." Member of Kansas freshman basketball team in 1942-43 for one semester before enlisting in the Army during World War II, where his right shoulder was destroyed in a mortar barrage in the Italian mountains. He spent 39 months in and out of hospitals, returning to his hometown of Russell, Kan., to recuperate from the wound that also cost him a kidney. A book about his recovery, A Soldier's Story, was published in 2005.
JOHN H. GLENN JR., Muskingum (Ohio)
U.S. Senator (Democrat from Ohio) for 24 years and former astronaut. In 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Nearly 40 years later, he became the oldest human to enter space when he joined the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998. Among the seven candidates who lost to Walter Mondale for the 1984 Democratic Party nomination.
In Glenn's memoir, he wrote: "I went out for the freshman basketball squad and made that, but I noticed that while I had not gotten any faster or grown any taller, the other players had." He also played freshman football in college before World War II interrupted his career. "Each individual has to prepare himself to do his very best, whether it's in an individual or team sport," Glenn said. "In team sports, you have to have great teamwork to reach any goal, which is exactly what we have to do in life after athletics and college."
AL GORE, Harvard
Democratic Presidential nominee against George W. Bush in 2000 waged a long-shot campaign for president in 1988, when he was 39. Vice President in Bill Clinton's administration was a Senator from Tennessee after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985. Shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize after his film An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary on global warming, won an Academy Award. Gore's book with the same title was published concurrently with the theatrical release. For the "Unabomber" crowd that believes dinosaurs became extinct because they burped and farted too much, he subsequently wrote similar environmental-related books called The Assault on Reason, Our Choice and Earth in the Balance.
Gore averaged 2.8 points per game for Harvard's 12-4 freshman team in 1965-66. In the biography Inventing Al Gore, he was described as "rarely playing but working on his game incessantly." His competitive drive led him to challenge roommates "out of the blue" to push-ups, a vestige of the boyhood regimen imposed by his Senator father. He "wanted to challenge you or himself, intellectually or physically. He was always, `I bet I can beat you at the last thing you did.'"
LEE H. HAMILTON, DePauw (Ind.)
Vice Chairman of 9/11 Commission and co-chair of Iraq Study Group in 2006 was a leading Democratic voice on foreign policy and a steadying force in the House of Representatives for 34 years from 1965 through 1998. He chaired three committees - Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Joint Economic - and was the ranking minority member of the House International Relations Committee. Representing Indiana's Ninth District, he retained not only his crew cut but also his moderate, common-sense approach and a Methodist work ethic that got him to his office nearly every day before 6 a.m. Wrote a book called How Congress Works and Why You Should Care.
Ranked fourth on DePauw's career scoring list when he graduated in 1952. The 6-4 Hamilton led the team in scoring as a junior (11.4 ppg) and was the second-leading scorer as a sophomore (9.8 ppg) and senior (10.9 ppg).
HENRY "HANK" HYDE, Georgetown/Duke
Starting out as a Democrat, he became a 12-term Republican Congressman from Illinois and eventual chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. His towering stature as a lawmaker made him the ideal GOP point-man to lead an impeachment inquiry of President Clinton. Wrote books called Moral Universe and Forfeiting Our Property Rights.
He was a forward-center for Georgetown's 1943 NCAA Tournament runner-up that compiled a 22-5 record. The 6-3 Hyde scored two points in a 53-49 victory over a Chicago hometown team, DePaul, and fellow freshman George Mikan in the Eastern Regional final (playoff semifinals) before going scoreless in a championship game loss against Wyoming. "I can only say about the way I guarded him (Mikan scored one point in the second half) that I will burn in purgatory," Hyde deadpanned. "The rules were considerably bent." The next season as a Naval trainee at Duke, he earned a letter but was scoreless in the Blue Devils' 44-27 Southern Conference championship game victory over North Carolina. Hyde served as an ensign in the Asiatic and Pacific Theaters during World War II before re-enrolling at Georgetown, where he graduated in 1947. Twenty-one years later, Clinton earned his diploma from the same university. Sketch of Hyde in Georgetown guide: "Possesses a pivot shot, difficult to stop, and a shot made while cutting from the bucket to give his scoring threats a double edge."
TOM McMILLEN, Maryland
Co-chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness under Bill Clinton. Elected in 1987 as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. From 1991 to 2003, he served on the Knight Foundation's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics investigating abuses within college sports. He is co-author of Out of Bounds, a book on sports and ethics in America.
The 6-11 center averaged 20.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in three seasons for Maryland from 1971-72 through 1973-74. Member of 1972 U.S. Olympic team is the only player in Terrapins history to have a career scoring average above 20 ppg. Averaged 8.1 points and four rebounds in 11 NBA seasons (1975-76 through 1985-86) with four different franchises.
GEORGE MITCHELL, Bowdoin (Maine)
Devout Democrat assumed position as Majority Leader in 1989 after arriving in the Senate from Maine in 1980. The son of a janitor received more than 80% of the vote in 1988. He served as independent chairman of talks that culminated in the signing of the Northern Ireland peace accord in April, 1998 and was tapped by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to spearhead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by players. Mitchell served as Disney Chairman of the Board from March 2004 until January 2007. He has written several books - Not For America Alone, World on Fire and Making Peace.
Wiry point guard was a senior in 1953-54 when he scored eight points in eight games.
SAM NUNN, Georgia Tech
Democratic Senator from Georgia retired in 1996 after four six-year terms. Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who served in the Coast Guard, helped defeat President Clinton's intention to allow open gays and lesbians in the military. He authored books on working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
His sketch is included in the 1957-58 Georgia Tech guide as a non-scholarship sophomore. However, Nunn is not included in the 1957-58 school scoring statistics, which include all players who scored, and is not listed on the 1958-59 roster. His son, Brian, played for Emory University in Atlanta.
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, Occidental (Calif.)
U.S. Senator from Illinois outlasted Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election before defeating Republican John McCain to become the nation's first African-American commander-in-chief. Authored a book entitled Audacity of Hope.
The 6-1 1/2 lefthander played on Occidental's junior varsity squad in 1979-80 before transferring to Columbia and subsequently attending Harvard Law School. In Dreams From My Father, Obama described basketball as a comfort to a boy whose father was mostly absent, and who was one of only a few black youths at his school in Hawaii. "At least on the basketball court I could find a community of sorts," he wrote. Pickup basketball was his escape from the sport of politics. Brother-in-law Craig Robinson, a two-time Ivy League MVP with Princeton, was Oregon State's coach when Obama was elected.
ALAN K. SIMPSON, Wyoming
U.S. Senator from Wyoming (1978-96) was a staunch conservative and loyal lieutenant to Republican leader Bob Dole. Simpson's father, Milward, served in the same capacity (1962-67). The younger Simpson, who garnered 78% of the vote in 1984, served as chairman of Veterans' Affairs and Social Security and Family Policy. He charmed the Washington establishment with his earthy wit and folksy wisdom, becoming somewhat of a media darling because of his pithy quotes. Simpson authored a book Right in the Old Gazoo - a lifetime of scraping with the Press.
Forward-center earned a letter in 1952-53 after scoring seven points in six games for a team that went on to participate in the NCAA Tournament. He also played football for the Cowboys.
MORRIS "MO" UDALL, Arizona
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1961 to 1991) and candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Brother of former Secretary of the Interior Stew Udall served as Chairman of the House Interior and Insular Affairs. Stemming from his wit, columnist James J. Kilpatrick labeled him "too funny to be president," which wound up being the title of his autobiography.
He was the Wildcats' captain and second-leading scorer with an average of 10 points per game for the 1946-47 Border Conference titlist finishing with a 21-3 record. The next year, he was the leading scorer (13.3 average) on an Arizona squad that successfully defended its league crown. The 6-5, 200-pound forward-center was named to the first five on the 1947-48 Border Conference all-star team and finished second in the league in scoring. He played with Denver in the National Basketball League in 1948-49.
Zipping Along: Akron Among Four Schools Posting > 20 Wins Last 12 Seasons
The most ardent college hoops observer probably didn't realize Akron zips along as one of only four NCAA Division I schools posting more than 20 victories each of the past 12 seasons. After Memphis and Pittsburgh fell off the consecutive 20-win list two seasons ago and Ohio State bowed out this campaign, the Zips are joined by Gonzaga and bluebloods Duke and Kansas with a look at their best and worst campaigns during these streaks:
School | Years | Coach(es) | Best Record (Season) | Worst Record (Season) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas | 28 | Roy Williams and Bill Self | 34-2 (1996-97) | 23-10 (1998-99) |
Duke | 21 | Mike Krzyzewski | 37-2 (1998-99) | 22-11 (2006-07) |
Gonzaga | 20 | Dan Monson and Mark Few | 36-1 (2016-17) | 23-11 (2006-07) |
Akron | 12 | Keith Dambrot | 26-7 (2006-07) | 21-14 (2014-15) |
Do As I Say and As I Did: Former Baller Steve Alford Capitalizes on Lonzo Ball
"The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools." - Confucius
UCLA's Steve Alford, an All-American for Indiana in 1986 and 1987, is the only active coach to have been an A-A player before coaching an A-A (New Mexico's Darington Hobson in 2010 and UCLA's Kyle Anderson in 2013-14). There is as little doubt about Bruins freshman playmaker Lonzo Ball becoming an A-A this season as his UCLA-committing younger brother - LaMelo - "snowbirding" in fourth quarter in order to score 92 points in a recent high school game. Previously, Indiana native John Wooden was the only All-American player to eventually coach All-Americans for two different universities (Indiana State and UCLA) with neither of them being his alma mater (Purdue). Unbelievably, Wooden had multiple A-As in 10 of his final 12 campaigns guiding the Bruins.
Confucius would say the Hoosier State has sharpened a lot of basketball tools. Indiana's Branch McCracken, the only one of more than 40 All-Americans who became major-college mentors to compile a higher winning percentage as a coach than as a player, produced 14 A-As with his alma mater. Alford, McCracken and Wooden are among the following alphabetical list of 15 major-college All-Americans who went on to coach at least one major-college A-A:
Worst of Times: Mizzou's Misery Has Two 13-Game Losing Streaks in 3 Years
Big-time hoops is not all comparable to the women's program at UConn reaching 100 victories in a row. Even the most prominent universities have men's programs enduring periods of futility playing like girls. Missouri, enduring perhaps its most stagnant stint since Norm Stewart's coaching predecessor in the mid-1960s, tied a school-record 13-game losing streak it established only two seasons ago. At least Mizzou hoops isn't the biggest embarrassment from the Show-Me State this side of "Dim" Senator Air Claire McCaskill by avoiding becoming the first winless member in SEC competition since Georgia Tech in 1953-54. But the Tigers' two tailspins are fewer consecutive setbacks than half of the all-time longest losing streak by a current power-conference member - 27 by Syracuse in early 1960s.
Jim O'Brien was the only individual to coach two current power-league members (Boston College and Ohio State) when they incurred their longest existing losing streak until BC dropped 20 in a row extending to the opener this season. Former Big East Conference rival Rutgers incurred 15 consecutive reversals to end the 2014-15 season before St. John's bowed in 16 straight decisions in 2015-16. Mizzou was the only Tigers' program in SEC sidelined by tranquilizing-inducing losing streak. LSU dropped 15 consecutive contests as coach Johnny Jones frequently looked as strategically befuddled as a chief recruiter losing a satchel full of cash on a recruiting trip. Meanwhile, Washington lost nine in a row for the fifth time in school history before reaching double digits in successive setbacks for the first time (13 following Pac 12 tourney opener). Georgetown, Iowa and North Carolina State also struggling this season but they remain among the elite basketball schools - including Creighton, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Purdue, UNLV, Utah and West Virginia - never reaching double figures in consecutive setbacks:
School (Longest Losing Streak) | Coach(es) | Date Started | Date Ended | Opponent Ending Streak | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona (16) | Fred Enke | 12-19-58 | 2-14-59 | Hardin-Simmons | 66-64 |
Arizona State (15) | Herb Sendek | 12-22-2006 | 2-18-2007 | Southern California | 68-58 |
Arkansas (10) | Lanny Van Eman | 1-9-71 | 2-20-71 | at Texas | 88-87 in OT |
Auburn (13) | V.J. Edney | 12-13-46 | 2-8-47 | Florida | 36-30 |
Baylor (17) | Harry Miller | 1-2-99 | 11-20-99 | Eastern Washington | 68-61 |
Boston College (20) | Jim Christian | 1-2-2016 | 11-15-2016 | UMES | 73-57 |
Brigham Young (21) | Roger Reid/Tony Ingle | 12-13-96 | 11-14-97 | at San Diego State | 73-59 |
Butler (14) | Joe Sexson | 1-31-81 | 12-12-81 | Valparaiso | 85-76 |
California (10) | Rene Herrerias | 1-5-62 | 3-3-62 | at Washington | 68-65 in OT |
Cincinnati (10) | Mick Cronin | 1-24-2007 | 2-28-2007 | Seton Hall | 70-67 in OT |
Clemson (15) | Banks McFadden | 12-14-54 | 2-21-55 | Georgia | 105-94 |
Colorado (17) | Tom Apke | 1-8-86 | 11-28-86 | Weber State | 73-57 |
Connecticut (10) | John Donahue | 1918 | 1919 | Boston College | 46-27 |
Connecticut (10) | Burr Carlson | 11-30-68 | 1-8-69 | Syracuse | 103-84 |
Creighton (9) | Dana Altman | 1-23-95 | 2-23-95 | at Wichita State | 50-47 |
Creighton (9) | Greg McDermott | 12-21-2014 | 1-28-2015 | St. John's | 77-74 |
DePaul (18) | Jerry Wainwright | 12-31-2008 | 3-10-2009 | Cincinnati | 67-57 in Big East Tournament |
Duke (8) | James Baldwin | 2-13-22 | 3-?-22 | Durham YMCA | 37-26 |
Florida (14) | Don DeVoe | 1-17-90 | 2-27-90 | Louisiana State | 76-63 |
Florida State (13) | Don Loucks | 1-10-48 | 2-21-48 | Florida Southern | 55-48 |
Georgetown (9) | Jack Magee | 12-13-71 | 1-27-72 | William & Mary | 85-79 in OT |
Georgia (13) | Harbin "Red" Lawson | 12-28-51 | 2-6-52 | Georgia Tech | 72-64 |
Georgia Tech (26) | John "Whack" Hyder | 2-7-53 | 2-18-54 | South Carolina | 58-53 |
Gonzaga (10) | Dan Fitzgerald | 1-19-90 | 2-23-90 | at San Francisco | 76-75 |
Illinois (11) | Harv Schmidt | 1-12-74 | 2-23-74 | Iowa | 91-84 |
Indiana (11) | Harry Good | 1-8-44 | 2-19-44 | at Minnesota | 48-47 |
Indiana (11) | Tom Crean | 1-24-2010 | 3-6-2010 | Northwestern | 88-80 in OT |
Iowa (8) | Rollie Williams | 2-15-30 | 12-23-30 | at Creighton | 28-22 |
Iowa (8) | Dick Schultz | 1-7-74 | 2-11-74 | Purdue | 112-111 in 3OT |
Iowa State (14) | Louis Menze | 1-2-37 | 12-3-37 | Simpson IA | 41-37 |
Kansas (10) | Phog Allen | 1-21-48 | 3-12-48 | Iowa State | 61-54 |
Kansas State (15) | E.C. Curtiss | 2-28-22 | 2-17-23 | at Nebraska | 17-14 |
Kentucky (9) | George Buchheit | 1-25-23 | 2-23-23 | Sewanee TN | 30-14 |
Louisiana State (15) | Johnny Jones | 1-7-2017 | 3-1-2017 | Tennessee | 92-82 |
Louisville (19) | Laurie Apitz | 2-18-39 | 2-22-40 | Berea TN | 56-55 |
Marquette (15) | Eddie Hickey | 1-8-64 | 3-7-64 | at Xavier | 98-95 |
Maryland (22) | Howard Shipley | 3-1-40 | 2-22-41 | Washington College MD | 26-18 |
Memphis (20) | Zach Curlin | 1-7-38 | 1-26-39 | Arkansas State | 53-45 |
Miami FL (17) | Leonard Hamilton | 1-8-94 | 11-25-94 | Northeastern Illinois | 66-48 |
Michigan (11) | Bill Frieder | 12-12-81 | 1-28-82 | Ohio State | 62-60 in OT |
Michigan State (11) | Forddy Anderson | 1-9-65 | 3-1-65 | Purdue | 110-92 |
Minnesota (17) | Clem Haskins | 1-10-87 | 11-30-87 | Western Illinois | 84-52 |
Mississippi (16) | Robert "Cob" Jarvis | 12-30-75 | 3-1-76 | Vanderbilt | 81-72 |
Mississippi State (14) | Paul Gregory | 1-7-55 | 2-26-55 | at Louisiana State | 84-80 |
Missouri (13) | Kim Anderson | 1-10-2015 | 2-24-2015 | Florida | 64-52 |
Missouri (13) | Kim Anderson | 12-10-2016 | 2-4-2017 | Arkansas | 83-78 |
Nebraska (13) | Charles Black/William Browne | 2-10-32 | 1-14-33 | Kansas State | 31-25 |
North Carolina (8) | Tom Scott | 12-20-50 | 1-11-51 | Wake Forest | 65-56 |
North Carolina State (9) | Les Robinson | 1-25-92 | 2-22-92 | at North Carolina | 99-94 |
North Carolina State (9) | Sidney Lowe | 2-9-2008 | 11-15-2008 | at New Orleans | 65-59 |
Northwestern (20) | Maury Kent | 3-3-23 | 12-22-24 | Michigan State | 26-17 |
Notre Dame (13) | Johnny Dee | 12-18-65 | 2-9-66 | Butler | 84-61 |
Ohio State (17) | Jim O'Brien | 12-28-97 | 2-25-98 | at Wisconsin | 61-56 |
Oklahoma (10) | Bob Stevens | 1-6-64 | 2-21-64 | Missouri | 86-84 |
Oklahoma State (13) | James Pixlee | 1-24-20 | 1-14-21 | Oklahoma Baptist | 34-19 |
Oklahoma State (13) | John Maulbetsch/George Roddy | 1-12-29 | 1-7-30 | Oklahoma | 28-22 |
Oklahoma State (13) | George Roddy | 1-10-30 | 1-5-31 | Grinnell IA | 23-16 |
Oregon (22) | George Bohler | 12-22-21 | 2-20-22 | Nevada | 33-29 |
Oregon State (25) | Jay John/Kevin Mouton/Craig Robinson | 12-22-2007 | 11-30-2008 | at Fresno State | 62-54 |
Penn State (17) | Bruce Parkhill | 1-21-84 | 12-5-84 | Navy | 66-63 |
Pittsburgh (10) | Charles "Buzz" Ridl | 12-7-68 | 1-28-69 | West Virginia | 90-87 |
Providence (12) | Lawrence Drew | 2-5-49 | 3-9-49 | Clark MA | 46-45 |
Purdue (8) | Ray Eddy | 1-12-52 | 2-11-52 | Wisconsin | 78-67 |
Purdue (8) | Ray Eddy | 1-5-63 | 2-4-63 | Michigan State | 103-81 |
Rutgers (16) | Craig Littlepage | 12-23-87 | 2-18-88 | Penn State | 65-61 |
St. John's (16) | Chris Mullin | 12-18-2015 | 2-17-2016 | DePaul | 80-65 |
Seton Hall (15) | John Colrick/Honey Russell | 2-5-36 | 1-22-37 | St. Peter's | 30-23 |
Seton Hall (15) | P.J. Carlesimo | 1-2-85 | 3-2-85 | Connecticut | 85-80 |
South Carolina (15) | Absalon "Rock" Norman | 1-12-31 | 1-8-32 | Clemson | 31-23 |
Southern California (16) | Bob Boyd | 1-8-76 | 12-1-76 | Idaho | 104-64 |
Stanford (11) | John Bunn | 1-15-32 | 12-23-32 | at Utah | 41-37 |
Syracuse (27) | Marc Guley | 2-22-61 | 3-3-62 | at Boston College | 73-72 |
Temple (11) | Don Casey | 12-10-75 | 1-26-76 | Dickinson PA | 89-55 |
Tennessee (14) | W.H. Britton | 2-21-27 | 12-28-28 | South Carolina | 29-20 |
Texas (15) | Thurman "Slue" Hull | 12-4-54 | 2-5-55 | Arkansas | 75-74 |
Texas A&M (17) | Melvin Watkins/Billy Gillispie | 1-10-2004 | 11-19-2004 | North Carolina A&T | 89-56 |
Texas Christian (24) | Johnny Swaim/Tim Somerville | 12-11-76 | 12-3-77 | Wayland Baptist TX | 67-53 |
Texas Tech (20) | Gerald Myers | 1-4-90 | 11-25-90 | Nevada | 81-69 at Anchorage |
UCLA (14) | Pierce "Caddy" Works | 12-28-37 | 1938-39 opener | L.A. City College | 44-28 |
UNLV (9) | Michael Drakulich | 12-5-58 | 1-14-59 | at Nellis AFB | 52-47 |
Utah (9) | Vadal Peterson | 12-30-35 | 2-1-36 | at Utah State | 35-34 |
Vanderbilt (14) | Josh Cody | 2-15-35 | 1-9-36 | Auburn | 47-27 |
Villanova (10) | John "Rube" Cashman | 1927-28 | season finale | Alumni at Rosemont | 33-18 |
Virginia (13) | Billy McCann | 1-9-60 | 2-27-60 | Washington & Lee VA | 86-59 |
Virginia Tech (18) | Gerald "Red" Laird | 12-29-54 | 2-21-55 | The Citadel | 88-53 |
Wake Forest (22) | Murray Greason | 1-26-43 | 1944-45 | Catawba NC | 41-38 |
Washington (13) | Lorenzo Romar | 1-21-2017 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Washington State (18) | Kelvin Sampson | 12-30-89 | 11-28-90 | BYU-Hawaii | 112-81 |
West Virginia (9) | Marshall Glenn | 1-12-37 | 2-17-37 | Penn State | 36-31 |
West Virginia (9) | Gale Catlett | 12-28-2001 | 1-30-2002 | Providence | 89-81 |
West Virginia (9) | Drew Catlett/John Beilein | 2-2-2002 | 11-22-2002 | Delaware State | 59-46 |
Wichita State (14) | Kenneth Gunning | 1-10-50 | 12-5-50 | Oklahoma Baptist | 53-45 |
Wisconsin (14) | John Powless | 1-8-76 | 3-1-76 | at Ohio State | 91-79 |
Xavier (13) | Dick Campbell | 1-29-73 | 12-1-73 | Aquinas MI | 88-48 |
All For None: Final Forlorn Four if Northwestern Earns First Tourney Berth
A road victory without your leading scorer against Big Ten Conference leader Wisconsin probably sealed the deal. If Northwestern finally emerges from "Never Never Land" by earning its initial berth in the NCAA Tournament, the following schools will be the "Final Four" never to participate in national championship playoffs despite designation as major colleges since the late 1940s (number of coaches during that span in parentheses):
School (# of Coaches) Best Season Army (17) 22-6 in 1969-70 The Citadel (13) 20-7 in 1978-79 St. Francis NY (11) 23-5 in 1953-54 William & Mary (13) 24-10 in 1948-49
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