College Basketball Quiz: 1) Who is the best player to come out of Illinois State? It’s not even close. 2) What was the starting five for the 1975-76 Indiana, 32-0, national title squad? 3) Who am I? I was a first round selection out of Indiana in 1985, initials U.B. 4) Who am I? I was a first round selection out of Iowa State in 2000, initials M.F. 5) Name two other players on the great 1969-70 Jacksonville team that lost in the title contest to UCLA aside from Artis Gilmore. Answers below.
Nothing But Stuff
—College Basketball Review
In Louisville’s defeat of No. 1 Syracuse, 78-68, sophomore reserve Kyle Kuric, who was averaging 4 points a game with a high of 13 this year against La.-Lafayette, scored 22 points, all in the second half, on 9 of 11 shooting, including four 3s. Classic college story, and an example of why the game is so superior to the NBA brand, ‘cuz you never know who will step up.
Meanwhile, Iowa State, 4-12 in the Big Twelve, upset No. 5 Kansas State, 85-82.
Us Summit, N.J. folks were proud of the effort from Summit High School grad Wellington Smith as he scored 15 to help lead West Virginia to a nice win over Villanova in OT. I continue to like the fact that the Mountaineers have three scorers (Ebanks, Butler and Jones), any one of whom is capable of filling it up, and you really need three options to have a shot of winning it all. But late in the season, Smith is becoming more of an option himself with his long-range shooting.
And then on Sunday, in one of the bigger games in recent history for the Wake Forest program, the Deacs defeated Clemson to finish 9-7 in ACC play. With the win they wrapped up an NCAA berth. Had they lost…no berth…and the stench of an historic collapse that on the heels of last year’s debacle would have set the program back years.
Cornell became the first team to make the NCAAs by clinching its third straight Ivy League crown in defeating Brown on Friday, 95-76, as the Big Red made an astounding 20 of 30 from 3-point land, tying a league record for most threes. So where will they be seeded? If they hadn’t lost to Princeton, they probably would have been a 5, but now I’m thinking a 7. Others to qualify this weekend were Northern Iowa, ETSU, Murray State, and Winthrop.
But what a depressing Saturday for my Division III William Paterson Pioneers, who despite being heavily favored, and at home, lost their tourney opener to Albertus Magnus (a relative of Spartacus) on a last second half-court shot! In the process I also lost a bet with Phil W., who had Guilford going further than WPU in the tourney and Guilford already has two wins. So Phil gets a premium from moi, which you just can’t imagine how much this hurts me.
The UConn women won their 70th straight, thus tying their own stupendous record.
Lastly, it’s really amazing that the NCAA seems hellbent on expanding March Madness to 96 teams. As the New York Times’ George Vecsey points out, the tournament is really about the first Thursday and Friday and the dream of a No. 16 seed defeating a No. 1, which has never happened, but we’ve come close, and the 14s and 15s that have emerged victorious in some of the best moments in history. But today it’s all about greed and the NCAA’s television contract with CBS expires July 31, thus in being able to sign with any network, the NCAA wants to be able to offer an extra round of games. There can’t possibly be a single, real fan who wants this to happen. The best argument against is that when the draw is announced currently, maybe one or two teams, max, are screwed (which won’t be the case this year because the entire field sucks, slight exaggeration), so how do you build a case for another 30 at-large bids?!
–Talk about a creep, or rather an “alleged” creep until proven otherwise. What is it about Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was just accused of sexual assault for the second time in less than a year. It seems that early Friday morning, at a popular nightspot in Milledgeville (named for Pirates outfielder Lastings Milledge), Roethlisberger and three associates were mingling with another group that included a 20-year-old college student. Police said parts of the bar were a crime scene. Both victim and Big Ben were interviewed. No charges have been filed as yet.
Last summer, Roethlisberger was sued by a female employee at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, who claimed he lured her into his room back in 2008 and forced her to have sex, but the woman took a while to come forward.
–The Chicago Bears went crazy in free agency, signing All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers for six years, with $42 million guaranteed in the first three. They also signed running back Chester Taylor from the Vikings and Brandon Manumaleuna (you really don’t know if I spelled that correctly, do you), a tight end with the Chargers. But that $42 million? That’s a record guarantee. I wonder if Julius is taking applications for his posse? I’m pretty efficient. Maybe I could be his scheduler for, oh, say $800,000.
In other moves, Carolina dumped QB Jake Delhomme despite still owing him $12.5 million and the Ravens made a great move in getting Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin, while the Giants picked up safety Antrel Rolle from Arizona (as the Cards then turned around and acquired Jets safety Kerry Rhodes to fill Rolle’s spot).
But then there is the other move the Jets made, acquiring former All-Pro cornerback Antonio Cromartie from San Diego for a future draft pick. Cromartie has 15 interceptions in his first four seasons, 10 of which were in his All-Pro year of 2007. Teaming with the best corner in the game today, Darrelle Revis, the two could be pretty strong.
That is if Cromartie has his head on straight. You see, the 25-year-old is a most troubled lad. He has drawn five paternity suits; fathering at least seven children by six women, thus far. In another example of his character, and personality, he was accused of hitting a man in the head with a champagne bottle hours after his team’s win at Denver last November.
“Buyer beware. The game has sure changed in Florham Park since Eric Mangini tip-toed out and Rex Ryan barged in. Out are the Boy Scouts. In are the Bad Boys.
“The Jets are going for it all in 2010 in their new stadium, that much is evident.
“This move is plain and simple a referendum on Ryan: Can he motivate a head case with baggage and give the Jets the most formidable cornerback tandem in the game?”
Cromartie appears to owe child support all over the place, and was even fined $2,500 by the Chargers for criticizing the food in training camp via Twitter: “Man we have to have the most nasty food of any team…maybe that’s y we can’t we (cq) the Super Bowl we need.”
But the biggest issue with Cromartie will be whether or not he shies away from contact, on the football field, that is. He certainly did last year.
“Kenny Smith developed his point-guard skills on the blacktops of Queens and drew his basketball conscience from Midtown Manhattan.
“When Smith was 5, the Knicks won a championship. When he was 8, they won another. Red Holzman was an icon. Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe were role models. Across five boroughs, basketballs bounded to the rhythm of the Knicks.
“ ‘When I was growing up, the New York Knicks were about teamwork,’ said Smith, the former NBA guard and an analyst for TNT. ‘So every college coach in the area, every high school coach, every A.A.U. coach, every summer-league coach would all scream, ‘It’s about teamwork.’’
“If professional teams set the standards and produce the maxims for local coaches to parrot, then what, exactly, would today’s New York rallying cry be?
On Saturday night, the 6-55 Nets took on the 21-40 Knicks. As Howard Beck put it, “There are no bragging rights to be gained, only humiliation to be avoided.”
This will be the third straight season the New York area goes playoff-less, the longest drought yet. Earlier in the week, the Nets lost to Cleveland at home, 111-92, but Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News at least praised Nets fans.
“Perhaps it was because of all the losing they’ve had to endure and the ill effects it is known to cause on a basketball fan’s brain.
“Or maybe they already know that they’re never going to see LeBron James put on a Nets uniform, whether the team is headquartered in Newark, Brooklyn or Moscow.
“Unlike Knicks fans, Nets fans last night didn’t plead for James to sign this summer with the worst team in the NBA.
“They booed him. They taunted him. For all that, they deserve a round of applause.
“In a league that’s gone totally soft, starting with the Garden fans who show up for games to cheer for James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and other visiting superstars, the boos were good to hear at the Meadowlands.”
And now the Nets spend the next two seasons in Newark while their new arena is built in Brooklyn. At least the Prudential Center is NBA quality.
As for the game? The Nets moved to 7-55 with a 113-93 drubbing of the Knicks as the Knicks set an NBA record by going 0 for 18 from downtown, this while the Nets were draining 14 of 24 themselves from 3-point land.
And just a note about Madison Square Garden, as Steve D. passed along a UBS research report on the new stock, symbol MSG, that was spun out of Cablevision. What caught my eye was the cost to renovate the Garden, which is slated to begin sometime in 2011 and supposedly wrap up by fall 2012. So take a guess. We aren’t talking building a new MSG…just renovation…..time’s up….$775 million to $850 million!!! As is typical of these projects, the original estimate was $500 million. Understand the last new basketball arena, the American Airlines Center in Dallas, was built in 1999 for $420 million. Needless to say, if you were thinking of buying the stock you better take this risk factor into consideration (which UBS highlights), let alone the fact the Knicks might not attract the free agent talent they think they’re going to.
—Meet the Mutts…Meet the Mutts…Step right up and greet the Mutts…
Geezuz, we’re not even a full week into the exhibition schedule and the Mets are already courting disaster as we’ve learned Jose Reyes, a k a Blood Spinner, has a thyroid issue. Not that this isn’t treatable, but seeing as how Reyes has had dealings with the esteemed Dr. Galea from the Great White North, it makes you wonder. There are differing opinions on whether HGH can cause an overactive thyroid, with a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital telling the New York Times it does not. But another one told the Daily News’ Mike Lupica, “there is a possibility that human growth hormone could cause a spike of thyroid hormone levels.”
But what’s this? As the Times’ David Waldstein notes, people may have to rethink the Mets much-maligned minor league system. Suddenly, things don’t look so bad, what with first baseman Ike Davis, shortstop Ruben Tejada, catcher Josh Thole, pitcher Jenrry (sic) Mejia, and perennial prospect Fernando Martinez, who is smoking the ball.
So is yours truly changing his tune? As the weather improves in these parts, is your editor getting a little of that spring fever and optimism that baseball fans all over traditionally catch? Why I flipped on an exhibition game today for two innings and just happened to catch Ike Davis bomb a double to left-center. Ooh baby. Better check my temperature…103!
–I was skimming the obituaries in the Los Angeles Times and saw that a former major leaguer, Sammy Drake, had passed away at 75. I had never heard of him, let alone the fact he played for the ’62 Mets and I thought I knew everyone on that team. Drake had 10 hits in 52 at bats for New York that season, driving in 7 runs, though he only had 72 ABs, total, in the big leagues.
But Sammy Drake and brother Solomon, who played parts of two seasons in the majors, were the first African American brothers to play in the big leagues.
It was in his first season in minor league ball that Sammy and a teammate, Ernest Johnson, broke the color barrier in Macon, Ga. Drake told the Macon Telegraph about playing for the Macon Peaches, then a Class-A minor league team affiliated with the Cubs.
“There was a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant there they had for us…I didn’t have any choice. That was it. And when we traveled, I had to stay on the bus while they would go and bring my food to me. That was very degrading. It hurt, man. It really did.”
Brother Solomon, who played for three teams and had 285 at bats, is a pastor in Los Angeles.
—Goose Gossage was interviewed by the Times’ Joe Brescia.
Q: Do you think Mark McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame?
Gossage: No. And I mean no. In the Olympics when they catch them using performance-enhancing drugs, they strip their medals. I can’t see any difference in baseball. None of the steroid users should get in.
“In September 1950, the 65th Infantry Regiment arrived at the South Korean port of Pusan. Over the next three years the regiment fought in nine major battles, including a blocking maneuver that helped Marines complete a fighting retreat from the Chinese Communist onslaught at the Chosin Reservoir in December 1950.”
The regiment was composed almost entirely of soldiers from Puerto Rico and aside from their incredible bravery, they surmounted prejudicial attitudes. More than 3,800 of the regiment were killed or wounded in Korea.
But it was on April 19, 1951, that Cartagena received the Distinguished Service Cross for a single-handed assault that enabled his company to seize a hill near Yonchon.
Sergeant Cartagena “charged ahead of his men, who were pinned down by a ‘well-entrenched and fanatically determined hostile force,’ as his citation put it. His rifle was shot away from him and he was wounded by enemy grenades, but he dispatched five Communist emplacements by tossing grenades at them.”
Cartagena also fought in Europe during World War II and was awarded Silver and Bronze Stars in both conflicts.
Back in 2002, he told The El Paso Times, “I’m just sorry that I’m too old to go to Afghanistan to fight. I’d do it all over again if I could.”
–I love this idea….Tom Watson’s…that the top 30 players from the over-50 Champions Tour take on the best 30 of the flat-bellies from the regular tour; same course of about 7,000 yards, same tees. A spokesman for the PGA said they wouldn’t rule it out but scheduling is an issue. Hell, scrap the Skins Game! Or do it on a Monday-Tuesday (just two rounds) in December somewhere in the Caribbean, and televise it at night. You wouldn’t conflict with football and the ratings would be huge, even with a tape delay. The only problem I see is a lot of the players like to take extended vacations before gearing up for the next season.
But then there’s caddie Steve Williams who refuses to shut up, while whining every chance he has. Once again Williams said, “It’s been the most difficult time of my life, no two ways about it, because every single person believed that I should know or did know or had something to do” with Tiger’s behavior.
“I knew nothing, that’s my answer. I don’t have to clarify or extend that answer. I knew nothing. It would be very difficult as a caddie not to know but I’m 100 percent telling you, I did not know, and that’s that. I’m a straight-up sort of person. No one that has ever watched him on a golf course would suspect anything would be going on. I’m under siege, it’s been a difficult time, there’s no two ways about it.”
Oh, give me a break. It’s not about you, Stevie. Just change your freakin’ phone number.
–Great win for Camilo Villegas at the Honda…his 3rd PGA Tour win. He definitely has a new attitude and he’s an authentic draw at a time when the Tour needs all the help it can get.
–I didn’t realize longtime PGA Tour caddie Greg Rita died, Feb. 27, after a lengthy bout with brain cancer. He was just 54. Rita caddied for Curtis Strange and his back-to-back U.S. Open triumphs, 1988-89, and John Daly at the ’95 British Open. Mark O’Meara, who once employed Rita, said of the laid-back guy, “If you can caddie for Curtis Strange, you’re a good caddie. Curtis was the ultimate competitor. You need a caddie who’s incredibly strong and can stand up.”
–Reader Shu attended the Phoenix Open at the TPC of Scottsdale the other week and while golf fans are aware of the massive attendance at this event, I just read in GolfWeek something telling. Remember how at the recent Northern Trust Open at Riviera how sparse the crowds looked? At the Phoenix Open they drew over 35,000 for Tuesday’s practice round, which was more than they had all week at Riviera. They once drew 538,000 for an entire week in Phoenix. Some day before I’m using a walker I have to attend this to check out the Birds Nest party tent.
—Lindsey Vonn won her third straight World Cup downhill title this weekend with a win in her first race since the Olympics at Crans-Montana, Switzerland and, in the process, tied Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories in a career by an American, 32. Gotta hand it to Lindsey. She’s had a whirlwind spell, hitting the late-night talk show circuit, other appearances, and then jets over to Switzerland and wins. I would have begged off and taken a nap instead.
[Meanwhile, for you alpine junkies out there, Switzerland’s Didier Cuche captured his third straight World Cup men’s downhill title.]
–At least three, 24-foot waves hit the cruise ship Louis Majesty on Wednesday, smashing five windows in public areas and killing two while injuring six others. The ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa when it came under attack from the rogue water.
“Armed robbers have struck at Germany’s largest poker tournament, stealing money and injuring gamblers.
“The masked gang burst into the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Berlin…threatening security staff and prompting a brief panic on Saturday.”
Six guys were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and grenades and made off with about $1.1 million. Four of the attackers entered the hotel and the other two kept watch.
“A security guard briefly stopped one of the robbers, who hit him over the head with a weapon and fled.”
–Wohh…it seems there was an incident at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on Friday morning. A bear bit off a woman’s fingers after she ignored warning signs not to feed the bruin. The 47-year-old lost a thumb and a forefinger, and two others were partially severed.
But wait…there’s more! The woman’s boyfriend was bitten as he tried to pry the bear’s mouth off her hand, but he didn’t lose any fingers. Officials said alcohol was a factor.
“Police said the Asiatic bears probably wouldn’t be put down.”
Why is this even being considered? If I hear these bears were put down, I’m going to riot. Not sure where I’d riot, seeing as I’m in New Jersey and we’re talking Wisconsin, but I’ll find a suitable place.
One last note…no word on whether the girl and guy are still together, with the guy having a pretty good excuse to dump her. “You’re barely half the woman I knew before.”
“A two-year-old girl has been bitten by a potentially deadly snake in outer Sydney. The girl has a swollen leg but her condition is otherwise unknown….
“Paramedics say the girl was bitten by a red bellied black snake, whose bite is sometimes fatal.”
–Being among the few in my audience who has actually seen Knut, the famous polar bear, I can’t help but note this bombshell from Roger Boyes / London Times.
“For the past few months Knut has been sharing a compound (at the Berlin Zoo) with Giovanna, a three-year-old female on loan from the Munich Zoo. Tabloid newspapers hinted that the two were being groomed to mate – but Frank Albrecht, the head of the German branch of PETA, the animal rights group, said the bear would be committing incest.
“ ‘They have a common grandfather, Olaf, and they are therefore cousins,’ said Mr. Albrecht. If they were allowed to breed, the offspring would be prone to genetic abnormalities and liable to illness, he said. ‘A long-term cohabitation between Giovanna and Knut is only feasible if Knut is castrated.’”
It seems that a 67-year-old Randolph, N.J., man has been accused of shooting his pet African grey parrot to death “because the creature’s squawks annoyed him as he watched NASCAR.” [Not that all of NASCAR Nation would act in a similar fashion, though some of its old-time drivers would have.]
Dennis Zeglin was arraigned in Superior Court (as opposed to Inferior Court, which is reserved for the kind of cases that go before Judge Judy) and it’s possible Dr. Z. could get the charges dismissed if he behaves himself over the coming years as part of a Pre-Trial Intervention program. Otherwise, the guy faces up to five years in the pokey. B.K. notes this is probably an appropriate application of the fairness doctrine.
You see, Zeglin was intoxicated, which indeed is in keeping with NASCAR Nation standards, when he shot Mikey, a 20-year-old.
–Speaking of beer, my brother reminded me I forgot to note the other day that President Obama, in losing his bet on the U.S.-Canada hockey game to Canadian Prime Minister Harper, has to send Harper a case of Yuengling, a terrific advertisement for America’s Oldest Brewery since 1829.
–Trader George passed along an item from the Daily Telegraph concerning the Scottish brewer, BrewDog, which is known for coming up with “progressive, craft beers.” They’ve launched “Tactical Nuclear Penguin”…“32 percent proof tipple.” 32%?!!! Oh, don’t worry, parents. You’re kids won’t have a chance to sneak this into the park, seeing as how only 500 bottles are slated to be made at about $50 each.
—Sidney Crosby is missing some of his gold medal hockey gear, including the stick and gloves. Recall he flung them in the air upon scoring the winning goal. No other Canadian player’s equipment was missing after the game.
But one of the gloves is being returned, we’ve learned, to then be displayed in Hockey Canada in Calgary.
–You’ve heard about the divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt, no doubt, the McCourts being owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s been a nasty one, to say the least, but get this. As reported by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, the divorce “could become one of the costliest splits in California history, with attorneys and accountants commanding as much as $19 million in fees – more than the Dodgers will spend on their starting infield this season.”
These are the fees! Divorce attorneys in California say it was “very unusual” that the McCourts both employed multiple law firms. For instance seven lawyers appeared in court for a hearing on whether to postpone the trial date, on the same day others were conducting a deposition of Jamie McCourt. Goodness gracious…now that’s a stimulus plan. Heck, the accountants hired to unravel their complicated finances are receiving $500,000! Kind of makes me want to ditch my poli-sci degree and get out my abacus, know what I’m sayin’?
Experts say a simple divorce in Southern California should cost $10,000. The Britney Spears-Kevin Federline divorce cost $835,000, in case you were lying awake at night, upset you didn’t know this fact.
–According to “Sexy Nina,” who owns a brothel in Vancouver, where business tripled during the Olympics, “The Games gave us the desire and willingness to connect, the energy to move. What an amazing two weeks!”
You go, girls! [Oops…I was just informed I shouldn’t appear to be so enthusiastic over their performance.]
–But speaking of the sex trade, World Cup organizers are gearing up for up to 40,000 prostitutes entering South Africa, this in a place where 16% of the population is said to have HIV. Yikes. Then again, it’s kind of like NBA All-Star Weekend.
–I haven’t seen a movie in years, like since “The Groove Tube” and “Flesh Gordon.” [Sorry, that was a double-feature when I was in high school.] But I stayed up for “The Oscars” through Jeff Bridges winning, and there’s really little to say about the telecast. I’m a fan of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and they were alright, but, boy, is Mo’Nique a jerk or what?! And I really don’t want to pay for Precious’ healthcare, know what I’m sayin’?
–Huh…didn’t realize Kid Rock was such a fan of Coors Light, your editor always wanting to be Kid Rock for just a day. Seeing as how I drink Coors Light, too, when I’m not treating myself to premium, this should be an easy transition. [If I lived in Texas, I’d drink Shiner Bock.]
Top 3 songs for the week 3/9/68: #1 “Love Is Blue” (Paul Mauriat) #2 “(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls” (Dionne Warwick…good tune) #3 “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” (Otis Redding)…and…#4 “Simon Says” (1910 Fruitgum Co.) #5 “I Wish It Would Rain” (The Temptations) #6 “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” (The First Edition…before Kenny Rogers got a new face) #7 “Spooky” (Classics IV) #8 “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite” (Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart…boy, no way I’d ever get these guys) #9 “La-La-Means I Love You” (The Delfonics…a classic) #10 “Everything That Touches You” (The Association…should be in the Hall of Fame…really…ever look at their body of work?)
College Basketball Quiz Answers: 1) Doug Collins played his college ball at Illinois State, 1970-73, averaging 29.1 points over three seasons before being selected No. 1 overall by Philadelphia. 2) Indiana starting five, 1975-76: Kent Benson, Scott May, Tom Abernethy, Quinn Buckner, Bobby Wilkerson. Others who played some were Jim Wisman, Jim Crews and Wayne Radford. 3) Uwe Blab was a first round selection out of Indiana by Dallas in 1985. Blab went on to play like a total blob, averaging just 2.1 points in 235 career games. 4) Marcus Fizer was a first-rounder out of Iowa State in 2000, selected by Chicago with the 4th pick, but he averaged only 9.6 ppg in a little over 5 seasons. 5) Other players aside from Artis Gilmore on the 1969-70 Jacksonville team that lost to UCLA 80-69 for the title were fellow 7-footer Pembrook Burrows, Rex Morgan, Greg Nelson, Vaughn Wedeking, Mike Blevins and Chip Dublin. I swear I can picture Dublin.
What a great season 1969-70 was. Check out the final Top 20 before the tournament started.
1. Kentucky
2. UCLA
3. St. Bonaventure
4. Jacksonville
5. New Mexico State
6. South Carolina
7. Iowa
8. Marquette
9. Notre Dame
10. N.C. State
11. Florida State
12. Houston
13. Penn
14. Drake
15. Davidson
17. Niagara
18. Western Kentucky
19. Long Beach State
Boy, you haven’t seen too many of these names that high up in the last 40 years.
Gilmore and Burrows, incidentally, were juco transfers that year and Jacksonville became the first team in NCAA history to average 100 points per game, 100.4, plus in the tournament they beat W. Kentucky, 109-96, Iowa, 104-103, Kentucky, 106-100, and St. Bonaventure, 91-83, before losing to UCLA. Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp called the Jacksonville loss the worst of his career as Gilmore had 24 points and 20 rebounds, while Kentucky superstar Dan Issel had 28 and 10.
In Jacksonville’s semi win over St. Bonaventure, the Bonnies were forced to play without their star, center Bob Lanier, who had injured his knee the prior game, so Gilmore went off for 29 points, 21 rebounds.
In the championship game, though, UCLA’s 6’8” Sidney Wicks did a super job on the 7’2” Gilmore, holding Artis to 19 points on 9 of 29 shooting while getting 17 points and pulling down 18 rebounds himself. [Curtis Rowe had 19 points, Steve Patterson 17, and John Vallely 15. Henry Bibby was the other starter, all of whom played 38 minutes.]
This happened to be the first year I was really into college basketball, in case you’re wondering my fascination, but I totally forgot that Al McGuire pulled his No. 8 Marquette team out of consideration for the tournament because the NCAA was going to slot Marquette in the Midwest rather than the Mideast region. So a peeved McGuire had his team play in the NIT instead, when it was still a very competitive tournament (I went to a ton of NIT games as a youth) and Dean “the Dream” Meminger led Marquette to the championship over St. John’s.
[The NCAA tourney in 1970 had just 25 teams, with 7 receiving byes…so after the nine first-round contests you then had the Sweet Sixteen. Despite being ranked No. 4, Jacksonville didn’t receive one of the byes.]
So check out some of the players in the game that year. Like look at the scoring list.
1. Pete Maravich (LSU) 44.5
2. Austin Carr (Notre Dame) 38.1
3. Rick Mount (Purdue) 35.4
4. Dan Issel (Kentucky) 33.9
5. Willie Humes (Idaho State…didn’t know him) 30.5
6. Rich Yunkus (Georgia Tech) 30.1
7. Rudy Tomjanovich (Michigan) 30.1
8. Calvin Murphy (Niagara) 29.4
9. Bob Lanier (St. Bonaventure) 29.1
10. Ralph Simpson (Michigan State…wow, forgot about him…exciting player) 29.0
New Mexico State had a great backcourt star in Jimmy Collins (I remember his SI cover); Dave Cowens was at Florida State; John Roche, South Carolina, Charlie Scott, North Carolina; Nate Archibald, UTEP.
And back to Bob Lanier, one of the favorite players for any fan of that era, he went on to a super 14-year NBA career, averaging 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds.
So that’s your trip down memory lane for all of you age 50 and older. [Source: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia…an outstanding book.]
