If you had a pulse in the last year, you know Joe Paterno became the only major-college coach to reach the 400-win plateau before he was fired by Penn State trustees after the arrest of long-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on child sexual abuse charges. But what you might not know is that Paterno, who died 2 1/2 months after his dismissal, was a basketball letterman for Brown in the late 1940s. Paterno's scoring average of 7.3 points per game in 1947-48 was second highest on the team.

The NCAA, usually more concerned with highest bidders and vital politically-correct issues such as Indian nicknames, had no choice in the wake of the scandal other than slapping Penn State with serious sanctions resembling a major earthquake hitting 7.3 on the Richter Scale. But similar to Paterno going overboard in trying to preserve a "success with honor" image, the rush-to-judgment NCAA seemingly embarked upon a slippery slope with its timely and wide-ranging penalties.

For instance, it's disconcerting when a TV ban is shunned in favor of unilaterial action dictating that something didn't occur on the field or court such as negating Paterno's victories since the late 1990s. The NCAA tried this history-revisionist sanitizing in basketball in the 1970s by acting as if Centenary's Robert Parish and Minnesota's Mychal Thompson didn't exist - ignoring their statistics - because those schools were on probation. The NCAA's "Grand Experiment" ploy discounted Parish's achievements, but CollegeHoopedia.com lists him as the nation's top rebounder in 1974-75 and 1975-76 and will continue to cite Paterno as the all-time winningest football coach in his Brown University basketball bio.

Moreover, a total of 11 Final Four teams have had their NCAA Tournament participation vacated. But how many more achievements would have been vacated if the NCAA truly addressed scholastic fraud and feckless drug testing with investigators as competent as former FBI director Louis Freeh?

Mark Emmert, who previously called Paterno the "definitive role model," seemed to be on a self-promotion "Star Trek" of sorts, going where no NCAA president has gone before. But what truly would have been unprecedented would have been penalizing one of his peers in the egghead old boys club. Why didn't Emmert also pummel ex-PSU president Graham Spanier by piously reducing number of graduates during his tenure, reducing his fund-raising prowess, fining him a portion of his pension, etc.?

The depravity exhibited by Sandusky, one of the latest best arguments against human cloning, was repulsive and warranted a harsh response. But don't stop there in trying to drain the swamp of a culture of corruption. After all, the NCAA runs the risk of having egg on its face if Penn State players, aware of vultures circling before the Nittany Lion's body is cold, succumb to a pervasive sense of entitlement and transfer to recent renegade football programs such as Miami (Fla.), Ohio State and USC. If you don't think recruiting is cut-throat, check out the looters and grave robbers descending upon Unhappy Valley like flies on a corpse. Does the NCAA really believe its image is improved when standout RB Silas Redd transfers to USC?

Delusional comes to mind if you don't think PSU boasts more academic integrity among its revenue-producing sports than 90% of the members of power conferences. Since the NCAA treats Freeh's work as gospel, it seems the governing body should use a portion of the first installment of the $60 million fine and promptly dispatch him and an optometrist to Syracuse's Hoop Kingdom to separate fact from fiction. Either Jim Boeheim saw a former ball boy in his longtime assistant's hotel room on the road or he didn't. Maybe the bespectacled coach can prove he was in a zone staying in his own room reading how to improve the school's drug-testing policy.

Keeping in mind that a striking number of shameless coaches would be electrocuted if they took a polygraph test, more questions were raised than answered with the NCAA's display of unilateral power. The NCAA is positioning itself to pick winners and losers akin to stimulus money from the Obama Administration. How far will the NCAA's reach be under the following set of theoretical circumstances?

• How many championship trophies could be confiscated if there are deathbed confessions acknowledging booster Sam Gilbert's influence during UCLA's glory days under legendary coach John Wooden?

• Will Coach K's victory total be modified downward like Paterno if it is unearthed years from now that recruiting visits to Duke perhaps were sexcapades comparable to the albeit embellished lacrosse boys gone wild? It could "never" happen, but what if an underachieving McDonald's All-American is more concerned with making a $100,000 Happy Deal for some bling at an upscale New York jewelry store?

• What if there was an erosion of academics for athletes at North Carolina making their diplomas worthy of toilet paper stemming from funneling many of them toward some scholarly major called African & Afro-American Studies?

• What if Kentucky earns a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for most times going on probation?

• What if a worse-case scenario unfolds regarding reports about drug dealers hanging around Top 10 programs at Kansas and Missouri?

• How many times does a prominent coach need to be caught with his pants down before the NCAA intervenes?

• Why doesn't the NCAA establish parameters regarding "exceptions" - scholastically suspect "studs" who don't meet a school's normal admission standards but secure entry because of their special talent?

• Should the NCAA refuse to grant Final Four press credentials to local media that didn't uncover major basketball program transgressions going on right under their noses?

• Should the NCAA, since there doesn't appear to be any statute of limitations, refuse to conduct business with ESPN and its parade of pitchmen until the cable network takes down its "statue" of former commentator Jim Valvano? The Nationwide Leader has a "Jimmy V Week" culminating with an early-season two-night classic to enhance cancer research fundraising for a foundation named after an individual who joins John Calipari (UMass/Memphis) and Jerry Tarkanian (Long Beach State/UNLV) as the only coaches to have multiple schools under their watch forced to vacate NCAA playoff participation. Despite not boasting Freeh's resume, a private attorney retained by N.C. State was convinced that the institution could successfully sue Valvano for failing to ensure the academic progress of his student-athletes. Previously, Valvano ran afoul of the NCAA at Iona.

• Should the NCAA enter the political process by finding out what Pennsylaniva politicians linked to the school knew about Sandusky and when did they know it as governor and state attorney general?

Amid the PSU controversy, comedian Albert Brooks tweeted that the Paterno statue should have been left up but eternally "have him look the other way." Elsewhere, an artist removed a halo painted above a local mural of JoePa.

How many other schools and media outlets have been "looking the other way" or hero worshiping a false idol? And where should the NCAA's monitoring and oversight obligations begin and end? Say it ain't so, Joe.

Summary of U.S. Men's Involvement in Olympics

Genesis of Olympic Basketball Participation

Dr. James Naismith is credited for inventing the game of basketball in 1891, but it wasn't until June, 1932, in Geneva, Switzerland that an international federation was formed to focus solely on basketball. Three years later, the International Basketball Federation (FIBB) was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), helping pave the path for men's basketball to be implemented at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games. The FIBB is the forerunner of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Naismith's protege, Dr. F.C. "Phog" Allen, was the driving force behind the addition of basketball to the Olympic Games. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, he conducted a personal crusade trying to coax Olympic officials to include the sport before it finally paid off.

In 1904, basketball was a new demonstration sport at the Summer Olympics in St. Louis, which also was part of the World's Fair the same year. Hiram College (Ohio), Wheaton College (Illinois) and the University of Latter Day Saints (known today as Brigham Young) were the three college teams invited to compete in what was officially called the "Olympic Collegiate Basketball Championship." Hiram finished the round-robin tournament 2-0 and was declared the champion and awarded the first Olympic gold medal in basketball.

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was recognized as the organization that would be responsible for United States teams in international competitions when the U.S joined FIBA as a member in 1934. Various committees controlled the selection of the U.S. Olympic teams and coaching staffs. For instance, the Games Committee selected from eight teams at the 1960 Olympics Trials--three AAU squads, the NCAA Tournament champion, an NCAA university all- star team, an NCAA college all-star team, an Armed Forces all-star team, and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) all-star team.

Just prior to the 1972 Olympics, FIBA revoked its recognition of the AAU and instructed the U.S. to form a new organization containing representation from the numerous basketball outlets in the country. In 1974, the Amateur Basketball Federation of the United States of America (ABAUSA) was formed. ABAUSA changed its name to USA Basketball in October, 1989. Shortly thereafter FIBA modified its rules to allow professional basketball players to participate in international competitions, allowing the National Basketball Association to assemble a series of "Dream Teams".

The U.S. Women's National Team created what it hoped was a blueprint for success by fielding its squad more than a year in advance of the 1996 Olympics, paying players an annual salary of $50,000. The ladies also became a "dream team" of sorts, winning their first 39 exhibition games against U.S. colleges and foreign opponents by an average margin of almost 35 points. The $3 million long-range project enabled the U.S. to assemble a more mature female roster (average age of 27 compared to 21 in the '76 and '80 Olympics). After the formation of the WNBA, professional players also dominated the U.S. women's squad.

Three-time Olympian Dawn Staley carried the flag for the remainder of the U.S. Olympic delegation at the 2004 Opening Ceremonies in Athens. Following is a summary of U.S. involvement in previous Olympiads:

1936
Berlin, Germany
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (5-0); 2. Canada (5-1); 3. Mexico (5-2).
U.S. Coach: James Needles, Universal Pictures (Calif.).
Did You Know?: Each basketball team was limited to seven players per game, which were played on an outdoor tennis court on a surface of clay and sand. A rule banning players taller than 6-2 was rescinded only after the U.S. complained. Forward Frank Lubin, a 1931 UCLA graduate of Lithuanian ancestry, played and coached Lithuania to the 1939 European Cup Tournament title. Lubin, the second-leading scorer for the '36 U.S. squad, scored the game-winning basket for Lithuania against Latvia. Third-leading scorer Francis Johnson was a younger brother of assistant U.S. coach Gene Johnson (Globe Oilers, Kan.). Fourth-leading scorer Sam Balter went on to become a broadcaster for the Mutual Network and sports columnist for the Los Angeles Herald-Express before gaining membership in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen conceived a plan that had each high school and college withhold one cent from the price of each admission to one game played during the week of February 9-15 to finance the trip to Germany for Dr. James Naismith, the game's inventor. LIU's undefeated team (25-0) coached by Hall of Famer Clair Bee boycotted the Olympic Games. The LIU roster, comprised of sons and grandsons of Jewish and Italian immigrants, decided that if one team member chose not to participate, they all would refuse to compete in Hitler's Berlin.

U.S. Results
U.S. 2, Spain 0*
U.S. 52, Estonia 28
U.S. 56, Philippines 23
U.S. 25, Mexico 10
U.S. 19, Canada 8

*The U.S. was awarded a forfeit victory when its first opponent (Spain) didn't show up because of the Spanish

civil war.

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

NOTE: The team was divided into two seven-man units that played one game and then sat out the next contest.

1948
London, England
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. France (5-2); 3. Brazil (7-1).
U.S. Coach: Omar Browning, Phillips Oilers (Okla.).
Did You Know?: The Phillips Oilers, winners of the national AAU title, defeated Kentucky, the 1948 NCAA champion, in the final game of the U.S. Olympic Trials (53-49). Each of the finalists wound up with five representatives on the U.S. squad. NIT champion St. Louis rejected an invitation to the eight-team Olympic Trials because the school's administration believed the players would miss too much class time. Former Oklahoma A&M All-American guard Jesse "Cab" Renick, one of the U.S. team members from the Oilers, was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 (1/4 Chickasaw and 1/4 Choctaw). Don Barksdale, a second-team selection in 1946-47, was the first African-American player named to an NCAA consensus All-American squad. Before serving a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, Barksdale's 18-point effort in 1942-43 helped UCLA end USC's 42-game winning streak in their intracity rivalry. In 1946-47, Beard and Groza were sophomores when they became the only set of underclassmen teammates named NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans in the same year since the start of the NCAA Tournament. Ken Rollins, the lone senior among Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five," held standout guard Bob Cousy, the leading scorer for defending champion Holy Cross, to just five points in the 1948 NCAA Tournament semifinals. Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones lettered as a two-way end on three Kentucky football teams coached by the legendary Bear Bryant and lettered three times for the Wildcats' baseball team.

U.S. Results U.S. 86, Switzerland 21
U.S. 53, Czechoslovakia 28
U.S. 59, Argentina 57
U.S. 66, Egypt 28
U.S. 61, Peru 33
U.S. 63, Uruguay 28
U.S. 71, Mexico 40
U.S. 65, France 21

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

*Boryla played two seasons at Notre Dame (1944-45 and 1945-46) and then served in the military for two years before finishing his college career at the University of Denver (1948-49).

1952
Helsinki, Finland
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (6-2); 3. Uruguay (5-3).
U.S. Coach: Warren Womble, Peoria Caterpillars (IL).
Did You Know?: U.S. Olympic team captain Ron Bontemps was a high school (Taylorville, Ill.) and college (Illinois and Beloit, Wis.) teammate of former Massachusetts, Michigan and Iowa State coach Johnny Orr. Their 1944 state high school championship team compiled a 45-0 record. Bontemps averaged a team-high 22 points per game for a Beloit squad that earned a bid to the 1951 NIT after defeating larger schools such as Washington State, Marshall, San Jose State and Loyola of Chicago. Beloit had an enrollment of 1,060 students. Guard Dean Kelley is the only player to have season scoring averages of fewer than 10 points per game in back-to-back years when he was named to the All-NCAA Tournament team (1952 and 1953 with Kansas). Charlie Hoag, one of seven Kansas players on the U.S. roster, was also a running back and captain of the Jayhawks' 1952 football squad and 26th-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 1953.

U.S. Results
U.S. 66, Hungary 48
U.S. 72, Czechoslovakia 47
U.S. 57, Uruguay 44
U.S. 86, USSR 58
U.S. 103, Chile 55
U.S. 57, Brazil 53
U.S. 85, Argentina 76
U.S. 36, USSR 25

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1956
Melbourne, Australia
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (5-3); 3. Uruguay (6-2).
U.S. Coach: Gerry Tucker, Phillips 66ers (Okla.).
Did You Know?: The XVIth Olympiad, conducted during the U.S.'s winter time (Nov. 22-Dec. 1) because the seasons are reversed in Australia, delayed Bill Russell's NBA debut. Forward Dick Boushka, named president of Vickers Petroleum Corporation in 1963 at the age of 29, became the ninth president of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and swingman Gib Ford became president of Converse after serving in the Air Force. Coach Gerry Tucker had been an NCAA consensus first-team All-American in 1947 when the 6-4 center was the leading scorer for Oklahoma's NCAA Tournament runner-up. Tucker, an Army veteran from Winfield, Kan., originally attended Kansas State. Carl Cain, who sustained a herniated disc after entering the Army, played sparingly and was almost replaced by alternate Willie Naulls of UCLA. Cain was second-leading scorer and rebounder for Iowa team that lost to USF and Russell in 1956 NCAA Tournament championship game.

U.S. Results
U.S. 98, Japan 40
U.S. 101, Thailand 29
U.S. 121, Philippines 53
U.S. 85, Bulgaria 44
U.S. 113, Brazil 51
U.S. 85, USSR 55
U.S. 101, Uruguay 38
U.S. 89, USSR 55

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1960
Rome, Italy
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (6-2); 3. Brazil (6-2).
U.S. Coach: Pete Newell, California.
Did You Know?: Ohio State's John Havlicek didn't make the cut but eight members of the 12-man U.S. roster in 1960 went on to play at least nine seasons in the NBA. Jay Arnette, one of the four who didn't have a prolonged NBA career (three years with the Cincinnati Royals after a brief minor league baseball career in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system), was a Texas teammate and Olympic opponent of Albert Almanza, the third-leading scorer for the Mexican team that finished 11th. Two-time first-team All-America swingman Jerry West was denied an NCAA championship ring in 1959 when California center Darrall Imhoff, West's teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers for four seasons in the mid-1960s, tipped in a basket with 17 seconds remaining. Imhoff's high school coach was Bob Boyd, who went on to guide Southern California and Mississippi State. Allen Kelley and fellow guard Dean Kelley, a 1952 Olympian, are the only set of brothers to play together in two NCAA playoff title games (1952 and 1953 with Kansas). Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas' backup center, was named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 31.6 points and 19 rebounds per game in 1961-62. Lucas, a memory expert and motivational speaker, worked on educational programs while living in Compton, Calif.

U.S. Results
U.S. 88, Italy 54
U.S. 125, Japan 66
U.S. 107, Hungary 63
U.S. 104, Yugoslavia 42
U.S. 108, Uruguay 50
U.S. 81, USSR 57
U.S. 112, Italy 81
U.S. 90, Brazil 63

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1964
Tokyo, Japan
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (9-0); 2. Soviet Union (8-1); 3. Brazil (6-3).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: Former UNC Charlotte coach and NBA standout Jeff Mullins compiled the lowest scoring average on the 12-man U.S. roster despite averaging 24.2 points per game for NCAA runner-up Duke. Mullins, who scored 14 of his 18 points against Puerto Rico in the semifinals, was one of eight major-college roster members to go on and play at least seven seasons in the NBA/ABA. But the squad's leading scorer was from a small college--SE Oklahoma State's Jerry Shipp. Walt Hazzard became the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player (UCLA '64) to later coach his alma mater in the tournament (1-1 playoff record with the Bruins in 1987). Larry Brown, who also coached UCLA, became the only mentor to leave an NCAA champion before the next season for another coaching job when he quit Kansas before the start of the next NCAA probation-marred campaign to return to the NBA after winning the 1988 title with the Jayhawks. Brown, coach of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, is a former father-in-law of ex-Missouri coach Quin Snyder, a Duke teammate of '92 Olympian Christian Laettner in 1988-89. Joe Caldwell played for Brown in his first two seasons as a pro head coach (ABA's Carolina Cougars in 1972-73 and 1973-74). Bill Bradley, a U.S. Senator from New Jersey who ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000, is probably the most famous politician to play college basketball. Michigan sophomore sensation Cazzie Russell was handicapped by an ankle injury in his bid for a spot on the roster. Dick Davies' brother, Bob, was an All- American for Seton Hall before earning recognition as a first-team all-star in the NBL, BAA and NBA. Dick went on to become Goodyear's vice president of manufacturing.

U.S. Results
U.S. 78, Australia 45
U.S. 77, Finland 51
U.S. 60, Peru 45
U.S. 83, Uruguay 28
U.S. 69, Yugoslavia 61
U.S. 86, Brazil 53
U.S. 116, South Korea 50
U.S. 62, Puerto Rico 42
U.S. 73, USSR 59

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1968
Mexico City, Mexico
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (9-0); 2. Yugoslavia (7-2); 3. Soviet Union (8-1).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: Spencer Haywood, the leading scorer for the U.S. squad, was at that time the youngest player (19) ever to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. The U.S. team probably would have featured a different leading scorer and most assuredly would have averaged more than 67 points in its last three games if any or all of the following sophomore scoring sensations had been named to the squad: LSU's Pete Maravich (43.8 ppg), Niagara's Calvin Murphy (38.2) and Purdue's Rick Mount (28.5). Ken Spain was selected as an end by the Detroit Lions in the 16th round of the 1969 NFL draft and also had tryouts with the Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. Mike Silliman's coach at Army was Bob Knight, who was in charge of the U.S. gold medal-winning squad in 1984. Bill Hosket's father, Wilmer, was named to the third five on College Humor Magazine's All-American team in 1932-33 when he was the fourth-leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference (8 ppg) as a member of Ohio State's league co-champions.

U.S. Results
U.S. 81, Spain 46
U.S. 93, Senegal 36
U.S. 96, Philippines 75
U.S. 73, Yugoslavia 58
U.S. 95, Panama 60
U.S. 100, Italy 61
U.S. 61, Puerto Rico 56
U.S. 75, Brazil 63
U.S. 65, Yugoslavia 50

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1972
Munich, West Germany
Medal Winners: 1. Soviet Union (9-0); 2. U.S. (8-1); 3. Cuba (7-2).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: A 62-game Olympic winning streak for the U.S. ended in the most controversial game in international basketball history. Three seconds were put back on the clock on two separate occasions in the final before the Soviet's Aleksander Belov received a length-of-the-court pass between two American players and converted a game-winning layup. UCLA's Bill Walton became a post-defeat whipping boy in some quarters for not playing for the team. Swen Nater, Walton's backup with the Bruins, made the Olympic squad but quit during three- a-day workouts at Pearl Harbor. Iba, the only individual to coach three different U.S. Olympic squads, had seven of his former Oklahoma State players eventually coach teams into the NCAA playoffs: John Floyd (Texas A&M), Jack Hartman (Kansas State), Don Haskins (Texas-El Paso), Moe Iba (Nebraska), Bud Millikan (Maryland), Doyle Parrack (Oklahoma City) and Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State). Tom McMillen became co-chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness under Bill Clinton after serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. The U.S., which trailed the USSR by eight points with less than six minutes left, led only once, 49-48, on Doug Collins' two free throws with three seconds remaining. Collins is the only former NCAA consensus All-American and Olympian to have a son participate in an NCAA Tournament championship game (guard Chris Collins of Duke '94).

U.S. Results
U.S. 66, Czechoslovakia 35
U.S. 81, Australia 55
U.S. 67, Cuba 48
U.S. 61, Brazil 54
U.S. 96, Egypt 31
U.S. 72, Spain 56
U.S. 99, Japan 33
U.S. 68, Italy 38
USSR 51, U.S. 50

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1976
Montreal, Canada
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (7-0); 2. Yugoslavia (5-2); 3. Soviet Union (5-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Dean Smith, North Carolina.
Did You Know?: Seven members of the 12-man U.S. roster were from coach Dean Smith's conference, including four from North Carolina, although the ACC didn't notch a victory in the 1976 NCAA Tournament. One of the non-ACC players was Notre Dame forward Adrian Dantley, who managed the highest-ever scoring average for a U.S. player in a single Olympiad (19.3 points per game). Ernie Grunfeld (New York Knicks) and Mitch Kupchak (Los Angeles Lakers) became general managers for NBA franchises while Quinn Buckner became an NBA head coach (Dallas Mavericks).

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 106, Italy 86
U.S. 95, Puerto Rico 94
U.S. 112, Yugoslavia 93
U.S. 2, Egypt 0*
U.S. 81, Czechoslovakia 76
U.S. 95, Canada 77
U.S. 95, Yugoslavia 74
*The U.S. was awarded a forfeit victory when Egypt withdrew for political reasons.

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1980
Moscow, Soviet Union
Medal Winners: 1. Yugoslavia (8-0); 2. Italy (5-3); 3. Soviet Union (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Dave Gavitt, Providence.
Did You Know?: Argentina, Canada, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico all qualified for the Olympics along with the U.S., but they boycotted the Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Each of the 12 U.S. team members became NBA first-round draft choices. A key member of the gold-medal winning Yugoslavian team was Kresimir Cosic, who led Brigham Young in scoring in 1971-72 (22.3 ppg) and 1972-73 (20.2 ppg) before becoming Deputy Ambassador to the United States for Croatia. Cosic died of cancer in May, 1995, at the age of 46. Isiah Thomas went on to assemble a prolific pro career but wasn't named to the 1992 "Dream Team."

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

NOTE: Statistics are for six games (5-1 record) in the "Gold Medal Series" in various U.S. cities against NBA All-Star teams.

1984
Los Angeles, California, USA
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (6-2); 3. Yugoslavia (7-1).
U.S. Men's Coach: Bob Knight, Indiana.
Did You Know?: Political repercussions persisted as the Soviet bloc countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Holy Cross coach Jack Donohue, who guided the Canadian National Team to a fourth-place finish, previously coached Power Memorial Academy in New York to a 163-30 record, including 71 consecutive victories with center Lew Alcindor in his lineup. Chris Mullin and Sam Perkins became teammates with the Indiana Pacers in 1998 -99 after Vern Fleming and Wayman Tisdale were teammates with the same franchise for four seasons in the late 1980s. Steve Alford coached against Knight in the Big Ten Conference after becoming Iowa's bench boss. NBA all- time assists and steals leader John Stockton was cut in favor of Leon Wood, who became an NBA referee after his playing career.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 97, China 49
U.S. 89, Canada 68
U.S. 104, Uruguay 68
U.S. 120, France 62
U.S. 101, Spain 68
U.S. 78, F.R. Germany 67
U.S. 78, Canada 59
U.S. 96, Spain 65

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1988
Seoul, South Korea
Medal Winners: 1. Soviet Union (7-1); 2. Yugoslavia (6-2); 3. U.S. (7-1).
U.S. Men's Coach: John Thompson Jr., Georgetown.
Did You Know?: Hersey Hawkins, the team's top outside threat, was sidelined because of an injury when the U.S. sustained a semifinal loss to the USSR in the first Olympic matchup between the superpowers since the controversial 1972 final in Munich. Guard Charles Smith, Thompson's star player for Georgetown, was the only member of the 12-man Olympic squad undrafted by an NBA team. Smith subsequently served prison time for vehicular homicide and later was found shot in the upper body in Bowie, Md., in a house where a significant amount of cocaine and evidence of a gambling operation were found. In the fall of 2003, Willie Anderson reportedly lost almost all of the $1.75 million he was to receive from a deferred 10-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs to the IRS and three women who said he did not pay child support.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 97, Spain 53
U.S. 76, Canada 70
U.S. 102, Brazil 87
U.S. 108, China 57
U.S. 102, Egypt 35
U.S. 94, Puerto Rico 57
USSR 82, U.S. 76
U.S. 78, Australia 49

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1992
Barcelona, Spain
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Croatia (6-2); 3. Lithuania (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Chuck Daly, New Jersey Nets.
Did You Know?: "Dream Team I," winning its eight games by an average of 43.8 points, was assembled after international rules, which previously prevented only NBA players from being eligible for Olympic basketball, were changed by the FIBA membership on April 7, 1989, by virtue of a 56-13 vote in favor of "open competition." Three University of Houston products participated in the 1992 Games - David Diaz (Venezuela), Clyde Drexler (U.S.) and Carl Herrera (Venezuela) and a fourth, Rolando Ferreira, was cut by the Brazilian squad just prior to the competition.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 116, Angola 48
U.S. 103, Croatia 70
U.S. 111, Germany 68
U.S. 127, Brazil 83
U.S. 122, Spain 81
U.S. 115, Puerto Rico 77
U.S. 127, Lithuania 76
U.S. 117, Croatia 85

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

*Selected in first round of NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

1996
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Yugoslavia (7-1); 3. Lithuania (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks.
Did You Know?: Dream Team III averaged fewer points per game during the Olympics (101.8) than the U.S. women's squad (102.4). David Robinson, the first three-time U.S. Olympian in men's basketball, became the all- time leading scorer for the U.S. in Olympic competition. Reggie Miller's sister, Cheryl, was the leading scorer for the 1984 U.S. women's squad.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 96, Argentina 68
U.S. 87, Angola 54
U.S. 104, Lithuania 82
U.S. 133, China 70
U.S. 102, Croatia 71
U.S. 98, Brazil 75
U.S. 101, Australia 73
U.S. 95, Yugoslavia 69

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2000
Sydney, Australia (XXVII)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. France (4-4); 3. Lithuania (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets.
Did You Know?: Grant Hill and Gary Payton were members of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. Hill (three times with Duke) and Vince Carter (twice with North Carolina) were the only members of the 12-man squad to have participated in the NCAA Final Four. Payton was involved in a trade for Ray Allen midway through the 2002-03 season. Assistant coach Larry Brown played for the 1964 U.S. squad that included eventual Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley. Lithuania forced the U.S. into its two closest margins (nine and two) since NBA players began competing in 1992.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 119, China 72
U.S. 93, Italy 61
U.S. 85, Lithuania 76
U.S. 102, New Zealand 56
U.S. 106, France 94
U.S. 85, Russia 70
U.S. 85, Lithuania 83
U.S. 85, France 75

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2004
Athens, Greece (XXVIII)
Medal Winners: 1. Argentina (6-2); 2. Italy (5-3); 3. U.S. (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Larry Brown, Detroit Pistons.
Did You Know?: Following a slew of withdrawals and rejected invitations, the U.S. roster included only Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson from the star-studded squad that won the Tournament of the Americas the previous summer. Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal were named to the team, but withdrew because of injuries or personal reasons. After 24 consecutive victories, the pros incurred their first Olympic defeat (worst in U.S. history) when Puerto Rico jumped to a 22-point, first-half cushion en route to a 92-73 opening-round decision. The U.S. also lost to Lithuania before failing to overcome a 16-point, third-quarter deficit in a semifinal defeat against Argentina. U.S. star Tim Duncan, playing less than half of the game because of foul problems, scored only 10 points while San Antonio Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili poured in 29 for Argentina. The average age of the U.S. roster was 23.6, with nine of the players attending college two or fewer years. Despite hitting seven of eight three-pointers down the stretch in a bronze-medal game victory over Lithuania, the U.S. shot a meager 31.4% from beyond the arc over eight games.

U.S. Men's Results
Puerto Rico 92, U.S. 73
U.S. 77, Greece 71
U.S. 88, Australia 79
Lithuania 94, U.S. 90
U.S. 89, Angola 53
U.S. 102, Spain 94
Argentina 89, U.S. 81
U.S. 104, Lithuania 96

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2008
Beijing, China (XXIX)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (6-2); 3. Argentina (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Mike Krzyzweski, Duke.
Did You Know?: The "Redeem Team" captured the American's first gold medal in a major international competition in eight years (since the 2000 Sydney Olympics). Dwyane Wade finished as the leading scorer for the U.S. with 16 ppg after scoring a team-high 27 points in the gold medal game against defending world champion Spain, which trailed by only two points early in the fourth quarter.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 101, China 70
U.S. 97, Angola 76
U.S. 92, Greece 69
U.S. 119, Spain 82
U.S. 106, Germany 57
U.S. 116, Australia 85
U.S. 101, Argentina 81
U.S. 118, Spain 107

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2012
London, England (XXX)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (5-3); 3. Russia.
U.S. Men's Coach: Mike Krzyzweski, Duke.
Did You Know?: The 12-man roster and three alternates had been undergraduate selections in the NBA draft. Deron Williams is the only roster member with as many as three seasons of college experience. Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Chris Paul were playing for different NBA teams than when they competed for the 2008 U.S. squad. Anthony and James joined David Robinson as three-time U.S. hoop Olympians. Anthony Davis replaced Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers/Oklahoma) on roster after Griffin incurred a knee injury. Margin of victory over Nigeria (83) was highest in Olympic history when Anthony scored a U.S.-record 37 points in only 14 minutes. James passed Michael Jordan on the all-time Olympic scoring list for Team USA while Kevin Durant passed Spencer Haywood for most points in a single Olympiad. Krzyzewski compiled a 62-1 record as U.S. coach.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 98, France 71 U.S. 110, Tunisia 63
U.S. 156, Nigeria 73
U.S. 99, Lithuania 94
U.S. 126, Argentina 97 U.S. 119, Australia 86
U.S. 109, Argentina 83
U.S. 107, Spain 100

U.S. Men's Roster

U.S. Men's All-Time Olympic Games Roster

*Played for an armed services or independent team when named an Olympian.

Schools With Most U.S. Basketball Olympians: 12 - Kansas and North Carolina; 10 - Kentucky and UCLA; 5 - Duke and Indiana; 4 - Georgetown, Houston and Oklahoma.

Major Schools Never to Have a Men's U.S. Basketball Olympian: Boston College, Brigham Young, Clemson, Dayton, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Northwestern, Oregon, Providence, Seton Hall, Temple, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, Villanova, Virginia, Western Kentucky, Xavier.

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched let along exceeded? In recent days, CollegeHoopedia.com has been designating the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #2 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

2. Frank Selvy's 100-point game (for Furman vs. Newberry on Feb. 13, 1954).

Selvy scored 100 points vs. Newberry (S.C.) on his way to becoming the first three-year player to reach 2,000 points, finishing with 2,538. Selvy (41.7 ppg) and Darrell Floyd (24.3) combined for 66 points per game during the season and are the highest-scoring duo in major-college history. Selvy, a senior, scored 50 or more in seven games en route to becoming the first player to score 1,000 points in a single season (1,209) and average 30 or more for a career (32.5 ppg). Floyd succeeded his teammate as the nation's leading scorer with 35.9 ppg in 1954-55.

Making Selvy's 100-point outburst even more amazing was the fact his mother, watching her son play for the initial time, was among several hundred fans from his hometown of Corbin, Ky., who made the trip to Greenville, S.C., to watch the game. An early indication that something special was in the offing came less than three minutes into the game when Newberry's Bobby Bailey, who helped hold Selvy to a season-low 25 points two weeks earlier, fouled out.

Selvy's last three field goals in a 41-of-66 shooting performance from the floor came in the game's closing 30 seconds, and the crowning moment was his final basket. "It (the 100-point game) was something that was just meant to be," Selvy said. "My last basket was from past halfcourt just before the final buzzer."

He played every minute of every game during his senior season. Following is the box score for Selvy's 100-point outburst:

NEWBERRY (95) | FG | FT-A | PTS. Boland | 0 | 0-0 | 0 Warner | 2 | 0-4 | 4 Leitner | 6 | 4-7 | 16 Bailey | 0 | 1-2 | 1 Blanko | 14 | 7-10 | 35 Cone | 1 | 0-0 | 2 Roth | 0 | 3-4 | 3 McKlven | 1 | 0-0 | 2 Davis | 13 | 6-7 | 32 TOTALS | 37 | 21-34 | 95

Halftime: Furman 77-44.

3. UCLA's 38-game winning streak in NCAA Tournament (under coach John Wooden from 1964 to 1974).

4. Pete Maravich's career scoring average of 44.2 points per game with a total of 28 contests scoring at least 50 points (for LSU from 1967-68 through 1969-70).

5. Bill Walton's NCAA Tournament championship game field-goal accuracy of 95.5% (21 of 22 for UCLA vs. Memphis State in 1973).

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through 1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

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

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched let along exceeded? In recent days, CollegeHoopedia.com has been designating the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #4 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

4. Pete Maravich's career scoring average of 44.2 points per game with a total of 28 contests scoring at least 50 points (for LSU from 1967-68 through 1969-70).

"Pistol Pete" set NCAA single-season records for most points (1,381) and highest average (44.5), finishing his career with NCAA career marks for most points (3,667) and highest average (44.2). He also established an NCAA record for most successful free throws in a game when he converted 30 of 31 foul shots at Oregon State. Maravich, who broke Oscar Robertson's NCAA career scoring mark with 13 regular-season games remaining, is the only player in NCAA Division I history to score more than 1,000 points and average over 40 points per game in each of three seasons.

Maravich's statistics would have been even more staggering if there had been a three-point basket at the time. He had 56 games with at least 40 points in his three-year career, including a school- and SEC-record 69 in a 106-104 postgame brawl-marred defeat at Alabama when he was hampered by leg ailments. No other player has had more than 21 games with a minimum of 40. He averaged more than 50 points per game in a 10-game stretch spanning the last three games of 1968-69 and the first seven games of 1969-70. Incredibly, Maravich improved his field-goal accuracy and assists average each year. Combining scoring and assists, Maravich was responsible for a whopping 59.4% of LSU's offense during his career.

Maravich never scored fewer than 30 points in back-to-back games and tallied under 20 just once (17 at Tennessee as a sophomore) in his three varsity seasons. The son of LSU coach Press Maravich was outscored in just one regular-season game by a teammate.

Maravich tallied more than 50 points in four outings against both SEC power Kentucky and intrastate independent rival Tulane. The Tigers lost all six times to Kentucky by double-digit margins despite his firepower. Here is a breakdown of how he amassed a 44.1-point career scoring average and modest 28-26 record in 54 games against SEC competition:

NOTE: LSU guard Chris Jackson is the only player to compile single-game scoring outbursts higher than Maravich in SEC competition against Mississippi (55 points), Florida (53) and Tennessee (50).

Best estimates are that Maravich would have averaged eight three-point goals per game if the arc had been around during his college playing days, which would have increased his scoring average to in excess of 50 ppg. Following is a game-by-game summary of Pistol Pete's career showing how his prolific scoring produced so many records:

Sophomore (1967-68)/Record: 14-12; 8-10 in SEC

*Milwaukee Classic.

Junior (1968-69)/Record: 13-13; 7-11 in SEC

**All-College Tournament at Oklahoma City.

Senior (1969-70)/Record: 22-10; 13-5 in SEC

***Rainbow Classic at Honolulu.

Career Scoring Site-of-Game Breakdown

Marks of Ownership

Three different Rhode Island State players in a six-year span set the major-college single-season scoring average record in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Maravich's record of 44.5 ppg in 1969-70 might never be eclipsed. Following is a look at how long players have held the NCAA Division I single-season scoring average standard

(through 2011-12):

5. Bill Walton's NCAA Tournament championship game field-goal accuracy of 95.5% (21 of 22 for UCLA vs. Memphis State in 1973).

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through 1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

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

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched let along exceeded? In the ensuing days, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #6 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through 1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

Coach Mark Few's impressive 11 consecutive West Coast Conference regular-season championships with Gonzaga from 2001 through 2011 included two ties. But whether it is the West Coast, East Coast or somewhere in between, there is a distinct difference from a mid-major league to a power six alliance.

The Bruins' composite conference record while capturing 13 straight undisputed regular-season league titles was an amazing 171-15 (.919). They were undefeated in conference competition five times in the first seven years of that streak. UCLA had three different coaches during the last five seasons of its domination.

Oregon, Few's alma mater, was the only school to win a home-and-home series against the Bruins during this streak (under coach Dick Harter in 1976-77). UCLA's league losses during the 13 seasons came against the Ducks (five), Washington (three), Oregon State (two), Southern California (two), Stanford (two) and Arizona (one).

Season	League Mark	UCLA's Head Coach	Scoring Leader	Rebounding Leader
1966-67	14-0	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (29 ppg)	Lew Alcindor (15.5)
1967-68	14-0	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (26.2)	Lew Alcindor (16.5)
1968-69	13-1	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (24)	Lew Alcindor (14.6)
1969-70	12-2	John Wooden	Sidney Wicks (18.6)	Sidney Wicks (11.9)
1970-71	14-0	John Wooden	Sidney Wicks (21.3)	Sidney Wicks (12.8)
1971-72	14-0	John Wooden	Bill Walton (21.1)	Bill Walton (15.5)
1972-73	14-0	John Wooden	Bill Walton (20.4)	Bill Walton (16.9)
1973-74	12-2	John Wooden	Bill Walton (19.3)	Bill Walton (14.7)
1974-75	12-2	John Wooden	David Meyers (18.3)	David Meyers (7.9)
1975-76	12-2	Gene Bartow	Richard Washington (20.1)	Marques Johnson (9.4)
1976-77	11-3	Gene Bartow	Marques Johnson (21.4)	Marques Johnson (11.1)
1977-78	14-0	Gary Cunningham	David Greenwood (17.5)	David Greenwood (11.4)
1978-79	15-3	Gary Cunningham	David Greenwood (19.9)	David Greenwood (10.3)

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

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

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched let along exceeded? In the ensuing days, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #8 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

8. Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

Parish, attending Centenary College in his hometown of Shreveport, La., finished his career (1972-73 through 1975-76) as the only Division I player ever to rank among the national top five in rebounding for four seasons. He averaged more than 15 rpg each campaign, a figure no one has surpassed since 1979-80 when Alcorn State's Larry "Mr. Mean" Smith led the country with 15.1 rpg.

How in the name of James Naismith did no outlet acknowledge Parish as a first-team All-American? He had 33 games grabbing a minimum of 20 rebounds en route to retrieving an average of 16.9 missed shots per contest. Centenary de-emphasized its program prior to last season but Parish's prolific performances won't be forgotten despite the NCAA overlooking them as part of probation sanctions against the Gentlemen. Following is a look at Parish's eight contests with at least 25 rebounds and his game-by-game totals:

33 -- vs. Southern Mississippi (January 27, 1973)
30 -- at Lamar (December 22, 1972)
29 -- vs. Texas-Arlington (February 5, 1973)
27 -- vs. Lamar (February 7, 1973)
27 -- vs. Northwestern State (December 9, 1974)
27 -- at Northeast Louisiana (January 15, 1976)
26 -- vs. Houston (January 17, 1974)
25 -- vs. LSU-New Orleans (January 15, 1973)

1972-73 (Freshman/18.7 rpg)

*Sports Foundation Tournament.

1973-74 (Sophomore/15.3 rpg)

1974-75 (Junior/15.4 rpg)

*Hall of Fame Tournament.
&All-College Tournament.

1975-76 (Senior/18.0 rpg)

*All-College Tournament.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There was sobering news about the demise of Peter Sauer, a captain and third-leading rebounder for Stanford's 1998 Final Four squad. The 35-year-old Sauer collapsed during a recreation game in White Plains, N.Y., hit his head and never was revived. His father, Mark Sauer, is a former president of two pro franchises - the NHL's St. Louis Blues and MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates.

The existence of a Final Four curse is debatable, but there is no denying that a striking number of prominent national semifinal players died prematurely. Any tribute isn't enough when a man is buried before his time. Sauer is the latest to join the following list of Final Four players (cited chronologically) who passed away early, but the deceased left lasting memories:

• Three of Oregon's starting five on the first NCAA championship team in 1939 - guards Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen and center Slim Wintermute - all died in their 40s. Wintermute disappeared in Lake Washington in 1977, a case that never has been solved.

• Center Bill Menke, the third-leading scorer for Indiana's 1940 NCAA champion who supplied a team-high 10 points in the Hoosiers' national semifinal victory over Duquesne, later became a Navy pilot and served in World War II. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean.

• Thomas P. Hunter, a three-year letterman who was a sophomore member of Kansas' 1940 runner-up, was killed in action against the Japanese on Guam, July 21, 1944, while fighting with the Ninth Marines as a first lieutenant. Hunter was elected posthumously as captain of the Jayhawks' 1945-46 squad that compiled a 19-2 record.

• All 11 regulars on Pitt's 1941 Final Four team participated in World War II and one of them, guard Bob Artman, was killed in action.

• Three of the top seven scorers for Kentucky's first NCAA Tournament and Final Four team in 1942 died during World War II - Mel Brewer (Army second lieutenant/25 years old in France), Ken England (Army captain of ski troop/23 in Italy) and Jim King (Army second lieutenant and co-pilot/24 in Germany).

• Curtis Popham, Texas' co-captain in 1943, was one of seven Longhorns lettermen since the mid-1930s to make the supreme sacrifice during WWII.

• All-American Audie Brindley of 1944 runner-up Dartmouth died of cancer in 1957 at the age of 33.

• Jim Krebs, the leading scorer and rebounder for Southern Methodist's 1956 Final Four squad, was killed in 1965 at the age of 30 in a freak accident. While helping a neighbor clear storm damage, a tree limb fell the wrong way and crushed his skull.

• Gary Bradds, a backup to national player of the year Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1962 NCAA runner-up before earning the same award himself two years later, died of cancer in July 1983 when he was 40. Bradds was principal of an elementary school in Bowersville, Ohio, at the time of his death.

• Bill Buntin, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer (behind Cazzie Russell) for Michigan's Final Four teams in 1964 and 1965, collapsed and died during an informal workout one day after his 26th birthday in May 1968.

• Ken Spain and Theodis Lee, starting frontcourters with All-America Elvin Hayes for Houston's team that entered the 1968 Final Four with an undefeated record, died of cancer. Spain, who overcame cancer after he was first diagnosed with it in 1977, died of the disease 13 years later in October 1990 when he was 44. Lee, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was 33 when he passed away in March 1979, one week after the illness was diagnosed.

• Danny Knight, the leading scorer and rebounder for Kansas' 1974 Final Four team, was 24 when he died in June 1977, three weeks after sustaining injuries in a fall down the steps at his home. Knight had been suffering headaches for some time and doctors attributed his death to an aneurysm in the brain.

• Dan Hall, a frontcourt backup from Kentucky's historic recruiting class as a freshman for UK's 1975 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of an apparent suicide at age 58 the first full week in January 2013. Hall subsequently transferred to Marshall, where he averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 1976-77 and 1977-78.

• Center Jerome Whitehead, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Marquette's 1977 NCAA titlist, was 56 in mid-December 2012 when he was found dead because of chronic alcohol abuse.

• Guard Chad Kinch, the third-leading scorer for UNC Charlotte's 1977 Final Four team as a freshman, died at his parents' home in Cartaret, N.J., from complications caused by AIDS. He passed away on April 3, 1994, the day between the Final Four semifinals and final in Charlotte. The host school happened to be UNC Charlotte. It was the second time Kinch's parents lost a son. Sixteen years earlier, Ray Kinch, a Rutgers football player, was killed in a house fire.

• Forward Glen Gondrezick, the leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 third-place club, died in late April 2009 at the age of 53 due to complications stemming from a heart transplant he received the previous September.

• Center Lewis Brown, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 national third-place team, spent more than 10 years homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., before passing away in mid-September 2011 at the age of 56. According to the New York Times, family members said he used cocaine with the Rebels. "drugs were his downfall," said his sister.

• Murray State transfer Larry Moffett, the second-leading rebounder for UNLV's 1977 national third-place team, passed away in early May 2011 in Shreveport, La., at the age of 56. He previously was a cab driver in Las Vegas.

• Point guard John Harrell, a point guard for Duke's 1978 runner-up after transferring from North Carolina Central, died of an aortal aneurysm at age 50 in the summer of 2008.

• Orlando Woolridge, a backup freshman in 1978 when Notre Dame made its lone Final Four appearance before he became a scoring specialist in 13 NBA seasons, died at the end of May 2012 at the age of 52 because of a chronic heart condition.

• Matt White, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Penn's 1979 Final Four squad as a senior, was fatally stabbed in mid-February 2013 by his wife, who told police she had caught him looking at child pornography. White, the Quakers' all-time leader in field-goal shooting (59.1%), was 55.

• Derek Smith, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer as a sophomore forward for Louisville's 1980 NCAA champion, died of a heart ailment at age 34 on August 9, 1996, while on a cruise with his family. He was the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Cardinals' 1982 Final Four team before averaging 12.8 ppg and 3.2 rpg in the NBA with five different franchises. His son, Nolan, became a starting guard for Duke's 2010 NCAA titlist.

• Lorenzo Charles, the second-leading rebounder for N.C. State's 1983 champion, provided one of the tourney's most memorable moments with a game-winning dunk against heavily-favored Houston in the final. Working for a limousine and bus company based in Apex, N.C., he was killed in June 2011 when the charter bus the 47-year-old was driving with no passengers aboard crashed along Interstate 40 in Raleigh.

• Melvin Turpin, the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder as a senior for Kentucky's 1984 Final Four team (29-5 record), was 49 and battling diabetes in July 2010 when he committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest.

• Baskerville Holmes, a starting forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Memphis State's 1985 Final Four team, and his girlfriend were found shot to death on March 18, 1997 in an apparent murder-suicide in Memphis. He was 32.

• Swingman Don Redden, who averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Louisiana State's 1986 Final Four squad, was 24 when he died in March 1988 of heart disease.

• Armen Gilliam, the leading scorer and rebounder for UNLV's 1987 Final Four team, died on July 5, 2011, while playing basketball in a Pittsburgh area gym. He was 47.

• Guard Phil Henderson, the leading scorer and senior captain of Duke's 1990 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of cardiac arrest in mid-February 2013 at his home in the Philippines at the age of 44. He was the Blue Devils' second-leading scorer as a junior and sixth-leading scorer as a sophomore for two more Final Four squads.

• Larry Marks, a backup forward for Arkansas' 1990 Final Four squad after being a starter the previous season, died of an apparent heart attack in mid-June 2000 after playing some recreational basketball. He was 33.

• Sean Tunstall, a reserve guard for Kansas' 1991 NCAA Tournament runner-up was shot and killed at age 28 in the parking lot of a recreation center in his native St. Louis on October 16, 1997, in a drug deal gone bad. Tunstall, recruited to KU when Larry Brown was the Jayhawks' coach, had received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of selling cocaine in 1993. "He was one of the few kids I never thought I completely reached," KU coach Roy Williams said.

Harold "Bud" Foster relinquished his spot as Wisconsin's all-time winningest coach last season when Bo Ryan supplanted him. But Foster (265-267 in 25 seasons from 1935-59) still has the longest tenure of any coach with a losing record for an NCAA Division I school. Runner-up in that dubious category is Rick Samuels, who posted a losing mark in 24 major-college campaigns after his initial season with Eastern Illinois was at the DII level.

Fran O'Hanlon (238-261 in 17 seasons with Lafayette) has the longest tenure of any active all-time winningest coach with an overall losing record. Following is a list of retired coaches with stints longer than O'Hanlon for a school at the major-college level yet finishing with a losing mark for that institution:

Coach	School (Years)	Tenure	Record	Pct.	Best Season(s)
Harold "Bud" Foster	Wisconsin (25)	1935-59	265-267	.498	20-3; 1941
Rick Samuels	Eastern Illinois (25)	1981-2005	360-360	.500	21-10; 2001
John Carpenter	Rider (23)	1967-89	292-328	.471	20-6; 1971
Lafayette Stribling	Mississippi Valley (22)	1984-2005	315-318	.498	22-7; 1996 & 2004
Bill Chandler	Marquette (21)	1931-51	193-198	.494	14-3; 1933
*Lyles Alley	Furman (20)	1946-66	249-257	.492	16-3; 1946
Gerry Friel	New Hampshire (20)	1970-89	200-335	.374	16-9; 1974
Paul Lizzo	Long Island (20)	1976-95	254-308	.451	20-9; 1983
Byron "Buster" Brannon	Texas Christian (19)	1949-67	206-258	.444	24-4; 1952
Tom Brennan	Vermont (19)	1987-2005	264-276	.489	25-7; 2005
Joe Vancisin	Yale (19)	1957-75	207-241	.462	18-6; 1962
Dave Magarity	Marist (18)	1987-2004	253-259	.494	22-7; 1996
John "Jack" Rohan	Columbia (18)	1962-74 & 1991-95	197-248	.443	20-4; 1969

*Alley did not coach Furman in the 1949-50 season when he took a sabbatical to work on his master's degree at Columbia.
NOTE: Samuels' first season with EIU (16-11 in 1980-81) was at the DII level.

"I got to buy the groceries and start the meal, but I didn't get to enjoy it," former North Carolina coach Matt Doherty joked about the Tar Heels' 2005 NCAA title. "So that was a little frustrating, but I was very proud of what they accomplished and felt a part of it. And as a result, got some credit for it, too."

It was a role reversal for Doherty, who inherited Carolina's celebrated program from Bill Guthridge and became national coach of the year in 2000-01. This past season, Frank Haith hit the inheritance jackpot at Missouri as successor to Mike Anderson, who had a couple of key seniors originally signed by Quin Snyder help him become national COY three years earlier.

A closer examination of the coaches to profit from someone else's recruits reveals those who assume control of teams and fare well are basically men who go on to establish themselves as premier coaches. Roy Williams twice has been the beneficiary among the following chronological list of individuals who capitalized on someone else's signees in en route to becoming national coach of the year:

Year	National Coach of Year	School	Predecessor	Vital Inherited Players
1959	Eddie Hickey	Marquette	Jack Nagle	Don Kojis, Walt Mangham, Mike Moran
1973	Gene Bartow	Memphis State	Moe Iba	Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson
1976	Tom Young	Rutgers	Dick Lloyd	Mike Dabney, Phil Sellers
1978	Abe Lemons	Texas	Leon Black	Gary Goodner, Jim Krivacs (RS transfer), Johnny Moore
1986	Eddie Sutton	Kentucky	Joe B. Hall	Winston Bennett, James Blackmon, Ed Davender, Roger Harden, Kenny Walker
1987	Tom Davis	Iowa	George Raveling	B.J. Armstrong, Kevin Gamble, Ed Horton, Bill Jones, Brad Lohaus, Al Lorenzen, Roy Marble, Jeff Moe, Gerry Wright
1987	Rick Pitino	Providence	Joe Mullaney	Billy Donovan, David Kipfer, Ernie Lewis, Steve Wright
1990	Roy Williams	Kansas	Larry Brown	Jeff Gueldner, Mike Maddox, Kevin Pritchard, Mark Randall
1991	Rick Majerus	Utah	Lynn Archibald	Josh Grant, Walter Watts
1994	Charlie Spoonhour	Saint Louis	Rich Grawer	Erwin Claggett, Scott Highmark
1995	Kelvin Sampson	Oklahoma	Billy Tubbs	Dion Barnes, Calvin Curry, Ryan Minor, John Ontges
1999	Jim O'Brien	Ohio State	Randy Ayers	Neshaun Coleman, Jason Singleton
2000	Larry Eustachy	Iowa State	Tim Floyd	Marcus Fizer, Stevie Johnson, Martin Rancik, Paul Shirley
2001	Matt Doherty	North Carolina	Bill Guthridge	Jason Capel, Joseph Forte, Brendan Haywood, Kris Lang, Max Owens, Julius Peppers
2005	Bruce Weber	Illinois	Bill Self	James Augustine, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell, Nick Smith, Deron Williams
2006	Roy Williams	North Carolina	Matt Doherty	David Noel, Bryon Sanders
2009	Mike Anderson	Missouri	Quin Snyder	Matt Lawrence, Leo Lyons
2012	Frank Haith	Missouri	Mike Anderson	Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, Kim English, Steve Moore, Matt Pressey, Phil Pressey, Ricardo Ratliffe

NOTES: Rod Barnes (Mississippi '01), Tony Bennett (Washington State '07), Keno Davis (Drake '08), Bill Guthridge (North Carolina '98) and Bill Hodges (Indiana State '79) were promoted from assistant coach. . . . Finch and Robinson competed on freshman squad in Iba's final season as Memphis State's head coach.