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05-11-2010, 08:45 PM
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#1 | ||
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Zeroed Out: 1948-On (FBCB 2K10)
So with the new conference addition to FBCB 2K10, I've decided to tackle a quite ambitious project. Namely, returning to the idea of a zeroed out FBCB dynasty, with teams coming in as close to their NCAA Division I postseason eligibility date as possible and with INITIAL conferences as close to 1948 accuracy as possible.
Why 1948? Because the wonderful link provided by lordscarlet detailing the NCAA Division I alignments only goes back as far as 1948. Also, I wanted to make sure I had enough teams that a 64 bid NCAA tournament actually meant something. I had to fudge the I-named school start dates because the link didn't provide those and it's possible I may have missed some schools down the line. (Although with 375 entries, including years, I should have only missed a few, if any). We'll be starting off with roughly 147 Division I schools in 1948, which means just under half of the schools (44%ish, in fact) will make the tournament in the first season, although that number will go down in most years. Some years we won't have any expansion. Others will have so many new teams I'll have to get quite creative with alignment. If I were to go for 32 conferences, we'd have 4 and 5 members a piece, which just isn't any fun. I've set a minimum of 6 teams per conference, and, as I've said, I'm striving for 1948 historical accuracy as much as possible. I believe I've achieved that so far, although I will have a few teams joining a little bit earlier than they did in real life. Reasons for this slight shift include: 1) Bringing the conference up to 6 members, as with the MAC 2) Preserving the conference name, as with the Big 10, 3) To keep even numbers, and 4) Because of logic. Here are the tenative conference memberships so far. All of these conferences existed in 1948 or earlier: Big 8 ----------------------------- Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma State (1925-28 member, 1958-end) Big 10 -------------- Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Michigan State (Joined 1950) Minnesota Northwestern Ohio State Purdue Wisconsin Ivy* -------------- Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale * - The Ivy League was not founded until 1954, but it's become such a part of the American culture and consciousness, including my own, that it didn't feel right to split them up. MAC -------------------- Bowling Green (Joined 1952) Butler Cincinnati Kent State (Joined 1951) Miami (OH) Ohio Toledo (Joined 1951) Western Michigan Missouri Valley* ------------------------ Bradley Detroit Drake St. Louis Tulsa Wichita State * - In 1948, Oklahoma State was actually a member of the MVC. But I've moved them back to the Big 8 so I could have eight teams there and preserve the in-state rivalry with Oklahoma. In this timeline, they never left the Big 8. Mountain States/Skyline (I still haven't decide which name to use) --------------------------- BYU Colorado State Denver Utah Utah State Wyoming Pacific Coast ------------------ California Idaho Montana Oregon Oregon State Stanford UCLA USC Washington Washington State SEC --------------- Alabama Auburn Florida Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky LSU Mississippi Mississippi State Tennessee Tulane Vanderbilt Southern Conference --------------------------- Citadel Clemson Davidson Furman George Washington Maryland North Carolina North Carolina State Richmond South Carolina Virginia Tech VMI Wake Forest William & Mary Southwest Conference ----------------------------- Arkansas Baylor Rice SMU Texas Texas A&M TCU As you can see, the Southwest Conference currently violates my even-number rules. The only other SWC members in history are Houston and Texas Tech, both of whom don't start play until 1951. So assuming my math is right, that's 88 schools with a confirmed conference. 5 more are momentarily placed in the then-existing Ohio Valley and Yankee Conferences, which leaves 53 or 54 wholly unassigned schools or something like that. The math on this is making my head hurt. I keep feeling like I'm off somewhere. Oh well, I'll plow ahead as best as I can. I think this initial list will help generate some good discussion/commentary while I formulate the rest of the conferences, most of which will likely have to be fictional.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-12-2010, 05:25 PM
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#2 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Okay, after spending the last two days refreshing my Excel skills, I managed to rewrite the data files to reflect these changes. So we have 147 schools divided up by 19 conferences and an independent. Every school is set to 0 prestige and I've erased all the preseason tournaments, because I intend to let this league grow organically.
Now to the backstory... The 1930s and much of the 1940s were troubling times for America. The Great Depression and the resulting Second World War devastated the nation, even as World War II brought the country together under the banner of patriotism. The NCAA, as the guardian of collegiate sports, came up with the idea of a national college basketball tournament to crown a national champion and capture the attentions of the American sporting public. It was not a new idea by any means. Discussions had been going on since 1939, but the economic climate wasn't ripe for profit until after the end of World War II in 1945. Two years followed in which colleges and universities across the country sought to align themselves into conferences for this new basketball landscape before play officially began in the 1948 season. A few conferences, of course, already existed. The Big 8, Big 10, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain States, Pacific Coast, SEC, Southern and Southwest conferences already had a framework and membership in place for football and the Ohio Valley and Yankee conferences, while still needing members to fill the six school minimum, at least had a structure and a few confirmed members. America's elite academic universities in Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale were quick to assemble and form the Ivy League, declaring that unlike the other conferences, who would have a tournament to decide who would earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA tournament, the Ivy would send its regular season champion as the automatic qualifier. Most of the wholly new conferences were formed along general state and regional lines, but the formation story of two in particular bear mentioning, as well as the only other source of strife in that first year, the battle over Butler.  Originally, the requirement was for conferences to contain eight teams, which led to a fierce fight for Butler, who was wooed by both the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Missouri Valley Conference. Both leagues featured a Midwest orientation and Butler, originally part of the MAC, was persuaded to join the Missouri Valley with a lucrative payout to ensure that the MVC would meet quota. This naturally enraged the MAC, who sued for Butler's return. Eventually, the NCAA lowered the minimum requirement to six teams and ordered Butler to refund the money to the Missouri Valley and return to the MAC, which the university did willingly enough, particularly after firing those in the administration responsible for accepting the bribe to move in the first place. And in truth, the MAC, with its eastern Midwest orientation was a better geographic fit for Butler than the western Midwest focused Missouri Valley. But the Butler issue was but a schoolyard spat compared to the storm that arose out of the Southern Conference.  At 16 teams, the Southern Conference was the largest college athletic league in the country. The NCAA, anticipating a number of 6, 7 and 8 member leagues, asked the Southern to change to two divisions to have a more equitable distribution in line with the rest of Division I. The league refused and the NCAA responded by threatening to revoke the Southern's certification and legitimacy. Quarrels began to break out among conference members over whether or not to acede to the NCAA's demands. Finally, at a mid-June meeting of the Southern Conference presidents, Richmond's Barnabas Southby stood up and announced, "The University of Richmond formally withdraws from this league. We are a private school that prides itself on its academics and to be in the same confederation as such public inferiors like the University of West Virginia is something we will no longer do." Southby then stormed out of the meeting, followed by the presidents of Duke and Furman. The three private schools announced their intentions to form a private school only league the day after and convinced Davidson and Wake Forest to join. A special exemption was later granted to public school William & Mary, who applied and argued that together, they could form an answer to the northern Ivy League. The others agreed and so the Southern Stars conference was born, the Southern to signify their origins, the Stars to declare their ascendancy over the remaining Southern Conference members. The rift caused by this split was so great that anger still persists to this day, particularly towards William & Mary for betraying its public brethren in joining with the private school defectors. The inciting incident also ignited a Richmond/West Virginia rivalry whose bitterness has lessened only slightly with the passing decades. Although this unexpected resolution satisfied the NCAA, it also led to Northern ridicule of the South at the very idea that a league comparable to the Ivy could be formed out of any six schools in the South. It was considered so ludicrous that the service academies Army and Navy, Boston College, Boston University, and a few other schools formed the North Star conference as a direct repudiation of the Southern Stars. The new opposition league also scored a major coup by convincing Notre Dame to join the Northern Star as a basketball only member. As Boston College's president remarked at the press conference announcing the North Star, "Unlike the Southern Stars, which came from dispute and discord, the North Star is singular, united and firm in our purpose of academic and athletic excellence." This chain of events would create the first ever three-way conference rivalry in American collegiate sports history, with the Southern Stars hating the North Star, the North Star scorning the Southern Stars and the Southern loathing the Southern Stars. Still, every school but four was able to find a conference home. Only Bucknell, Creighton, La Salle, and Loyola (MD) were forced to play that first season as independents. Inaugural Conferences Atlantic Six ------------------ Georgetown Holy Cross Iona St. Bonaventure St. Joseph’s Virginia Big 8 ----------------------------- Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma State Big 10 -------------- Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Northwestern Ohio State Purdue Wisconsin Empire ----------------- Fordham Long Island Manhattan Rutgers St. Francis (NY) St. John’s Great Lakes ----------------- Akron Dayton DePaul Loyola (IL) Marquette Niagra Valparaiso Ivy -------------- Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale MAC -------------------- Bowling Green Butler Cincinnati Kent State Miami (OH) Ohio Toledo Western Michigan Missouri Valley ------------------------ Bradley Detroit Drake St. Louis Tulsa Wichita State Mountain States --------------------------- BYU Colorado State Denver Utah Utah State Wyoming North Star ------------------------ Army Boston College Boston University Colgate Lafayette Lehigh Navy Notre Dame Ohio Valley --------------------- Eastern Kentucky Louisville Marshall Western Kentucky Xavier Youngstown State Pacific Coast ------------------ California Idaho Montana Oregon Oregon State Stanford UCLA USC Washington Washington State SEC --------------- Alabama Auburn Florida Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky LSU Mississippi Mississippi State Tennessee Tulane Vanderbilt Southern Conference --------------------------- Citadel Clemson George Washington Maryland North Carolina North Carolina State South Carolina Virginia Tech VMI West Virginia Southern Stars ------------------------ Davidson Duke Furman Richmond Wake Forest William & Mary Southwest Conference ----------------------------- Arkansas Baylor Rice SMU Texas Texas A&M TCU Steel ---------------- Drexel Duquesne Penn State Pittsburgh Temple Villanova Sun West ------------------ Arizona Idaho State Montana State Nevada St. Mary’s (CA) San Francisco Santa Clara Yankee ------------------------- Canisius Connecticut Rhode Island Seton Hall Siena Syracuse Independents ------------------------- Bucknell Creighton La Salle Loyola (MD)
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 05-12-2010 at 05:26 PM. |
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05-13-2010, 12:42 PM
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#3 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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That first season was a disaster as far as the sportswriters' poll was concerned. Sectional biases and bribes led to wholly inaccurate Top 25 lists the whole season long, save for the fact that, in a decided triumph for the Southern conference, for virtually the entire year, South Carolina was the undisputed #1 team in the nation. The Gamecocks began Southern play with a scorching 10-0 mark before falling to Clemson on the road. They finished 28-4 (16-2) by the tournament's start.
Recognizing the complete ineptitude of the sportswriters, the NCAA tournament's selection committee threw out Top 25 consideration, concentrating solely on record and a new formula called the RPI. This reliance on scientific data ensured that just one sub-.500 team entered the field of 64, 15-17 Missouri, who'd stunned the Big 8 by winning the conference tournament as, of all things, the 8 seed. Indeed, the committee was so efficient with their choices that the only quarrel arose was when they invited Cornell. The Big Red were ranked 71st in RPI and finished 4th in the Ivy League. The committee responded by saying they wanted to be sure every conference got at least two bids and that Cornell fit the winning record criterion. This argument was eventually accepted by all but the most devoted RPI loyalists. The Southern Conference pinned its hopes on #1 South Carolina, but it also had North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the field. Meanwhile, the Southern Stars were represented by Davidson, Furman, and Wake Forest. And to complete the triangle, the North Star sent Boston College, Lafayette, and Navy. The #1 seeds were awarded to South Carolina, Montana, Texas A&M, and TCU, much to the surprise of independent school Loyola-Maryland, who thought certain they would be a #1 selection. The Greyhounds angrily claimed conference member bias, but that was a difficult argument to swallow, given that 3 of the 4 independent teams were invited to the NCAA tournament, La Salle the only loser. NCAA First Round Upsets West #12 Temple over #5 Colorado State #11 Washington over #6 Wisconsin Midwest #14 San Francisco over #3 Illinois #15 Marshall over #2 Oregon #16 Rutgers over #1 Texas A&M South #10 Cornell over #7 Georgia Tech #11 Purdue over #6 Davidson East #10 Tulane over #7 Manhattan #11 Bucknell over #6 St. Mary's #12 Seton Hall over #5 LSU Cornell's upset of the Yellow Jackets was a considerable relief to the committee. However, the Big Red's triumph was completely undone by upstart Rutgers' #16 seed over #1 Texas A&M shocker. This gave Loyola-Maryland far more ammunition than anyone could have expected. As for the Big 10, it was thankful for Purdue's knockoff of Davidson, given how poorly Wisconsin and Illinois played on their way out. Of course, the committee's biggest nightmare was the Midwest region, where all 3 of the top seeds went out in the first round, destroying the brackets of what was then a fledgling group of gamblers. Round 2 Upsets West #12 Temple over #4 Auburn Midwest #14 San Francisco over #6 Iowa State #15 Marshall over #7 Creighton South #11 Purdue over #3 Arkansas #8 Wake Forest over #1 TCU The troubles of the Texas top seeds continued with the second round ouster of the Horned Frogs by the 8th seed Demon Deacons. But what really gave the committee ulcers was seeing the 14th seed Dons and 15th seed Thundering Herd continue their reign of terror and their meeting in the Sweet 16 guaranteed at least one double-digit seed would make the Elite 8. Sweet 16 Conference Breakdown Atlantic Six (3) Georgetown Big 10 (11) Purdue Great Lakes (9) Loyola-Illinois North Star (4) Boston College Ohio Valley (15) Marshall Pacific Coast (1) Montana (2) USC (3) UCLA (4) Stanford Southern (1) South Carolina Southern Stars (8) Wake Forest Southwest (2) Rice Steel (12) Temple Sun West (14) San Francisco Yankee (4) Connecticut Independents (2) Loyola-Maryland That the Pacific Coast was the top conference in the country, no one could deny. A full quarter of that first Sweet 16 class were from the PCC and all of them had top 4 seeds. But the most press was being generated by #2 seed Loyola-Maryland, who continued their fight to prove that they should have had a #1 seed. Alas for Loyola-Maryland, they were beaten 72-62 by 3 seed UCLA, Bruins redshirt junior PG Gary Oakley winning Player of the Game with a 13 point, 7 assist, 5 rebound, 1 block all-around performance. #14 seed San Francisco beat #15 seed Marshall in the committee's horror matchup, #9 Loyola-Illinois stunned PCC member and #4 seed Stanford 64-46 and #8 seed Wake Forest of the Southern Stars struck a triumphant blow for the league, downing hated North Star #4 seed Boston College 64-61. Senior Demon Deacons SG Russell Hollins immediately became Wake Forest's first legendary hero with a spell-binding 25 point game. On the second day, #1 seed Montana handled #12 seed Temple with ease, and #1 seed South Carolina also advanced, barely surviving a 65-64 scare from #4 Connecticut. #2 seed Rice beat #3 seed Georgetown in a 64-62 classic and #2 seed USC ended #11 seed Purdue's Cinderella run. Elite 8 Matchups #1 seed Montana vs #2 seed Rice (West) #9 seed Loyola-Illinois vs #14 seed San Francisco (Midwest) #1 seed South Carolina vs #2 seed USC (South) #3 seed UCLA vs #8 seed Wake Forest (East) The Pacific Coast continued to assert its dominance with almost half of the Elite 8 squads. The regional final that excited most people was the South Carolina/USC battle in the South, although the Cinderella lovers eagerly cheered for the Dons to become the first double-digit seed in the Final Four. Despite a heroic effort of 24 and 21 points by senior swingmen Larry Bonner and David Grande, San Francisco lost by a single point, 77-76. That crushing blow was all the more devastating because the general feeling was, with Bonner and Grande graduating, it would be a long time before the Dons would get this far again. UCLA, on the other hand, beat Wake Forest by a comfortable 64-50 margin, led by senior swingman Del Cruz's 25 points. Russell Hollins's collegiate career ended with a fine 18 points, but no one was there to support him. The Elite 8's marquee matchups were the next day and neither one was close. Montana ripped Rice 81-62, due largely to sophomore Newton Richardson's 22 points. Richardson averaged 17.3 points during the regular season and the NCAA, always looking for a marquee program and young player to invest marketing in, were greatly pleased with Richardson's star quality and the Grizzlies' #1 seed and Final Four run. #1 seed South Carolina, cheered by all Southern Conference fans, topped Southern California 68-57 in the War of the USCs. Final Four #1 seed Montana vs #1 seed South Carolina #3 seed UCLA vs #9 seed Loyola-Illinois As you might expect, virtually everyone considered the Grizzlies/Gamecocks matchup to be the true national championship game. Most figured on an All-PCC, All-Bears Mascots Final of Grizzlies vs. Bruins. Newton Richardson added to his fast-growing legacy by scoring 26 points in leading the Grizzlies to a surprisingly easy 83-68 win over South Carolina. It was the UCLA/Loyola-Illinois matchup that proved the most thrilling, a back-and-forth brawl that ended with the Bruins on top, 102-100. Del Cruz and Gary Oakley combined for 31 and 20 points a piece to rescue UCLA and the committee from embarassment. 1948 National Championship Game #1 Montana vs. #3 UCLA And so it all came down to this. An All-PCC championship. Sophomore Newton Richardson vs. senior Del Cruz and junior Gary Oakley. The Grizzlies were heavily favored, thanks to having won both regular season matchups and to one of the best offenses in the country at 69.6 points a game, 5th best. Montana also ranked 4th in defensive rebounds and 9th in rebounds overall. UCLA, on the other hand, was 3rd in scoring at 71 points a game, 5th team in assists at 15.1 and the absolute best in the nation at shooting percentage, converting 46.6% of their shots. On the other hand, the Bruins were a pedestrian 117th in scoring defense. The game was all Grizzlies and all Newton Richardson, who just missed a triple-double in the national championship game, racking up 19 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds. 87-69 final and as the stands broke out into celebration, Richardson cutting down the nets and savoring the joy of his Montana Grizzlies winning the first-ever national title, just one question loomed large. Could the Grizzlies also become the first dynasty with Richardson? Code:
In addition to being a 1st Team All-American, Newton Richardson was the Pacific Coast Player of the Year. Del Cruz and Gary Oakley were All-PCC 1st and 2nd Team respectively. Wake Forest's Russell Hollins was All-Southern Stars 1st Team, but was beat out for Player of the Year by senior Duke point guard Frankie Liggett. Code:
Montana was a shocking 80th in recruiting, which boded ill for their dynastic hopes, especially with the rest of the PCC performing so well. Code:
The Bobcats' stealing of Apodaca particularly rankled for some Grizzlies' fans, but the watchphrase heading into the season was "In Newton we trust, with all our gravity."
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-13-2010, 04:58 PM
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#4 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1949 Conference Movement
Following their Sweet 16 appearance, Loyola-Maryland was invited to join the Atlantic Six, but the Greyhounds flatly refused, saying they were now quite happy to be independents. The rejection alarmed the conference, particularly since Georgetown, a Sweet 16 team themselves, as well as the Atlantic Six's reigning champion, was giving serious consideration to joining the academically stronger North Star. And in fact, that is precisely what the Hoyas decided to do, the temptation to join an elite academic league that had a Sweet 16 team of its own in Boston College too great to pass up. The Atlantic Six recovered by inviting NCAA second round independents Bucknell to the conference, who gleefully accepted. The New Universities Miami (FL) Providence Two new schools entered Division I play in the 1949 season, the University of Miami and Providence. The Atlantic Six, mindful of Georgetown's defection, was quick to snap up the Friars of Providence. Miami (FL) applied to join the Southern Stars, but was denied on the grounds that they were not considered academically strong enough, even though they met the private school requirement. This rebuttal caused considerable consternation, not only in Coral Gables, but in Williamsburg, where William & Mary, a reluctant founding member to begin with, felt ever greater misgivings at the league's elitism. The Tribe decided to stay for the time being, however, as their departure would mean the end of the conference. The SEC and Southern conferences had no interest in expanding and so, declining an invitation from the Pennsylvania-centric Steel conference and lacking the clout to convince a consortium to break away from the SEC and Southern to form a new league, the Miami Hurricanes opted for independent status their first season. Freshman To Watch - 1948 Recruiting Class Code:
Many believed Deaver was the next Newton Richardson and were very intrigued to watch his career with the Bulldogs. Regular Season Montana began the season as the clear-cut #1 preseason favorite, with 40 first place votes, but the Grizzlies would not hold their top status. But then again, corruption and misinformation still ruled much of the sportswriters' voting. Only the Top 3 prior to the 1948 tournament were considered legitimate by most (South Carolina, Loyola-Maryland, Montana) and it didn't look as though things would be improved much, if at all, in the NCAA's second year of play. Still, by March, Montana, Nevada, and Rice established themselves as the unquestioned Top 3 teams in the country, even in the sportswriters polls. A note on the Atlantic Six conference tournament: In order to preserve the legitimacy of the conference's name, only the top 6 teams were allowed to play in the tournament. This method of all but one was also adopted by the North Star after Georgetown joined, which suited both the original members and the new Hoyas just fine, especially after the 3rd seeded Hoyas knocked off 1 seed Navy 60-59 in the North Star tournament final for Georgetown's second straight automatic NCAA bid. Bucknell was also more than happy to have joined the Atlantic Six, as they not only won the regular season crown, but the tournament title as well, whipping 2 seed Holy Cross 68-45 in the final. Missouri also won their second straight automatic entry from the Big 8, although this time, it was as a much more legitimate 2 seed. Montana beat 3 seed California 81-56 in the PCC tournament final and looked locks to again be a #1 seed in the NCAA, while South Carolina narrowly beat Clemson in the Southern final to earn an automatic berth, although nobody thought the Gamecocks an elite squad that year. NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Montana Rice Arkansas Lafayette Two #1 seeds to the Southwest Conference was a stunning, but well-deserved accomplishment and the SWC further showed its muscle by having Baylor as a #2 seed. Clearly, they were the year's PCC. Returning NCAA Tournament members Arkansas Auburn Baylor Bucknell Cincinnati Colorado State Cornell Dayton Denver Duquesne Fordham Furman Georgetown (Sweet 16) Georgia Tech Harvard Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (Final 4) Loyola-Maryland (Sweet 16) LSU Marshall (Sweet 16) Mississippi Missouri Montana (National Champion) Navy Nevada North Carolina Oregon State Penn State Purdue (Sweet 16) Rice (Elite 8) San Francisco (Elite 8) Seton Hall South Carolina (Final 4) Texas A&M TCU USC (Elite 8) Villanova Washington Wisconsin 10 Sweet 16 returnees, 6 Elite 8 returnees, 3 Final 4 returnees, and, of course, the defending national champion Montana Grizzlies. UCLA's absence was the most notable, but absent Del Cruz, the Bruins had swooned to a 13-17 (9-9) record. First Round Upsets West #13 San Francisco over #4 Cornell #16 VMI over #1 Montana Midwest #12 Iowa over #5 Bowling Green #14 Michigan State over #3 Nevada #15 Washington over #2 Cincinnati South #12 Clemson over #5 Pittsburgh #14 Purdue over #3 South Carolina East #10 Western Kentucky over #7 Holy Cross #11 Denver over #6 Duquesne #12 William & Mary over #5 Fordham #13 USC over #4 Seton Hall #14 Niagra over #3 Texas A&M #15 Georgia Tech over #2 Maryland #16 Marshall over #1 Lafayette Yes, you're reading that right. The highest seed left in the East after the first round was #8 North Carolina and on top of it defending champion Montana lost 61-59 on the first day and two #16 seeds beat two #1 seeds in the opening round. It was the ultimate public relations disaster for the NCAA, who now had to hope the Tarheels could make the East region's Final Four representative respectable and that some other hero school would emerge in the other regions. Round 2 Upsets (Greater than 1 seed difference) West #13 San Francisco over #5 Navy #7 Auburn over #2 Baylor Midwest #15 Washington over #7 Duke #14 Michigan State over #6 TCU South #8 Furman over #1 Arkansas (by 1 point) #7 Penn State over #2 Bucknell #14 Purdue over #6 California East #15 Georgia Tech over #10 Western Kentucky #14 Niagra over #11 Denver Disaster compounded disaster for the NCAA. By the end of the first weekend, only #1 Rice remained out of the 1 and 2 seeds. This was somewhat mitigated by the fact that Loyola-Maryland, San Francisco, Rice, Loyola-Illinois, Purdue, Georgetown, and USC were all Sweet 16 returnees, although San Francisco, Purdue and USC's seeding gave the committee palpitations. Sweet 16 Notes #9 Marquette eliminated #13 San Francisco and independent #3 Loyola-Maryland broke past the Sweet 16 hurdle by downing #7 Auburn. #1 Rice survived an ugly game against #4 Loyola-Maryland 46-45, while #14 Michigan State absolutely crushed #15 Washington to set up one of the biggest Elite 8 mismatches in history. #4 Georgetown celebrated its North Star debut by advancing to the Elite 8 over #8 Furman, much to the fury of the Southern Stars, while #7 Penn State eliminated the #14 Purdue threat. #8 North Carolina continued giving the NCAA hope by toppling #13 USC, while #15 Georgia Tech awaited them after beating #14 Niagra. Elite 8 Matchups #3 Loyola-Maryland vs #9 Marquette #1 Rice vs #14 Michigan State #4 Georgetown vs #7 Penn State #8 North Carolina vs #15 Georgia Tech Independent vs Great Lakes, Southwest vs Big 10, North Star vs Steel, and Southern vs SEC. The NCAA wanted a Marquette/Rice/Georgetown/North Carolina Final Four, while most of the country was hoping to see the determined Greyhounds beat Marquette and were split among the rest. Marquette and Georgetown both won easily, as did Rice and North Carolina. In fact, the closest contest was the Tarheels' 72-60 win over the Yellow Jackets. Final 4 #4 Georgetown vs #9 Marquette #1 Rice vs #8 North Carolina After all the handwringing, the Final Four's sanctity was saved from double-digit seed crashing. Georgetown was the sentimental favorite of most of the country, as nobody took the Atlantic Six seriously and the Hoyas' promotion of sorts was applauded as being appropriately American. The NCAA, of course, wanted Rice. Rice won easily, smashing the Tarheels 74-49. But the Georgetown/Marquette game was a nailbiter, only secured after junior SF Cary Martinez nailed 4 free throws down the stretch, 8 of 9 from the charity stripe on the night, to send the Hoyas to the championship game on a 63-62 final. National Championship #1 Rice vs #4 Georgetown The Owls, by virtue of their Elite 8 appearance in 1948 and their title appearance in 1949, had quietly become one of the top programs in the country, while everybody was in love with the Hoya story. A competitive game followed, in which Rice senior forward Richard Cooper had the game of his life at just the right time, scoring 20 points, including the three point buzzer beater to give the Owls their first national championship by a score of 75-72. Code:
The Player of the Year choice was a shocking one, especially since the Bulldogs were a first round tournament exit, but the voters felt Whisenant epitomized the type of selfless, balanced play the ideal college man should bring to the court. Blaine Deaver, as you can see, had a terrific freshman year for the Bulldogs, although it was a mystery as to why neither he nor Scott Halstead won Freshman of the Year. Code:
The Hurricanes of Miami pulled off the biggest shock, getting a Top 25 class after an abysmal first year of play. San Francisco looked prime to continue its rise as a national power after grabbing the #2 class. Rice improved vastly over 1948 champion Montana by getting the 17th class to the Grizzlies' 80th. Montana, by the way, leapt up to 51st. Code:
Two Top 25 players. There was little doubt indeed that the Dons were on their way to sustained greatness.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-13-2010, 09:56 PM
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#5 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1950 Conference Movement
Enticed by the Top 25 class, the Southern Stars extended an invitation to Miami, who was only too happy to escape the purgatory of the Independents. The blatant hypocrisy involved in this maneuver was the final straw for William & Mary, who applied to and was accepted by the North Star. With two additions in as many years to the North Star League, Notre Dame, which had performed poorly its first two seasons, began making noise about going independent. But when no one, not even Boston College, seemed to care what the Fighting Irish did, the Golden Dome went silent. Loyola-Maryland received numerous offers to join a conference, but the Greyhounds, still stinging over their initial failure to find a league, declared that they would stay independent until they chose to become the founding members of a new conference. As of yet, no league had clearly emerged as a power conference. Two years was too soon to start assigning a hierarchy. No new teams came into the fold for the 1950 season, although the NCAA confirmed that 7 new schools would be joining in 1951, thus likely signaling significant realignment. 1950 Freshman to Watch Code:
The story went that Story's ability to shoot from anywhere on the court foretold great things for his collegiate years. Coach Movement Two seasons was enough to see 8 coaches get fired, including Notre Dame's. It was also the first time a head coach moved schools, as Brian Soler went from Duke and the Southern Stars to Georgia Tech and the SEC (8 prestige to 21 prestige) and Gus Seely, with 2 NCAA appearances at Baylor, moved to Loyola-Illinois (13 prestige to 24 prestige). A number of assistants also found head coaching jobs, ironically after getting fired, including two Georgia Tech assistants, who Soler fired to be able to bring in his own staff. Regular Season Rice was awarded the preseason #1 and Montana, despite its shocking first round loss the year before, was accorded #2 on the strength of Newton Richardson's senior season. Loyola-Maryland proudly ranked #3. By the beginning of March, the story was not that the sportswriters had a Top 5 of 20+ wins for the first time in association history, but that Newton Richardson had led his Grizzlies to an amazing 23-0 record before losing to California. It was the single best start in the young association's history, as astounding in its feat as Montana State's 10-22 record in winning its conference tournament for an automatic bid the year before had been. Other incredible storylines included Missouri winning its third straight automatic bid by winning the Big 8 tournament despite never having won a regular season title. Despite being a 10 team league, the North Star continued to hold to its 8 team policy and newcomer William & Mary nearly replicated Georgetown's feat from the year before. Alas, the Tribe, who won the regular season crown, fell short in the tournament final, losing 78-71 to 7 seed Navy. Montana doubled on 3 seed Oregon, winning the Pacific Coast tournament 105-49, giving the Grizzlies a 31-1 mark before the start of the NCAA tournament. San Francisco won both the Sun West titles and hoped to finally get the respect of a single digit seed. The two new head coaches split in how they fared. Gus Seely's Loyola-Illinois team finished second to Marquette in the Great Lakes and then lost to the Warriors in the championship final, while Brian Soler captured the SEC regular season title with Georgia Tech before falling to Auburn in the conference tournament final. NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Montana Marquette SMU San Francisco A 31-1 team and former national champion in Montana, a last year's Final Four in Marquette, and a two-time Sweet 16, two years ago Elite 8 in San Francisco. It was great pedigree for the top seeds, although SMU was far below the other three. Three Consecutive NCAA Appearances Arkansas Auburn (1 Sweet 16) Baylor Bucknell Cincinnati Colorado State Denver Cornell Dayton Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Championship Game) Fordham Furman (1 Sweet 16) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final Four) Loyola-Maryland (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Marshall (1 Sweet 16) Montana (1 National Championship) Mississippi Missouri Navy Oregon State Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 National Championship) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) South Carolina (1 Final Four) TCU USC (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Washington (1 Sweet 16) The Rice Owls, incidentally, were a #9 seed in 1950's bracket, in the West region with none other than Montana. First Round Upsets West Region #13 Bradley over #4 Loyola-Illinois (so much for Gus Seely) #10 Indiana over #7 Dayton #11 Wyoming over #6 Colorado Midwest Region #10 Valparaiso over #7 Minnesota #11 Georgetown over #6 Oregon State South Region #13 Marshall over #4 Wake Forest #14 Wisconsin over #3 VMI East Region #13 Holy Cross over #4 Illinois #12 Auburn over #5 Maryland #10 BYU over #7 West Virginia #14 Army over #3 Furman Defending champion Rice bowed out in the first round, 55-47, to Navy, continuing a disappointing trend of underperformance first established by Montana. Although the upsets were considerable in the East, and a minimum #12 seed would advance to the Sweet 16 there, the NCAA was happy with the results of the first round and was even pleased to see the Hoyas advance. Meanwhile, the Big 10 continued its ability to both upset and be upset. Round 2 Upsets (More than 1 seed difference as with all rounds, including first) West #13 Bradley over #5 Colorado State #10 Indiana over #2 Cornell #11 Wyoming over #3 St. Mary's Midwest #9 Washington over #1 Marquette South #13 Marshall over #5 Drexel #7 Miami over #2 Columbia #14 Wisconsin over #6 Missouri On the one hand, all the upsets in the West seemed to clear the path for Montana's return to the Final Four. On the other hand, if the Grizzlies went down, a double-digit seed in the Final Four was certain. Marshall reprised its double-digit upset ways into the Sweet 16, much as it had done the year before, but the story everyone was talking about was Miami going from 10 wins in their first year of play to 22 wins a minimum Sweet 16 appearance in their second. The Southern Stars move was a great one for them, and so was that Top 25 class. It was the fastest year to year change in association history. Sweet 16 #1 overall seed Montana beat #13 seed Bradley by 20, Newton Richardson lighting up the stage with 27 points and 7 assists. They would face #11 seed Wyoming in the Elite 8, the Cowboys victors over the 10 seed Hoosiers. Baylor continued to show Gus Seely the error of his ways in moving to Loyola-Illinois, as the 5 seed Bears clawed 9 seed Washington 99-64 on senior PG Brian Fernandez's 29 points and sophomore small forward Vernon Huss, the #1 overall recruit in 1948,'s double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. 2 seed Cincinnati hammered 3 seed TCU 84-59 thanks largely to two-time defending MAC Player of the Year Harold Bell, as the senior swingman put up 22 points for the Bearcats. #1 SMU survived a 70-69 scare from #13 seed Marshall and #7 Miami dispatched #14 Wisconsin 72-62, extending the Hurricanes' dream sophomore season. And finally, in the sweetest victory yet for the NCAA, the East region was all chalk, as top seed San Francisco made it back to the Elite 8, decimating Holy Cross 71-42 and rising power #2 seed Syracuse squashed #6 seed independent darling Loyola-Maryland by 30, again thwarting the Greyhounds' Final Four dreams. Elite 8 #1 Montana vs. #11 Wyoming #2 Cincinnati vs #5 Baylor #1 SMU vs #7 Miami #1 San Francisco vs #2 Syracuse The storylines naturally favored Montana, Baylor, Miami, and San Francisco, but in the NCAA's view, any combination that resulted in the Cowboys going home was a winning situation. There was no way Newton Richardson was going to let his senior national title dreams die just short of the Final Four. He put on a masterful 24 point, 14 assist, 6 rebound, 4 steal, 2 block performance that still ranks among the best NCAA performances of all time for its completeness. Freshman small forward John Grass was inspired to score a career high 21 points and the Grizzlies buried the Cowboys 117-58. Cincinnati made it to their first Final Four, winning 70-65 over Baylor. Vernon Huss's 18 points just wasn't enough to overcome the Bearcats' balanced attack. The most amazing one year turnaround in college basketball history continued, as the Hurricanes surprised #1 seed SMU 81-63. From 10 wins to Final Four team. It was as beautiful as it was unbelievable. Sadly for San Francisco, the Dons fell 60-51 to Syracuse. Just as in 1948, they got so close, only to be thwarted at the last step. Final Four #1 Montana vs #7 Miami #2 Cincinnati vs #2 Syracuse That Grizzlies/Hurricanes Final Four game became the most watched and most listened to contest in college basketball history to that point. It was the ultimate tale of a legendary player of a 35-1 team, playing for his final hopes of a repeat title, against the Little Hurricanes that could, who were the Cinderella sports story of the century, if not all of world sports history. Or at least it was the most watched and listened to until halftime. Newton Richardson put on another virtuoso game - 21 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds to just miss the triple-double again, and 2 steals. 92-51 the final and Richardson congratulated Miami after the game for having the kind of season no one could have expected from them. Cincinnati crushed the Orangemen 75-58 on the undercard, but few paid attention to Harold Bell's 20 points, because everyone was abuzz about Richardson. National Championship #1 Montana vs. #2 Cincinnati The 1948 national title game was hyped because it was the first one, but if it hadn't been the first, few outside the Pacific Coast Conference region would have cared, given that it was an All-PCC final. The 1949 game didn't generate all that much buzz because while the Georgetown switching conferences angle was interesting, neither the Owls nor the Hoyas had anything truly compelling in terms of their players or their history. But the 1950 national title game was different. Newton Richardson vs. Harold Bell in the battle of the senior stars. One was recognized as arguably the greatest collegiate player ever, the other virtually unknown outside of the MAC despite winning Conference Player of the Year honors two seasons in a row. 36-1 against 31-6. The overall #1 seed taking on a #2 seed. And, perhaps most importantly, it was the first national championship that established a real West vs. East feeling that the lesser lights of the 1949 title game couldn't. Hence, it became the most anticipated of the three national championships to date, the betting heavy on the Grizzlies. What followed was a game that was back and forth until 4:14 in the first half, when, with the score tied at 28, Newton Richardson hit a dazzling 3 point shot. From then on, the Grizzlies never trailed, although the Bearcats would make run after run to stay close. But in the end, not even a stupid last-second foul by Jerry Lafontaine could keep Montana from winning its second national title in Newton Richardson's senior year. The Grizzlies won 89-88 following the two Bearcat free throws to make it a one point final. Richardson concluded his career with 22 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal. Code:
How fitting, that Newton Richardson finally wins the National Player of the Year award in his senior season, on the wings of his second national title. The award will henceforth be known as the Newton Richardson Award, in honor of his accomplishments. A look back... Code:
Although his records will no doubt be broken by someone next year who has played all four seasons, Newton graduates as #1 all-time in career points and assists, #2 in field goals made, #2 in 3 pointers made, and #4 in free throws made. On the other hand, his career points total for the Pacific Coast recordbooks may stay #1 for a long time and the same may be true of his career assist totals. But for now, let's salute and enjoy his marvelous career, which I've enjoyed almost as much as Mateen Yeaton's. In fact, I'm almost tempted to buy FBB just to follow his pro career, although I wish I could import into DDS:PB instead.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 05-13-2010 at 09:58 PM. |
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05-20-2010, 08:00 AM
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#6 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1950 Top 25 Recruiting Classes
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For once, the #1 player in the country truly did look worthy of his ranking. Code:
1951 Conference Movement The 1950-51 offseason was the most contentious ever in the history of the fledgling NCAA basketball world. There were seven new teams, all in the West, scheduled to start play in 1951, and although the most sensible plan would have been to put them all in their own new conference, with no automatic tournament bid, a plan the schools themselves were willing to agree to, the NCAA refused to allow a new league while there were still so many conferences with just six members. This created a major problem, given the newcomers' geographic location, as the list below shows. 1951 New Members -------------------- Arizona State Houston New Mexico New Mexico State Northern Arizona Texas Tech UTEP The problem was further compounded by the fact that for the first time in NCAA history, the conferences were assigned prestige rankings. 5 prestige ---------------- Great Lakes Pacific Coast Southern Stars Southwest 4 prestige --------------- Independents Mountain States 3 prestige --------------- North Star Southern Sun West 2 prestige --------------- Big 10 MAC Missouri Valley Steel Yankee 1 prestige ---------------- Atlantic Six Big 8 Empire Ivy Ohio Valley SEC The Southern Stars' inclusion as one of the best conferences in the country was a triumph for the upstart, private school only league with high academic credentials. Unfortunately, their on-court success meant that Vanderbilt, who applied to join, was rejected, because the Commodores, who had just had their first .500 season in 1950, were not considered a good enough athletic addition. In truth, none of the new schools were considered good enough to join the West conferences already established, which made the NCAA's ruling all the more frustrating. As it was, the PCC and SWC were considering voting out Washington State and Texas respectively, the consensus worst teams in their leagues. Two things saved the Longhorns from SWC expulsion. First, they were a football powerhouse. Second, the Arkansas Razorbacks, who were a football giant in their own right, and a solid hardcourt team with three straight NCAA bids, threatened to leave if Texas was voted out. The Cougars had a much harder case, because of the following: 0 prestige schools (excl. newcomers) ------------------------------------ Akron Providence Washington State Furthermore, the only team to stand up for Washington State was their in-state rivals, Washington, who, while owners of three straight NCAA bids and two consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, were dwarfed in power and prestige by Montana, Baylor, USC and even UCLA, the Bruins still living off their 1948 NCAA championship appearance, despite missing the tournament the prior two seasons. In addition, the Pacific Coast was quite eager to add the University of San Francisco to their ranks, but did not want to expand to an odd number of teams. Nor did they want to expand to 12 members, because they saw what happened to the 12 member SEC, which was widely scorned nationally despite the presence of one-time Elite 8 school Georgia Tech. Real-life historical side note: The PCC would have been especially eager to land the Dons in this timeline because of how good the football team was. The biggest issue facing the PCC wasn't whether or not to remove Washington State. It was to find another replacement for Washington if the Huskies bolted as threatened. St. Mary's, the Dons' Sun West partner, generated a lot of discussion, as they were actually slightly higher prestige than the Huskies and made sense geographically, but the PCC couldn't quite bring itself to do it. Finally, the other members of the conference talked Washington into letting Washington State go. Montana pointed out that Montana State was not in the PCC and felt no qualms about it and USC and UCLA were positively thrilled to have theirs be the only major rivalry left. Losing San Francisco devastated the Sun West, which was downgraded to a 1 prestige conference and then lost Nevada, who successfully fled to the Mountain States. Saint Mary's, seeing this flight, went Independent, and just like that, the Sun West was down to just four members. Into the breach stepped all seven expansion schools, thus very neatly solving the difficulty created by the NCAA and making everyone happy, even new conference powerhouse Arizona, who gained an in-state rivalry with Arizona State. Despite Loyola-Maryland's protests, Washington State was forced to go Independent, as no conference was interested in housing a 0 prestige team and one that was a second-class team even on the gridiron. Unlike other conferences who found themselves expanding, the Sun West allowed all its members into the conference tournament, arguing that with so many newcomers, it would be unfair to restrict entry. And so the list of changes continued to grow. Conference Changes Georgetown ------------ Atlantic Six (1948) North Star (1949- ) Miami ------------ Independent (1949) Southern Stars (1950- ) William & Mary ------------- Southern Stars (1948-1949) North Star (1950- ) San Francisco -------------- Sun West (1948-1950) Pacific Coast (1951- ) Washington State ------------- Pacific Coast (1948-1950) Independent (1951- ) St. Mary's ------------- Sun West (1948-1950) Independent (1951- ) 1951 Coaching Changes Far more firings and hirings occurred this season than any other year in history. 21 coaches were fired, leading to a coaching carousel. Head Coach Switches -------------------- Bruce Loos - VMI to Texas -Took the Keydets to two straight NCAA tournament appearances before the lure of coaching in a power conference became too strong. Most considered, and rightly so, that he'd have his work cut out in Austin. Julius Durfee - South Carolina to Wake Forest -The Gamecocks looked worse each season, so Durfee cashed in on his 1948 Final Four appearance to take the job with the Demon Deacons before he got fired. Kieth Slayton - Auburn to George Washington -Three straight 2nd round or better NCAA appearances with the Tigers wasn't enough to keep him in the inferior SEC, so he jumped to the Colonials, in a better conference. Brian Leonard - Fordham to North Carolina State -Took the Rams to 3 straight NCAA tournaments, but never got out of the first round, so he got out of the lackluster Empire Conference while his stock was still high. Sammy Taylor - Cornell to VMI -Like Slayton and Leonard, three straight tournament bids with a school from a 1 prestige conference. Taylor sent Loos a postcard, thanking him for the opportunity to continue what Bruce started with the Keydets. James Geyer - North Carolina to San Francisco -The Dons' beloved Thomas Cotten retired and Geyer, despite missing the NCAA tournament last season, gets in because of his 1949 NCAA Final Four showing with the Tarheels and at 36, if he pans out, he could be here for a long, long time. Frederick Batson - Lafayette to Stanford -Another 3 bid head coach and similar to Durfee, Batson's Leopards squads appeared on the downswing. The Cardinal is another tough coaching challenge, akin to Texas in the Southwest. Burton Huber - Marshall to Boston University -Huber led the Thundering Herd to two upset Sweet 16 appearances, but he tired of the disrespect and so moved up the conference coaching ladder. Thomas Roemer - Colorado to Colgate -Two straight tournament bids with the Buffaloes, but the Big 8's lowly status meant they couldn't hang on to their man. Charles Luna - Maryland to DePaul -Credentials were identical to Roemer's and it was a powerhouse conference job that enticed Luna to leave the Terrapins. Sandy Medeiros - Syracuse to Niagra -The biggest shocker of them all saw the Final Four coach jump ship from the Orangemen, lured by the prospect of coaching in one of the nation's best conferences. Many considered this move a mistake for the 67 year old, even if he did stay in New York state. Gary Corder - Penn State to Washington State -Pressure was intense in Happy Valley after Corder's Nittany Lions went from Elite 8 to no tournament bid, so he escaped to Pullman where expectations were not only low, but the fanbase gave him a hero's welcome as a rare spot of bright news following a dismal offseason. 1951 Regular Season USC, thanks largely to Gregory Red, was voted the #1 overall team in the preseason poll. Defending champion Montana, despite the loss of Newton Richardson to graduation, still held the #3 spot. As always, the polls were largely a joke, much to the disappointment of those who hoped a conference hierarchy would lend credibility. On the other hand, the sportswriters had a legitimate Top 8 teams on March 1st for the first time in polling history, so progress, however slow, was at least being made with each year. There would be no 37-1 miracle repeat, however, either by the Grizzlies, or the #1 team in the country at the start of March, 23-3 Rice, the Owls back as a national power. Missouri won its 4th straight Big 8 conference tournament, this time as the #1 seed. In the newly configured Sun West, Arizona legitimatized its conference powerhouse status by capturing both titles, beating 3 seed Montana State 82-72 in the final. VMI showed no sign of slacking under Sammy Taylor, who led the Keydets to the double and a 60-46 win over 7 seed Virginia Tech. Miami proved its Final Four run the year before was no fluke, winning the double in the prestigious Southern Stars, its tourney title coming 73-64 over 2 seed Furman.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-20-2010, 08:01 AM
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#7 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1951 NCAA Tournament
#1 seeds Loyola-Illinois Rice Oregon State Georgetown This was the mostly heavily criticized group of #1s to date. Although nobody had problem with Rice or Georgetown, Loyola-Illinois and Oregon State over USC and Miami met with a firestorm of indignation. The onus would be on the Ramblers and Beavers to prove they belonged. 4 Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances Auburn (1 Sweet 16) Bucknell Colorado State Cornell Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Championship Game) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4) Loyola-Maryland (2 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Marshall (2 Sweet 16) Mississippi Montana (2 NCAA Championships) Missouri Oregon State Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (2 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8 TCU (1 Sweet 16) USC (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) First Round Upsets West #13 St. Mary's over #4 Texas A&M #12 Wyoming over #5 Arizona #10 Army over #7 Ohio #14 Marshall over #3 Auburn #11 Citadel over #6 Drexel Midwest #15 LSU over #2 California #11 William & Mary over #6 Marquette South #13 Kansas State over #4 Boston College #12 Davidson over #5 Holy Cross #15 Providence over #2 Miami East #12 Syracuse over #5 St. John's #15 Valparaiso over #2 Duquesne It was a tough tournament for the #2 seeds, but no upset was more shocking than that of the Friars over the Hurricanes. It was the sweetest victory in Providence's young history, made doubly so by the fact that they and Miami entered the league together in 1949. The Friars were in their first tournament and got their first win over a heavily favored squad. And of course, there was the problem of 3 guaranteed double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16, but the NCAA had come to accept this problem as one that would not go away any time soon. So long as the Final Four stayed pure, they were fine with whatever else happened. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West #14 Marshall over #11 Citadel South #6 Mississippi over #3 San Francisco East #15 Valparaiso over #7 Columbia The Dons' stunning loss to Ole Miss was both a boon to the SEC and an embarrassment to the PCC, who was not at all happy to see its newest member perform so poorly relative to their prior tournament successes. Marshall, on the other hand, had yet another double-digit upset Sweet 16 run. Sweet 16 The West had a #1 seed and #2 seed vs a #13 and #14 seed respectively, while the Midwest was double-digit seed free, #7 TCU the highest one remaining. The South had a 13 seed left, but the matchups everyone wanted to see were both in the East. #1 Georgetown vs #4 Loyola-Maryland and defending champion #3 Montana vs Cinderella #15 Valparaiso. Loyola-Illinois and USC set up a chalk 1 vs 2 Elite 8 matchup in the West. The Ramblers beat newly independent St. Mary's 68-49 via freshman phenom guard Thomas Branson's 26 points (#4 overall) and the Trojans dispatched the Thundering Herd 63-58 on senior center Orville Haddad's 14 point, 14 rebound double-double. Oregon State proved worthy of its #1 seed, besting Kansas State 63-52, and Mississippi continued its run, beating Detroit 76-75 in a back-and-forth thriller. Rice handled Xavier 74-63, courtesy of junior point guard Heath Walker's 27 points, while Bowling Green stoppered TCU's Elite 8 dreams, 66-63. Loyola-Maryland once again failed to break through the barrier, falling 66-56 to Georgetown because they had no answer to the Hoyas' sophomore Michael Issacs going 11/11 from the FT line en route to 20 points. Montana secured the dream matchup for the mass media networks, destroying Valparaiso 86-67. Sophomore forward John Grass, who'd played well as a freshman during the Newton Richardson-fueled tournament run the year before, led the way with 23 points and he was aided by junior Lorencio Diez's 20 points. Elite 8 #1 Loyola-Illinois vs. #2 USC #1 Rice vs #3 Bowling Green #1 Oregon State vs #6 Mississippi #1 Georgetown vs #3 Montana In many ways, it was the most exciting Elite 8 up until that point. For the first time in history, all the #1 seeds made it to the Elite 8 and a shot at an All-#1 Final Four. Even better, the only two champions in NCAA history were both present and everyone but Oregon State, Bowling Green, and Mississippi had been this far before. In short, it was the Elite 8 for everyone, whether you liked the traditional powers, cheered for Montana's dynasty to continue, or wanted to see a new champion. That one new Final 4 team would be there was certain and that was the winner of Oregon State/Ole Miss. Loyola-Illinois/USC was hyped because of many who thought the Trojans should be the 1 seed and Georgetown/Montana was a guaranteed draw because it was Montana against a former runner-up. The first day's games proved shockingly dull. Junior swingman Chris Berry had a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a block in Loyola-Illinois's 77-53 yawner over USC, vindicating the committee. Oregon State beat Mississippi 74-63 in an equally uninteresting game, although it did mean two #1 seeds to the Final Four for the first time since 1948. Much to the networks' disappointment, the Sunday games were no better. Rice ran over Bowling Green 84-59 and Georgetown steamrolled Montana 70-50 as John Grass played the worst game of his two year career, going 1 for 11. Meanwhile, Hoyas freshman guard Tracy Allen scored 20 points. Final Four #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #1 Oregon State #1 Rice vs #1 Georgetown For the first time ever, an all #1 seed Final Four. Much like the 1948 series, the Rice/Georgetown game, a rematch of the 1949 national championship, was considered the true title game, with Ramblers vs Beavers considered the undercard. Money was heavy on Loyola-Illinois, while it was a pick 'em for Owls and Hoyas. One blowout happened and it wasn't the one everyone thought. Rice once again tripped up Georgetown's championship hopes, the Owls shredding the Hoyas 69-47. But Loyola-Illinois and Oregon State was a classic. The Beavers led 44-34 at halftime and then freshman Thomas Branson led a fast and furious comeback that took the game into overtime. What followed was a sloppy extra period, with numerous traveling and shotclock violations, but in the end the Ramblers won 80-79. Oregon State sophomore Hugo Gabriel was the game's goat, committing the foul that gave Loyola-Illinois the two free thows needed for the win and, on the very last play of the game, with a chance to win it and be the hero, getting whistled for traveling. Corvallis was an unhappy place indeed the next fall for the young man. Branson finished with 21 points. Championship #1 Loyola-Illinois vs. #1 Rice Thomas Branson, the hotshot freshman, against a junior-laden Rice squad that was around for the 1949 title, including three-year starters center Ike Mahone, shooting guard Jamaal Love, and point guard Heath Walker, all three of whom had won All-Southwest honors the year before. The oddsmakers favored the experienced Owls heavily, as you might imagine. Unlike that 1949 championship game, this one generated quite a bit of interest, with some wondering if Branson was the next Newton Richardson. And then Chris Berry reminded everyone that he was still around. He scored 21 points and was named MVP as the Ramblers pulled off the stunner, upsetting the Owls 66-52. Loyola-Illinois spoiled the hopes of 4 rings among 2 teams. But in the process, they'd given rise to a new marquee star. Thomas Branson Awards National Freshman of the Year All-Freshman Team 3rd Team All-American Great Lakes Player of the Year Great Lakes 1st Team All-Conference Great Lakes Freshman of the Year Great Lakes Freshman All-Conference Code:
Oh and one more thing. Newton Richardson was indeed the #1 overall pick, or at least projected by virtually every mock draft in the country.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-21-2010, 04:50 PM
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#8 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Other 1951 Notes
The most noteworthy thing about Loyola-Illinois's championship was the sweet revenge it provided Gus Seely. Seely, who was roundly criticized for leaving Baylor for the Ramblers post, especially after the Bears made it to the Elite 8 and Loyola-Illinois bowed out in the first round in 1950, could now savor the pleasure of a ring in a year when Baylor failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Making it all the sweeter was the fact that Thomas Branson, Seely's own recruit, played one of the biggest roles in winning that title. But even with the title, Seely still did not rank among the three coaches with over 100 wins after four seasons. That trio was instead: Mack Halbert - Montana Grizzlies - 117 wins The two national championships were, of course, a highlight. But besides the wins and the rings, what really made Halbert the most legendary coach in the country was the fact that his 1951 Grizzlies team became the first defending champion to get out of the first round. In fact, they ran all the way to the Elite 8 before falling to Georgetown in their first year without Newton Richardson. On the other hand, at 56 years old, Halbert was certain to eventually be passed by much younger head coaches when all careers were said and done. Frank Hill - Rice Owls - 105 wins Hill's record after four seasons was identical to Halbert's, save that Hill didn't have the second title that Halbert did. But then, the 36 year old Owls coach looked primed to have a long, illustrious career with Rice, one that appeared destined to reach the heights of personal and team dynastic success. Duane Edwards - Georgetown Hoyas - 103 wins Although Edwards didn't have the banners that Halbert and Hill did, the 37 year old had a national runner-up, a Final Four, a Sweet 16, and a second-round exit to his credit and looked to rival Hill for individual success. 34 year old Charles Henson of Loyola-Maryland also deserved recognition. With 90 wins under his belt and 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8 on his resume, he'd turned the Greyhounds into a national power, and, although he'd failed to break through to the Final Four to that date, his teams never missed the tournament's second weekend. Code:
A few things worthy of note about the 1951 recruiting class: It was Montana's first-ever Top 25 class. Miami also followed the astonishing inaugural 1949 25th recruiting class with a Top 10 class here and the Southern Stars overall, with 3 of the Top 10, including #1 and #2, were absolutely dominant on the recruiting trail. This bullet point was one which the conference, heavily criticized for its elitist attitude and its controversial founding, was especially proud of. Code:
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At #9, the lowest featured recruit thus far. But Hagler was worthy of note, particularly because of where he signed. Remember, Akron was just one of three non-newcomer schools with 0 prestige at the start of the season and the Zips had just one double-digit win season in their history (11-19 in 1948). So this was an epic recruiting coup and the Akron faithful had extraordinarily high hopes for Hagler. 1952 Conference Movement It was the quietest year yet, but that didn't mean it was completely silent. Discussions arose around the idea of moving Syracuse to the North Star, who was hungry to raise its profile from a 3 star conference to an elite level. The Orangemen, who had three straight NCAA berths, including a 1950 Final Four appearance, in addition to strong academics, were just as eager to move to a better athletic and academic conference. But the Yankee League, widely acknowledged as the worst in the country, could not find a suitable replacement and, under NCAA regulations, would have to fold if it did not find a sixth member. Thus, the Syracuse move appeared dead. Until La Salle stepped in. Fresh off a mind-boggling #3 recruiting class, the Explorers desperately wanted out of the ranks of independents, long dominated by Loyola-Maryland. The Yankee League immediately accepted, entranced by that stellar class, and Syracuse was free to join the ranks of the North Star. Syracuse Yankee League (1948-1951) North Star League (1952- ) La Salle Independent (1948-1951) Yankee League (1952- ) Nevada* Sun West (1948-1950) Mountain States (1951- ) * - Although I mentioned it in the 1951 Conference Movement, I forgot to include it in the list of conference changes with the others, so here it is now. With this expansion to 11 teams, the North Star increased its conference games from 14 to 18, but still allowed only the top 8 teams to participate in the conference tournament. 1952 Coach Movement An unlucky 13 coaches were fired prior to the start of the 1952 season and although that was far fewer than the record 21 the year before, that didn't prevent a carousel. Head Coach Migrations Gil Scott - Citadel to Akron -Scott, after finishing around the .500 mark each of his three seasons with The Citadel, finally got them to the tournament last year, where the Bulldogs lost in the second round. This one-off success propelled the 54 year old Scott to the Zips, where he'll be responsible for Robert Hagler's development. Efren Bazemore - Army to Niagra -A year after Sandy Medeiros unexpectedly left the Syracuse Orangemen for the Purple Eagles, he just as suddenly retired after a disappointing 14-17 season. Enter 51 year old Bazemore, who took the Black Knights to the tournament the last two seasons and who has a reputation for being the most gifted scout and teacher in the game. Brian Suiter - Bowling Green to Nevada -An Elite 8 appearance and suddenly Suiter's bolted West, leaving the MAC for the more prestigious Mountain States, where he'd try to return the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament after a two year absence. Abe Esquivel - Michigan State to Utah -Esquivel's reputation was built on the Spartans' 1949 Elite 8 run and Michigan State's Big 10 conference tournament victory to make the NCAAs last season. Both screamed fluke and many fans were unhappy about the hire, particularly since Suiter had two winning seasons to Esquivel's one. Duane Edwards - Georgetown to UCLA -Hubris. That was the word that came to mind when the shocking news broke that Edwards was going to UCLA. He said in his press conference that he wanted to coach against the very best, like Mack Halbert, on a regular basis and this was his chance to do it. Bruins faithful were ecstatic with the coup of a hire and looked forward to a return to the 1948 season, where UCLA made the championship final and lost to Montana. The move was particularly important since the Bruins hadn't been back to the tournament since, and in fact had just season even .500 in the three years after their 1948 run in the first NCAA tournament. Gerald Heater - Duquesne to Georgetown -Although the 50 year old Heater wasn't considered an exceptional hire by Hoyas nation, he did have three 20+ win seasons and NCAA tournament bids to his credit. The problem was, he'd never taken the Dukes to the second weekend in those appearances. Brian Kinard - Bucknell to William & Mary -This was another surprising hire, as the Bison lost an alumnus head coach in Kinard. Four straight NCAA appearances as he took Bucknell successfully from independent status to Atlantic Six power. But like Heater, he never made it to the second weekend. Then again, neither had the Tribe, in spite of three consecutive NCAA bids of their own. Charles Cruz - Holy Cross to Citadel -Three straight 20+ win seasons and an NCAA tournament bid allowed Cruz to step into the Bulldogs' to spot, where his proven pedigree auguered well for Citadel to build on the prior season's success. Andrew Bouldin - Mississippi to Virginia Tech -The Rebels' Elite 8 run meant Bouldin was looking to move up to a better conference and the Hokies were happy to oblige the man who led Ole Miss to four straight tournament appearances, as the SEC was still considered an inferior conference. Marlon Norman - UCLA to Davidson* -Norman became the first ever fired head coach to land a gig successfully elsewhere in the same season, and thanks to his slick recruiting charm, he landed in another power conference in the Southern Stars with Davidson. Could he resurrect his 1948 magic with the Bruins? Signs pointed to no. Porter Gutierrez - Boston College to Richmond -This hire added further fuel to the North Star/Southern Stars rivalry. Gutierrez guided the Eagles to two NCAA tournament bids, but his accomplishments were overshadowed by the archrival Star conference angle and some older folks in Boston curse Gutierrez's name even to this day for what they called his treachery. It hurt even more that at 36, he was a young, up and coming coach. Andrew Brinkman - Detroit to Duquesne -A Sweet 16 run not only saved Brinkman's job, his first NCAA appearance, it also landed him a gig at a much better university in Duquesne. The pressure would be on him to make NCAA bids a consistent habit and prove that the trip with the Titans the year before wasn't a fluke. Scott Stowe -William & Mary to Duke -Like so many others, Stowe turned a three NCAA tournament appearance track record into a power conference job. The Blue Devils had just one winning season in their history, in 1949, where they'd advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in their lone postseason appearance. 1952 was not only the first time a fired coach immediately found a head coach job elsewhere, it was the first time assistants were directly promoted to head coach jobs at their school. Bucknell's Brady Smith, Holy Cross's Bruce Woodruff, Bowling Green's Herman Wilkinson, and Mississipi's Todd Foster all went from being assistants to head coaches after their mentors left for other positions. In addition, Youngstown State and Oklahoma hired alums Marquis Miele and Richard Sanabria respectively. Another close-connection tie came with Detroit's hire of Bill Miller, who not only was the assistant at Michigan State the four years prior, but was a Fowlerville, MI native. He'd gone to Alabama for his college education, however. 1952 Regular Season Loyola-Illinois ranked 7th in the Preseason Top 25. USC was #1, followed by Miami, Rice, Montana, San Francisco, Illinois in a total surprise, and then the Ramblers. As usual the polls were a joke for anything but the top 5 at the start of March, with #1 Rice, a surprise Bradley team #2, defending champion Loyola-Illinois #3, a resurgent South Carolina #4 and USC #5. Missouri won its 5th straight conference tournament by a single point, 68-67 as a 2 seed over 4 seed Iowa State. Bowling Green's Herman Wilkinson kept the magic going with the double, proving the university brass was smart to promote him, while the Falcons' old head coach, Brian Suiter, did the double with the Nevada Wolfpack. Brian Kinard showed he made the right move in leaving his alma mater by sweeping the North Star titles with William & Mary and Andrew Brinkman took Duquesne to both Steel conference titles, among the multitude of successes by the new coaches. Youngstown State alum Marquis Miele captured the regular season crown with the Penguins, but lost by 27 to 4 seed Louisville in the second round of the Ohio Valley conference tournament.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-21-2010, 04:51 PM
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#9 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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NCAA Tournament
#1 seeds Loyola-Illinois Bradley USC South Carolina Despite the #1 spot in the polls and winning the double, the Rice Owls were downgraded to a #2 seed, which enraged the entire country. It made no sense for them not to be a 1 seed. In happier news, Duane Edwards brought UCLA back to the tournament as a 3 seed in the West, although many considered the Bruins to be significantly overseeded. Georgetown earned a 4 seed in the Midwest. 5 Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (3 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Mississippi (1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Oregon State (1 Final 4) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) Down to 11 schools who had never failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Round 1 Upsets West #14 Georgia Tech over #3 UCLA #11 Dartmouth over #6 St. Mary's Midwest #16 Siena over #1 Bradley #13 Texas over #4 Georgetown #12 Wyoming over #5 DePaul #14 St. Joseph's over #3 Valparaiso #11 Manhattan over #6 Wichita State South #12 Louisville over #5 William & Mary #10 Kent State over #7 Idaho East #13 Columbia over #4 Loyola-Maryland #11 California over #6 Niagra Two of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history to date occurred this round. The first #16 seed over #1 seed since 1949's #16 VMI upset over defending champion #1 Montana was all the more shocking because Siena was 14-18 (4-6) and in their first ever NCAA tournament. The other stunner was 13 seed Columbia sending Loyola-Maryland home on the first weekend for the first time in the Greyhounds' history. And then of course, there was the decimated Midwest bracket, where only 2 seed Rice and 7 seed Youngstown State remained of the single digit seeds... and they played each other in the second round. Round 2 Upsets (Greater than 1 seed) West #9 Duquesne over #1 Loyola-Illinois #14 Georgia Tech over #11 Dartmouth Midwest #16 Siena over #8 Montana #14 St. Joseph's over #11 Manhattan South #13 Columbia over #5 Furman Two historic firsts occurred after the second round. For the first time ever, a #16 seed was going to the Sweet 16, after the Saints upended the most prestigious team in the country in the Montana Grizzlies. Also, 1952 marked the first time a region went all chalk in the Sweet 16, with the South sending 1 seed USC, 2 seed Virginia Tech, 3 seed Creighton, and 4 seed Wake Forest into the second weekend. Sweet 16 In a matchup of new coaches, #4 Nevada barely edged #9 Duquesne in a 64-63 thriller. #2 Citadel had a much easier time beating #14 Georgia Tech 71-64 on sophomore power forward Max Williams's 21 points and 14 rebounds. Siena's Cinderella run ended 59-47 at the hands of 13 seed Texas, the Longhorns grabbing 16 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks from senior forward Alfred Silvey. And then the sickening started in the NCAA's stomachs. 14 seed St. Joseph's stunned 2 seed, senior-studded Rice 62-60 on a buzzer-beater to guarantee a double-digit seed in the Final Four for the first time. 1 seed USC beat 4 seed Wake Forest 84-76, despite Demon Deacon freshman forward Henry Wolff's heroic 25 points and 10 rebounds. 2 seed Virgina Tech kept the chalk going, topping 3 seed Creighton 53-46 in an ugly game that once again denied an independent the Final Four. Senior big man Gerald Carey kept the Hokies going with the game of his life, netting 18 points and 12 rebounds. Chalk held in the South as well, with 1 seed South Carolina ending 13 seed Columbia's run 82-66, thanks in large part to senior Efrain Webb's matching 16s of points and rebounds. 2 seed Miami steamrolled 3 seed Bowling Green 92-65 as senior swingman Rubin Dryer, formerly #17 in his class and Texas All-State his senior year, a 1951 1st Team All-American, erupted for 31 points. Elite 8 #4 Nevada vs #2 Citadel #13 Texas vs #14 St. Joseph's #1 USC vs #2 Virginia Tech #1 South Carolina vs #2 Miami It was the first time two regions had held chalk through the Elite 8 in this already incredible, history-making tournament. The NCAA and television execs prayed for the Longhorns to win because of the lower seed and huge television exposure from the state of Texas. USC was the preferred winner over the Hokies. South Carolina-Miami was a toss-up, as was Nevada-Citadel, which featured a matchup of new coaches Brian Suiter and Charles Cruz. Texas did indeed save everyone's face, beating St. Joseph's 80-70 via 20 points a piece from juniors Coy Moore and Eddie Tinsley. South Carolina stopped the Hurricanes 71-62 as senior guard Augustus McCarthy scored 24 and sophomore center Henry Vaughn scrabbled out 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Citadel had all five starters in double-digit scoring, led by Max Williams's 22 points, but Nevada fired back with 26 points from junior big Silas Hopkins and 23 points from junior forward Luis Michael and the two classmates combined to send the Wolfpack to a 95-84 win and their first ever Final Four appearance. Virginia Tech-USC played out a similar story, Trojans junior 6th man Dudley Peters electrifying the crowd with 25 points in 26 minutes. Unfortunately for USC, the Hokies got 26 points from junior Joe Hudspeth and 22 points from freshman Ray Bassett as Virgina Tech once again thwarted the Trojans' chase for the Final Four by a score of 90-78. Final Four #4 Nevada vs #2 Virginia Tech #13 Texas vs #1 South Carolina Only the South Carolina Gamecocks had been this far before and as a matter of fact, they were the only one of the Final Four teams who had even been out of the first round before. As you might expect, then, the money was heavy on South Carolina to win it all. Virginia Tech-Nevada was a nailbiter, with no team able to command control. It finally panned out that the Hokies won 62-60, as the Wolfpack got just 5 points from their bench. Neither squad had a standout performance from any individual; it was all gritty team effort. And then the impossible happened. 13 seed Texas beat 1 seed South Carolina by a score of 73-38. That's right. The Gamecocks scored just 38 points and not one South Carolina player reached double-digit figures. They just couldn't get anything going and so South Carolina once more missed out on their chance at a title, while the Longhorns stampeded on to become the first 13 seed in the national championship game. National Championship #2 Virginia Tech vs. #13 Texas The whole state of Texas turned out for this one, a loud and rowdy crowd eager to send their Longhorns to a championship banner. The underdogs were the one saving grace for the networks, ironically, because nothing about the Hokies inspired viewing audience outside of Virginia. So it was that millions watched a dull, painful game that ended in a 68-45 final... for the 13 seed Longhorns. Although the partisan crowd and the state of Texas erupted in joyous raptures and celebration, everyone else couldn't help but feel cheated. The high scorer was Longhorn Eddie Tinsley with 13 points and just four players total reached double-digit scoring. It was a major disappointment, a flat ending and letdown to what had been one of the most exciting tournaments ever. Indeed, the only one smiling was Bruce Loos, the head coach who was called crazy for leaving VMI for the Longhorns. The year before, his first season in Austin, he'd taken Texas to their first ever tournament. And now, the two-year turnaround was complete. He gave the basketball Longhorns a ring, an event that raised the profile of the hoops program immensely, although it still had a long way to go before it rivaled football in the hearts and minds of Texans. Last year, Gus Seely with the first year first round exit, second year national title with his new team. This season, Bruce Loos followed that same route with Texas. Who else was following that same exact path? Duane Edwards, head coach of the UCLA Bruins. Gamblers immediately started betting on UCLA as 1953 champions. Code:
A look back at the 1948 Featured Freshman, Georgia Bulldog Blaine Deaver: Code:
Deaver graduates #1 in points scored in school history by a wide margin. His 2360 points is more than double of second-place Edmond Farmer, who had 893 points. He's also 5th in Georgia career rebounds, 2nd in offensive rebounds and assists, 1st in steals (over double margin - 204 vs Farmer's 98) and 5th in blocks. He's also first in points scored in SEC history, LSU's Michael Thebault 2nd with 1,751 points, 8th in assists, and tied for 1st in steals with Kentucky's Gavin Feltner. Nationally, Deaver ranks 2nd all-time in points scored behind Clemson's Mark Sevilla and tied for 3rd all-time in steals. And yet, despite all these accomplishments, the Bulldogs didn't do so well during Blaine's time on campus. Although Georgia went 18-14 and made the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history his freshman year, the following three seasons were marked with losing records, including a school-worst 10-23 in 1951, his junior year. His senior season, Georgia was 14-17 (10-10), only the second .500 or better SEC record in the program's history.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-05-2010, 09:04 PM
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#10 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1952 Top Recruiting Classes
Code:
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Featured Recruit Code:
Seel was hailed for his ability to shoot from literally anywhere on the court and it was only his questionable academics that prevented him from being named an All-American and the #1 overall recruit in the nation. In any case, provided he could keep his grades straight at a Southern Stars school, he stood a good chance of becoming truly legendary. It was no surprise that the Pacific Coast dominated recruiting, for they did the same in terms of national prestige after five years of NCAA play. Code:
Three of the Top 5 schools, all from the Pacific Coast, not to mention two national titles in the person of Montana. 1953 Conference Movement Two more Western schools joined for the 1953 season, Gonzaga and San Jose State. The most obvious solution would have been to put them in the Sun West, but that would've turned the conference into a 13 member behemoth and the nation's largest. The NCAA didn't want one of its worst conferences to also be its biggest. Arizona, the Sun West's most prestigious school, and Santa Clara, fast-rising with two straight NCAA bids and the only Sun West team to get to the second round, were the natural candidates for relocation. But the Wildcats did not want to move from their position as kings of the conference to accept a mid-tier spot elsewhere, and the Broncos' pedigree was not established enough for the other western conferences. Furthermore, Arizona enjoyed being in the same conference as Arizona State and Northern Arizona. As a result, the Bulldogs and Spartans were forced to go independent. Just when it seemed that for the first time ever, no teams would be changing conferences, the independent Creighton Blue Jays got calls from the Big 8, the Missouri Valley, and the Ohio Valley. The MVC was the most prestigious of the three conferences, so it was a no-brainer for Creighton to move there. This led Detroit, alarmed at the westward shift, to apply to join the Great Lakes, but the Titans were rejected as not being worthy of joining one of the nation's top conferences. Fortunately, Detroit was able to make a lateral move into the MAC, a conference that fit them much better geographically. Creighton Independent (1948-1952) Missouri Valley (1953- ) Detroit Missouri Valley (1948-1952) Mid-American (1953- ) 1953 Coach Movement A comparatively low 14 coaches were pinkslipped, but that didn't mean a slow carousel, as there were a few surprising hires. Abram Lindberg - Purdue to Gonzaga Despite having no West Coast ties and three NCAA appearances in five seasons with the Boilermakers, the 38 year old Lindberg jumped ship to the newcomer Bulldogs. On the other hand, it wasn't so strange as it first looked. Despite leading Purdue to two straight Sweet 16 appearances his first two seasons, things were getting mighty hot in West Lafayette with only a first round exit in the three seasons since, so Lindberg cleared out while the getting was good. Carlo Bloch - Connecticut to San Jose State A Sweet 16 appearance his first year and an increasingly worse performance since. Two barely above .500 records, followed by two sub-.500 seasons. Like Lindberg, the 38 year old Bloch faced serious pressure in Storrs and figured the time was right to move while he had a chance. Dong White - St. Joseph's to Creighton Two years ago, White, 38, was in danger of losing his job after two of three seasons with not even so much as 10 wins. Now, after two NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 showing last season, he's become a hot commodity and moves from the Atlantic Six to the Missouri Valley, joining new conference member Creighton, where he'll be expected to continue the quietly proud Blue Jay tradition. Kent Garza - Bradley to Denver Never had a losing season with the Braves, and made it to the NCAAs four out of five years, with a Sweet 16 appearance to his credit. Can he have the same type of success with the Pioneers, who despite three NCAA appearances from 1948-1950, have never made it to the second weekend and who are largely an average team? Jerrell Hemphill - Arizona to Lehigh The 67 year old has never taken the Wildcats past the first round in four appearances, but just an NCAA appearance at all would thrill the Mountain Hawks fanbase, because Lehigh's never gone dancing. In fact, they're on their third coach in six seasons. Tom Smith - Columbia to West Virginia The Ivy League's been a graveyard for coaches, which makes Smith's move not shocking in the least, despite leading the Lions to the first-ever Sweet 16 showing for the league last season, part of three straight NCAA bids for Columbia. He'll have a hard task building a Mountaineers program that has only one winning season so far, a fluke 19-14 1950 NCAA one and done appearance. Columbia retained Brad Hammack, the scouting director, as their new head coach and Connecticut did the same with Leon Bennett, the Huskies' top assistant for the last five years. 1953 Regular Season Despite the Gus Seely Principle, Duane Edwards's UCLA squad was not the preseason #1. That distinction belonged to Pacific Coast rival USC. The Bruins did rank #19 in the preseason Top 25, however, one spot ahead of the defending champion Texas Longhorns. The start of March saw the most respectable polls in NCAA history to that point, with the Top 11 teams all valid entries, headed by #1 Virginia Tech, who had come out of nowhere to have a 26-2 season to that point, validating the Hokies' appearance in the lackluster championship the year before. For the sixth year in a row, the Missouri Tigers won the Big 8 tournament title, this time a #1 seed, 80-73 over #6 seed Iowa State. Denver celebrated its first ever double, winning both the regular season Mountain States title and the tournament title, as new head coach Kent Garza continued his unbroken string of winning seasons. Duane Edwards and his Bruins won the regular season Pacific Coast title, but lost in the conference tournament to eventual champion California, thus ruining all hope of a top seed in the NCAA tournament.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-05-2010, 09:04 PM
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#11 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1953 NCAA Tournament
#1 Seeds Loyola-Illinois Rice Virginia Tech Valparaiso No dispute over the top seeds in 1953, as it was considered a very strong group, good enough to possibly go all chalk, even though the Owls lost so many seniors to graduation. 6 Consecutive NCAA Appearances Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (3 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Oregon State (1 Final 4) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8) In case you need further proof of the Pacific Coast's dominance, 4 of the remaining 10 schools to always have made the NCAA tournament were from that conference. Round 1 Upsets West #14 Arizona over #3 TCU South #14 Cornell over #3 Creighton East #13 Davidson over #4 USC #14 Virginia over #3 Denver #11 Loyola-Maryland over #6 Army It was the least upset-filled first round in history, with the Midwest having no true upsets, only #9 Marquette over #8 Northwestern preventing a total high seeds sweep. The 3 seeds fared poorly, but the general consensus was they were all overrated. How ironic for Jerrell Hemphill that the year he leaves Tucson is the one the Wildcats finally break through to the second round. 2nd Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) Midwest #7 Drake over #2 Furman The NCAA selection committee was thrilled with the results of the first weekend. #11 Loyola-Maryland was the only double-digit seed remaining and the independent Greyhounds always made an entertaining story as they fought to try and break into the Final Four. Without a doubt, the second round's most thrilling game was #3 Montana and #6 Dayton, the Grizzlies edging the Flyers 80-79 on senior John Grass's 22 points and 10 rebounds. Newton Richardson he was not, but Grass had learned a lot from the Grizzlies' hero about how to lead a team and now Montana was back in the second weekend. Sweet 16 #1 seed Loyola-Illinois topped #4 seed Citadel 85-73 thanks to junior Thomas Branson's 11 points and 11 assists. Branson, you may recall, was the 1951 tournament's star freshman, and although he didn't make noise his sophomore year, he was back in form in his third season for the Ramblers. The Gus Seely Principle fell to the wayside as the #6 seed Nevada Wolfpack proved last season's Final Four run no fluke in stunning the 2 seed UCLA Bruins 80-63. Senior forward Luis Michael led the way with 24 points and 7 rebounds. #1 Rice fended over #4 Wyoming 68-65 and #7 Drake continued their mini-Cinderella run, stopping #3 Montana 80-58 with brilliant team defense and 23 points from senior guard John Loudermilk. #1 Virginia Tech continued the top seed wins, beating 4 seed SMU 70-63, senior center James Ramos doubling for 10 points and 16 rebounds. 2 seed Wake Forest advanced to face the Ramblers by winning over 6 seed William & Mary 64-56. Senior forward Elliott Dance provided the steps with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Demon Deacons. Loyola-Maryland's run for the Final Four once again finished in frustration, as the Greyhounds lost 56-61 to 2 seed Georgia Tech and senior Grady Royston's 21 points. Georgetown prevented the possibility of an all 1 seed Final Four, knocking off Valparaiso 73-58. Elite 8 #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #6 Nevada #1 Rice vs #7 Drake #1 Virginia Tech vs #2 Wake Forest #5 Georgetown vs #2 Georgia Tech It was a good mixture of traditional powers, up-and-comers, and new entrants, one that promised an exciting conclusion to the tournament. Junior-college transfer Harold Gallant stole the show, scoring 25 points and getting 3 steals in Loyola-Illinois's 85-64 laugher over the Wolfpack, but Thomas Branson was a highlight himself, with 19 points and 9 assists. Demon Deacons senior sub Vladimir Sykora had the game of his life with 24 points, but Virginia Tech won 68-67 thanks to a Charles Bellinger steal, followed by an offensive rebound when the insurance shot failed. The Hokies also were aided by 20 points from junior Jacob Burrell and double-doubles from senior post men James Ramos (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Bellinger (13 points, 12 rebounds). Rice rode senior big Jose Baker's 12 points and 10 rebounds to a 72-65 win over Drake, while Georgia Tech used a balanced offense to thwart Georgetown 68-61. Final Four #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #1 Virginia Tech #1 Rice vs #2 Georgia Tech Unlike last season, where three of the four entrants were entirely new to the championship series, only the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech were novices. With Loyola-Illinois and Virginia Tech battling, the national title game would have at least one old hand and with Rice in the other half, a Loyola-Illinois/Rice championship match would guarantee the country's first two-time champion since Montana. Loyola-Illinois did its part in the drive to keep the banner club exclusive, winning 79-72. Thomas Branson put on a fantastic 28 point, 9 assist, 5 rebound, 2 steal game and Harold Gallant again formed a dynamic duo with him, scoring 25 points with 2 steals. The other game was much less exciting, Grady Royston's 23 points taking Georgia Tech to an easy 81-65 win over Rice. Championship Game #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #2 Georgia Tech Thomas Branson and Harold Gallant vs Grady Royston. The bookies heavily favored the Ramblers to reprise their 1951 title, as you can imagine, but the Yellow Jackets were determined to say otherwise. A tense, back and forth game ensued, with lead changes and runs galore. It all boiled down to 1:03 on the clock and Thomas Branson stepping up to the free throw line. The score - Georgia Tech 80 Loyola-Illinois 78. First one - swish. Second one... clunk. Yellow Jacket Andres Thompson grabbed the board and Tech played keep-away. Harold Gallant made a desperation foul with 12 seconds left and although Georgia Tech missed both free throws, it came too late for the Ramblers to even get a shot off. No Newton Richardson was Thomas Branson indeed, despite his 17 points and 8 assists and Harold Gallant's 20 points before fouling out. Grady Royston scored 18, but it was really sophomore reserve Wilfredo Hartzell's 17 points that gave Georgia Tech its upset and first ever national championship. Code:
As for the 1949 Featured Freshman, Jerry Story... Code:
Another SEC Featured Recruit, Jerry had better success than Blaine Deaver in that his Crimson Tide finished with a winning record three of his four years. Unfortunately, Alabama only made the NCAA tournament once his four years there, making it to the second round in 1951, his sophomore year. More frustratingly, the Tide went 13-17 his senior season, Alabama's first losing season since 1948. For the record books, Jerry is #6 all-time in points scored, #2 in SEC history behind Deaver. He ranks tied for 14th in SEC career offensive rebounds, 22nd in total rebounds, and 13th in assists. Alabama school records include 1st in points scored, 4th in offensive rebounds, 4th in total rebounds, 2nd in assists and 2nd in steals.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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06-06-2010, 12:13 PM
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#12 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Other 1953 Notes
The 1953 NCAA Championship by Georgia Tech was the first time in NCAA history after the conference prestige changes that a 1 prestige conference team won the title. It made the Yellow Jackets' run all the more incredible. Jerry Story also surprisingly ranked 2nd in Alabama school history in blocks, although that was expected to end quite quickly. 1953 Recruiting Classes Code:
Gonzaga's #26 overall recruiting class in their first season recalled Miami's success that made the Hurricanes a rising power. Code:
1953 Featured Recruit Code:
Why the #27 recruit? Because the 1953 class was, by and large, uninteresting. Poser, on the other hand, intrigued because he was the Bulldogs' prize get, a German import, who, while undersized, would doubtless be the focus of Gonzaga's offense from the get-go. Conference Prestige Updates 5 prestige ---------------- Great Lakes Pacific Coast Southern Stars Southwest 4 prestige --------------- Southern (+1) Mountain States 3 prestige --------------- Big 8 (+2) Missouri Valley (+1) North Star 2 prestige --------------- Atlantic Six (+1) Big 10 Independent (-2) MAC SEC (+1) 1 prestige ---------------- Empire Ivy Ohio Valley SEC Steel (-1) Sun West Yankee (-1) Note: I changed a couple things I didn't agree with. Originally the Mountain States and Pacific Coast flip-flopped, which I found patently absurd and the same was true of the Ivy League and the MAC. I made the executive decision in both to restore the conferences to their original standing. The Independents' fall from grace surprised no one, because Loyola-Maryland and Saint Mary's simply weren't enough to keep the non-cons going. What did draw amazement was the Big 8's rise from an also-ran into a mid-tier conference. Missouri's six straight NCAA appearances and five straight second round exits had much to do with that. 1954 Conference Movement Three more schools entered the fray in Murray State, Pacific, and Portland. The Racers posed no problem, as they joined many of the other Kentucky schools in the lowly Ohio Valley. But then there were yet two more West Coast schools. This further expansion in the West spotlighted what had become a growing concern in the Pacific Coast. Some members considered the distance factor between Montana and USC/UCLA, among other extreme examples, to wear on teams, a fatigue which explained why the conference hadn't had a Final Four representative since Oregon State in 1951. Thus, a rift grew between the teams in the north and those in the south. The Pacific Coast commissioner, Bartleby Givens, proposed the idea of expanding to 12 teams and splitting into 2 divisions, but that satisfied no one. Montana, Idaho, Washington, and the two Oregon schools began making noise about joining the Mountain States. Losing four of those members didn't bother the Pacific in the least, but missing the crown jewel, the most prestigious school in the nation, in Montana, terrified the Pacific Coast.  The University of Montana held the key to the fates of the Pacific Coast and Mountain States Such a move would also literally split the Pacific Coast in half, but it would have no trouble surviving. In fact, when the tension started to boil over, Givens had already contacted Saint Mary's, Arizona, and Santa Clara about a possible move to the PCC. Although it would mean an 8 team conference and one far less prestigious, the Pacific Coast would still be a quality league. More importantly in the NCAA's eyes, it would relieve some of the pressure in the West and open up slots in the Sun West for two of Gonzaga, Pacific, Portland, and San Jose State. The Sun West furiously objected to these plans, angrily pointing out that they'd once been a respectable conference, with San Francisco, Nevada, and St. Mary's all original members. The league argued that it was detrimental to the rest of the country to use the Sun West as a dumping ground for new schools in the West region and suggested that the same thing could happen to the Ohio Valley in the Midwest and the Empire in the East, should those areas of the country be overloaded as well. That alarm bell gave the Sun West considerable support until the NCAA stepped in and offered a bribe to the rest of the conferences. In short, they offered to strip the Sun West of its automatic bid if the following conditions were met: 1) The five north schools in the Pacific Coast move to the Mountain States 2) Arizona, St. Mary's, and Santa Clara move to the Pacific Coast, and that the PCC also strongly consider taking on Arizona State, who had just made the NCAA tournament the year before. Although Arizona preferred to have all three Arizona schools in the conference, Northern Arizona, at 26-67 (28% winning), had no chance, even with the first double-digit win season in school history in 1953. 3) The Mountain States be elevated to a 5 prestige ranking and the Pacific Coast accept a downgrade to a 4 prestige ranking. It was a tempting offer, because it would mean another at-large bid up for grabs. The prestige demotion caused wariness among the southern Pacific Coast members, but the extra bid had huge backing from a school with no vested interest in the West mess. Loyola-Maryland, the perpetual, proud independent, immediately sided with the NCAA's plan. The Greyhounds were worried their NCAA tournament streak might end with the downgrading of the Independents, and they were also concerned about losing 36 year old Charles Henson, the head coach who had never failed to deliver a 20 win season, and who was said to be looking elsewhere if the school didn't join a powerhouse conference, even with the #1 recruiting class in the country. The natural choice, of course, was for Loyola-Maryland to join the Southern, which, despite its name, was actually more of a Mid-Atlantic league, with schools based in Maryland, the Virginias, the Carolinas, and Washington D.C. But entering into such an agreement would cost the Greyhounds their proud independence and would violate the vow that they would stay independent until they could start a new conference of their choosing. It was the longest and most contentious offseason in NCAA basketball history and no easy end was in sight. There were too many tangled threads.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-04-2010, 04:07 PM
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#13 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The first area of contention resolved itself when Loyola-Maryland, by the narrowest of margins, voted to remain independent. As the university president noted, "If Notre Dame can stay one of the country's best programs as a football independent, we can very well do the same in basketball."
Far less neatly resolved was the Pacific Coast/Mountain States drama that dominated the newspapers all summer. The NCAA's proposal had a lot of adherents, but Bartleby Givens's 12 team PCC also gained traction, as member schools, despite the posturing of the split, secretly enjoyed the Pacific Coast and didn't want to see one of the nation's best conferences die. Yet, even the growing consensus to expand wasn't immune from controversy. The conference presidents wanted to include former Sun West, now independent Saint Mary's as part of the expansion with either Arizona or Santa Clara as the other candidate. The NCAA, on the other hand, wanted the PCC to take either Arizona and Santa Clara or Arizona and Arizona State. Arizona refused to abandon the Sun West without Arizona State and Loyola-Maryland actively campaigned against losing Saint Mary's from the independents. Saint Mary's, meanwhile, eagerly awaited its Pacific Coast invitation. The stalemate finally broke when the NCAA offered to strip the Sun West of its automatic bid and guarantee the PCC's 5 prestige rating for the current cycle if the Pacific Coast took Arizona and Arizona State. Although Saint Mary's was disappointed to lose its conference dreams, it took solace in the fact that another bid opened up. Santa Clara, outraged at the outcome, immediately declared for independence, much to the delight of Loyola-Maryland. Pacific and Portland, despite being far afield of the rest of the conference, joined the Sun West, which, after being stripped of its automatic bid, had 16 prestige Idaho State as its best team. Meanwhile, the PCC stayed a one division conference despite the expansion, since the 12 team SEC set the precedent for conference of that size to stay single division. Should any conference expand to 14, however, two divisions would become a virtual necessity. By the time the dust settled: Arizona Sun West (1948-1953) Pacific Coast (1954- ) Arizona State Sun West (1951-1953) Pacific Coast (1954- ) Santa Clara Sun West (1948-1953) Independent (1954- ) Coach Movement 15 coaches were fired prior to the 1954 season, setting off the carousel. Owen Grier - La Salle to Iowa State How did a coach with just one winning season and no NCAA appearances get hired? That's a question nobody had a real answer to and it's not like the Cyclones, who had 2 NCAA tournament appearances on the resume, were horrible. Bad, yes, but not bad enough to stoop to 39 year old Grier, better known for flashy recruiting than legitimate basketball tactics. Morgan Eiland - Drexel to Missouri Eiland carries him with a reputation of being one of the nation's best tactical and teaching coaches, despite just a high mark of two seasons with 22 wins and NCAA bids. The 37 year old is a terrible recruiter and he faces the pressure of not only replacing the Tigers' popular coach, but trying to maintain Mizzou's unbeaten streak in the Big 8 conference tournament. Tony Emerson - Alabama to Illinois Made his reputation on the Jerry Story recruitment and has a winning record, despite just one NCAA appearance with the Crimson Tide. The Fighting Illini have 4 NCAA bids in 6 seasons, but have lost in the first round every time. They're hoping the 40 year old can reverse those fortunes. Tony Gonzalez - Virginia to Wisconsin Gonzalez, 51, has four straight winning seasons to his credit, with NCAA bids in three of the last four years with the Atlantic Six team Cavaliers. Decent hire for the Badgers, who have never had a losing season and only missed the NCAA once. Gregory Bernard - Wisconsin to Loyola-Maryland The 33 year old Bernard is one of the hotter young coaches in the league. After two years as an assistant at Yale, he spent four years in Madison, leading the Badgers to three NCAA bids, including a Sweet 16 appearance. Like Eiland with Mizzou, Bernard's facing an unenviable task of taking over a legend. Kristopher Lieberman - Northwestern to Drake A one season wonder, 38 year old defensive specialist Lieberman gets the job at Drake after taking Northwestern to its first ever winning season, 20 win season, and NCAA appearance, just like the Bulldogs had their first 20 win season and shocker Elite 8 appearance last year. Jack Brunette - Baylor to Utah State* Fired by the Bears after three non-winning seasons following an Elite 8 appearance his first season in Waco, the 52 year old landed on his feet with the Aggies, who have just one winning season and NCAA bid in school history (1949). Brian Soler - Georgia Tech to Wyoming Soler stunned the nation by quitting his job with the NCAA champion Yellow Jackets to go to Laramie. On the other hand, in doing so, Soler earned the distinction of being the first head coach in league history to be the top man at three different schools, having coached Duke from 1948-49. He'll be expected to produce immediately for the Cowboys, who are on 5 straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 appearance and a Sweet 16 showing last season. Robert Snyder - Dartmouth to Lehigh 3 bids in the last 4 seasons allow 55 year old Snyder to escape Ivy League purgatory after toiling for 6 years for the Big Green. On the other hand, Lehigh has never had a winning season, much less an NCAA bid, so it's a tall order. Ronald Edwards - Navy to Washington Four NCAA bids and two second round appearances in six years sounds good enough until you consider Edwards' greatest success came in his first three seasons. And there's good reason for that; he's one of the worst recruiters ever and looks likely to ensure the Huskies' fall from grace after 2 Sweet 16 appearances in their first 3 seasons. Douglas Cover - Clemson to Alabama* 2 NCAA bids in 5 seasons is a pretty good ratio, but the real story here is Cover's return to coaching after a year's absence. He was fired from Clemson prior to the 1953 season and the 56 year old catches a lucky break here from the Crimson Tide. Johnny Martinez - Illinois to Georgia Tech No greater sign of the country's opinion that the Yellow Jackets' national title was a fluke than the fact the best they could do was 41 year old Martinez, who took the Illini to 4 bids in 6 seasons, with first round exits in all of them as noted above. Charles Henson - Loyola-Maryland to North Carolina Hearts broke all across Maryland when Henson packed his bags south to North Carolina. It wasn't unexpected given the downgrade of the independents, but still disappointing. On the other hand, Henson never made it to the Final Four, his closest an Elite Eight finish in 1949 despite six straight 20+ win seasons. The Tarheels made the Final Four that same 1949 season, but haven't been back to the Big Dance since. If Henson can build the Tarheels like he did the Greyhounds, he'll be a legend in two states. Erick Gleason - Drake to Baylor With just one winning season to his resume, the 24 victory, Elite 8 appearance last year, the 52 year old Gleason took advantage of the cooling heat at Drake to escape to Waco, where Baylor's been tournament absent since their 1950 Elite 8 appearance. Chris Nelson - Missouri to Texas A&M Everyone knows of course about how Nelson took the Tigers to six straight Big 8 tournament championships, but he also lead Mizzou to five consecutive second round showings. Because of his success, he finally moves to a better conference. The Aggies have just 1 losing season in their history and four NCAA bids. But like Illinois, they've never been past the first round. Chris Messier - Louisville to La Salle Messier, 58, makes a lateral move in terms of conference, but La Salle's recruiting triumph of a few years ago makes the Explorers a far more prestigious gig even though Messier guided Louisville to two NCAA appearances and La Salle has never been. What was most interesting about the coaching changes, however, is three assistants who quit prior to 1953 over salary disputes landed head coaching jobs in 1954. (Which, by the way, is one of the coolest damn minor things I've seen in this new version).
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-05-2010, 09:54 AM
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#14 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Pistol City
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Incredibly addicting read with an awesome backstory. I'll be keeping up with this dynasty.
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07-05-2010, 10:29 AM
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#15 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks.  It's been a fun one so far, but I don't know how long I'll be able to continue without the ability to add conferences.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-05-2010, 12:33 PM
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#16 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1954 Regular Season
NCAA runner-up Loyola-Illinois with senior Thomas Branson was the unanimous #1 choice in preseason polls, followed by traditional power Rice, Wake Forest, Richmond, Furman, San Francisco, Niagara, Marquette, Montana and Baylor in the Top 10. Defending champion Georgia Tech didn't receive even so much as a single vote. Rice, Wake Forest, and USC raced out to 13-0, 13-0, 11-0 and reached 17-0, 17-0 and 12-0 before losing their first games. March brought on another reasonable Top 11 for the second year in a row, led by Loyola-Illinois, who'd regained their form after a couple early season losses. Missouri won its seventh straight Big 8 conference tournament title, pulling the double in knocking off 6 seed Oklahoma State 65-57 in the final. Other teams winning both conference titles included Saint Joseph's (Atlantic Six), Wisconsin (Big Ten) Loyola-Illinois (Great Lakes), Drake (Missouri Valley), Georgia Tech (SEC), Wake Forest (Southern Stars), TCU (Southwest), and Duquesne (Steel). One conference didn't have its tournament that was expected to and that was the Mountain States.  The great March Blizzard in of 1955 was not only unseasonable, it made travel treacherous all along the Rocky Mountain corridor. After a flurry of phone calls back and forth, the conference elected to cancel the conference tournament that year and trust in the selection committee to do the right thing. And in fact, the committee sent four teams from the Mountain States to the Big Dance, albeit two each were in the same region. Colorado State and Nevada were #7 and #8 seeds in the Midwest, Utah State and BYU #12 and #14 seeds in the South. 1954 NCAA Tournament #1 seeds Rice Loyola-Illinois Wake Forest Furman There were no arguments with the #1 seeds, although some felt Georgia Tech, the upstart defending champions, an extremely generous #2 seed. 7 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (4 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Missouri Montana (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8) First Round Upsets Midwest #12 Idaho over #5 Texas A&M South #10 Indiana over #7 Alabama East #16 Duquesne over #1 Furman #10 William and Mary over #7 Canisius #14 Cornell over #3 Missouri Although the Dukes' stunner over the Paladins was a major upset, Duquesne deserved far better than their #16 seeding. Missouri was also considerably overseeded at #3. All told, however, it was a remarkably breezy first round for the higher seeds. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West #7 Texas over #2 Georgia Tech East #16 Duquesne over #8 Drake #10 William & Mary over #2 Niagara #14 Cornell over #6 Washington The Midwest and South were all chalk, seeds 1-4 making it to the second week. Texas and Georgia Tech featured two teams considered fluke national champions the previous two seasons, 1952 and 1953 respectively and the game turned out a classic. The Longhorns pulled off the 79-77 upset to advance to the Sweet 16. Duquesne continued the strongest run by a #16 seed since Siena's Sweet 16 run two years before in beating the Bulldogs handily. #10 and #14 W&M and Cornell meant a double-digit seed was a guarantee in the Elite 8, with a possible all-double digit Elite 8, should Duquesne's Cinderella form continue. Sweet 16 #1 seed Loyola-Illinois rode senior big man John Pfeiffer's 21 points and 13 rebounds and senior swingman Harold Gallant's 20 points to a 72-59 win over #4 Wisconsin, the Ramblers proving too deep despite the Badgers' successful efforts in bottling Thomas Branson to 14 points. 25 points from senior SG Andrew Washington, 22 points from former #1 overall, Featured Recruit Gregory Red, and 10 points from sophomore sixth man Larry Dykes propelled #3 seed USC to a 97-94 win over #2 seed TCU to set up an exciting date with the Ramblers in the Elite 8. #16 Duquesne became the first of its seed to reach the Elite 8, as Loyola-Maryland once again found itself stranded in the Sweet 16. The Dukes' depth, signified by sophomore reserves Theodor Rosenbucher and DeAngelo Marx with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 14 points respectively had the type of Teutonic strength and Communist equality good enough to shoot down the Greyhounds. And so a double-digit seed was guaranteed a Final 4 spot for the first time since 1952, when 13 seed Texas won it all, as 10 seed William & Mary beat 14 seed Cornell 62-45 in the other East matchup. Junior small forward Michael Appleby scored 26 to send #1 seed Rice to a 73-59 win over #4 seed Stanford and the #7 seed Longhorns set up an All-Texas Elite 8 battle by knocking off #3 seed Richmond 78-69. Three double-doubles featured in #1 seed Wake Forest's 84-77 romp over #4 seed Lafayette, ruining the Leopards' first ever trip to the second weekend in 7 tournament bids. Junior forward Henry Wolff took home Player of the Game honors with a monster game of 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks while senior SG Donny McDonough picked up 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore center Manual Crawford finished it off with 14 points and 11 rebounds. And then there was Montana. The #3 seed Grizzlies showed there was life in them yet as one of the nation's elite teams, slipping past #2 Citadel 71-69 on senior PG Aubrey Joseph's 23 points. Elite 8 #1 Rice vs #7 Texas #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #3 USC #1 Wake Forest vs #3 Montana #16 Duquesne vs #10 William & Mary Every single national champion, with the exception of Georgia Tech, was represented in that year's Elite 8. Rice and Loyola-Illinois were both heavily favored in their classic matchups, while Wake Forest/Montana and Duquesne/W&M were tossups. The Longhorns hoped to prove their 1952 title no fluke, while Rice was trying to maintain their elite status. Loyola-Illinois had virtually the same pedigree as the Owls, while USC, who had been to the Elite 8 three times before without success, desperately wanted to finally break through to the Final Four. Wake Forest was a rising power, making it to the Elite 8 for the second year in a row, third overall, while Montana determined to show their dynasty wasn't dead. Duquesne wanted to build on their history-making run and they were playing a team somewhat like themselves in the Tribe, in that each school, despite their double-digit seed, had made the tournament in all but one season. Lots of storylines in that impressive Elite 8, but it remained to be seen if the games would prove equally as thrilling. Loyola-Illinois took a page from the Wake Forest playbook as the Trojans once again were stopped in the Elite 8, 76-60. Three Ramblers netted double-doubles: John Pfeiffer (15 points, 11 rebounds), senior center Hal Greiner (12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks), and, as you might expect, Thomas Branson (12 points, 15 assists, 2 steals). In a battle of similar teams, William and Mary became the ones to earn the school's first ever Final Four appearance, senior swingman Pat Ahmad's 26 points powering the Tribe to an 83-69 win over Duquesne, whose depth and magic finally ran out. The Owls embarrassed the Longhorns 95-56 through the efforts of their senior backcourt, Hassan Johnson and Ollie Serna, with 20 points and 4 steals and 21 points respectively. True freshman center Jose Webster tacked on 12 points and 12 rebounds and provided a possible future star for Rice. But the worst shame of all came for Montana, annihilated 71-48 by Wake Forest. Not a single Grizzly reached double-digit points, while Demon Deacon seniors Emory Taylor (21 points) and Henry Wolff (10 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks) nearly beat the country's most prestigious team by themselves. Final Four #1 Rice vs #1 Wake Forest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #10 William & Mary Two Final Four newcomers. Two traditional powers with matching resumes. An up and comer and a Cinderella. Thomas Branson's last hope for redemption and a lot of senior power all around. It looked to be a thrilling Final Four, with most tabbing a Rice/Loyola-Illinois championship game that would bring the country its first two title school since Montana. The prediction made sense, as the Owls and Ramblers were both in their third Final Four in four seasons including two consecutive, Rice their fourth in six seasons. Wake Forest's Henry Wolff played magnificently with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks, but sadly for the Demon Deacons, he was the only one to show up in an 86-67 whacking. Rice won because of their backcourt and because of sophomore sixth man Daniel Roby, who'd proven a sharpshooter in the regular season with 18.9 points a game as a reserve, and who torched Wake for 26 points. Between Roby and Webster, Rice looked good to be a power team for the next few years to come. And yet, the dreamt-for matchup didn't materialize. Despite 12 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals, Thomas Branson shot just 33% and Hal Greiner's double of 10 points and 11 rebounds simply wasn't enough support in a heartbreaking 74-71 shocker to William & Mary. Even with a ring to his credit and the Final Fours and championship game appearances, Branson was still widely regarded as a failure. He'd inherited Newton Richardson's mantle as the nation's biggest star and the pressure caused him to choke, both in the 1953 championship game and in this 1954 Final Four. It was a bitter end to his college career, in direct contrast to Richardson's penultimate glory. The Tribe were led in their triumph by sophomore sixth man Cesar Warner, who scored 20. Unlike Rice's Roby, Warner actually had a starting spot his freshman season, but lost it as a sophomore and only averaged 7.5 points during the regular season. He picked precisely the right time to explode, however. Championship Game #1 Rice vs #10 William & Mary Save for the most degenerate gambler or the most diehard Tribe fan, you would be hardpressed to find anyone willing to bet on William & Mary in the 1954 final. The Owls looked too deep and too good for the 10 seed upstarts to even think of pulling off what would be the tournament's single greatest upset if it occurred. And then senior Pat Ahmad had the greatest game of his entire life. In what many called one of the most incredible performances in NCAA championship history, he erupted for a career-high 35 points and single-handedly carried the 10 seed William and Mary Tribe to an unbelievable 85-78 championship win over the Owls. How meek and weak Jose Webster's 11 points and 11 rebounds and Daniel Roby's 15 bench points for Rice looked in comparison to Ahmad's preternatural shooting and scoring. But then, the Owls had a history of falling short, as they did in the 1951 title game and in last year's Final Four, to say nothing of 1952, when their senior-star heavy lineup fell in the Sweet 16 to 14 seed St. Joseph's. For the second year in a row, the vision of a Loyola-Illinois/Rice championship fell apart and for the second consecutive title game, the half who held up their end of the bargain in that wished-for dream matchup was knocked off despite being heavy favorites. And in Montana, they smiled, for the Grizzlies were still the only team in all the land with two national titles.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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02-22-2011, 08:45 PM
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#17 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I need to look over some things, but this may be coming back.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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02-22-2011, 09:15 PM
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#18 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Baltimore MD
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YES!!!
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02-24-2011, 01:22 PM
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#19 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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...I just lost two god damned hours of writing.
I am beyond pissed.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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02-24-2011, 03:58 PM
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#20 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Synopsis
Thomas Branson graduates, wins National Player of the Year, #1 in career assists, holds a bunch of Great Lakes records, never lived up to Newton Richardson replacement hype. Loyola-Illinois and Montana, Branson and Richardson's schools, finish #1 and #2 in recruiting class rankings. SF Lon Walker of Miami, the #2 overall recruit, is the featured freshman. Loyola-Maryland decides it wants to start a conference. Duquesne quickly agrees. William & Mary signs on, wanting to get back with Mid-Atlantic schools, even though the conference was originally designed to have a Northeast bent, because the North Star (3 prestige) is New England's best conference. Georgetown gets interested after William & Mary goes and the deal's sealed for the Hoyas when George Washington jumps in to have the D.C. rivalry in effect. That's five schools, which isn't enough because the NCAA passed a new law saying all new conferences have to have seven members. Lafayette says it'll join if the NCAA can guarantee a 4 prestige award. VMI wants a smaller conference, so it signs on as well. NCAA agrees and it looks like a new conference is formed. But then Independent Power loyalists at Loyola-Maryland protest en masse and other opponents argue that defending NCAA Champion William & Mary will be seen as the leaders, not Loyola-Maryland, so the Greyhounds drop out. Virginia rescues the new conference by taking L-M's place, happy to be back among Southern schools. Conference gets named the Whig Conference after a long, brilliant speech by Georgetown's president on the multiple levels of meaning associated with the name and the mixture of North/South schools from original American colonies. Steel Conference can't survive the Duquesne defection and is disbanded, upsetting no one but Pennsylvanians. Each of the remaining five schools manages to find a new home. Duquesne Steel (1948-1954) Whig (1955- Georgetown Atlantic Six (1948) North Star (1949-1954) Whig (1955- George Washington Southern (1948-1954) Whig (19550 Lafayette North Star (1948-1954) Whig (1955- VMI Southern (1948-1954) Whig (1955- Virginia Atlantic Six (1948-1954) Whig (1955- William & Mary Southern Stars (1948-1949) North Star (1950-1954) Whig (1955- Georgetown and William & Mary are now the only schools to have been in three different conferences. There were a bunch of notes about recruiting classes, awards, the old Steel conference, the formation of the Whig, and so on, but for now the summary will have to suffice. Perhaps the rest of the stuff will come back later in the narrative. 1955 Coach Changes 17 coaches fired before the 1955 season, including one in the Whig Conference (VMI). As always, the head coach changing school notes. Richard Mask - Butler to Nebraska* Mask was fired by Butler after four straight sub-.500 seasons. On the other hand, he still has that former Loyola-Maryland assistant pedigree on him, which nets him a second chance with the Cornhuskers. Nowhere to go but up, really, as Nebraska won 4 games last year and their best record historically is a 14-18 showing in 1950. Marc Quinn - UTEP to Purdue Coached the Miners for four seasons and improved them almost every year, capping it off with an NCAA appearance last season that earned him calls from other schools. The Boilermakers started off great with two Sweet 16 appearances in 1948 and 1949, but have been to the tournament just once since (1952). Michael Levine - Colorado State to Marquette The 43 year old Levine has spent all seven years of the association coaching the Rams, leading them to five NCAA appearances in that span. On the other hand, Colorado State has never made the Sweet 16. Marquette had its streak of five straight NCAA appearances snapped last season and the Warriors' highlight remains the 1949 Final Four appearance. They haven't been back to so much as the Sweet 16 since. John Beaty - Long Island to Washington State A bit of an odd move for Beaty, who took the Blackbirds to three NCAA appearances in the last four seasons and had his first 20+ win season last year. On the other hand, the independent Cougars did just make their first ever NCAA tournament last year, so perhaps he feels Wazzou's a program on the rise. Philip Woodley - Manhattan to Kent State The Jaspers earned three NCAA appearances in Woodley's seven years there and were a solid, competitive team every season but one. He's stepping into a virtually identical program with the Golden Flashes, except that Kent State is both more prestigious and in a much better conference. Ronnie Pearl - Mississippi State to Wichita State Gradually improved the Bulldogs in his four years there and took them to the second round of the tournament last season. He'll be expected to continue and improve on the Shockers' three straight NCAA appearances, all of them first round exits. Chris Rivera - Kent State to BYU See Beaty's profile for the Jaspers for how Rivera did in seven years with the Flashes. Also see Kent State comparison with Manhattan for how the Cougars in turn compare to Kent State. Burton Huber - Boston University to Colorado State Very strange hire by the Rams. True, Huber did fantastic at Marshall, but in four years with the Terriers, all he did was raise them from absolute worst to middling mediocrity in the North Star. BYU's hire of Rivera was much better. Joseph Abbott - Cornell to Boston University Built the Big Red into an Ivy League power the last four years, with three NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 showing last year. He'll have his hands full with BU, who have never made the NCAA tournament. Then again, neither have Lehigh or Notre Dame in the North Star. Terriers' only winning record was 16-14, in 1950. There's a real opportunity for the 32 year old to become a legend here. Sammy Taylor - VMI to Colgate* Fired by the Keydets after he destroyed the program. They don't want him anywhere near their shiny, new Whig Conference. Still, he did great his first few years at Cornell, and a return to the Northeast could be just what Taylor needs. But he'll face expectations right away. The Raiders have won 20+ games and made the second round of the NCAA tournament each of the past two years, after being terrible prior to that. Thomas Roemer - Colgate to Oregon Has shown in Colorado and Colgate that he knows how to build programs. Four NCAA appearances between the two schools and now he gets to test his mettle against the best of the best in the PCC. The Ducks are very mediocre, with two first round NCAA appearances in their history. Bruce Little - BYU to Oregon State Fans of both Oregon schools will be watching very closely to see which university made the best hire. Little has very solid credentials and was seven years at BYU before Corvallis came calling. Three NCAA appearances and an always competitive Cougars squad. Oregon State made six straight NCAA appearances before an 8 win flameout last year. The Beavers also made the 1951 Final Four, their only non-first round exit in all those showings. Little will need to turn things around quickly. Rolland Rayburn - Wichita State to Arkansas Four NCAA appearances in the last five years, seven years total coaching the Shockers. The Razorbacks haven't had a winning season since 1950, also the last time they made the NCAA tournament. Carl McKibben - Oregon State to Texas* It's unbelievable that one bad season will be enough to get you fired, but that's exactly what happened to McKibben after building a nice program with Oregon State. The Longhorns have established themselves as one of the nation's rising programs, proving their 1952 title wasn't a fluke by making the Elite 8 last season. McKibben will have a short leash on which to work his magic. Jeremiah Coffee - Marquette to TCU* Both Texas schools get the benefit of a hasty AD firing a quality coach after one sub-optimal season. Coffee was a fantastic coach for the Warriors and TCU, whose only tournament miss has been 1952 and who have made multiple Sweet 16s, are pleased to land him. Gary Corder - Washington State to VMI Took the Cougars to their first NCAA appearance last year, but a very questionable hire overall. Terrible recruiting wrecked Penn State's program when he coached there and he had the benefit of low expectations at Washington State. Not the best decision by the Keydets. Regular Season Montana were the preseason favorites, a clear-cut #1 over Wake Forest. Skepticism naturally reigned about the polls, but there was always the hope that just maybe, just maybe this would be the year they could be trusted. As of December 1st, the polls looked good, with unbeatens Wake Forest, Furman, Niagra, Marquette, and Richmond all taking up the #1 to #5 spots. Come January 1st, however, corruption had once again set in, although #1 to #14 were considered correct and reasonable. At 13-0, nobody was denying that Wake Forest looked like the class of the country that year. There were also a number of one loss teams, suggesting a very strong overall group of schools at the top. Although it was still very early, at 13-3 (4-1) #11 Lafayette appeared to be the team to beat in the fledgling Whig conference. Pittsburgh was a very early surprise leader in the Ohio Valley at 2-0 conference. As of February 1st, Wake Forest and Montana were again #1 and #2, but the 21-0 Demon Deacons had the top spot locked down. The poll was considered trustworthy through #15, still an improvement over the year before. Defending national champion William & Mary surged to win the inaugural Whig conference regular season title, then pulled the double in beating 2 seed Lafayette 73-62 in the conference tournament final, held far earlier than all the other conferences. Wake Forest finally lost in February, but the 28-1 Demon Deacons had every right to be proud of having gone 25-0 before losing to #4 Furman on the road, and they still held the #1 spot in the country in a 1-15 reliable Top 25 poll. Teams Pulling the Double William & Mary - Whig Rice - SWC Montana - Pacific Coast Denver - Mountain States Marquette - Great Lakes (Won by just a point over 6 seed Dayton in final) 2 seed Kansas won the Big 8 tournament, marking the first time in NCAA history Missouri didn't win the Big 8 conference tournament. NCAA Tournament #1 Seeds Montana Marquette Wake Forest Furman Defending national champion William & Mary earned the #3 seed in the South, along with Duquesne as the #5 seed. The Whig also placed #4 seed Lafayette in the East and #8 Georgetown in the West, giving the new conference an impressive four NCAA bids. 8 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (1 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (5 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Montana (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) San Francisco (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8) USC (1 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8) Only Missouri dropped out of the streak, leaving eight schools never to have missed the tournament. No mistake that four of seven national titles came from this group. First Round Upsets West Region #13 Mississippi over #4 South Carolina #10 Nevada over #7 Washington Midwest Region #15 Kansas over #2 USC #14 Baylor over #3 Loyola-Maryland South Region #12 Dayton over #5 Duquesne #15 Harvard over #2 Citadel #14 TCU over #3 William & Mary #11 Miami over #6 Loyola (IL) East Region #12 Texas over #5 Georgia Tech #10 Connecticut over #7 Indiana #14 San Francisco over #3 Maryland Cries of "O-VER-RATED!" shook March Madness that year, as perennial powerhouse Loyola-Maryland was stunned in the first round along with USC, defending champion William & Mary, half the Whig entries, and an admittedly overrated Citadel. The upsets in the South seemed to be a case of over-under seeded. Miami, many felt, should have been higher bracketed, and nobody agreed with Citadel as a 2 seed. As for Loyola-Maryland and the Whigs, it was a case of everyone silently wondering if perhaps Karma hadn't swung her scythe through them, just as they'd swung through Pennsylvania in destroying the Steel Conference. Second Round Upsets (Greater than one seed) West Region #8 Georgetown over #1 Montana #13 Mississippi over #5 Depaul Midwest Region #15 Kansas over #7 Texas A&M #14 Baylor over #6 Valparaiso South Region #12 Dayton over #4 USC #15 Harvard over #7 Wisconsin #14 TCU over #11 Miami The bloodbath in the South continued, with only #1 Wake Forest left as a single digit seed. The Hoyas' upset of the Grizzlies sent shockwaves through many an office bracket, and only the East stayed relatively sane, with 6 seed SMU the lowest remaining seed in the bracket. Sweet 16 West #8 Georgetown vs #13 Mississippi #2 Rice vs #3 Richmond Midwest #1 Marquette vs #4 Virginia Tech #15 Kansas vs #14 Baylor South #1 Wake Forest vs #12 Dayton #15 Harvard vs #14 TCU East #1 Furman vs #4 Lafayette #2 Niagara vs #6 SMU Redemption for the Whig came in the form of Lafayette and Georgetown, still there heading into the second weekend. The NCAA was praying for traditional power Rice to make it through, as well as Wake Forest to triumph over the South. Georgetown ended Mississippi's Cinderella run, 58-46, while Rice and Richmond put on the game of the tournament before the Owls prevailed, 80-79. Junior Arthur Neel scored 33 for Richmond, but the Owls countered with junior Daniel Roby's 31 points and C Jose Webster's 19 points and 14 rebounds, raising the sophomore's profile. Wake Forest routed Dayton 95-59 on junior Delbert Nick's 36 points, and old senior war hero Henry Wolff put up 14 points, 12 rebounds. In the same region, TCU embarrassed Harvard 79-49 on junior John Gervais's 24 points. The next day saw Marquette shut down the Hokies' starters en route to a 73-61 win, Kansas ride sophomore 6th man Alphonse Wicks's 21 points to a 77-69 win over Baylor, Furman shut down Lafayette 78-64, thanks largely to Wilbur Diller's senior 28 points and a 14,14 double-double from senior center Rodger Gee, and Niagra's balanced offense produce a 79-68 win over SMU. Elite 8 #8 Georgetown vs #2 Rice #1 Marquette vs #15 Kansas #1 Wake Forest vs #14 TCU #1 Furman vs #2 Niagra Georgetown and Rice drew huge national play. One of the great powers against the hotshot new conference made for a phenomenal storyline. Then there the David vs. Goliath matchups, all adding up to the Furman/Niagra battle be the least hyped, despite the closest and best game on paper. The Hoyas dismantled Rice 80-56 in an underwhelming game, Danial Beccara breaking out with a 25 point game off the bench for the Hoyas. Daniel Roby got no help for his 20 points. Although the game itself was boring, Wake Forest's 78-46 cakewalk of TCU featured a fantastic 24 point, 17 rebound outing from PF Henry Wolff, a showcase many ranked one of the best of all time. Wolff, you may recall, was the #1 overall recruit in 1951 and was the 1952 National Freshman of the Year. His junior season the year before, he'd carried the Demon Deacons to the Final Four and had done so here again. Furman flattened Niagra 78-53, but it was the see-saw battle between Kansas and Marquette that drew everyone's attention and was the best game of the Elite 8. The Jayhawks pulled off the massive 89-87 stunner, riding 6th man Alphonse Wicks's 15 points in 16 minutes and senior Elroy Rainbolt's unconscious and unexpected 25 points. It was a bitter pill for Marquette junior Mark Barr, who scored 30 points. Final Four #1 Wake Forest vs #8 Georgetown #1 Furman vs #15 Kansas By now, everyone realized that Kansas had been grossly underseeded. The Whig Conference watched with pride as Georgetown took the floor against Wake Forest, the team most people wanted to see win the entire tournament. Furman, no one cared about. Hoyas/Demon Deacons, a spirited battle. Delbert Nick scored 20 points, Henry Wolff 24. Even lightly regarded freshman big Brian Wendel came off the bench for 12 points. But in the end, Wolff's championship dreams were simply not to be, as the Hoyas won 92-88. Danial Becerra had his second straight amazing game as the 6th man, scoring 32 points, and the NCAA, while disappointed for Wolff, wondered if they had a new star in this super sophomore sub. Paladins/Jayhawks was a scorefest, Furman winning 103-94 thanks to senior reserve Guy Gassaway's 20 points, sophomore Patrick Rodriguez's 20 points, and Rodger Gee's 15 points and 13 rebounds. National Championship #1 Furman vs. #8 Georgetown Outside South Carolina, you could scarcely find a Paladins supporter. The Hoyas had all the charm of an attractive young star in Becerra, carrying the banner of the newly formed Whig conference, and an established pedigree one of the nation's elite teams never to win a title. They'd made the 1949 title game (lost to the Rice Owls) and the 1951 Final Four, but never had they tasted the sweetness of victory. Furman, meanwhile, despite the #1 seed, were reviled as relative newcomers and they also had the stigma of belonging to the arrogant Southern Stars attached to them. Nevermind the Paladins making the tournament all years except 1951 - they'd only made it to the second weekend once, a Sweet 16 showing in 1949. Thus the stage was set. Set for Furman to control the first half, 38-32, then Georgetown to rally in the second half in a heartpounding series of lead exchanges. Here was Danial Becerra, living up to his hype and hitting 9 of 11 shots for a game-high 24 points. And here was the Paladins, with no real stars to speak of, doing just enough on defense and just enough with a balanced offense, to win the title by a single two-point bucket. 72-70 the final. Hoyas heartbroken again. "We'll be back," vowed a tearful Becerra. A feeling nation and the NCAA certainly hoped so. Meanwhile, the Southern Stars didn't care. At long last, all their boasts of greatness had come to pass. They fielded two of that year's Final Four entrants (Wake Forest the other one, who got a pass on their membership in the nation's eyes because of Wolff), and could finally claim a national title for the conference.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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02-25-2011, 02:23 PM
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#21 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
"Just when I'm starting to really like you, you go away." So it was with Henry Wolff, who'd won the hearts of the nation his last two years of play. At the time of his graduation, Wolff was #5 in all-time points scored, and the all-time #1 in rebounds, blocks and field goals made. And yet, despite all his heroics, Wake Forest was twice denied the title after making it to the Final Four in consecutive years. Code:
Yes, you're reading that right. Montana had five 5* recruits in its class. The Grizzlies truly were the royalty of the NCAA's earliest years and the only two-time champions looked well poised to continue their dominance. Four Whig schools in the Top 25 classes testified that the conference had indeed earned its high ranking. Code:
All three of the Top 3 players committed to Montana and all five of the Grizzlies' recruits were in the Top 25 players. People called it the single greatest class they'd ever seen and expectations were high for the Fearsome Five. 1956 Conference Movement New Schools Fresno State Memphis Morehead State Pepperdine St. Francis (PA) Tennessee Tech How ironic that the year after the Steel dissolved, another Pennsylvania school came on to the scene who might have saved the conference from being disbanded. Yet, even despite the Steel's failure and even with the poor quality of the Empire Conference, Morehead State, Memphis, and Tennessee Tech's entry into Division I caused a rift in the Ohio Valley. Namely, the Kentucky and Tennessee schools wanted to break away to form their own conference to cut down on travel costs to Ohio and Pennsylvania. With three of the new schools already in agreement to the plan, Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Murray State, and Western Kentucky all formally left the Ohio Valley, forming the Bluegrass Conference with the new Kentucky/Tennessee schools. Bluegrass Conference Eastern Kentucky Louisville Memphis Morehead State Murray State Tennessee Tech Western Kentucky This left the Ohio Valley with considerable problems and they struck back by suing the NCAA to deny the new conference an automatic bid, arguing that with four 0 prestige schools (Murray State being the fourth), it would simply be an artificial inflation for the already established schools. After a short debate, and thanks largely to the Sun West precedent established a few years before, the NCAA agreed to the OVC's proposal. This, however, did not stop the Bluegrass from forming. Now left with just five teams, the Ohio Valley had to find schools to replace the defectors. Fortunately, St. Francis (PA) fit the Pennsylvania/Ohio main orientation, so they were invited to join, with a natural immediate acceptance. However, the OVC still wanted a seventh member to ensure long-term survival. Fortunately, Toledo, tired of being the laughingstock of the MAC, was more than happy to change conference allegiances to one where they had a chance of at least being a midtier team. Far less certain were the placements of Pepperdine and Fresno State. Western expansion had traditionally been a problem for the NCAA and while dumping them in the bidless Sun West was always an option, the recent trend to new conferences was far more appealing for all involved, particularly the Sun West, which wanted to get its automatic bid status back. Furthermore, the high travel costs associated with the Sun West, with its extreme north/south ranges also played into it, much as the Bluegrass's creation did. After all, this wasn't the Pacific Coast, long the lords of the college hoops scene. And so a second split occurred. Idaho State, Montana State, Pacific, and Portland all left the Sun West and took on Fresno State and Pepperdine. They also extended invitations to independents San Jose State, Gonzaga, Santa Clara and Washington State to join the new conference, in hopes that those schools would be enough to earn autobid status. Meanwhile, the Sun West's remaining teams of Houston, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Texas Tech, and UTEP offered an invite bid to independent St. Mary. Gonzaga and San Jose State happily accepted their offers from the as yet unnamed conference, while Washington State and Santa Clara held out to debate the issue at some length. St. Mary's looked at the Sun West profile and immediately rejected the offer. And then a strange thing happened. Washington State and Santa Clara went to Gonzaga and San Jose State and argued that the four of them should be the leaders in starting a new conference and, in the words of Washington State's president, "not have to rely on those dogs from the Sun West, except those mongrels we choose." Wazzou, it must be remembered, was still very bitter over its ejection from the Pacific Coast. The Bulldogs and Spartans, thrilled with this sudden turn of events, quickly agreed. After careful consideration, the Northwest Four, as they took to calling themselves, agreed on Idaho State and Montana State for their fifth and sixth schools, only to find that the Bengals and Bobcats were resistant to being a new conference's whipping boys. This stalemate was finally broken by an unexpected source. Oregon, tired of Pacific Coast mediocrity, and Washington, wanting to be reunited with Washington State, contacted the Northwest Four about joining the new venture. All sides quickly agreed and they were particularly happy in the state of Washington to revive the rivalry. Now with six schools on the dotted line, there was still just one more member to be found. An invitation was extended to Saint Mary's, but the Pacific Coast, catching wind of the defections, beat the Northwest group to the punch, and the Gaels gleefully accepted the PCC invite. The group then applied to Idaho, arguing that the new conference would likely qualify for a 4 prestige ranking and it'd mean a much more regionally centered alliance for the Vandals, while still holding a multi-state footprint. The offer set off a furious controversy in the state of Idaho. The school had, after all, been a part of the Pacific Coast from the very beginning and they were adverse to moving to a lower stature conference, however slight, even if it meant a more regular appearance in the NCAA tournament. On the other hand, even with three NCAA appearances in the first eight years, Idaho was largely considered a mid-level Pacific Coast team, with little chance of ever becoming one of the elite teams. It was this latter reality that finally swayed Idaho into agreement and just like that, a second new conference was born. Considerable argument arose over whether to call the new league the rather vanilla Northwest Conference or the seemingly Washington-centric Evergreen Conference. A third option arose, the Pacific Northwest, and that ultimately won the day, with the amendment of calling themselves a League rather than a Conference, for, as the minutes of one meeting read, "We are Leagued against the PCC, so we shall be the PNL." Pacific Northwest Gonzaga Idaho Oregon San Jose State Santa Clara Washington Washington State Imagine then, the conference's shock and dismay when the NCAA awarded the new league with a 3 prestige ranking. But it was too late to back out now; everyone was committed to the venture. The upshot of all this in terms of the Independents was that now only Loyola-Maryland, Pepperdine, and Fresno State were unaffiliated. Fortunately for the new schools, the Sun West took them in, leaving the Greyhounds the lone, proud school to be independent. Conference Changes Since 1948 Steel Conference (1948-1954) Whig Conference (1955- Bluegrass Conference (1956- Pacific Northwest League (1956- Idaho Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956- Gonzaga Independent (1953-1955) Pacific Northwest League (1956- Oregon Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956- Saint Mary's Sun West (1948-1950) Independent (1951-1955) Pacific Coast (1956- San Jose State Independent (1953-1955) Pacific Northwest League (1956- Santa Clara Sun West (1948-1953) Independent (1954-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956- Washington Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956- Washington State Pacific Coast (1948-1950) Independent (1951-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956- Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, and Washington State joined Georgetown and William & Mary as the only schools to change conference memberships three times. What's interesting to note is that the founding members of the PNL almost all originally came from either the PCC or the Sun West. Yet more reason for the Sun West to hate what the NCAA did to it so many years ago. Even though the originally planned division of the Sun West didn't occur, at the end of the day, they could say that unlike the Steel, they had at least survived.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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02-25-2011, 10:46 PM
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#22 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1956 Coaching Changes
15 coaches were fired before the 1956 season and as usual a few coaches retired, but no retirement was more notable than Wake Forest's Julius Durfee. In five seasons at Wake Forest, he built the Demon Deacons into a national powerhouse and between those years at Wake and three years at South Carolina, he had three Final Four teams, a feat exceeded by only Rice's Brian Hill. His 201 victories ranked third at the time of his retirement, behind only Hill (225) and Montana's Mack Halbert (215). As one person would later put it, "Julius *was* Mid-Atlantic basketball in his eight seasons." Durfee, 61 at retirement, also had the most ever All-Americans with 8 and was third winning percentage at 73.6% with a 201-72 career mark, three conference championships (2 Southern Stars, 1 Southern), three conference coach of the year awards (2 Southern Stars, 1 Southern), as well as the first ever National Coach of the Year, won when he guided South Carolina to the Final Four in the NCAA's first year of existence. And now the head coach switches. Chadwick Braxton - Idaho State to Indiana Part of the fallout of the Sun West's failure to split was the Bengals' loss of Braxton, who'd made Idaho State one of the better Sun West teams. A 43 year old Wisconsin native, Braxton jumped at the chance to go back to the Midwest and try to keep the Hoosiers' streak of two straight NCAA appearances going as well as try to lead them to the second weekend for the first time since 1950. Ronald Mayne - Idaho to Akron A stunning coup by the Zips, stealing away the Vandals' head coach after the move to the PNL. Mayne had a losing career record, but three NCAA appearances in his eight years in Idaho. Akron was unquestionably the Great Lakes' doormat, having never made the NCAA tournament and with a school record of 12 wins the previous year. A difficult challenge for Mayne, but he relished the idea of being able to make himself a legend. Jeromy Crowson - Bowling Green Special note here. Crowson was one of those terrible former Akron head coaches, yet despite a 19-71 overall career record, his work as an assistant with the Montana Grizzlies landed him back to the head coaching ranks with the Falcons. Crowson became the first former head coach to find a new head coaching spot after a period as an assistant. Bowling Green was a good team in the early '50s, having made it to the Sweet 16 and Elite, but were now quite awful. Jeramy Black - Indiana to Cincinnati Four NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 appearance and three bids in the last four seasons, with 20+ win records to show for them, made this hire an excellent one for the Bearcats. Although they'd had a couple tournament bids since their run to the national championship final in 1950, both were quick first round exits. Lewis Hoke - Rutgers to Detroit Hoke had four NCAA bids in eight years with the Scarlet Knights and turned them into one of the Empire's best teams. An interesting hire by the Titans, who were seeking to develop more regular NCAA appearances. In all, four MAC teams got new coaches, Ohio taking on a former Wake Forest assistant. Cincinnati was widely considered to have made the best get, making the top team in the conference that much better. Justin Pinkard - Minnesota to Creighton Great building job his three years with the Golden Gophers, culminating in an NCAA berth last season. Creighton, like many of the teams finding new coaches, are riding a two year absence from the Big Dance. Percy Hord - Ohio State to Army Lot of Army fans weren't happy with this one, as Hord only had one winning season in his four years with the Buckeyes, last year's NCAA bid. It screamed fluke and the Black Knights, who'd had a winning record every year from 1950 on, deserved better. Abram Lindberg - Gonzaga to Arizona Spent just three years with the Bulldogs, the only coach in their history and he'd quickly turned them into a competitive team. But the former Purdue coach couldn't resist going back to a better situation with Arizona, even if the Wildcats hadn't won more than 8 games in the last two years, ever since they moved to the PCC. Marlon Norman - Davidson to California* Fired from Davidson despite two NCAA bids in the last three years. Still, Norman was one of the luckiest head coaches in the nation. Stumbled into the 1948 national championship with UCLA, got fired after doing nothing after that, yet landed with Davidson, and now landed on his feet with the Golden Bears, returning to the PCC despite getting canned by Davidson. And it's not like Cal was horrible either; they were very much a midpack PCC team, unlike the bottom-feeders in Tucson. Herman Wilkinson - Bowling Green to Gonzaga* Wilkinson's another interesting story. The top coaching assistant with Bowling Green from 1948-1951, he was hired as the Falcons' head coach after Brian Suiter accepted the job at Nevada. His first year at the top man, he took the Falcons to the Sweet 16, then the first round the next year, but just 9 and 10 wins the two seasons after that led to his dismissal. Fortunately, 'Zaga was there to scoop him up and they're hoping his NCAA experience will translate into continued improvement for the school in its fourth season of play and beyond. Bill Miller - Detroit to Idaho Miller, a Fowlerville, Michigan native who spent his entire coaching career in his home state (first as an assistant at Michigan State, then as Detroit's head coach), finally moves out of his comfort zone and heads West. Two NCAA bids in four years with the Titans, but can he recruit outside of the region and state he knows so well? Alex Becker - Cincinnati to Clemson The lead scout for Montana's two national championship teams, he had a pretty successful five year run with the Bearcats, winning three conference titles and two NCAA appearances in building Cincinnati into the MAC's best program. Clemson's only made the NCAA twice and has just one winning record in school history, a 19-16 second round appearance in 1949. Sterling Cano - Santa Clara to Davidson Cano, a Santa Clara alum, was convinced to leave his alma mater by the chance to coach in one of the nation's top conferences. He was an assistant at Wake Forest his first few seasons, so it's territory he's familiar with. As the Broncos' head coach, he led them to five NCAA appearances in six years, but never got to the Sweet 16. Neither has Davidson made into the second weekend in four appearances in eight years. Brian Kinard - William & Mary to Wake Forest Ah, yes. *This* hire. Recall that William & Mary, because of their past history, had a deep hatred of the Southern Stars schools. Remember also that Wake Forest felt bitter because William & Mary had a national championship and the Demon Deacons did. Mix everything altogether, throw in Kinard's leaving William & Mary for Wake Forest and you have the makings of the first intense, deep one on one archrivalry and hatred of two schools in NCAA basketball history. Kinard's house and car were egged after the news broke and numerous William & Mary students protested, calling him a traitor and backstabber. Wake fans, on their side, felt sleazy about Kinard's hire and many called for the hiring to be rescinded before he even set foot on campus. It didn't help that Kinard, a Bucknell alum, had already shown no sense of loyalty when he left his alma mater after four years and four straight NCAA appearances. The fact that he was leaving William & Mary after another four straight NCAA appearances, including the 1954 national title, just made matters all the worse. Later basketball historians, examining Kinard's personal correspondence, found that the only things he cared about were winning national titles and coaching in one of the nation's elite conferences. In accepting the Wake Forest job, he wanted to become the first coach to win national titles at two schools and he relished the challenge of trying to overshadow the beloved Durfee's legacy. From the standpoint of a Wake Forest fan, though, nothing could be worse than that 1956 offseason. Henry Wolff graduated, Durfee retired, and the athletic director hired the coach from the school they hated most all in the span of a few months. Dong White - Creighton to William & Mary To make matters even worse, W&M's decision to replace Kinard was White, who despite two NCAA appearances and an Elite 8 berth his last two years at St. Joseph's, had only a first round exit followed by two nothings in three seasons at Creighton. Fans everywhere decried it as a horrible hire and T-shirts with R-rated plays on White's name became very popular among students and a certain section of the fanbase. Regular Season Code:
There was considerable skepticism regarding the preseason polls, as conventional wisdom said a freshman heavy team like the Grizzlies couldn't be #1 by season's end, but that's what the pollsters stuck to. By January 1st, the Grizzlies were proving the pollsters right and going unbeaten at 11-0. #2 Niagara was 14-0, #4 TCU 12-0, #5 Georgetown 14-0 and #6 Miami 13-0. Also, for the first time ever, the Top 24 teams were considered legitimate in their place, giving home that finally the growing calls for legitimacy would be heeded. #1 Montana was 19-0 as of February 1st, and they and #4 TCU (18-0) remained the nation's last standing unbeatens. More excitingly, all of the Top 25 teams made at least some sense, the latest that had happened in NCAA history. Sadly, by March 1st, some tomfoolery had entered the bottom of the Top 25 and only the Top 22 were realistic, but it still represented major strides. Wake Forest, Montana, and TCU all had a single loss by that point and were natural 1, 2, and 3, and looked locks to earn #1 seeds. Teams Earning the Double Saint Joseph's - Atlantic Six Illinois - Big Ten Niagara - Great Lakes Denver - Mountain States Colgate - North Star Marshall - Ohio Valley Washington - Pacific Northwest It was one of the more successful years for teams to do the double, which greatly pleased the NCAA. Tournament #1 Seeds Montana TCU Wake Forest Niagara What is interesting to note is that for the second straight year in a row, Montana and Rice were the #1 and #2 seeds in the West region 9 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 2 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (2 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (5 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Montana (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) Rice (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) USC (1 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8) For the first time ever, San Francisco failed to make the tournament, or even finish .500. Now the eternal tournament schools were down to 7 in number. First Round Upsets (Greater than one seed, as always Midwest #16 Western Michigan over #1 TCU #11 Georgia over #6 SMU South #12 Oregon State over #5 Kansas #10 Syracuse over #7 Texas East #10 Columbia over #7 Wisconsin The Broncos' breaking of the Horned Frogs was the first #16 seed over #1 seed since Duquesne's Elite 8 run in 1954, and the sixth time in NCAA history a 16 seed had beat a 1 seed. Save for that mishap, however, the selection committee was extremely pleased with the first round's results, particularly the spotless West region. 2nd Round Upsets West #6 Richmond over #3 Washington Midwest #7 Arizona over #2 Denver East #6 Lafayette over #3 Virginia Tech Sweet 16 West #1 Montana vs #4 Wyoming #2 Rice vs #6 Richmond Midwest #8 California vs #4 Loyola-Maryland #7 Arizona vs #3 Marquette South #1 Wake Forest vs #4 Colgate #2 Georgetown vs #3 USC East #1 Niagara vs #4 Duquesne #2 Furman vs #6 Lafayette An absolutely enjoyable Sweet 16 for those who liked seeing the traditional powers dominate. Interesting storylines included the 3 Whig schools as they fought for their conference to get a 5 rating, and of course, the underdog darling of the tournament, Loyola-Maryland. Every year there was a devoted following who prayed that this might finally be the year the Greyhounds win it all, or at least make it to the Final Four. There was also Furman, the disrespected defending national champion intent on ruining Montana's legacy, and the Grizzlies themselves were fast on the hunt for an unprecedented third national title. Not to be left out, Wake Forest, with ambivalent feelings now that they were again in the second weekend. Let us not forget Georgetown, who'd been twice a national bridesmaid, and USC, who like Loyola-Maryland had never made a Final Four, despite some excellent teams. Rice also intrigued, as the perennial power alongside Montana who had just one title to show for it. In short, virtually every school left in this Sweet 16 was compelling for one reason or another and it made for excellent drama. First off, the Golden Bears again shattering Loyola-Maryland's dreams. Cal took senior Ervin Mosher's 33 points and beat the Greyhounds 76-71, yet another disappointing ending for the country's only, lonely independents. It's not often that two players on the same team break 20+ points in a game and it's even rarer that said team loses. Yet that's precisely what happened to Arizona as junior Bryant Mach's 21 points and sophomore Ken Sechrist's 22 points went to naught as Marquette won 77-74 in an excellent contest. Less exciting - Niagara's 71-60 win over Duquesne and Furman's 72-53 rout of Lafayette, the latter keyed by senior Damien Varela's 16 points and 10 rebounds. Montana took care of business, 88-69 against Wyoming. Despite the glitz of the freshmen class, it was senior [b]William Barajas[/b['s 22 points that carried the Grizzlies. Richmond and Rice had the barnburner of the Sweet 16 and for the second time in the round, the team with two 20+ point scorers lost. Junior Jose Webster's 20 points and 12 rebounds and senior Daniel Roby's 20 points couldn't save the Owls, who lost by a single point, 82-81. Junior Bernard Avalos did the bulk of the sting for the Spiders with 28 points. Colgate made a game of it, but Wake Forest came out 68-60 winners to move a step closer to their third straight Final Four, a feat unprecedented in NCAA history. Finally, Danial Becerra, reprising his star 6th man role from the year before, scored a team high 18 points to lead his Hoyas over the Trojans, who like the Greyhounds saw their Final Four hopes snuffed out. Elite 8 #1 Montana vs #6 Richmond #8 California vs #3 Marquette #1 Wake Forest vs #2 Georgetown #1 Niagara vs #2 Furman Heading into the Elite 8, commentators talked and wrote a lot about the Demon Deacons' bid for a third straight Final Four and their first national championship. Teams with 2 straight Final Fours Wake Forest (1954-1955) Rice (1953-1954) Loyola-Illinois (1953-1954) Virginia Tech (1952-1953) All-Time Final Four Leaders Prior to 1956 Rice - 4 Loyola-Illinois - 4 What's interesting to note is that Rice and Loyola-Illinois both made the 1951, 1953, and 1954 Final Fours. Furthermore, those three mutual Final Fours would by themselves lead the nation in Final Four appearances. Montana, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina each had two each. Actually, it would have been a tie. Georgetown prior to 1956 had three Final Four appearances (1955, 1951, 1949). Of the remaining Elite 8 teams in 1956, only Richmond, California, and Niagara had never been to the Final Four. But that meant nothing. Furman made their first Final Four the season before and had won it all. The marquee matchup was, as you expect, Wake Forest and Georgetown, in a rematch of last year's Final Four. But the others all had their intriguing elements. It started with Marquette earning its second Final Four trip by beating Cal 75-62. Junior big Gilbert Whitlow was unstoppable with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Then Niagara picked precisely the right time to play its best defense of the season, shutting down Furman 67-49. Senior Joe Newkirk put on an absolutely jaw-dropping display for the Purple Eagles of 19 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 blocks. And 4 assists besides. Montana looked every bit the champion, squashing the Spiders 86-51 on William Barajas's 22 point sand 13 rebounds. And in the matchup everyone was waiting for, Danial Becerra got almost no help with his team-high 17 points and Demon Deacons senior Manual Crawford blasted the Hoyas for 29 points en route to an 80-67 win and the historic third straight Final Four. Final Four #1 Montana vs #1 Wake Forest #3 Marquette vs #1 Niagara Everyone considered Grizzlies/Demon Deacons the real championship, as the Warriors and Purple Eagles were regarded as good, but nowhere near the level of the other two teams. Ratings for Montana/Wake Forest looked to be record-setting, as virtually the entire nation tuned in to this epic battle. Demon Deacons fans, still not quite sure how to feel; Grizzlies fans just dreaming of a shot at the third national title. First, the undercard. Marquette and Niagara put on an absolutely thrilling game. The Warriors concentrated on shutting down [b]Joe Newkirk[/b[, who still came through with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks, while juco transfer Daren Martin took advantage of the Newkirk defense to score 23 points for the Purple Eagles. But this time, two players scoring 20+ points would not be the deathkiss. Senior Mark Barr put up 29 points and 11 rebounds and backcourt mate sophomore Lester Mann scored 20 to carry Marquette to a tight, 85-82 win. Analysts called it a superb game and wondered aloud if it would be the greatest Final Four in history. And then came the game everyone wanted. Here's a snippet of the end-game audio of that contest: Quote:
William Barajas hit all five of his shot attempts, including the game-winner, but it was senior Theodore Brennan's 18 points that really made the difference for Montana. Everyone agreed that no matter what happened in the national championship, this pair of games would go down as the greatest in history, certainly to that point, and maybe ever. National Championship #1 Montana vs #3 Marquette The greatest school in the NCAA's earliest history against a heavy underdog. After the white-knuckle first two games of the Final Four, people were hoping for a good championship. The Grizzlies had other ideas and firmly knocked out the Warriors 80-63 for their third national title in an era when no other school had so much as even two. Marquette's Mark Barr put up a great 23 points in the losing effort of his final college game. For the Grizzlies, it was seniors Erwin Stutz (12 points, 13 rebounds), William Barajas (13 points, 10 rebounds), Sylvester Ward (14 bench points) and finally, some of the stud freshmen who carried the day. Cole Gibson led the Grizzlies with 16 points and Ron Kelley scored 12 bench points. Those who watched the game and were mindful of the Grizzlies' Fearsome Five wondered if Montana would finally be the team to create a true dynasty in the coming years, a powerhouse that would laugh in the face of Wake Forest's three straight Final Fours without a championship. For now, the Montana Grizzlies and their fans were simply happy with their third title captured amidst the best Final Four ever.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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03-12-2011, 07:16 PM
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#23 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Catching Up With The Steel Fallout
The previous chapter on the breakup of the Steel Conference forgot to include where the non-Duquesne schools went, so there's the synopsis. Drexel Steel (1948-1954) Ohio Valley (1955- Penn State Steel (1948-1954) Yankee (1955- Pittsburgh Steel (1948-1954) Ohio Valley (1955- Temple Steel (1948-1954) Yankee (1955- Villanova Steel (1948-1954) Atlantic Six (1955- Such placements were largely considered temporary by the five ousted schools, who hoped to someday reunite in a stronger conference, possibly in conjunction with another state. Code:
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South Carolina was #25. Montana with its second straight #1 recruiting class boded well for a continuation of the Grizzlies dynasty and spelled doom for the rest of the country. The NCAA was secretly thrilled, because dynasties meant epic storylines. Code:
The Whig conference's recruiting and tournament success in the two short years it existed was a major boon for the fledgling league and showed it deserved its lofty 4 prestige ranking. Bad news broke out for the Northeast in the newest prestige rankings. The North Star and Atlantic Six were now the region's highest conferences at 2 prestige each. 1957 Conference Movement New Schools Florida State The most obvious place for the Seminoles was the SEC, a 1 prestige, 12 team conference as weak in basketball as it was strong in football. But the NCAA didn't like the idea of such an inferior conference being the largest in the land. The SEC met to discuss what to do about the situation. Florida, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt all had failed to make the NCAA tournament even once, and Kentucky had only been one time. Tennessee was safe because of the strength of its football program, which at the time was one of the better programs in the country. Florida would have a hard time finding a new home. Kentucky, too, featured a good football program, led by head coach Bear Bryant. So it was that Vanderbilt, despite being a respectable football team, who got the axe, with Florida pushing hard for the Florida/Florida State rivalry. Happily for the Commodores, the Bluegrass Conference was there to catch them. For the first time in three years, no discussion emerged of new conferences or breaking up old ones, although the New England region continued to fret over its poor basketball showing. Unfortunately, there just weren't enough quality teams to even think of putting together a conference that could compete with the Southern Stars (Southern private schools), Great Lakes (Upper Midwest), Pacific Coast (West), or Whig (Mid-Atlantic, albeit still a 4). Vanderbilt SEC (1948-1956) Bluegrass (1957- Coach Movement Only 8 coaches were fired prior to the season, the lowest amount in NCAA history. But it was not without its bombshell, as Montana Grizzlies coach Mack Halbert retired at the age of 61, following a heart attack. The press statement released by the legendary coach read in part: Quote:
Mack Halbert's Resume (1948-1956) Wins - 251 (2nd all time) Winning % - 79.7 (1st all time) NCAA Championships - 3 (1st all time) Conference Championships - 6 (1st all time) All-Americans - 7 (T-2nd all time) #1 Recruiting Classes - 2 (He nearly had 3, as his 1954 class was #2) The retirement of the single greatest coach in the game caused weeks of mourning among Montana Grizzlies fans and all wondered if the Grizzlies could maintain their dominance after Halbert's retirement. James Geyer - San Francisco to Iowa* Five straight NCAA appearances as the Dons' head coach came to an end last year and the general consensus was the program was trending down, leading to his firing. Geyer's still largely living off his 1949 Final Four showing with North Carolina, the only time he's led a team to the second weekend. Iowa has a handful of tournament appearances, but the Hawkeyes only made it out of the first round once, in 1949. They lost in the second round and have not made the Big Dance in two years. George Greenwood - Miami-Ohio to Wisconsin Three average years with the Redhawks, but he did take them to the NCAA Tournament and a first round exit last year. Greenwood will be expected to perform immediately in Madison - the Badgers have only missed the tournament once, in 1951, and have never had a losing record. Dale McGlone - Kansas to Colorado State McGlone did a fantastic job building the Jayhawks, including a Final Four appearance two years ago. The Rams are hoping the 54 year old can finally be the one to take them to the second weekend, where they've never been in six appearances. Scott Stowe - Duke to Denver* Perhaps the most puzzling hire ever. Fired after five terrible years at Duke, he gets a spot in one of the nation's better conferences? While he did bring three straight NCAA appearances to William & Mary from 1949-151, his resume shows he should be in a lower conference. The Pioneers, like the Rams, have several tournament appearances, but no second weekend. Stowe's never been there either. Terrible decision. Charles Henson - North Carolina to Nevada Loyola-Maryland's original, legendary head coach has never missed the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack made the Final Four in 1952 and the Elite Eight in 1953, but haven't been out of the second weekend yet. Although Henson never delivered a Final Four for the Greyhounds, and although he never got the Tarheels to the second weekend in his three years there, this is an exceptional hire. Especially when you consider that North Carolina hadn't made the Big Dance since their 1949 Final Four appearance before Henson's arrival. Kent Garza - Denver to San Francisco The 60 year old Garza has been solid no matter where he's gone, whether it's his stint at Bradley or with the Pioneers. For a Dons program hoping to re-establish the glory of its first three years, when it made two Elite 8s and a Sweet 16, with no second weekend showings past that, it's a good pick. Alfonzo Reinert - Penn State to North Carolina Another horrible hire. Reinert treaded water in his four seasons as the Nittany Lions' head coach and UNC looks to again drop out of the tournament scene. Tony Gonzalez - Wisconsin to South Carolina The chance to move back south for a coach who built up the Cavaliers' program at Virgina was too much. He took the Badgers to three straight NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16 showing. The Gamecocks have been to two Final Fours, but not since 1951, the last time they played in Weekend #2. Leon Bennett - Connecticut to Virginia Tech Bennett's an interesting story. He was the top assistant at UConn from 1948-1952 until Carlo Bloch moved to San Jose State. Bennett got offered the head job with the Huskies, so he stayed in Storrs, where he's turned the program around and taken the team to two straight NCAA appearances. Now the 51 year old gets the call from Virginia Tech, where the Hokies have been to six straight NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16, a Final Four (1953) and an NCAA title game appearance (1952) during that run. Leonard Kiger - South Carolina to Duke Led the Gamecocks to the Final Four in 1952 and a run of three straight NCAA bids the past few years. The Blue Devils are the single worst program in the Southern Stars, having made the NCAA tournament just once in their history, a second round exit back in 1949. It's a long road ahead for the Richmond alum from Maryland, but if he can make this Duke program, he can become a legend. Brian Suiter - Nevada to Furman Bowling Green went to an Elite 8 because of him and the Wolfpack made an Elite 8 and a Final Four in his first two years in Reno. Although he's taken Nevada to the tournament every year he's been there, the last three seasons were all first weekend exits. The pressure will be intense at Furman, with the Paladins winning a national championship two years ago and making the Elite 8 last season. Andrew Bouldin - Virginia Tech to Baylor The man who turned the Hokies into a national power, who has never missed the NCAA tournament in his career at Mississippi and VA Tech, now heads to Waco, TX, to take over a Bears team that, despite two straight NCAA appearances, including a Sweet 16, and a 1950 Elite 8 appearance, hasn't historically been that good. The Austin, TX native no doubt looks forward to the opportunity in his home state. And finally, the hire everyone waited on... David Beach - Furman to Montana 1955 national championship, 1956 Elite 8. Never had a losing record at Furman and only missed the tournament one. He made Furman one of the best teams in the Southern Stars and although it took him seven years to bring the program to that national acclaim, he already has the talent in Bozeman to continue Halbert's legacy. While we're at it: Top Prestige Teams (80+) Montana - 100 Rice - 92 Furman - 86 Wake Forest - 86 Loyola-Illinois - 85 USC - 84 Marquette just misses the cutoff with 79. Independent Loyola-Maryland is 67, tied for 18th in prestige with Citadel and UCLA. Preseason Top 25 Code:
January brought a reasonable 1 to 21 in the polls, with 13-0 Rice and TCU, the only unbeaten teams left, at #1 and #2. Montana, at 9-1, was #6. The 1 to 21 held at the start of February, and although the Owls lost, Rice was still #1, only now it was a split vote between them and #2 Loyola-Illinos, newly resurgent since the Thomas Branson days. Montana still stayed in the Top 10 at #7. By the start of March, Rice was again the clear-cut #1, followed by Loyola-Illinois, Richmond, Loyola-Maryland in its highest ranking to that point ever, and TCU in the Top 5. Baylor, Montana, Niagara, William & Mary, and Kent State rounded out the Top 10, with silliness starting at #18. Teams Pulling The Double Illinois (Big 10) Loyola-Illinois (Great Lakes) Kent State (MAC) Lehigh (North Star) Rice (SWC) A lot of 2 seeds beat 1 seeds in the conference finals, and Montana lost in the quarterfinals to Arizona State, much to everyone's surprise.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 03-12-2011 at 07:18 PM. |
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03-12-2011, 07:18 PM
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#24 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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NCAA Tournament - #1 seeds
Loyola-Illinois Rice Richmond Baylor TCU and Loyola-Maryland were outraged at the #1 seeding, particularly the Greyhounds, condemned to a #3 seed. Montana drew a #4 seed, Furman a #7 seed. Andrew Bouldin indeed worked miracles his first season back in his home state, while David Beach disappointed in his first year at Montana, at least in the run-up to the tournament. 10 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 2 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Montana (1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 3 NCAA Championships) Rice (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) USC (2 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8) No one dropped out. First Round Upsets (>1 seed diff, as always) West #11 Lehigh over #6 Washington Midwest #11 West Virginia over #6 BYU South #13 Georgia Tech over #4 Duquesne #12 Oregon State over #5 South Carolina East #13 Georgia over #4 Davidson #10 Miami over #7 Youngstown State Bad day to be a #4 seed D team playing a #13 team G, but overall, the upsets were relatively minor in that first round, pleasing the selection committee. Second Round Upsets Midwest #7 UCLA over #2 Wake Forest South #6 Illinois over #3 Loyola-Maryland East #13 Georgia over #5 Nevada Despite the annual disappointment by the Greyhounds and the continuation of the Brian Kinard curse, it was largely a chalk tournament that first weekend. Sweet 16 West #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #4 Montana #2 TCU vs #3 George Washington Midwest #1 Rice vs #4 USC #7 UCLA vs #3 William & Mary South #1 Richmond vs #12 Oregon State #2 Kent State vs #6 Illinois East #1 Baylor vs #13 Georgia #2 Niagara vs #3 Georgetown Several of the nation's marquee franchises were still in play as the Sweet 16 dawned. There were also some surprising newcomers, so it looked to have a good mix for everyone. Loyola-Illinois and Montana was the biggest attraction, obviously. It became an even more hyped game when none other than Newton Richardson, Mack Halbert and Thomas Branson all attended. Halbert looked a little weak, as expected, and he spent most of the game sitting beside Richardson, the two men's wives on either side of them. Branson, meanwhile, arrived with a group of friends. The game itself disappointed, despite sophomore Cole Gibson's 20 points. The more experienced Ramblers routed the Grizzlies 82-67 behind their dominating front court as Loyola-Illinois enjoyed a +20 rebounding advantage. Senior center William Heiser was the star of the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Halbert defended David Beach after the game, pointing out, "I had my fair share of early exits, too. Besides, this is a very young team we have right now, a lot of freshmen and sophomores, learning under a new coach. The Ramblers are a great, senior-heavy team, and I don't think Gus Seely gets near as much recognition as he deserves." George Washington beat TCU 66-55 behind tough defense. The first day of the Sweet 16's most thrilling matchup belonged to Oregon State/Richmond, with the Spiders riding six players in double-digit scoring, led by true freshman Brian Sosa's 10 points and 10 rebounds to overcome the Beavers 85-83, despite Oregon State sophomore Tim McCraw's 20 points and freshman Lloyd Luck's 18 points. Kent State squashed Illinois 76-56, thanks to Randall Rhodes's 21 points that were anything but a senior moment. Rice embarrassed USC 101-68 in one of the highest scoring tournament games ever. Senior Jose Webster, no stranger to tournament success[/b] put up 31 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Kristopher Maurer scored 20. Balanced scoring gave William & Mary the 76-67 win over UCLA, despite French freshman phenom Stephane Malfait's 22 points for the Bruins. The biggest upset of the tournament to that date was #13 Georgia stunning #1 Baylor 76-65. Senior 6th man Carey Lavin's 16 bench points made the difference for the Bulldogs. And finally, senior Danial Becerra was shut down in his last bid for a title with the Hoyas. Niagara won 87-72 via senior Daren Martin's 31 points and senior Gerald Peters' 20 points. Elite 8 #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #3 George Washington #1 Rice vs #3 William & Mary #1 Richmond vs #2 Kent State #13 Georgia vs #2 Niagara With the sole exception of Georgia, this Elite 8 was the best job the selection committee had ever done. Loyola-Illinois and Rice were powerhouses, but Richmond, with the Spiders' fourth straight season in the second weekend, was no slouch. The Purple Eagles of Niagara were also a rising power, with an Elite 8 and a Final Four in the last two years. This was new territory for Georgia, George Washington and Kent State, who'd never before even been to the Sweet 16, and William & Mary, one mustn't forget, won the 1954 championship. Rice and William & Mary was the marquee matchup, but other games came first. Freshman Ronald Zimmerman had his coming out party in the Colonials' biggest game in school history, scoring 19 points to lead George Washington to a 73-71 shocker over Loyola-Illinois. Richmond steamrolled Kent State 97-61 courtesy of senior Bernard Avalos's 23 points and senior Dean Cauley's 15 bench points. Rice went with defense to beat William & Mary 67-49, although Jose Webster did grab 10 points and 10 boards. Niagara ended Georgia's Cinderella run, booting the Bulldogs 75-57 on Daren Martin's 25 points. Final Four #3 George Washington vs #1 Richmond #1 Rice vs #2 Niagara The Owls dreamed of being the first school since Montana to capture two titles, while Niagara and Richmond hoped to continue their rise to national prominence. As for the Colonials? They were just thrilled with the ride. Once again George Washington involved itself in a two point heartpounder, senior Hugo Smith scoring 25 and sophomore reserve Daniel Hynes 17 points. But Smith was a horrific 7 of 28 and that, combined with Richmond senior Bernard Avalos shooting much more accurately for his 23 points, led to the Spiders' 73-71 win. Far less enticing was Rice's 67-61 victory over Niagara. Daren Martin put on a heroic 28 points, but although the Purple Eagles shut down Jose Webster, the Owls showed enough balance to garner the win. National Championship #1 Rice vs #1 Richmond On one side, a senior star without a national title in Jose Webster, and the NCAA's most wins by a coach in Frank Hill, he of the 1-2 record in national title games. On the other side, a fellow senior star sans title in Bernard Avalos and another 41 year old head coach in Porter Gutierrez, who, in his sixth season as the Spiders' coach, had taken them to heights never before dreamed of and caused Boston College fans to lament the day he left. One senior would win and maybe, just maybe, one school would finally win its second title for the first time since Montana. Jose Webster would not suffer the fate of Henry Wolff. In one of the most impressive individual championship showings ever, he rampaged for 32 points and 13 rebounds, and Rice blew the doors off Richmond, 94-75. How fitting, that the same year Mack Halbert retired, another coach finally won his second title with the only team he'd ever coached. Still, Frank Hill smiled at the press conference afterwards, holding up two fingers of one hand, three on the other. "I still have one more to go to tie Mack. Two more to beat him. I don't care how many games I win, I can't be considered the greatest coach of all time if I don't have more titles than he does."
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 04-07-2011 at 11:55 PM. |
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04-07-2011, 03:12 PM
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#25 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Well-deserved National Coach of the Year award. Jose Webster finished #3 all-time in career rebounds, #5 in offensive rebounds. For the Southwest, he finished #7 in points scored (behind 2 fellow Rice alum), #1 in both rebounding rebounding categories and #7 in blocks (where another Rice player still holds the career record). Code:
Few expected to see a Southern team with the #1 recruiting class, even though The Citadel was a rising power, with seven straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 and two Sweet 16s. On the other hand, they'd been knocked out of the first round the last three seasons. Conference Movement New Schools Air Force Delaware North Texas North Texas was an obvious candidate for the Sun West, but with that no-bid league and the lowly SEC already the nation's biggest conferences at 12 teams, that presented a problem. The Texas schools in the Sun West discussed among themselves the possibility of breaking away to form their own league and bringing North Texas into the mix. This meant Houston, Texas Tech, and UTEP, which, along with UNT, gave four possible members. That wasn't enough, considering the NCAA's rules of seven members. New Mexico and New Mexico State were invited to join, and they accepted. Northern Arizona got an invitation and the Lumberjacks, too, signed on. That solved the problem, and so the Desert Conference was born. This left openings in the Sun West and the problem of where to slot Air Force was solved, as the Academy fit the conference's shifting direction. Delaware joined the Empire, as it was argued that with Rutgers in New Jersey violating the New York membership rule, it was fine to adopt the Blue Hens there. As you might expect, the Desert Conference did not receive auto-bid status, for its profile was weaker than the Bluegrass's. Conference Changes Since 1948 Steel Conference (1948-1954) Whig Conference (1955- Bluegrass Conference (1956- Pacific Northwest League (1956- Desert Conference (1958- Houston Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- New Mexico Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- New Mexico State Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- Northern Arizona Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- Texas Tech Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- UTEP Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958- Funny that 6 of the 7 expansion schools in 1951 all joined the Sun West and all went to the Desert. You may remember that the 1951 offseason was when San Francisco left the Sun West to join the Pacific Coast, taking what had been a 3 prestige conference down to a 1 prestige one and ultimately ruined what once was a good league. Arizona State was the 7th school, but they were in the Sun West only until 1953, whereupon Pacific Coast and NCAA mechanisms allowed the Sun Devils access to the PCC. No other shakeups were even discussed and few cared about the realignment of the bottom-feeder conferences. Coach Movement An impressive 19 coaches got fired before the start of the 1958 season and there were a handful of retirements, kicking off a considerable coaching carousel. Robert Moss - Louisville to Missouri Moss took the Cardinals to two NCAA appearances, but being stuck in the no-bid Bluegrass didn't sit well with him, so he migrates to Mizzou, which, after seven straight NCAA appearances, has now failed to make the tournament the last three seasons and are in need of a rebuild. Of course, some local newspaper writers think this is the best hire ever. Johnny Martinez - Georgia Tech to Illinois This is very cool. Martinez coached the Fighting Illini from 1948-1953 and after a four year stint with the Yellow Jackets, he's back in Urbana-Champaign. Three NCAA trips the last four years with Georgia Tech and the Illini didn't do to badly in his absence either, with three straight NCAA appearances, including their first Sweet 16 appearance last year. Benny O'Bannon - Georgia to Indiana The Big 10 is raiding the SEC of its best coaches this year. The Bulldogs made the Elite 8 last year under O'Bannon's leadership, one of three straight NCAA appearances in four seasons. The Hoosiers have a handful of NCAA appearances, but missed the last two years. Made the Sweet 16 back in 1950. Interesting note: Charles Buchanan, who coached at Michigan State for two years (1952-1953) got hired by Minnesota after four years as an assistant at Loyola-Illinois. What is it this year with the Big Ten all going to the same wells? Mark Loughlin - Murray State to Louisville Yes, you read that right. For the first time in NCAA history, one school stole a conference foe's head coach. What makes this sting even more for Racers fans is that Loughlin led them to their first NCAA appearance in just their fourth year of D-I play. But the far more established and prestigious Cardinals program was too much for the coach to resist. Ugly times predicted at the annual Bluegrass convention. New Mexico and North Texas both took Montana assistants to be their new head coaches in an interesting start to the Desert Conference. Delaware took the third Montana assistant, meaning two of the three Grizzlies' assistants went to expansion gigs. Tony Emerson - Illinois to Akron Emerson had the Fighting Ilini's best three year stretch in school history, with two second round appearances and a first-ever Sweet 16 appearance last year. He faces a tough project with the Zips who have never made the postseason or had a winning record. Harlan Olds - Canisius to Kent State Poor Canisius. The only coach they've ever had, with six NCAA appearances, including the last four straight years, hies it to the Golden Flashes. Then again, Olds never took his old team out of the first round. He'll have to do more than that at Kent State, which made its first Elite 8 appearance last year. Tom Smith - West Virginia to Denver Five NCAA appearances in his years as a head coach at Columbia and WVU, including two with the Mountaineers. All five appearances were second round exits, save for 1952 with the Lions, where they made the Sweet 16. Fitting, since the Pioneers have been to the second round the last three seasons and are starting to get noticed on the national scene. Charles Cruz - Citadel to Arizona State Shocking walk away from the #1 recruiting class in the country, but he's in one of the best leagues now. Cruz has only failed to make the NCAA tournament once, in his first season, and has never had a losing record in coaching at Holy Cross and Citadel. Three Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. Fantastic hire for the Sun Devils, who have just two NCAA appearances, both first round exits in 1953 and 1954. Ronald Edwards - Washington to Stanford Built the Huskies program up into three straight NCAA appearances. Has never made the second weekend at Washington or Navy, though. Then again, considering the Cardinal have missed the tournament three straight years, just getting back to the Big Dance would be good. Morgan Eiland - Missouri to Washington Very odd hire. Eiland has shown a complete inability to sustain a program in stops at Drexel and Mizzou. Edwards' restoration work in Seattle might go undone very quickly. Philip Woodley - Kent State to Citadel Way to cash in on the Elite 8 performance by Woodley, who has only been okay outside of that at Kent State and Manhattan. He walks in with the #1 recruiting class and should be poised to continue elevating Citadel's prominence.. if he has the talent. Kristopher Lieberman - Drake to West Virginia Never had a losing season at Drake and took them to three NCAA bids in four years. Welcome news for West Virginia, which is trying to keep the momentum going it's established the last few years. Fredrick Batson - Stanford to Arkansas* Odd hire by the Razorbacks, taking on the coach who ran the Cardinal's program into the ground. Had early success at Stanford with three NCAA bids and a Sweet 16 and did take Lafayette to the Big Dance each of his three seasons there. Still feels questionable, especially after he got canned. But then again, the Hogs haven't been to the tournament or had a winning record since 1950, so maybe it'll work out. Owen Grier - Iowa State to VMI Let's see, a 126-175 overall record and just one NCAA bid in his years of coaching at La Salle and Iowa State and he gets a job? Somebody must really love him, but considering the Keydets haven't been dancing since 1951, maybe it's worth it? Robert Snyder - Lehigh to Virginia Did really solid work building Lehigh and was a very good coach for Dartmouth, with four NCAA bids between the two schools. No second weekend showings, but the Cavs have never made it there either and were last seen in the tournament in 1953. Reid Roberts - Youngstown State to Canisisus Sure, Roberts had a 21 win season with the Penguins last year, the first in school history, but he hasn't shown much outside of that and the general feeling is their run of four straight NCAA appearances is about to end.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-07-2011, 11:52 PM
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#26 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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A lot of usual suspects in that preseason Top 25. At the start of January the top 24 were reasonable, with sub-.500 Duke at 25 an aberration. Quite a few undefeated teams remained, including Montana and Rice, who jockeyed back and forth over the #1 place in the country. By February, only Rice remained unbeaten at 21-0 and had seized the #1 place in the country. All Top 25 teams were reasonable for once and some began to hope the dark days might be over. Rice, Loyola-Illinois, Montana, San Francisco , and Richmond made up the Top 5. #23 Duquesne at 13-16 was the only glaring error in the Top 25 at the start of March. Rice had lost a game and was #2 now, behind Loyola-Illinois. Teams Pulling The Double Iona (Atlantic Six) St. John's (Empire) Loyola-Illinois (Great Lakes) Kent State (MAC) Wichita State (MVC) Wyoming (Mountain States) Navy (North Star) Washington (PNL) Citadel (Southern) Wake Forest (Southern Stars) Rice (SWC) Georgetown (Whig) The presence of so many teams completing the double boded well for those teams seeking at-large bids. #1 Seeds Rice Loyola-Illinois San Francisco Georgetown Huge pressure for the Dons and the Hoyas, who'd always fallen just short of championship dreams. Montana felt a little stiffed with their 2 seed, but the Grizzlies did poorly in the PCC tournament. 11 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 2 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 2 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8) Montana (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 3 NCAA Championships) Rice (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8) Again, no one dropped out. First Round Upsets Midwest #13 Northern Arizona over #4 SMU South #12 Colorado State over #5 Baylor #14 LSU over #3 William & Mary East #12 Dartmouth over #5 Dayton #14 Nevada over #3 Citadel #11 Marshall over #6 Virginia How about that for the Desert Conference? It goes and not only gets a team in, but pulls off a major upset. William & Mary again gets blocked, the Brian Kinard curse still in effect. Second Round Upsets South #7 Wyoming over #2 Marquette #14 LSU over #6 UCLA East #7 Loyola-Maryland over #2 DePaul LSU continued its Cinderella run, while Loyola-Maryland celebrated its return to the Sweet 16. The Greyhounds wanted desperately to have a Final Four or a title to show they were right in staying independent. Sweet 16 West #1 Rice vs. #4 Washington #2 Montana vs #3 Wake Forest Midwest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #5 George Washington #2 USC vs #3 Richmond South #1 San Francisco vs #4 Furman #7 Wyoming vs #14 LSU East #1 Georgetown vs #4 TCU #7 Loyola-Maryland vs #11 Marshall Many of the programs in the Sweet 16 represented either established blue bloods or up and coming programs. Marshall had made three Sweet 16s in the early years of the NCAAs and appeared to be back, but this was LSU's first ever Sweet 16 and they stood out as the real new kids. Loyola-Illinois blew past George Washington 96-70 on junior SG Scottie Gammon's 36 points and senior PG Brian Benevides's 15 points and 11 assists, while USC edged Richmond 79-73, thanks mainly to senior forward John Bartley's 22 points. Georgetown's defense shut down TCU 65-50, riding senior SG David Spitz's 25 points and double-doubles of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 points, 10 rebounds from sophomore SF Hugh Davis and junior PF Kendall Garrett. Meanwhile, Loyola-Maryland made the Elite 8 for the first time since 1949, beating 78-66 with senior PF Michael Brewer's 15 points and 10 rebounds. Washington shocked defending champion Rice 81-70 and sophomore swingman Narciso Blanco became a national household name with 24 points. Montana, meanwhile, just barely edged Wake Forest 72-70 thanks to French sophomore 6th man Gustave Ricourt's 18 points. Furman spoiled the Dons' Final Four dreams in a 74-69 victory keyed by two players with 18 points a piece. LSU upset Wyoming 68-58 with stonewalling defense, much to the disbelief of everyone watching. Elite 8 West #4 Washington vs #2 Montana Midwest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #2 USC South #4 Furman vs #14 LSU East #1 Georgetown vs #7 Loyola-Maryland Scads of storylines for this Elite 8, such as every matchup features a team who's been to at least the title game against a team that's never made it to the Final Four. Washington/Montana offered the further intrigue of the PNL vs. the PCC. There was also the matter of three schools with national championships still in play, and of course, in Georgetown/Loyola-Maryland, you had the team who consistently fell just short of a championship and the team who consistently fell short of the Final Four. Even the least-hyped game, Furman/LSU, offered a bona fide Cinderella. Loyola-Illinois slammed the door on USC, 78-68. Brian Benevides was the game's higher scorer with 16 points and 7 assists and the Trojans' fifth trip to the Elite 8 once more ended in failure. And then, in the most anticipated game of the first day, Loyola-Maryland finally broke through, beating Georgetown 76-64. Jubiliation all around as Michael Brewer scored 19 and sophomore 6th man Ernest Kerr turned in 14 bench points. At long last, the independent Greyhounds knew Final Four sweetness. Montana pushed aside Washington 70-61 with defense and balanced scoring, and although no Grizzlies posted sexy numbers, the message was clear - the PCC still ruled. Furman blew out LSU 70-47 on junior PG Colton Dieprieto's 21 points and junior C Dorian Rimmer's 19 rebounds. The selection committee breathed a sigh of relief after that one. Final Four #2 Montana vs #4 Furman #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #7 Loyola-Maryland Talk about your must see TV! David Beach, who won the 1955 national title with Furman, now faced off against his former school on his quest to become the first coach in NCAA history to win a championship at two different schools. Meanwhile, it was the battle of the Loyolas in the other half. The Ramblers were heavy favorites, but many were the fans who hoped this might finally be the Greyhounds' year. Junior PG Ron Kelley scored 21 as the Grizzlies crushed Furman 82-57. The Paladins just had no answer for Montana all game long and Beach, who'd taken heat for his underachieving first season, fist-pumped with joy once the game was beyond doubt. Reports say Mack Halbert smiled too. And then, in an exciting game, Loyola-Maryland stopped Loyola-Illinois's rally to pull off the 65-62 upset!!!! Senior SG James Rubacalva led the Greyhounds with 17 points as a nation celebrated the incredible result. National Championship #2 Montana vs #7 Loyola-Maryland Once the Grizzlies won, the network execs won. Either it would be Loyola-Illinois, one of Montana's biggest rivals for greatest program in the country, or it would be Loyola-Maryland, the nation's lone independent having the kind of season it just missed so many years. And of course, there was the David Beach saga. Action was heavy on the Grizzlies to become the first school to win four titles, but a few bet that this would be the first time in NCAA history an independent team won a national championship. All the hype turned to smoke quickly. 74-45 rout for the Grizzlies keyed by 22 points from senior swingman Jay Sandler and 10 points, 10 rebounds from sophomore C Charles Eby. David Beach became the first coach in history to win titles at two different schools. Montana extended its record of national championships to four. And Mack Halbert felt triply blessed, for he was in reasonable health, he'd chosen the right successor, and, perhaps most importantly to some, Beach won with Halbert recruits. Meanwhile, the Loyola-Maryland faithful had mixed feelings. Yes, they'd finally made the Final Four and the title game, but the Greyhounds looked foolish on national television. Yet, they swore to retain their independence.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-08-2011, 01:40 PM
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#27 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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11 Years Overview
National Championships Montana: 4 (1948, 1950, 1956, 1958) Rice: 2 (1949, 1957) Furman: 1 (1955) Georgia Tech: 1 (1953) Loyola-Illinois: 1 (1951) Texas: 1 (1952) William & Mary: 1 (1954) Final Four Appearances Loyola-Illinois: 5 (1948, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958) Rice: 5 (1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957) ---------------------------------------------- Montana: 4 (1948, 1950, 1956, 1958) ---------------------------------------------- Wake Forest: 3 (1954, 1955, 1956) Georgetown: 3 (1949, 1951, 1955) ---------------------------------------------- Furman: 2 (1955, 1958) Niagara: 2 (1956, 1957) Marquette: 2 (1949, 1956) Virginia Tech: 2 (1952, 1953) South Carolina: 2 (1948, 1952) --------------------------------------------- Loyola-Maryland (1958) George Washington (1957) Richmond (1957) Kansas (1955) William & Mary (1954) Georgia Tech (1953) Nevada (1952) Texas (1952) Oregon State (1951) Syracuse (1950) Cincinnati (1950) Miami (1950) North Carolina (1949) UCLA (1948) Interesting Stats: -Wake Forest is the only school with 3 straight Final Four appearances -Montana has won the championship every year they've made it to the Final Four -14 of the 24 schools to make it to the Final Four have made it only once -Rice and Loyola-Illinois have been in almost half the Final Fours in NCAA history (5/11) Teams with 70+ Prestige Montana: 100 Rice: 99 Loyola-Illinois: 91 USC: 91 Wake Forest: 91 Furman: 90 -------------------- Richmond: 86 TCU: 86 Marquette:85 Niagara: 84 Georgetown: 82 SMU: 81 ------------------- San Francisco: 78 DePaul: 77 UCLA: 77 Loyola-Maryland: 76 Texas: 76 Dayton: 74 California: 73 Miami: 73 Baylor: 72 Oregon State: 72 William & Mary: 72 Davidson, Nevada, Valparaiso, and Wyoming just miss the cut at 69. Code:
30 coaches with 200+ wins, with legendary Mack Halbert of Montana fame and Julius Durfee with 3 Final Fours, 2 at Wake Forest, 1 at South Carolina, the only retirees. Code:
Time will tell if Frank Hill's obscene 80%+ record will hold up. Mack Halbert just missed the mark when he retired. The two best coaches you haven't heard much of so far - Scott Knudsen, who keeps just missing the Final Four as USC's coach and Gerald Heater, who had two solid seasons and a bad one at Duquesne before moving to Georgetown in 1952. Code:
Brian Soler won the title in 1953 with Georgia Tech, and, as you may remember, took the job at Wyoming the very next year, where he's built the Cowboys back into one of the country's better programs. Bruce Loos spent three years at VMI, before going to Texas and winning the Longhorns the 1952 fluke title, although he did take them to the Elite 8 in his final year of coaching. Interesting statistic: Julius Durfee still leads in number of All-Americans with 8, even though he's been retired since 1955. Conferences 5 prestige Great Lakes PCC Southern Stars SWC 4 prestige Independents Mountain States Whig 3 prestige Big Ten PNL Southern 2 prestige Atlantic Six Big 8 Ivy MAC North Star Yankee 1 prestige Bluegrass Desert Empire MVC OVC SEC Sun West The Big Ten's rise to a respectable conference was the biggest news here. Although there was also continued consternation in New England as the North Star dropped yet another level, and so conversations began between the presidents of the North Star, the Atlantic Six, and the Yankee, the latter two conferences of which were quite pleased at their own ascension.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-08-2011, 04:52 PM
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#28 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1959 Conference Movement
New Schools East Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State There was no problem over where to put the two new schools. The Bluegrass Conference happily accepted them to bolster the Kentucky/Tennessee regionality. At the last minute, the New England conferences invited the Empire to the discussion. Each league joining the Northeast/New England basketball dialogue came with a different agenda. Atlantic Six More than willing to dissolve the conference. There were actually seven member schools and no one felt any particular attachment to the league, particularly if it meant a stronger New England league. Empire Simply there to listen, but quite flexible. After all, they'd long since sacrificed the idea of a New York-only league, as was its original intent. Too, they saw what happened to the Steel League and how only a few missed it. North Star The one attendee` adamant about staying intact. In fact, the North Star came to the meetings with the idea that they would simply poach the best of the other conferences, regardless of academic reputation, and make their case to the NCAA as a 3 prestige conference. As the commissioner wrote in his diary, "We were very mindful of what happened in 1954, when we lost Georgetown, Lafayette, and William & Mary to the Whig. That wasn't going to happen again. We also did not want, under any circumstances, to become the Sun West of the East. The historical lessons were there and damned if we were not going to learn from them." Yankee Like the Empire, the Yankee kept an open mind, with no commitments one way or the other. The first thing the four leagues did was look at the other 3 prestige conferences in the country to see if it was even possible to construct an argument. They found that it'd be a tough stretch, but it might be possible, especially if the NCAA bought the need for the New England region to have a viable conference. St. Joseph's of the Atlantic Six, with its multiple NCAA appearances and its 1952 Elite 8 showing, Colgate of the North Star with its recent string of tournament successes, and Syracuse of the North Star with its 1950 Final Four appearance, were the three strongest teams. Other 40+ Prestige schools in the four conferences: La Salle (Yankee) Army (North Star) Navy (North Star) With four of the six most viable schools, the North Star clearly had the upper hand and argued for absorbing St. Joseph's and La Salle. There was little doubt in anyone's mind that this would result in the conference's return to 3 prestige status. Those changes would leave the Atlantic Six with a grandfathered legal six teams and the Yankee, too, would stay intact with seven members. Thus, the agreement was struck. St. Joseph's Atlantic Six (1948-1958) North Star (1959- La Salle Independent (1948-1951) Yankee League (1952-1958) North Star (1959- The NCAA also lowered the Atlantic Six and Yankee League back down to 1 prestige, but nobody minded all that much. But then a problem arose, as the NCAA also reversed its earlier decision about grandfathered conferences and required all conferences to have 7 teams or more. This stunning decision affected the following conferences: Atlantic Six Missouri Valley and... The Southern Stars. Some speculate that the timing of this decision came about as a result of some heavy bribes from the North Star to directly attack Southern Stars arrogance and the 1948 conflict. The Atlantic Six promptly voted to dissolve. Iona and St. Bonaventure quickly found new homes in the Empire as New York state schools. Holy Cross and Providence moved to the Yankee League. Bucknell and Villanova explored opportunities to revive some of the old Steel and Penn State of the Yankee League was certainly willing. But that was just three schools of a needed seven. Then Drexel, Pittsburgh, and St. Francis (PA), and Temple all indicated interest, and an All-Pennsylvania league again came into being. They could not use the old Steel name, so they voted on the Keystone League instead. The end result of this was that the Yankee League stayed at 7 and the Ohio Valley, which lost Drexel, Pittsburgh, and St. Francis (PA) of its seven members, went on the chopping block. And the axe came down as Toledo, Xavier, and Youngstown State all accepted invitations to the Ohio-Michigan-centric MAC, which in turn led Butler to rescue the Missouri Valley by relocating there. Only Marshall remained in the Ohio Valley and the Thundering Herd opted to go independent. As for the Southern Stars, the only viable private university with acceptable academic credentials in the South was Tulane, and so the Green Waves shockingly went from a 1 prestige conference all the way to one of the nation's top leagues. In other SEC news, Tennessee tired of being a doormat and so they applied for, and joined, the Bluegrass in another surprising move. The caveat to this was that the Volunteers were joining strictly as a basketball member. The thinking was that Tennessee would flourish in a less-congested conference and might help the Bluegrass attain auto-bid status down the line. Conference Changes Since 1948 Steel Conference (1948-1954) Whig Conference (1955- Bluegrass Conference (1956- Pacific Northwest League (1956- Desert Conference (1958- Atlantic Six (1948-1958) Ohio Valley Conference (1948-1958) Keystone League (1959- Bucknell Independent (1948) Atlantic Six (1949-1958) Keystone (1959- Holy Cross Atlantic Six (1948-1958) Yankee (1959- [u]Iona/u] Atlantic Six (1948-1958) Empire (1959- Providence Atlantic Six (1949-1958) Yankee (1959- St. Bonaventure Atlantic Six (1948-1958) Empire (1959- Drexel Steel (1948-1954) Ohio Valley (1955-1958) Keystone (1959- Penn State Steel (1948-1954) Yankee (1955-1958) Keystone (1959- Pittsburgh Steel (1948-1954) Ohio Valley (1955-1958) Keystone (1959- St. Francis (PA) Ohio Valley (1956-1958) Keystone (1959- Temple Steel (1948-1954) Yankee (1955-1958) Keystone (1959- Villanova Steel (1948-1954) Atlantic Six (1955-1958) Keystone (1959- Toledo MAC (1948-1955) Ohio Valley (1956-1958) MAC (1959- Xavier Ohio Valley (1948-1958) MAC (1959- Youngstown State Ohio Valley (1948-1958) MAC (1959- Marshall Ohio Valley (1948-1958) Independent (1959- Tennessee SEC (1948-1958) Bluegrass (1959- Tulane SEC (1948-1958) Southern Stars (1959- 19 schools changed conferences, over 10% of the nation's 173 schools in a single offseason. 2 conferences were killed off and a new one was born. It was the busiest, most hectic changeup in NCAA history to date. The Keystone League, by the way, received an auto-bid, although it was designated a 1 prestige conference. It's worth noting that Bucknell for Duquesne and the addition of St. Francis (PA) were the only changes from the Steel League to the Keystone League. As a previous entry observed, the five Pennsylvania schools vowed to be together again in a conference after the Steel dissolved and this proved that opportunity. Furthermore, no longer was the SEC the nation's largest conference with 12 teams. That designation fell to the Bluegrass's 11 schools, ironically without an automatic bid. Five conferences had 10 teams - The Big Ten, MAC, North Star, PCC, and SEC. 11 of the nation's 21 conferences still had the minimum seven members, however, and just 18 conferences had automatic bids, with the Bluegrass, Desert, and Sun West conferences left out. Formerly, it had been 19 of 22. Thus, as had been the case ever since the NCAA started, there was plenty of opportunity for deserving teams to secure at-large bids, including those bidless conferences. This also provided the NCAA a measuring stick by which to decide whether those leagues would eventually be worthy of a guaranteed place.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-08-2011, 06:54 PM
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#29 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Coach Movement
Just 10 coaches got pink-slipped before the 1959 season, a little over half of the year before. Rchard Metts - Holy Cross to Northwestern Not a great hire. Although Metts led the Crusaders to a 1955 NCAA appearance, Holy Cross trended downwards each of his four years there. Then again, the Wildcats have only one winning season to their credit, when they made the Big Dance in 1953. Marco Moscowitz - Dartmouth to Marshall In five seasons at Dartmouth, Marco led the Big Green to three NCAA appearances, including two second round showings. The Thundering Herd are consistently in the NCAAs and last year made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1951. Can he keep Marshall stampeding? Harlon Powell - Princeton to Dartmouth For the second time in as many years, a school steals another coach from a conference rival. Powell took the Tigers to one NCAA appearance in his four years there and generally speaking, improved Princeton from when he arrived. A good hire to get someone who knows the intricacies of Ivy League recruiting. Waldo Sperling - Bucknell to Boston College Sperling did nothing noteworthy at Bucknell and the Eagles haven't been to the tournament since 1951 and have just one winning season, 1956, since then. A bad hire from the looks of it. Duane Ramos - Mississippi State to Notre Dame Two NCAA appearances in four years with the Bulldogs makes this a much better hire than fellow North Star school BC did. The Fighting Irish haven't won so much as 10 games in any season since 1955, their only NCAA appearance. Thomas Roemer - Oregon to Arizona Arizona is Roemer's 4th school, but he showed in stints at Colorado, Colgate, and Oregon a tendency to have initial success and then program decline. The Wildcats made the Sweet 16 in 1956, a fluke in a long stretch of futility after 1953, the last of their streak of 5 Big Dance appearances in 6 seasons that they began NCAA play with. Very questionable decision. Eric Depew - Marshall to St. Mary's Fantastic hire by the Gaels, as 44 year old Depew built the Thundering Herd into one of the country's up and coming programs in his 8 seasons at Marshall. Another school that hasn't won even 10 games since their last NCAA appearance. The difference between Saint Mary's and Notre Dame - The Gaels have 7 NCAA bids to their credit and a 1951 Sweet 16 to boot. Jeffrey Grass - Western Michigan to Oregon Grass is a Washington native and graduated from Washington, so he's thrilled to be back in the Pacific Northwest after spending his entire coaching career in the Midwest. Four years with the Broncos translated to two Big Dance outings. The Ducks have become mediocre since joining the PNL and perhaps the Grass will make Green Golden again. Code:
The Grizzlies' fall to 25 alarmed a good number of people in Bozeman, particularly with national rivals Loyola-Illinois and Rice taking the top two spots. Could Montana's run of greatness finally be starting to end? Code:
The Greyhounds felt disrespected to be ranked only 25th in the preseason polls. Montana, still riding high on Mack Halbert's last classes, had the #1 spot. A handful of unbeaten teams still remained at the start of January, including #1 Montana, #2 Wake Forest, #4 SMU, #6 TCU, and #8 Texas A&M. The polls all made sense as well. As of February 1st, only 20-0 Montana lay claim to an unbeaten season and were a clear-cut #1, followed by Wake Forest, Marquette, Georgetown, and Nevada. March 1st had the Grizzlies still unbeaten at 28-0. Could the Grizzlies become the first unbeaten team in NCAA history going into the tournament? Sadly, the Top 25 was finally marred by silly selections for 24 and 25, ruining what was almost a perfect polling season. Teams Pulling the Double Illinois (Big Ten) Loyola-Illinois (Great Lakes) Detroit (MAC) Montana (PCC) Wake Forest (Southern Stars) Rice (SWC) Georgetown (Whig) Canisius (Yankee) *Note - The Keystone League opted not to have a conference tournament their first season, and of course, the Ivy never had a conference tournament. As a result, Bucknell earned the Keystone League's automatic bid. #1 Seeds Montana Rice Wake Forest Georgetown The Montana Grizzlies entered the NCAA Tournament a perfect 32-0. No other team had ever accomplished that feat and so the Grizzlies were heavy, heavy favorites to win it all. 12 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 2 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (1 Sweet 16, 3 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Montana (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 4 NCAA Championships) Rice (3 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 5 Elite 8) Although no one dropped out, Lafayette just barely made the tournament as a 15 seed. First Round Upsets West #10 Kent State over #7 Navy #14 Arizona State over #3 William & Mary Midwest #10 UCLA over #7 Detroit Comparatively few upsets in the opening round, the biggest shocker being William & Mary dumped for the umpteenth time, continuing the all-too familiar curse for Tribe fans. Second Round Upsets Midwest #6 Idaho over #3 South Carolina South #9 West Virginia over #1 Wake Forest East #7 Niagara over #2 Nevada The Mountaineers taking down the Demon Deacons really stood out, but overall it was a very quiet tournament for Cinderellas. Sweet 16 West #1 Montana vs #5 Duquesne #2 SMU vs #6 Miami Midwest #1 Rice vs #5 Dayton #2 Loyola-Illinois vs #6 Idaho South #9 West Virginia vs #5 Oregon State #2 Marquette vs #3 TCU East #1 Georgetown vs #5 Furman #7 Niagara vs #3 Richmond All in all, the matchups in the Sweet 16 weren't that exciting. The biggest one was Georgetown vs Furman in a battle of powers, with many feeling the Paladins underseeded. Marquette and TCU promised to be an interesting draw of second-tier teams, but outside of those two games, there just wasn't much of a draw. Montana destroyed Duquesne 85-56 with senior PG Ron Kelley's 18 points and junior C Charles Eby's 12 points and 11 rebounds. SMU bested Miami 68-54 with defense and team balance. West Virginia knocked out Oregon State 88-84 to continue its surprise run, led by junior Wilbur Fults, senior Charles Branum and senior George Cordona all scoring 20 points in a beautiful perimeter pummeling. TCU do-everything junior Houston Long hauled in 18 points and 11 rebounds, but the big story in the Horned Frogs' 78-72 win over Marquette was true freshman Darrick Pickett scoring 22. Was there a new phenom to pay attention to on the national scene? Rice dismantled Dayton 82-48 with senior Bryan Murray's 21 points, senior C Felipe Mora's 11 points and 16 rebounds, and reserve junior Dannie Gomez's 13 points. Only one Flyer scored so much as 10 points. The biggest upset of the tournament came when Idaho shocked Loyola-Illinois 75-72 in the most glorious victory in program history. Senior Terrence Broadwater scored 25 to be the difference-maker. In the marquee matchup of the round, Georgetown beat Furman 73-65 with all five starters netting 10+ points. The most entertaining game was Niagara's 105-99 shootout over Richmond, keyed by their own all five starters in 10+ points, including junior Richard Parker's 27 points, and a 17 point bench burst by true freshman Markus Gunther. Elite 8 West #1 Montana vs #2 SMU Midwest #1 Rice vs #6 Idaho South #9 West Virginia vs #3 TCU East #1 Georgetown vs #7 Niagara Montana and Rice, the nation's royalty. Georgetown, with just 82 prestige despite a recent status as one of college basketball's super powers. Niagara, largely unheralded despite a 1956 and 1957 back to back Final Fours and a 1955 Elite 8. TCU, in the Elite 8 for the second time. Idaho, the second straight PNL team to make the Elite 8 in as many as years, and never having even been in the second weekend before, a status shared by fellow newcomer West Virginia. It was as intriguing an Elite 8 as the Sweet 16 looked dull. Montana continued to maul any and all opposition, gashing SMU 76-55. Senior PG Ron Kelley was again the man of the night, scoring 25 points. TCU fended off West Virginia 68-60 on junior C Daniel North's 24 points and 13 rebounds. The Owls came this close to becoming the second prince of the basketball realm to being robbed by the Vandals, and they barely withstood Terrence Broadwater's 30 points to escape with a heartpounding 85-83 win. Brian Murray's 23 points and senior Kristopher Maurer's 28 points saved the day. Senior big Kendall Garrett's 30 points and 12 rebounds almost singlehandedly scored the win for the Hoyas, Georgetown suffocating Niagara 78-55 in a snoozer. Final Four #1 Montana vs #3 TCU #1 Rice vs #1 Georgetown The Grizzlies, still hoping to become the first undefeated champion in NCAA history. The Horned Frogs, literally praying for an upset of the ages. The Owls, trying to regain their confidence after nearly losing to the Vandals. The Hoyas, hungry to exorcise the hex that denied their championship dreams. A thrilling set of Final Four teams and television and radio executives were in the position, much like last year, to have a ratings bonanza so long as Montana won. Win the Grizzlies did, but TCU drew kudos for being the first team in the tournament to lose by less than 10 points. Senior Cole Gibson, part of that #1 five 5*s class, scored 21 and Willy Theis, a junior, popped off 23 points. Georgetown shut down Rice and junior SG Landon Sharpe did virtually all the necessary scoring in a 70-64 win that wasn't as close as it looked. National Championship #1 Montana vs #1 Georgetown On one side, the team many called the greatest in NCAA history at a school known for its legendary players and teams. A coach in David Beach hoping to tie his predecessor in total national championships. A school dreaming of first-ever unbeaten season distinction and the first one to win back-to-back titles. On the other side, a program 0 for 2 in national title game appearances. A coach in Gerald Heater who'd suffered one of those losses and who didn't draw the acclaim that other coaching greats did. A school that would forgive all the pain and agony of the past if they could win here and have the sweetness of ruining perfection in the bargain. And then the Hoyas' nerves showed. Georgetown shot just 30.6% and scored only 37 points, an NCAA championship record. Meanwhile PG Ron Kelley led a balanced Grizzlies attack with 19 points, and Montana claimed its 5th national championship. Montana Grizzlies - the first school to win consecutive national titles and the first unbeaten team in NCAA history, all in one go!!! At last, Mack Halbert was tied for the most national championships by David Beach with 3. Halbert's influence in the Beach hiring had never looked more brilliant.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-08-2011, 06:56 PM
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#30 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Wow, who'd picture the Griz as a basketball power. Haha. Nice, detailed work here (as always.) One of these days, they'll just rename the Golden Scribe to "The Izulde"
 Last edited by Young Drachma : 04-08-2011 at 06:56 PM. |
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04-08-2011, 07:19 PM
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#31 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Thanks.
 Now is where it gets tough for Montana, though. That ungodly recruiting class of five 5* players just graduated (I'll be posting their info in the next update) with three national titles and an unbeaten season to their credit. They do have Charles Eby's #1 class still with their senior year to go, but Beach has done crap in recruiting, with a #77 and a #25 class. Granted, that 77th class was just one player, but he was a 4*. Unless Beach pulls out a great class this year, I suspect the dynasty is sadly close to running its course.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-10-2011, 11:10 AM
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#32 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The 1955 Montana recruiting class, the greatest ever in NCAA history to that point, took home three national titles in their four years, in 1956, 1958, and 1959. It was a feat few doubted would ever be matched.
Here then, were the Phenomenal Five: Code:
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Cole Gibson and Ron Kelley exemplified this team by their selfless sharing, taking 11th and T-21st all-time in career assists and Brian Priest was 17th all-time in career blocks. Cole Gibson, Ron Kelley, and Brian Priest became the 8th, 16th, and 24th all-time in PCC scoring, a delicious symmetry in sequence. Priest also ranked 14th in career PCC rebounds and 2nd in blocks. Gibson's PCC marks included 4th in assists and 3rd in career steals, while Kelley took 7th in both assists and steals. Montana Marks Cole Gibson Points - 2nd Rebounds - 11th O. Rebounds - 13th Assists - 2nd Steals - 1st Blocks - 20th Ron Kelley Points - 3rd Rebounds - 15th O. Rebounds - 11th Assists - 3rd Steals - 4th Blocks - 16th Brian Priest Points - 5th Rebounds - 3rd O. Rebounds - 7th Assists - 10th Steals - T - 10th Blocks - 1st It was quite the powerful triumvirate, far different from the Newton Richardson dual title teams. Richardson, even as 1960 approached, still owned the school record in career points and assists. The question looming as 1960 approached - Could the Grizzlies threepeat in Charles Eby's senior year? And what would happen to Montana after that, with David Beach bringing in a lackluster 77th and 24th overall class his first two seasons in Bozeman?
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-10-2011, 12:33 PM
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#33 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I neglected to include the 1958 national awards previously, so here they are along with the 1959 awards.
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1960 Conference Movement New Schools Centenary The most logical place for Centenary was the SEC, but the Southeastern had finally upgraded to a 2 prestige conference and so they were loathe to add the Gentlemen. Furthermore, the newest program didn't even field a football team. The next most fitting place was the Southern Stars, but schools across the country despised the idea of a first year member breaking into one of the power conferences. Loyola-Maryland and Marshall, too, didn't want Centenary going independent for fear of hurting the Greyhounds' and Thundering Herd's status. The Bluegrass almost voted the Gents in, but by the narrowest of margins, Centenary's application was rejected, and so they began Division I life independent. Outside of that dispute, no conversations occurred about movement. Code:
David Beach at last landed a top class, bringing in the #3 cohort in the country. While still not on the level of Mack Halbert's successes, it alleviated some fears of the Grizzlies' decline. Coach Movement 12 coaches were fired prior to 1960 and a record 7 coaches retired, the most notable of whom was Kent Garza, the 1958 National Coach of the Year with San Francisco who'd won 246 games in stops with Bradley, Denver, and San Francisco. He also made it two Sweet 16s, in 1950 with Bradley and 1958 with San Francisco. Garza was only one of two retired coaches in the Top 20 in career wins at that point, and everyone knows the other one. In fact, just four retired coaches had over 200 wins at that point. Halbert, Garza, Andrew Brinkman, who also retired after 1959 and coached a few seasons at Detroit before taking the job at Duquesne, where in 8 seasons he led the Dukes to 3 Sweet 16s and the 1954 Ellite 8, and Julius Durfee. Abram Lindberg - Arizona to Valparaiso* Lindberg may have had three Sweet 16s to his credit, but two were in the first two years of the NCAA with Purdue and the latter was considered a fluke appearance in his first season with the Wildcats. Already with stops at Purdue, Gonzaga, and Arizona on his resume, Lindberg represented the kind of uninspired journeyman hire that underwhelmed fanbases (154-184 overall record and a noted history of program declines). It was particularly puzzling a choice, considering Valpo had a fairly distinguished NCAA tournament resume with just one non-appearance (1956) after making it to the Big Dance for the first time in 1950. Even more stunning considering Lindberg moved from the bid-less Sun West all the way to the powerhouse Great Lakes, especially since he got fired from a 1 prestige conference school right before he got this 5 prestige conference job. Ronnie Pearl - Wichita State to Centenary Great hire for the Gentlemen in their first season of existence. Pearl took the Shockers to two NCAA appearances in his five seasons and had only one losing season. He also had success building Mississippi State's program and took the Bulldogs to the second round in his last season there. Brian Kelly - Western Kentucky to Detroit Kelly led the Hilltoppers to the tournament for the first time since 1952 and cashed in by taking the Titans gig. Detroit hasn't had any consistent success, only making back-to-back tournaments in 1951 and 1952, their lone Sweet 16 appearance in '51. But they made the tournament last year and Kelly will be expected to produce right away. James Hunter - Maryland to BYU Three NCAA trips in seven years isn't exactly stellar, especially when two of them were a result of getting hot in the conference tournament at just the right time. General feeling is that the oft-dancing, but never second weekend Cougars blew this hire. Hector Gober - Auburn to Army Very strange pick by the Black Knights. Gober has just one winning season and NCAA appearance to his credit, two years ago. Army's streak of staying home since 1954 looks likely to continue. Lewis Hoke - Detroit to Colgate Hoke played it smart, taking his 25 win season with the Titans and turning it to the Colgate job. Although that was his only NCAA appearance with Detroit, he had considerable success with Rutgers in his first job. The Raiders, with 6 NCAA tournaments in the last 7 years, including the 1956 Sweet 16, better hope they're getting the Scarlet Knights' version. Kieth Slayton - George Washington to San Francisco What do you get a school who hasn't been to the Elite 8 since 1950 and never been to the Final Four despite being one of the better programs in the country? A guy who made the Final Four in Slayton (1957 with the Colonials). Just 38 years old, he already has 236 wins to his credit while coaching at Auburn and George Washington. He's also usually in the tournament. Good hire by the Dons. Carlo Bloch - San Jose State to Gonzaga Still largely living off his 1948 Sweet 16 showing with UConn. Hard to believe that a guy who has just 2 NCAA appearances to his credit in 12 years as a head coach lands a job, but the third stealing of a conference rival in as many years was just too tempting, I guess. 'Zaga has made the tournament twice since entering the NCAA in 1953, including a first round exit last year. Orville Williams - Iona to San Jose State Mediocre hire, although he did send the Gaels to the tournament twice in his six seasons. Both were first round exits. That matches the Spartans' best showing in their lone tournament appearance, in 1955. Gonzaga is clearly the better job of these two 1953 entrants. Jamar Angell - Temple to Santa Clara Worst.hire.ever. In seven seasons, Angell never took the Owls to the tournament and only had a winning record twice. Then again, the Broncos have been terrible since making the tournament three of four seasons from 1951-1955, so this awful pickup was the best they could do. In fact, they're on a four season streak of 20 losses a year. German Slagle - Saint Louis to Maryland The Billikens were awful when Slagle took them over in 1953, so getting two NCAA bids and making the program respectable are actually quite good accomplishments. As for the Terrapins they've made the tournament every other year for the last five years, but are first round knockouts in all five bids of the school's history. Maybe Slagle can be that guy. Chris Rivera - BYU to Duke Just one losing season with the Cougars, his first, where they won 10 games. The rebuild was swift, with three straight bids, albeit first round exits, after that, before a .500 mark last year. Just one losing season at Kent State, his original job, too. For a Blue Devils team that hasn't been to the tournament since 1949 [and has just one even so much as .500 record since then[/b], it's a solid get. Sammy Taylor - Colgate to Duquesne Coaching nomad did great at Cornell, terrible at VMI, and pretty good at Colgate, where he never had a losing season with the Raiders and four bids in five years, including a Sweet 16 outing. The Dukes are a quality program and Taylor has big shoes to fill in replacing Andrew Brinkman. Herman Wilkinson - Gonzaga to George Washington Flamed out as the head coach at Bowling Green, where he took over after being an assistant there. His Gonzaga record is much better, especially given the state of the program when he arrived, with the school's first two ever NCAA bids, including the second round in 1956, his first year in Spokane. Still, for a Colonials side that very recently made the Final Four and the Sweet 16 the year after that before losing in the first round last season, it's hard to get too thrilled. Graig Stallings - LSU to Virginia This is how good the hire is. When Stallings became the LSU coach in 1956, they won just 4 games that first year. Next season? 16 wins. Year after that? The miracle Elite 8 run. While last season was a first round exit, Stallings proved his program building chops. Welcome news for Cavaliers fans, who've made the Big Dance only once since a three of four string from 1950-1953.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-10-2011, 02:26 PM
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#34 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Giant bullseye on Grizzlies' backs heading in to 1960, as they're fresh off the undefeated 38-0 season and with the nation's longest unbeaten streak that's well over 40 games when you add in their championship two years ago and the conference tournament they won. Well over 50 at the start of January, with the Grizzlies 13-0. There was also 14-0 Rice, 13-0 TCU, and 12-0 Oregon State among the unbeaten ranks. The streak finally came to an end on January 28th, 1961, when, in an epic battle with fellow undefeated and then #2 Oregon State, the Beavers beat the Grizzlies 80-72 in Bozeman. Senior SF Lloyd Luck scored 30 points for Oregon State in one of the most thrilling regular season matchups in NCAA history. 19 + 38 + 6 (needed to win the tournament). As it turns out, the Grizzlies didn't win the 1958 PCC conference tournament (California did), so the math is both accurate and easy. A 63 game winning streak over parts of three seasons, from 1958-1961. Quote:
Oregon State, incidentally, stood at 20-0 on February 1st, the last unbeaten team. Talk in Corvallis said they might even challenge the Grizzlies for the nation's only unbeaten title, but talk has always been cheap, and unbeaten through January had been done before numerous times. As a matter of fact, the Beavers lost three times in March. On the reverse side, however, they swept the Grizzlies in the season series. All this led to Furman taking the top spot as of March 1st, followed by Montana, TCU, Oregon State, and traditional power Rice in the Top 5. Alas, the polls were one team away from being perfect, with 13-15 Baylor at 25 the annual March headscratcher. Teams Pulling the Double Bradley (Missouri Valley) Montana (PCC - beating Oregon State 80-67 in the final, no less) Georgia Tech (SEC) TCU (SWC) Canisius (Yankee) Note: The Keystone League again opted not to have a conference tournament, and since the league rose to 2 prestige after its first year of play, the conference voted to join the Ivy League in giving the regular season champion its auto bid each year. Bucknell won for the second straight year. #1 Seeds Montana TCU Furman Wake Forest Two Southern Stars schools with #1 seeds. The North Star certainly agonized over this circumstance, while the Southern Stars were thankful that adding Tulane had not, after all, affected their standing as one of the nation's powerhouse leagues. Oregon State was outraged to receive a #2 seed and rightfully so. They'd been one of the best teams in the country and the Beavers were the only team to beat Montana leading up to the tournament. 13 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 3 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 3 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16) Loyola-Illinois (2 Sweet 16, 3 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Montana (2 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 5 NCAA Championships) Rice (3 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 5 Elite 8) Once again, no one dropped out. First Round Upsets West #10 UCLA over #7 Marshall Midwest #10 San Jose State over #7 Valparaiso South #10 Minnesota over #7 Dayton East #11 Miami over #6 Loyola-Maryland Bad year to be a 7 seed. Loyola-Maryland slumped back into their streaks of underachievement, that 1958 title game appearance all seeming so much a mirage now. Second Round Upsets West #10 UCLA over #2 Richmond Midwest #6 SMU over #3 Depaul East #8 Citadel over #1 Wake Forest Remember back when Citadel shocked everyone by pulling the #1 recruiting class in 1957, the first non-power conference or elite school to accomplish that feat? Well, that class, now juniors, pulled off the 79-69 upset of 1 seed Wake Forest, for the school's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1954. Demon Deacons fans continued to boo Brian Kinard, who hadn't made the Final Four since his first season, the last of Wake Forest's string of three straight Final Four appearances, a streak which, incidentally, was in danger of being tied by Montana. That shocker stole the thunder from perennial overachiever UCLA's upset of Richmond. Sweet 16 West #1 Montana vs. #4 Texas A&M #10 UCLA vs #3 Marquette Midwest #1 TCU vs #5 USC #2 Oregon State vs #6 SMU South #1 Furman vs #4 Loyola-Illinois #2 Rice vs #3 Georgetown East #8 Citadel vs #5 Duquesne #2 Niagara vs #3 Lafayette Everyone drooled over the South region. Four of the nation's best schools in Furman, Loyola-Illinois, Rice, and Georgetown. It looked to be fantastic basketball. UCLA's run intrigued, and TCU/USC looked a great matchup too. Then in Duquesne/Citadel, you had the upset Citadel against a coach replacing a legend. Lafayette, the least noteworthy of the teams to always make the tournament, was in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1956, the last of their three straight Sweet 16 appearances from 1954-1956. USC trounced TCU 80-50, riding junior PF Chas Radke's 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Oregon State further made its case for having been a #1 seed, topping SMU 90-73 on six players with 11+ points, headed up by junior big man Tony Herod's 21 points and 13 rebounds. Much closer was Citadel's 62-59 stunner of Duquesne, led by senior Ahmad Moreno's second straight 22 point game. He was definitely the breakout star of the tournament. Lafayette finally made the Elite 8, beating Niagara 96-87 via junior Joshua Hollinger's 22 points and junior Gerald Ross's 20 points. The second day began with Texas A&M's monstrous 85-60 upset of Montana. The Grizzlies couldn't hit anything that afternoon and Aggies junior SF Tommy Stevens led all scorers with 24 points. To put into context just how huge this upset was, Texas A&M had never made it to the second weekend before and they knocked off the nation's best program. Marquette staved off UCLA's upset urgings, 96-90, with senior Joseph Kersey's 26 points and junior Loyd Jameson's clutch 12 bench points. Furman took down Loyola-Illinois 63-53 with defense and offensive balance. And in the marquee night matchup, Georgetown sent Rice packing, 79-72. Senior Landon Sharpe scored 23, fellow senior Hugh Davis 20. Elite 8 West #4 Texas A&M vs #3 Marquette Midwest #5 USC vs #2 Oregon State South #1 Furman vs #3 Georgetown East #8 Citadel vs #3 Lafayette One of Lafayette/Citadel was going to the Final Four for the first time. Texas A&M and USC had a chance to become first time members as well. Everyone else had been there before, including the Beavers, who went in 1951. Furman/Georgetown pitted a pair of powerhouses and USC/Oregon State looked exciting, too. Marquette actually made the 1956 championship and the 1949 Final Four, but didn't get near the credit they deserved for being a great team. USC at last made the Final Four in their sixth trip to the Elite 8, suffocating the Beavers by a 75-44 blowout. Junior Joaquin Herrara scored 24 and sophomore Carlton Bettencourt banged in 19 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow soph Dominick Brown added 13 bench points. Lafayette likewise made the Final Four for the first time, blowing out Citadel 88-66 by [b[Joshua Hollinger[/b]'s 11 points and 11 rebounds and true freshman Nelson Murphy's 10 bench points as the most noteworthy performances. Marquette went on a scoring tear, overrunning Texas A&M 103-89. Joseph Kersey netted 27 points, Loyd Jameson an incredible 21 bench points in one of the best ever NCAA outings by a reserve. Furman once more frustrated Georgetown, overcoming Hugh Davis's 28 points to win 74-69. Junior Carlos Wade doubled for 11 points and 13 rebounds and senior Arthur Hughes scored 15 bench points. Final Four #3 Marquette vs #1 Furman #5 USC vs #3 Lafayette The experienced squads played each other and the newbies went at it. The Warriors had their awesome scoring tandem in Joseph Kersey and Loyd Jameson and Lafayette featured Joshua Hollinger, but overall, the Final Four looked fairly weak in star power or program catchet compared to other years, but perhaps that was just because Montana, Rice, and Georgetown were all at home, the first time since 1952 one of those three schools wasn't in the Final Four. That 1952 Final Four, incidentally, was composed of Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia Tech, resulting in the Longhorns' fluke title. Fluke because although Texas made nine straight tournaments from 1951-1959 before going 13-19 this season, the Longhorns made it only to the second weekend twice - the '52 championship and a '55 Elite 8. Furman's defense displayed itself again, downing star-dotted Marquette 73-62. Arthur Hughes continued to be the senior second team sparkplug with 15 bench points. USC thrashed Lafayette 94-66 via senior Bryant Pfaff's 20 points, senior DeAndre Foote's 11 points and 12 rebounds and Dominick Brown's 12 bench points. National Championship #1 Furman vs. #5 USC The Trojans boasted a deep, balanced offense capable of scoring a ton. They were also hungry for their first national title. The Paladins, 1955 national champions, and an elite team, won with defense, defense, and more defense. On one bench, a journeyman coach in Brian Suiter. On the other, a career-long top man in Scott Knudsen, long ignored in the conversation of the country's top coaches, despite numerous deep tournament runs and being one of 6 coaches with 300+ career wins. Sentiment overwhelmingly favored the Trojans, the gamblers the Paladins. A thrilling championship game ensued and with a quarter-second left in the game, the score tied at 79-79, Furman junior shooting guard Ted Love hit a jumper for the Paladins' second national championship! Thereafter, Love's basket became known as the Shot Heard Round The Country. Even today, historians talk about it as the greatest buzzer-beater ever. Love finished with 25 points and the standout performance of the game. Furman joined Montana and Rice as the only schools with more than one championship. Scott Knudsen and Trojan nation wept. This was no Loyola-Maryland in 1958. This was one of the premiere programs, finally getting here after falling short so many times in the Elite 8... and then to lose in such heartbreaking fashion hurt beyond description.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-12-2011, 02:56 AM
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#35 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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At some schools, a Sweet 16 in the senior season would be a wonderful experience. At Montana, Charles Eby can't help but feel disappointed he failed in the quest to lead the Grizzlies to a third straight title. Still, it's hard to argue with a career that saw him #3 all-time in the entire country in offensive rebounds, #16 in total rebounds. #1 in career offensive boards in the PCC and Montana, #2 in both in rebounds behind James Asberry. He also has the second 40+ point game in Montana history, the first and the school record 43 points belonging to Cole Gibson. Rather fitting, considering Eby ranks #3 in Grizzlies career points scored behind Gibson and Newton Richardson, the latter of whom might never see his record broken. Since we just concluded 1960, here's the original 1948 teams who have never been to the NCAA tournament: Code:
Just 10 teams out of the original 147 never to make it in 13 seasons. That's quite an impressive feat and speaks to the parity in the NCAA at this point in time, even given the Montana, Rice, Furman, Loyola-Illinois dominance of the start-1960. Code:
1961 Conference Movement 1961 marked the first time since 1955 that no new schools would be joining the NCAA's top level. There was also no initial discussion of schools changing conferences or rumors of shakeups. This, combined with the quiet of the season before outside of the Centenary squabble, suggested that the 1960s might prove as peaceful a decade as the 1950s had been tumultuous. The NCAA took this time to review the non-auto bid statuses of the Bluegrass and Sun West conferences. The Desert, having only been in existence for three years, didn't meet what the NCAA established as a five-year minimum for conferences who either were not granted an auto-bid on creation, or who had managed to lose it, in the case of the Sun West. Bluegrass Since the league's inception in 1956, Louisville made the tournament three times, all first round exits. Memphis made the tournament for the first time in 1960, and even advanced to the second round, an impressive feat for a school in only its fifth season of play. Murray State also had one appearance, a 1957 first round exit that was the first one in Racers history. Tennessee had a 1957 tournament appearance, but that was a result of a fluke SEC tournament championship. Vanderbilt was a third school with a 1957 appearance and first round exit. Western Kentucky made it in 1959, albeit a first round exit. 7 in-conference tournament appearances in 5 years from 5 schools, with a second round showing out of one of them. The NCAA decided to review the Sun West first, but the general feeling was that the Bluegrass had done enough to earn an auto-bid, particularly since they'd been generous in accepting new members. Sun West Portland with a 1960 1st round exit, the first in school history was the only NCAA appearance of any of the schools since 1948, save for Montana State's 1949 first round exit. The choice was clear. The NCAA granted the Bluegrass official autobid status and denied the Sun West. The Bluegrass then instituted a six team conference tournament, with second round reseeding. In this manner, they struck a balance between the Keystone/Ivy position of sending the regular season champion, and most of the rest of the country, which sent almost all, if not indeed all, of the schools to the conference tournament. With six teams, it ensured that only the upper half of the conference would be able to play for the automatic berth. As a side note, the Desert Conference, by virtue of Northern Arizona's 1958 second round appearance and 1960 first round exit, had a better case for an an auto-bid than the Sun West. A Brief Review of the Sun West's History Sun West ------------------ Arizona Idaho State Montana State Nevada St. Mary’s (CA) San Francisco Santa Clara Those were the members in 1948. The first big blow came in 1951, when San Francisco got an invite from the PCC, Nevada fled to the Mountain States, and St. Mary's went independent after the Sun West was forced by the NCAA to take on all seven new member schools and be downgraded to a 1 prestige conference. Yet, the conference might even have survived that disaster. What really killed the Sun West was 1954, when Arizona, Arizona State, and Santa Clara all moved on, with Arizona and ASU joining the PCC in order to prevent a North/South split that would have greatly weakened the Pacific Coast in the same way that losing Georgetown and William & Mary to the newly formed Whig damaged the North Star the year before. For Santa Clara's part, they wanted nothing to do with what the conference had become. In a what might have been, San Francisco is one of the top programs in the country and Nevada's quite prestigious as well. Even Arizona and Santa Clara would have been respectable foundation members. Instead, Idaho State and Montana State remain the lone original members, and they have just one NCAA appearance between them. The Sun West relived all the old pain when they received the rejection letter from the NCAA and the conference sought to find some way, anyway, they could change their makeup enough to appeal before the 1961 season. The problem was, the Mountain States and Desert, the most logical places to start, were at the minimum seven teams, and so was the PNL. Furthermore, Saint Mary's, which was an original Sun West member and the most likely to leave the PCC, as the Gaels had become a bottom-feeder, had gone independent in 1951, abandoning the league when the Sun West needed it most. This search by the Sun West led to the jumpstart of other talks in conferences around the country. The SWC looked at the possibility of expanding its footprint by raiding the Mountain States, and invited both Denver and Wyoming to join, feeling that they were the two schools closest enough in geography and highest enough in success to merit expansion invitation. Alarms went off in the Mountain States as they fought to retain both schools, who were just behind Nevada in terms of most prestigious. Wyoming, with a rival in Colorado State, looked to be the easiest to convince to stay. Denver, however, had no compelling reason to continue, especially not with a bid from one of the country's top conferences, and so the Pioneers accepted the Southwest Conference's invitation. Fortunately for the Mountain States' survival, the numerous and frantic appeals from other members and conference leaders convinced the Cowboys to stay. The first thoughts for Denver's replacement were Colorado or Northern Arizona, but then the conference realized it could reach out to the PNL, which, despite having been formed as a reaction against the PCC, and having two recent Elite 8 members in Idaho and Washington, failed to sustain the sense of pride or unity, especially with its elder conference continuing to be the major powers of college basketball. So it was that the Mountain States offered invites to Idaho and Washington. The Vandals immediately accepted, which put the PNL in danger of dissolving. With an extremely diluted anti-PCC fervor failing to keep the conference strong, the Pacific Northwest League closed down after just five seasons, a shorter run than even the Steel. Remember also that the PNL was in some ways doomed from the start, as they'd believed they would be a 4 prestige conference, citing the Whig example, but were instead conferred a 3 prestige ranking and never rose beyond that in their five seasons. This particularly rankled in Idaho, which had left the posh PCC to join the PNL, a move that sharply divided the state. Washington, still traumatized over having had to boot Washington State out of the PCC, asked the Mountain States if they would accept the Cougars as well to preserve the rivalry. Having just used the same argument to retain Wyoming, the Mountain States had little choice but to accept. Oregon begged the PCC to be let back in, and the PCC, eager to vote out the underachieving Saint Mary's, agreed. The Gaels then received their eviction notice and were once again cast adrift. The Sun West saw the opportunity they'd been looking for, and invited PNL refugees San Jose State to join, arguing that their entry would guarantee an NCAA berth. San Jose State had hated independent life and so they accepted. More problematic was what to do about Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. Both were original Sun West members who'd fled the conference when things went south and the league wasn't sure it wanted to invite back that kind of disloyalty. Northern Arizona, which joined the Desert League, was another matter entirely. That had simply been a matter of splitting up a bloated, bidless conference. The NCAA agreed that if the Sun West could convince Northern Arizona to join, they would receive an automatic bid. The Lumberjacks were very interested after hearing of San Jose State's joining, but didn't want to see the Desert dissolve. In response, the commissioners of the Sun West and the Desert met and hammered out what became the first ever trade of schools. The Sun West would receive Northern Arizona, and in exchange the Desert would get Air Force. One might find it puzzling why the Desert would agree to such a deal, but the commissioner of the NCAA's newest conference was a World War I veteran and thrilled to get a service academy in the Desert's ranks. Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara found themselves stranded, and even though they didn't have an auto-bid, the Desert refused to invite any of the schools. Gonzaga was considered too far out of the desired geographical range, which had a Texas/New Mexico/Colorado orientation after the trade, and even though Saint Mary's and Santa Clara would have been a reasonable expansion, the Desert Conference very much respected the history of the Sun West from which it'd sprung, and refused to disrespect that past by allowing the former renegades in. And so the three schools once again became independent. None were happy about this turn of events, but Gonzaga, despite three NCAA appearances in the PNL's five seasons, did not yet have the clout necessary to draw attention from the Mountain States, much less the PCC. Denver Mountain States (1948-1960) SWC (1961- Idaho Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956-1960) Mountain States (1961- Gonzaga Independent (1953-1955) Pacific Northwest League (1956-1960) Independent (1961- Oregon Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956-1960) Pacific Coast (1961- Saint Mary's Sun West (1948-1950) Independent (1951-1955) Pacific Coast (1956-1960) Independent (1961- San Jose State Independent (1953-1955) Pacific Northwest League (1956-1960) Sun West (1961- Santa Clara Sun West (1948-1953) Independent (1954-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956-1960) Independent (1961- Washington Pacific Coast (1948-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956-1960) Mountain States(1961- Washington State Pacific Coast (1948-1950) Independent (1951-1955) Pacific Northwest (1956-1960) Mountain States (1961- Northern Arizona Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958-1960) Sun West (1961- Air Force Sun West (1958-1960) Desert (1961- Conference Changes Since 1948 Steel Conference (1948-1954) Whig Conference (1955- Bluegrass Conference (1956- Pacific Northwest League (1956-1960) Desert Conference (1958- Oregon was so grateful to be allowed back into the PCC that the Ducks' administration vowed fealty to the conference for life. They, along with Denver and the Sun West, were the biggest ultimate benefactors of the SWC's wanting to penetrate more states than just Texas and Arkansas. Loyola-Maryland now found the independent scene to be quite crowded, with no less than six members, almost big enough to form its own far-flung conference. Although the Greyhounds weren't pleased with this unexpected expansion, at least the new unaffiliated had some pedigree, although Gonzaga was still too young to be a force and Santa Clara and St. Mary's had both been danceless since 1955.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-12-2011, 01:32 PM
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#36 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Coach Movement
22 coaches got the axe before 1961. Brian Young - Columbia to Illinois Took the Lions to four NCAA appearances in six seasons and never finished worse than .500 in Ivy League play. The Fighting Illini have been to six straight tournaments and only missed three since NCAA inception. Made the 1957 Sweet 16. Taylor Jarmon - Northern Arizona to Minnesota The Lumberjacks' only head coach in school history moves on after eight seasons. His exploits have been indirectly chronicled earlier, so no need to go over them again. The Golden Gophers are a semi-regular tournament visitor, but have never gotten to the second weekend. Rolland Rayburn - Arkansas to Akron* Let's see, you're the only powerhouse conference team in the country to never make the tournament and you hire a guy who just got fired from a fellow powerhouse conference team for abysmal performance. The only silver lining is this hire is that Rayburn's 63 and closer to retirement than not. Derek Bos - Seton Hall to Columbia Although Bos never made the tournament with the Pirates, he did improve them significantly over the course of seven seasons. Hopefully good news for the Lions, who are tournament regulars, but haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 1952. Leon Bennett - Virginia Tech to Colorado State* Despite Bennett's being fired by the Hokies, this isn't a bad hire. Six straight NCAA appearances between Virginia Tech and UConn, although with only one advancement beyond the first round, and that was with the Huskies. But for a Rams team who hasn't had a winning record in Mountain States play since 1955 and has only made the Big Dance once in the last five years, just getting that type of NCAA consistency would be good. Charles Buchanan - Minnesota to Utah Two NCAA appearances in his three seasons coaching the Golden Gophers. Great improvement over his disastrous two year stint with Michigan State. The Utes have just three NCAA appearances in school history, all of them first round exits. Benny O'Bannon - Indiana to Utah State Both Utah public schools raid the Big Ten for their coaches. O'Bannon didn't do anything as amazing as his 1957 Elite 8 run with Georgia, but he did gradually improve the Hoosiers each of his three seasons there, culminating in a 20 win season and NCAA appearance last year. The Aggies are like the Utes - just three appearances, all first round exits. Talk about similarities between the schools. John Mott - Penn State to St. Joseph's Freakish hire. Mott won 24 and 19 games his first two years with the Nittany Lions, 7 and 8 his his last two years in his four seasons. Then again, the Hawks have been whipping boys since moving to the North Star, so at least it's a treading water hire. Carl McKibben - Texas to California* Good year for fired coaches. McKibben got ousted because he couldn't take the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 despite six straight NCAA appearances. Then again, he got fired by Oregon State, too, despite a 1951 Final Four appearance, so McKibben has a knack for having success, getting fired, and landing in a decent spot. The Golden Bears have missed the NCAAs the last two seasons and have only made it out of the first weekend once - 1956 Elite 8. David Rider - Miami (OH) to South Carolina Collective yawn hire. One NCAA appearance as head coach of the Redhawks. Not exactly earth-shattering considering he was a journeyman assistant after getting fired by Tulane. Funny thing is, one of his Miami assistants got hired as head coach by fellow Southern Conference school North Carolina State. Seven straight seasons the Gamecocks have made the tournament, including the second round the last three years. Just two years in the second weekend or beyond, but considering both were Final Fours (1948, 1952), that's not a bad thing. Doyle Foley - Bradley to Virginia Tech Hmm. The Hokies fire a guy for not getting them to the second weekend and then hire a coach who, despite five trips in eight years with the Braves, never got out of the first round. Virginia Tech's only missed the tournament twice and have an NCAA runner up, a Final Four, and a Sweet 16 all bunched up in a 1952-1955 run before the Barrett years. Easy to see why they fired him now. Problem is, Foley doesn't look any better. Ronald Mayne - Akron to Tulane* Our fourth coach to get fired and re-hired. Mayne was so terrible at Akron he got fired after two years. Did have 3 NCAA appearances coaching Idaho. Then again, Tulane is the one job in the Southern Stars nobody wants. Tony Gonzalez - South Carolina to Arkansas Between Virginia, Wisconsin, and South Carolina, Gonzalez has made it to nine straight NCAA tournaments, including a 1954 Sweet 16 with the Badgers. He just wins wherever he goes, and has six conference championships to his credit, in the now defunct Atlantic Six, the Big Ten, and the Southern. It couldn't be much of a better hire for the Razorbacks, who, after making the tournament three straight years in the NCAA's first seasons, have only been to the Big Dance once since 1950 and never made the second weekend ever. Hopefully he can turn around the SWC's worst program. Abe Esquivel - Utah to Texas So let me get this straight. The Longhorns fire McKibben and then hire a guy who not only has just three NCAA appearances in his nine years with the Utes, but all three of them were first round exits. Texas is banking on the 1950 version of Abe at Michigan State to show up, where the Spartans made the Elite 8. Johnny Martinez - Illinois to VMI Martinez's return to the Fighting Illini lasts just three seasons, with three straight first round exits. Lucky pickup for the Keydets, who won just one conference game last year and haven't been dancing since 1951. And to think this was one of the programs some people thought was up and coming back then. Code:
16. The lowest ranking the Grizzlies have had in years. Loyola-Illinois looks to be back on top as a national power. Come January 1st, Loyola-Illinois, Richmond, and San Francisco are the last remaining unbeaten Top 25 teams. Biggest shocker so far? Arkansas going 10-2 and sitting at #21. This is a sign of just how wide open the title seems this year. February 1st, Richmond is the only team in the Top 25 with just one loss. Everyone else has at least two and nobody looks like the clear-cut #1 team. It should make for an interesting tournament. The Razorbacks, by the way, are 15-5 and 19th. They're currently leading the SWC with a 4-1 conference record. Everyone's over the moon about the Tony Gonzalez hire. Rice is a shocking 1-4 in conference play and Frank Hill is battling through his roughest season ever or at least since 1950, when the Owls went 18-14 (7-5). March 1st signified the split feeling of that season. DePaul had the #1 ranking for the first time ever, but with a mere 6 voting point lead on Loyola-Illinois. Both had three losses. For the first time in NCAA history, the entire Top 25 ranking and votes were clean as of March 1st. Code:
Teams Pulling The Double DePaul - Great Lakes Detroit - MAC Creighton - Missouri Valley Washington - Mountain States Syracuse - North Star Furman - Southern Stars Georgetown - Whig Canisius - Yankee #1 Seeds Loyola-Illinois DePaul Furman Baylor 14 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8, 1 Final 4, 3 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4) Loyola-Illinois (3 Sweet 16, 3 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 1 NCAA Championship) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Montana (3 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 5 NCAA Championships) Rice (4 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 5 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Once more, the final seven made it. Rice and Lafayette had a first round date, with the Owls a 7 seed, the Leopards a 10 seed. It was the lowest ranking for Rice in years, but the consensus feeling was that this would be a year when anything at all was possible.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-13-2011, 03:46 AM
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#37 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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It should be noted that the Bluegrass initial conference tournament did not go off as planned, due to a strange sequence of scheduling snafus, so regular season champion Vanderbilt got the automatic bid. Western Kentucky, who also finished 14-6 in conference play, won an at-large bid.
First Round Upsets Midwest #12 TCU over #5 South Carolina South #13 Minnesota over #4 California #12 Detroit over #5 Duquesne #10 Utah over #7 SMU #14 Marshall over #3 Arkansas East #13 Western Kentucky over #4 Loyola-Maryland #10 Lafayette over #7 Rice The general feeling proved right, as the 1961 had more first round upsets than in years. Of particular surprise was the Leopards' win over the Owls, the first time since 1950 and only the second time ever Rice was a first round exit. On the other hand, many considered Arkansas overseeded and TCU underseeded, and Loyola-Maryland was known for its flameouts. Second Round Upsets West #7 Arizona over #2 Richmond Midwest #8 Georgia Tech over #1 DePaul #12 TCU over #4 Purdue East #6 Miami over #3 Montana Some started calling for David Beach's firing after the Grizzlies failed to reach the second weekend for the first time since 1955. The Montana mystique, some observers felt, was already a relic of the 1950s, irrelevant in the current decade. The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, continued to make the selection committee look silly, and the Blue Demons were simply stunned by the Yellow Jackets. Sweet 16 West #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #4 Denver #7 Arizona vs #3 San Francisco Midwest #8 Georgia Tech vs #12 TCU #2 Wake Forest vs #3 Oregon State South #1 Furman vs #13 Minnesota #2 Georgetown vs #6 UCLA East #1 Baylor vs #5 Syracuse #2 Niagara vs #6 Miami The Pioneers' first year in the SWC, they make the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Minnesota was another Sweet 16 newbie. All the rest had been here before, but Syracuse for the first time since 1950, when the Orangemen made the Final Four. Arizona's last time was 1956, also the last time they made the tournament. But the biggest one in the eyes of most people was Georgia Tech, in the second weekend for the first time since the 1953 national title. Syracuse's interval was longer, but for a fanbase who still missed the Brian Soler days, Jack Sparks's first two seasons as head coach had the sense of the old days maybe coming back. Funny thing was, Soler only coached the Yellow Jackets for four years before moving on to Wyoming, the fact that he delivered a national title and was also a Georgia Tech alum made him a cult figure in Atlanta. Miami deserves mention here as well. Remember, the Hurricanes stunned the nation with a Final Four appearance in their second year of existence and proved that no fluke by making the Elite 8 two years later. They've only missed the postseason twice in their program history after entering the league in 1949. Loyola-Illinois made Denver's first Sweet 16 trip a short one, pummeling the Pioneers 86-64. Senior swingman Chris Mullis scored 24, senior big Billy Zamudio doubled for 18 points and 14 rebounds, and junior big Burt Seeley pulled down 13 points and 12 rebounds. Arizona stunned San Francisco 85-54 on defense and Australian junior C Claude Taylor's 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Furman put away pesky Minnesota 70-60 on 22 points from senior hero Ted Love and 25 points from junior SF Alfonzo Sullivan. Georgetown edged UCLA 69-65 in the first day's most exciting game, carried by junior guard Randy Mason's 21 points and sophomore center Arthur Mertz's 18 points and 14 rebounds. TCU continued its inspired run of form, knocking off Georgia Tech 78-72 with balanced offense, and Oregon State continued the Brian Kinard curse by just barely beating Wake Forest 71-69 in a thrilling contest. Junior big Don Miller came up with a monstrous 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Beavers. Baylor topped Syracuse 80-57 with a shared scoring load best signified by sophomore big Darren Maya's 16 bench points and largely unsung Niagara stopped Miami 68-59 with junior Matthew Bell's 10 points and 13 rebounds and junior reserve Emanual Hearn's 12 bench points. Elite 8 West #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #7 Arizona Midwest #12 TCU vs #3 Oregon State South #1 Furman vs #2 Georgetown East #1 Baylor vs #2 Niagara The Bears proved the selection committee as smart as the TCU pick made them look dumb in making it to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1950. Furman/Georgetown was the marquee matchup of the round, of course, but everyone also wondered how far Cinderella TCU, who in the committee's defense went 4-10 in SWC play, would go. And of course there was Arizona, here for the first time, against one of the nation's basketball royalty. Loyola-Illinois embarrassed the Wildcats, routing Arizona 87-51. Burt Seeley hauled in 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the big hero was sophomore Franklyn Gaspar, scoring 19 points in just 14 minutes. Then the Hoyas pulled off a major upset, playing terrific defense and offensive balance in stunning the defending champion Paladins 65-53. Furman, who looked to have a real chance of being the first repeat champions and first school with three titles since Montana, couldn't believe it and neither could anyone else. The old axiom about getting hot at the right time was TCU's motto, as the Horned Frogs pulled off another upset, downing Oregon State 80-74. Senior Kirk Mahaffey netted 18 points and 10 rebounds, but junior Justin Augustin's 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench was just as impressive and critical. Darren Maya's 11 bench points and junior Howard Cox's 12 bench points epitomized the balanced offense that led the Baylor Bears to a 71-62 win over Niagara for the first Final Four appearance in school history. Maya was quickly becoming tabbed as a player to watch over the next few years. Final Four #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #2 Georgetown #1 Baylor vs #12 TCU To put how incredible TCU's run was in perspective, the last time a double-digit seed made the Final Four was Kansas, who'd set the record by making it as a 15 seed in 1955. One All Southwest, All Texas Final Four matchup, with the 12 seed ironically the most experienced. And the matchup everyone called the real championship game in Loyola-Illinois and Georgetown. The Ramblers were hungry to join Montana, Rice, and Furman in the schools with two titles, and the Hoyas wanted just as much to finally win their first title. But Loyola-Illinois looked unbeatable that year, smashing the Hoyas 82-45 with Burt Seeley's 14 points and 15 rebounds and junior point guard Michael Turner's 25 points. On the other side, the Horned Frogs sent the Bears packing, 83-68 on Kirk Mahaffey's 27 points and 13 and 10 bench points from junior Carlon Frechette and Justin Augustin. National Championship #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #12 TCU Last time a double-digit seed made the title game? 1954, when William & Mary pulled off one of the greatest tournament upsets in history, beating a Daniel Roby and Jose Webster-led Rice team in a 10 vs 1 seed matchup. Brian Kinard, the architect of that championship, would spend one more year at William & Mary before his infamous defection to hated archrival Wake Forest following Julius Durfee's retirement. It was the Ramblers' first national title game appearance since 1953, when they'd lost to Brian Soler's Georgia Tech team on Thomas Branson's missed free throw. That long absence and Montana and Rice's upstaging of Loyola-Illinois sometimes caused Gus Seeley to get lost in the top coaches conversation. Then there was Jeremiah Coffee, who'd led two teams to the Final Four in Marquette and TCU, and who was already the Horned Frogs' most successful coach ever, having led them to the second weekend 6 of his 7 years there, including this, the school's first ever national title game appearance. Oddsmakers overhelmingly favored Loyola-Illinos, as the Ramblers simply looked too dominant for the Cinderella Frogs to pull the princely upset. And indeed, the Ramblers ran the Horned Frogs out of the building, 83-62. Senior Billy Zamudio made Finals MVP with 27 points and 15 rebounds, with top reserve Franklyn Gaspar adding 13 points. Montana. Rice. Furman. And now Loyola-Illinois. Four schools from four different power conferences, each with two or more titles. Gus Seely became the fourth head coach to win two or more titles, joining Mack Halbert, David Beach, and Frank Hill.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-14-2011, 05:59 AM
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#38 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
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Despite Citadel's #1 ranked class's failure to produce more than a single Sweet 16, the new #3 class raised hopes yet again for the team's breakthrough. 1962 Conference Movement New Schools Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont It seemed fitting that after years of western expansion that the NCAA finally chose to look east. The New England region, while pleased to have four new entrants into the field, also wrung hands over yet more low-level college hoops in the area. The most obvious placement for the newcomers was the Yankee League, which accepted them without comment. While expansion proceeded smoothly, there were rumblings in the Southern Conference that they wanted to be close to the Southern Stars' level. The SEC also considered disbanding and being strictly a football conference, as its hoops ineptitude, save for Georgia Tech, was hurting its gridiron brand. The Southern decide to invite Georgia Tech and Marshall to join the conference, and make the case to the NCAA that the league deserved a 4 prestige ranking based on those new members. The Yellow Jackets and the Thundering Herd both accepted, even though some protested the breaking of the Georgia/Georgia Tech in-conference rivalry and the NCAA began deliberations over where the SoCon merited an upgrade to the fourth prestige level. Kentucky, sensing that the SEC was about to fall, made the pre-emptive move to join the Bluegrass as a basketball only member, much as Tennessee did a few years before. The addition of both flagship campuses bolstered the marketability of the Bluegrass as a basketball conference, although, given the poor state of the Wildcats and Volunteers in the sport, it did not raise the league's prestige profile. The defections left the SEC with 8 members, which was not enough to dissolve the league, even with its ever-shrinking footprint, and so it hung on for another year as the third or fourth class basketball league in the South, depending on one wanted to classify the SWC. Georgia Tech SEC (1948-1961) Southern (1962- Marshall Ohio Valley (1948-1958) Independent (1959-1961) Southern (1962- Kentucky SEC (1948-1961) Bluegrass (1962- The end result of this was that the Bluegrass became the country's largest conference with 12 teams, but because it was regionally based, the NCAA didn't mind. Eventually, the NCAA ruled in favor of the Southern, elevating it to 4 prestige. The aggressive pursuit of Georgia Tech and Marshall, and the resulting victory, essentially saved the Southern, which had been starting to fray at the seams from its inability to get over the 3 prestige hump. As for the SEC, it really only lacked opportunity to splinter. There was talk of potentially raiding the North Carolina schools from the Southern if it was possible and making a new conference out of North Carolina, N.C. State, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi, and Mississippi State, and leaving Georgia and LSU, ironically the two most prestigious schools left in the SEC, to fend for their own. The thinking was that this would create a conference made up of in-state rivals, and thus be called the Archrivals Conference. The only problem was, the Southern's upgrade to a 4 prestige eliminated all such talk from the North Carolina universities. What likely would have happened, had it gone through, is the Southern would have picked up Georgia and LSU, who in fact were slight improvements over the two NC schools at the time. Talk also began around the country of instituting a secondary tournament, but the NCAA decided against it, as it would allow too many schools into postseason play just yet, even if it was just 16 teams. The NCAA said they would look at the matter again once its membership reached 200 teams. It was at 178 as of the 1962 season. 1962 Head Coach Movement The most important news to come out of 1962 wasn't a firing or retirement. It was the entrance of 35 year old Newton Richardson into the college coaching ranks after his retirement from professional basketball. Already known for his recruiting charm and ability to coach offense, some speculated he could land a head coaching gig right away. And, of course, there were those who wanted him at Montana. 13 coaches were pinkslipped prior to 1962 and a significant retirement occurred. Niagara Purple Eagles head coach Efran Bazemore was as unsung as his program. After a few years at Army, he'd gone on to coach Niagara from 1952 until his retirement and had a three year stretch from 1955-1957 of Elite 8, Final Four, Final Four. He never failed to take his Purple Eagles dancing and made two more Elite 8s and a Sweet 16 in the three years before he hung it up. His final record was 316-153, putting him tied for 9th with Brian Suiter for career wins when he retired and 12th in career winning % at 67.4. He also tied with Gus Seely, Frank Hill, and fellow unheralded Britt Allen, lifelong SMU head coach, for most career All-Americans at 10. Ellis Moline - Portland to Missouri The only coach in Pilots history led them to the NCAA tournament each of the last two seasons and his success in building up Portland's program was very attractive to the Tigers, who haven't been to the Big Dance since 1954, the last time they won their 7th straight Big 8 tournament title. Just one winning season since then, too. Gregory Bernard - Loyola-Maryland to Niagara An increasingly restless fanbase who demanded more led Bernard to take over for Bazemore. Too, there was the fact that the Purple Eagles never made it to the title game, a scenario which Bernard was familiar with when he became the head coach at Loyola-Maryland. Greyhounds fans wept at the news of the only coach to lead them to the Final Four and beyond leaving. They also feared who his successor would be. Wes Larrabee - Syracuse to Loyola-Maryland The replacement hire was met with considerably uncertainty. Larrabee had only four years experience as a head coach, although he did lead the Orangemen to three straight NCAA appearances, including the Sweet 16 last season. Also, at 50 years old, he didn't seem like a long-term solution. Alfonzo Reinert - North Carolina to Idaho A guy who only made the NCAAs once in nine years as a head coach at North Carolina and Penn State, and even that was a first round exit. Not a hire that went over well with Vandals fans, who still lived off the 1959 Elite 8 appearance and ignored the fact they missed the last two seasons. Robert Moss - Missouri to Syracuse Did lead Louisville to two NCAA bids when he coached the Cardinals, but his reputation has been that of a very ordinary coach with mid-tier credentials. Not what the Syracuse faithful want to hear, especially since they just lost a popular coach in Larrabee. Sterling Cano - Davidson to Arizona State* Made the tournament three of five years at Davidson, four of five years at Santa Clara, the last time the Broncos were good. Got fired after essentially one terrible year. Sun Devils would be delighted with that consistency, as they've made the tournament three times since joining the league in 1951, with no real consistency. Charles Cruz - Arizona State to Oregon* Nice. The Ducks take the Sun Devils' castoff, who only had one postseason berth in Tempe, although that appearance was ASU's first ever second round showing. Cruz was terrific at Holy Cross and Citadel, his first two jobs, but some think the game may have passed him by at 56. Joseph Abbott - Boston University to Marshall On the surface, it looks like a terrible hire, with no postseason bids for the Terriers. But BU has never made the tournament and he took them from a 3 win, 1 in conference team in 1955 to a consistent 13 win, 9 in conference squad by the time he left. That's some good work at one of the nation's worst programs. He also had Cornell in the tournament three of four years, including a Sweet 16. At 39, he could be here a long time, and turn the Thundering into a national power, rather than just a consistently good team. Bill Miller - Idaho to North Carolina* Freakish coach swap the two schools just pulled. Sure, the Vandals missed the tournament the last two years, but he also took them to the Elite 8. The Tar Heels hope he can make them consistent dancers again, although it's time to say if he has the ability to pull that off. Marco Moscowitz - Marshall to Davidson Spent just three years with the Thundering Herd and racked up three NCAA appearances to his credit, albeit no second weekend trips. He didn't do that at Dartmouth either, but neither has Davidson been there. At the very least, the 59 year old will be good enough to keep the team consistently in the postseason. Tony Emerson - Akron to Duke* Only got three years with the Zips and didn't really have the opportunity to do any building before getting canned. Mediocre at Alabama, terrific at Illinois, inconclusive at Akron. Duke, whose only appearance is a second round finish in 1949, just wants to go dancing. Newton Richardson begins his coaching career at Clemson as the recruiting coordinator. Most predicted it wouldn't be long before he got a head coaching job.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-16-2011, 01:18 AM
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#39 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Clemson Notes
3 NCAA appearances - 1949 (2nd round), 1952 and 1960 (1st round) Last four recruiting classes: 1958 - #104 (2nd to last - 2 2*, 3 1*) 1959 - #171 (Last - No Commits) 1960 - #35 (First - 3 3*, 1 2*, 1 1*) 1961 - #139 (2nd to last - 2 2*, 1 1*) The Tigers have had traditionally poor recruiting classes, their best one in 1954, ranked #28, when they got the only 4* recruit in school history, PF Nathanael Martinez. Martinez was sadly a huge disappointment and ended up a very overrated player. A lot of opportunity for Newton Richardson to make his bones. In terms of pure talent, he's already the best recruiting coordinator the Tigers have ever had and it's not even close. Code:
Montana at #2 in the preseason Top 25 surprised a lot of people, but there the Grizzlies were, even though much of the David Beach bloom was starting to cool off. A ton of unbeaten teams still remained as of January 1st, the most ever in fact. Loyola-Illinois, Niagara, Furman, San Francisco, Rice, and, the biggest surprise, Stanford, made for 6 unbeaten teams in the Top 25. By February 1st, only 20-0 Furman was still unbeaten, and a great debate raged in the polls over whether the Paladins or the defending champion Loyola-Illinois Ramblers were the better team. #25 California at 7-11 made for a foolish choice, but otherwise the Top 25 had become a model of mostly consistent legitimacy the last several seasons. The Paladins lost three times in February and the pollsters continued to stubbornly stick Cal, now 9-17 at #25. Most suspected a payoff by the Golden Bears. The top 5 as of March 1st: Loyola-Illinois, Furman, San Francisco, Montana, Georgetown. Teams Pulling The Double Iowa State - Big 8 Loyola-Illinois - Great Lakes LSU - SEC South Carolina - Southern Furman - Southern Stars San Jose State - Sun West Note - A reseeding error led to the Bluegrass Conference Tournament not being completed, so once again the regular season champion went. The league then voted to not have reseeding after that, because it clearly didn't work. #1 Seeds San Francisco Loyola-Illinois Furman Montana The heaviest money was on the Ramblers to repeat, but no one was 100% sure. It seemed like another year where upsets could litter the board. 15 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 3 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4) Loyola-Illinois (3 Sweet 16, 3 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Montana (3 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up, 5 NCAA Championships) Rice (4 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 5 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Once again, all of the seven made their 15th straight tournament. First Round Upsets West #12 Wyoming over #5 Oregon State #11 SMU over #6 Navy Midwest #10 Dayton over #7 Miami South #15 Seton Hall over #2 Lafayette The Pirates' upset of the Leopards was the biggest first round shocker since 1955, where #15 Kansas and #15 Harvard over USC and Citadel respectively. The Jayhawks ran all the way to the Final Four before being beaten by eventual champion Furman. Second Round Upsets West #11 SMU over #3 Marquette Midwest #10 Dayton over #2 Rice South #15 Seton Hall over #7 Arkansas East #7 Stanford over #2 Georgetown Seton Hall's Cinderella run didn't even draw the most play after the second round. Instead, everyone talked about how it was the second straight year Rice failed to make the Sweet 16 and how this was the first time since 1954 Georgetown didn't make it to the second weekend. An interesting tournament, indeed. Sweet 16 West #1 San Francisco vs #4 George Washington #2 TCU vs #11 SMU Midwest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #4 UCLA #10 Dayton vs #3 Wake Forest South #1 Furman vs #4 Washington #15 Seton Hall vs #3 DePaul East #1 Montana vs #4 Richmond #7 Stanford vs #3 Niagara The Dons continued chasing their Final Four dreams, while the Colonials hoped to get back there. TCU, fresh off their own Cinderella run to the title game the year before, faced a doppelgangler spoiler hopeful in SMU that had the sweeter story of being an SWC matchup. Loyola-Illinois wanted to defend its title, while UCLA was in its third straight Sweet 16. Dayton sought its first ever Elite 8 showing, while Wake Forest prayed for the end of the Brian Kinard curse. For the second half matchups, the most interesting things were Montana back in the Sweet 16, and DePaul and Seton Hall facing off in a matchup of Sweet 16 newbies. In fact, this was the first time the Pirates made the tournament since 1949, which made Seton Hall's run all the sweeter. Loyola-Illinois beat UCLA in a white-knuckle 64-61 defensive match, with true freshman Daniel Mullins scoring 30 points, almost half the winning team's total. Ramblers fans were ecstatic with the phenom, quick to call him the next Thomas Branson. Junior Elijah Williams scored 20 and true frosh Howard Seabrook scored 14 as Wake Forest advanced, beating Dayton 72-54. It marked the first time since 1956, Kinard's first year at Wake, that the Demon Deacons made it out of the Sweet 16. All five Montana Grizzlies starters scored 11 or more and they blasted the Richmond Spiders 94-58. Juco transfer Charles Dore led the attack with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Niagara/Stanford was close the whole way through, but in the end, senior PG Markus Gunther's 20 points carried the Purple Eagles to a 91-89 edging of the Cardinal. San Francisco handled George Washington easily, 77-53. Freshman Hank Tipton's 11 bench points perfectly represented the Dons' balance. TCU tipped SMU 53-44 in a game in which just two players on each team scored 10+ points, and in the Horned Frogs' case, both were reserves. Sophomore Raymond Canty scored 14, senior Darrick Pickett, who some thought in his freshman year would be a breakout star, 13. Furman wrecked Washington 61-39 with one of the best defensive efforts of the tournament and DePaul stopped Seton Hall's streak 68-51. The Blue Demons were led by sophomore Barney Allard's 20 points and 12 rebounds. Elite 8 West #1 San Francisco vs #2 TCU Midwest #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #3 Wake Forest South #1 Furman vs #3 DePaul East #1 Montana vs #3 Niagara All four #1 seeds advanced to the Elite 8 and with no one lower than a #3 seed remaining, it looked a good job by the selection committee. Everyone but San Francisco and DePaul had been to the Final Four before and so the Dons and Blue Demons became intriguing to those who wanted to see newcomers rather than old guards. Most intriguing matchups of the round - Brian Kinard and Wake Forest taking on the defending champion Ramblers, and a newly resurgent Montana taking on the Purple Eagles in Gregory Bernard's first season. Loyola-Illinois/Wake Forest lived up to the pre-game hype and the Ramblers prevailed 84-81. Most importantly, freshman Daniel Mullins added on to his already legendary legacy with 39 points. Demon Deacons fans gnashed their teeth and continued hating Kinard. Montana eased past Niagara 81-75 with balanced scoring, best signified by reserve juniors Ray Crouch and Andrew Jones with 12 and 11 bench points. The Horned Frogs crushed the Dons 102-71 on freshman Richard Neumann's 24 points, sophomore Jason Redman's 20 points, senior Carlton Frechette's 14 bench points and Darrick Pickett's 11 bench points. The final game was closer, but Furman still beat Depaul handily, 85-73, led by junior Emanuel Eckhardt's 20 points. Final Four #1 Furman vs #2 TCU #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #1 Montana An absolutely sensational set of teams. Furman and TCU, representing the rising powers and facing off, while the old blue bloods of Loyola-Illinois and Montana fought for the other title game spot. All eyes were on Daniel Mullins to see what he would do. TCU and Furman fought a hard, intense, back-and-forth game that went to OT and resulted in a Horned Frogs 76-75 win after Owen Prescott came up with a monster block of Steven Spitzer's buzzer-beater jump shot to preserve the one point victory. Reserve Carlton Frechette led the Horned Frogs with 16 points. Montana held Daniel Mullins to 14 points, but senior backup guard Emery Merritt matched those 14 points in an ugly 53-39 win for the Ramblers. 24.5% shooting for the Grizzlies, 31.5% for the Ramblers in one of the most pathetic shooting games in NCAA tournament history. National Championship #2 TCU vs #1 Loyola-Illinois TCU back in the title game for the second straight year. For Loyola-Illinois, Gus Seely sought to become the first coach since Mack Halbert to win three banners at the same school and tie Halbert and David Beach for most overall championships. The Horned Frogs, one of the deepest teams in the tournament, seeking its first championship. The Ramblers, with the sexy star in freshman Daniel Mullins. Oddsmakers favored Loyola-Illinois and heavily so. Daniel Mullins didn't disappoint, scoring 24 points, but Jason Redman matched that point total for the Horned Frogs, and, combined with Carlton Frechette's 17 bench points and sophomore Owen Prescott's 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, it was enough for TCU to win the school's first title, 81-75. It was a satisfying end that saw the rise of some new young stars in Mullins, Redman, and Prescott, to say nothing of Richard Neumann. As a smiling Jeremiah Coffee said afterwards, "We're hoping to reach Montana's level." The victory was all the sweeter for Coffee, who, as you may remember, was fired by Marquette after the 1955 season for a .500 record, and landed with the Horned Frogs. The notes from that change: Quote:
That other coach referenced was Carl McKibben, who went to Texas and has since moved on from Austin. Pleased to land him indeed, after those back-to-back title game appearances and that glorious championship.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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04-16-2011, 04:24 AM
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#40 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Daniel Mullins was unfairly robbed of the Freshman of the Year award in the eyes of many, but few doubted he would have a stellar collegiate career and lead the Ramblers to at least one title. Code:
As for Clemson, they had their second highest class ever, ranked #30, with four 3* players and a 2* player. In a strong recruiting year for the Southern, however, that was only good for third in the conference. 1963 Conference Movement No new member schools, and lack of opportunities for fashioning a new conference meant the SEC survived another season. 1963 Coach Movement 10 fired coaches before the season. Kristopher Liebermann - West Virginia to Michigan* Fired after five seasons despite a 1959 Elite 8 and a winning record last year, Liebermann is a solid hire for a Wolverines outfit that's been to the tournament only four times, all first round exits, and no appearances since 1958. Jerry North - Texas Tech to Princeton On the face of it, a strange move for North, but as a Cornell alum, he was thrilled to be coaching in the Ivy League. Took the Red Raiders to the tournament last season and also had Syracuse in the second round back in 1951 as part of a three year stint with the Orange. The Tigers have only been to the tournament once, a first round exit in 1957. Alfred Kight - Tennessee to Lehigh One NCAA appearance with the Volunteers, a fluke 1957 appearance. Led the Volunteers to their first winning season in school history last year. Lehigh has a couple tournament appearances and are a mid-tier team in the North Star. Justin Carder - Iowa State to Navy Carder did a fine job building the Cyclones, including two NCAA appearances and three straight winning seasons the last three years. The Midshipmen are riding a streak of five straight dances, but just one past the first round. Matthew Fair - Colorado to Maryland Three straight treading water seasons with the Buffaloes, but then the Terrapins could use a rebuild, with their last winning season in 1957. Garret Perry - Navy to Tulane Five straight NCAA appearances with Navy, and the Midshipmen were sad to lose their most successful coach in school history. The Green Waves have been horrible for years, with just three winning seasons and their last NCAA appearance in 1954. Newton Richardson was inexplicably fired by Clemson, and he was forced to take the recruiting coordinator gig at Michigan, with Liebermann's staff. The Wolverines had the #32 class in 1953, but their second best class is #50. That said, they've historically done all right for their level, and have had some of the conference's better classes the last few seasons.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-05-2011, 11:44 PM
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#41 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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It appears I somehow simmed the regular season and part of the NCAA tournament without posting it, so we'll have to do a quick recap.
Teams Pulling The Double Bowling Green - MAC Utah - Mountain States St. Joseph's - North Star Montana - PCC Citadel - Southern Furman - Southern Stars Rice - SWC San Jose State - Sun West #1 Seeds Montana Rice Loyola-Illinois Georgetown Four of the nation's biggest basketball powers received 1 seeds and it looked like a fantastic tournament for dynasty lovers. 16 Consecutive NCAA Bids Georgetown (2 Sweet 16, 4 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 3 National Runner-Up) Lafayette (3 Sweet 16, 1 Final 4) Loyola-Illinois (3 Sweet 16, 3 Final 4, 1 Elite 8, 2 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) Loyola-Maryland (6 Sweet 16, 1 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) Montana (3 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 1 Final Four, 1 Runner-Up, 5 NCAA Championships) Rice (4 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8, 2 Final 4, 1 Runner-Up, 2 NCAA Championships) USC (3 Sweet 16, 5 Elite 8, 1 Runner-Up) First Round Upsets Midwest #12 BYU over #5 St. Joseph's #10 Stanford over #7 Wake Forest South #13 USC over #4 Lafayette #10 Washington over #7 Richmond A comparatively quiet first round in terms of upsets with the only real shocker that of BYU over St. Joe's. Many considered Lafayette, the weakest of the Forever 7, to be a vast overseed, USC a vast underseed, which made it a sexy upset pick. Second Round Upsets West #8 Nevada over #1 Montana #7 Wyoming over #2 Furman South #13 USC over #5 Arkansas #6 Marquette over #3 Loyola-Maryland East #6 Miami over #3 Niagara The massive Wolfpack and Cowboys upsets of the Grizzlies and Paladins respectively were huge wins for the Mountain States, long regarded as a second-tier conference behind legendary leagues such as the PCC. USC, meanwhile, continued to channel disrespect for one of the premiere programs into upsets, hell-bent on at last getting that ring. Sweet 16 West #8 Nevada vs #5 Duquesne #7 Wyoming vs #3 DePaul Midwest #1 Rice vs #4 George Washington #2 Dayton vs #3 Utah South #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #13 USC #2 San Francisco vs #6 Marquette East #1 Georgetown vs #5 SMU #2 UCLA vs #6 Miami It was the first time since 1952 that Nevada was in the Sweet 16, while the Blue Demons were proving their Elite 8 run of the year before was no fluke. Utah, the third Mountain West member of the Sweet 16, was enjoying its first time ever in the Sweet 16, in its sixth NCAA appearance. Rice was back in the Sweet 16 after bowing out in the first weekend for two straight years for the first time ever in school history, a feat matched in all facets by USC. The Dons again thirsted for their first ever Final Four bid, while the Bruins were in their fourth straight Sweet 16. But of course, it was Loyola-Illinois and Daniel Mullins everyone was watching. Although Western Kentucky held Mullins to just 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting in the second round, the sophomore sensation scored 34 in the first round against Dartmouth. Junior Norman Caron put up 16 points and 8 rebounds to lead 5 seed Duquesne 63-59 past 8 seed Nevada. Fortunately for the Mountain States, 7 seed Wyoming proved up to the task, knocking off 3 seed DePaul 86-75 despite 20 points from junior Barney Allard and 10 points, 12 rebounds from senior Timothy Johnston for the Blue Demons. Balance was the Pokes' key to victory, headlined by sophomore Ronald Goldman's 16 points, junior Dan Tyrrell's 10 points and 12 rebounds and senior 6th man John Yuen's 14 points on a flawless 5/5 shooting. Senior Larry Hernandez may have doubled for 13 points and 10 rebounds, but it was national superstar Daniel Mullins' 22 points that once again took top honors as 1 seed Loyola-Illinois stifled 13 seed USC 67-57. You wouldn't think the team with two 20+ point scorers would lose, but that's exactly what happened when 6 seed Marquette's junior Donald Adams and senior Gary Ponder's 22 and 20 points got no help. Instead, it was the 2 seed Dons' senior big man Chris Gillies season high scoring (22 points), junior John Chisholm's 18 points and senior Englishman Hew Patterson's 13 points that took USF to a 94-69 win. A heart-breaking buzzer-beater ended 1 seed Rice's run, a shocking 91-89 loss to 4 seed George Washington. Senior Timothy Sigman's 19 points, Anderson Pearce's 16 points and German junior reserve Steffen Beckman's 17 points was the perimeter attack that pulled the Colonials to the Elite 8, overcoming 22 points, 11 rebounds from senior Casey Francis and junior Grant Winkle's 17 points banging on the inside for the Owls in a classic matchup of outside vs inside offenses. Junior Richard Powers put on an electrifying 25 point performance, but it wasn't enough for his 2 seed Flyers to get past 3 seed Utah, the Utes continuing their dream season 69-62 behind junior Gerald Flack's 15 points and senior Claud Walker's 10 points, 10 rebounds. Three players failed to score a single point for SMU in the Mustangs' 102-36 loss to 1 seed Georgetown, the worst loss in NCAA tournament history to that date. Senior Chris Lent led Georgetown in scoring with 22 points, but the best Hoya on the court was arguably sophomore Jefferson Malachor, the young big man who had a breakout game of 19 points, 11 rebounds. Junior Edward Armstrong hit 3 three pointers for 13 points in just 8 minutes. Much closer was the UCLA/Miami contest, with all five Bruins starters scoring 10+ points, led by senior Colton Williams's 20 points. But that wasn't enough against the Hurricanes' stellar backcourt. Junior Larry Patterson led all scorers with 26 points and senior Bennie Edmunds not only matched Williams' 20 points, but pulled in 12 rebounds besides for the thrilling 6 seed's 81-79 upset of the 2 seed. Elite 8 West #5 Duquesne vs #7 Wyoming Midwest #4 George Washington vs #3 Utah South #1 Loyola-Illinois vs #2 San Francisco East #1 Georgetown vs #6 Miami Duquesne in its second Elite 8, first since 1954. Wyoming was also in its second Elite 8, but not since 1950. The winner of the Dukes/Cowboys matchup would be guaranteed the school's first ever Final Four appearance. Utah's newcomer status made things rather frenzied in Salt Lake City, while DC was much more sedate, George Washington having established itself as an up and coming program among the country's elite. Loyola-Illinois was equally blase about the Elite 8, setting their sights on becoming the first school ever to make it to three straight championship games, a feat matched not even by mighty Montana. San Francisco, of course, wanted only its first Final Four bid. Ramblers/Dons was without question the marquee matchup of the round. Before their loss in the second round last season, Georgetown had made it to the second weekend seven straight years, an impressive feat. Despite that streak, the Hoyas still had not won a title. As for the Hurricanes, many still remembered Miami's Final Four appearance in just their second season of play, but the Hurricanes had made it only so far as the Elite 8 just once since then, in 1952. Quote:
Ronald Goldman continued building a following to rival Daniel Mullins, scoring 21 points alongside freshman Andrew Bost's fellow 21 points and John Yuen's 12 bench points to pull out an 88-76 upset of the Dukes. As one writer commented after the game, "Between Goldman and Bost, it's a very bright next few seasons for the Cowboys." Speaking of Daniel Mullins, he scored 21 points as part of four Ramblers' starters with 12+ points, including senior Franklyn Gaspar's 12 points and 10 assists, but that didn't stop the 2 seed San Francisco Dons from finally realizing their Final Four dreams, 78-74. The massive upset was fueled by senior Tony Fidler's 17 points, John Chisholm's 14 points and Chris Gillies' 12 points and 9 rebounds. George Washington ignored Utah's Gerald Flack's 19 points and sophomore Brant Christy's 14 points and 12 rebounds, riding Timothy Sigman's 24 points for a 74-62 win and Final Four ticket. Georgetown and Miami made anticlimax in the Hoyas' 91-56 hammering of the Hurricanes. Senior Arthur Mertz scored 17 points and 13 rebounds and fellow classmate Arthur Tilley equalled those 17 points. Chris Lent just missed the double-double with 9 points and 10 assists. Final Four #7 Wyoming vs #2 San Francisco #4 George Washington vs #1 Georgetown The two Final Four newcomers against the two DC schools. Intriguing matchups, both, with the Cowboys led by their two rising underclassmen stars and the Dons one of the so-close but never quite enough elite teams. The Hoyas matched that description as well, although on a higher level. Nonetheless, after getting their record to 33-1 (12-0), they were expected to roll over their Whig archrivals. San Francisco/Georgetown was the heavy favorite for the championship pairing. And indeed, despite Ronald Goldman's 19 points, John Yuen's 14 points, and senior Jackie Whalen's heroic 26 points and 9 assists, the 9 seed Cowboys fell 93-81 to the 2 seed Dons. San Francisco was carried by four starters with 12+ points,including John Chisholm's 25 points and 10 rebounds, Tony Fidler's 16 points, and Hew Patterson's 14 points. Timothy Sigman's sensational tournament run came to an end with 17 points in the Colonials' 78-63 loss to the Hoyas. Fellow senior Bryan Dolan's 12 points and 10 rebounds did their part, but it wasn't enough to counter 19 points a piece from Georgetown's Arthur Tilley and junior reserve Michael Santoyo, the latter of whom also had a career high 10 rebounds in the biggest performance of his college career. National Championship #2 San Francisco vs #1 Georgetown One of the schools would finally realize their long-frustrated title dreams. On one side, the San Francisco Dons, with 3 Elite 8s prior to this season under their belt, and NCAA appearances every year except 1956, the only losing season in school history. On the other side, the Georgetown Hoyas, who'd never missed the tournament and had 5 Final Four appearances before this year, but was 0-3 in national championships, losing in 1949, 1955, and 1959. Two of those losses were under Gerald Heater, head coach at Georgetown since 1952. The Hoyas took a 48-46 halftime lead in a tight, constantly back and forth game game. Arthur Tilley scored 23, reserves Michael Santoyo and junior Chung Chaffin 15 and 11 respective points. But the Dons rallied in the second half, winning a heartpounding 88-85 game on four starters with 11+ points, most notably Tournament MVP John Chisholm's 23 points and Chris Gillies' 17 points. So once again, Georgetown felt the bitterness of defeat, dropping to 0-4 in the championship, while San Francisco danced and celebrated their perfect breakthrough to their first ever title. Dons head coach Kieth Slayton, the 41 year old journeyman in his fourth year at San Francisco, deserved and received much of the credit. He'd improved the Dons each season he'd been at USF, from a second round exit, to a Sweet 16, to an Elite 8, to, now, at long last, an NCAA championship.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-08-2011, 01:27 PM
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#42 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Code:
How big a surprise was DePaul's #1 class? Not very. The Blue Demons consistently pulled in Top 25 classes, including the #2 class in 1957. The surprising thing was that despite all that talent, they'd only made the second weekend twice, both in the last two seasons. Michigan finished with a disappointing #108 class, 7th in the Big 10, their worst ranked class since 1960. Code:
1964 Conference Movement Three schools joined in 1964: Austin Peay UC-Santa Barbara Weber State Austin Peay seemed an obvious choice for the Bluegrass, but that would mean the nation's largest conference would grow to 13 teams, and although the Bluegrass was now a 2 prestige conference, it still made the NCAA uneasy. UC-Santa Barbara and Weber State, on the other hand, were easy drop offs into the Desert Conference. Not only was the Desert still bidless, the Gauchos and the Wildcats allowed conference expansion into California and Utah. The Bluegrass was evenly balanced between Kentucky and Tennessee schools, an arrangement that suited both states perfectly. Indeed, since its inception in 1956, the Bluegrass had become the most popular of the regional conferences, even though its conference tournament had never yet been successfully completed for one reason or another. As for the NCAA, they discussed a rule that would limit conference sizes to 12, to keep things manageable, encourage the growth of new leagues, and limit the blowup of existing conferences. One possible solution to the problem came from Tennessee Tech, which volunteered to leave the conference and form another league with other Southern tech schools. Texas Tech expressed interest in the move from the Desert to this new league, but the deal hinged on convincing Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to leave the Southern. This would give the new conference a majority of tech-based universities in a seven membership conference. The Southern was a 3 prestige conference, but the NCAA, noting the prestige of Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, agreed that if they joined this new league, the new conference would be given a matching 3 level ranking. As a result, the Yellow Jackets and Hokies accepted. But of course, there were three more schools before the league could be formalized. Georgia agreed to join its archrival Tech as a basketball only member, and, LSU, seeing the handwriting on the wall, followed suit. The Atomic League, as the new conference called itself, fitting for the age and the technological tilt, also wanted Mississippi, but Ole Miss refused to join unless Mississippi State could too, and the tech schools in turn had no intention of losing their majority. Thus, the Atomic and SEC stood at 6 teams each. One wanting to be born, the other fighting off elimination. Clemson, seeing an opportunity to go from bottom-feeder to title challenger, saved the SEC, joining as a full member. But that wasn't the only defection from the Southern. Citadel, with its strong engineering program, became enthused over the idea of joining a tech alliance, and signed on. The best of all possible worlds shook out then - Austin Peay was allowed to go to the Bluegrass, a new conference with a unique slant was formed, the SEC and Southern both survived, and the NCAA passed its 12 member limit law with an overwhelming majority. Ironically enough, had not the Southern's prestige rating dropped to 3, the deal might never have come off, as the conference's elevation to 4 in 1962 after some shrewd maneuvering, including capturing Georgia Tech and Marshall, prevented their being raided and taken apart by the SEC. Conference Changes Since 1948 Steel Conference (1948-1954) Whig Conference (1955- Bluegrass Conference (1956- Pacific Northwest League (1956-1960) Desert Conference (1958- Atomic League (1964- Citadel Southern (1948-1963) Atomic (1964- Clemson Southern (1948-1963) SEC (1964- Georgia SEC (1948-1963) Atomic (1964- Georgia Tech SEC (1948-1961) Southern (1962-1963) Atomic (1964- LSU SEC (1948-1963) Atomic (1964- Tennessee Tech Bluegrass (1956-1963) Atomic (1964- Texas Tech Sun West (1951-1957) Desert (1958-1963) Atomic (1964- Virginia Tech Southern (1948-1963) Atomic (1964- But then it was discovered that the Southern was actually down to 6 members, and, as a result, facing elimination. Left with no recourse, the conference hurriedly invited Centenary to fill the gap. Centenary Independent (1960-1963) Southern (1964- 1964 Head Coach Movement After leading Akron to its first NCAA appearance in school history, Rolland Rayburn retired. But his was not the most noteworthy one prior to the 1964 season. That distinction belonged to Brian Soler of Wyoming and, in the biggest shocker, Gerald Heater of Georgetown. Brian Soler *327-200 (18th all time in wins) *1953 National Title with Georgia Tech * Wyoming (1954-1963), Georgia Tech (1950-1953), Duke (1948-1949) Georgia Tech alum who won a fluke national championship with his alma mater in 1953, then unexpectedly took the job at Wyoming, where he built the Cowboys from one of the Mountain West's worst teams into one of its best. Took Wyoming to 8 straight NCAA appearances in his last eight seasons, including two Sweet 16s (1956, 1958), and the Pokes' first ever Final Four last season. Gerald Heater *411-134 (4th all time in wins) *0-3 in the national championship *Georgetown (1952-1963), Duquesne (1948-1951) Ironically enough, a Wyoming graduate. Famous for losing all three of his NCAA title game appearances, but 400+ wins, 4 Final Fours (1955, 1959, 1961, 1963), and 4 Elite Eights (1953, 1956, 1958, 1960) to say nothing of the other Sweet 16 appearances or his 15 NCAA appearances in 16 years (1950 with Duquesne was his only miss), is a resume that many coaches would give their eyeteeth for. In addition to those two high profile retirements, a record low 6 coaches were fired against 13 retirements. That didn't stop the coaching carousel completely, however. Sammy Taylor - Duquesne to Akron The news of this hire stunned the basketball world. Taylor led the Dukes to four straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite 8 last season, but the opportunity to coach in one of the nation's powerhouse conferences and build on the school's first ever NCAA bid was too much for the 56 year old to resist. A master coup for the Zips. Lewis Hoke - Colgate to Virginia Journeyman 51 year old head coach built up programs at Rutgers, Detroit, and Colgate, taking them from bad teams to persistent NCAA dancers. Although the Cavaliers have gone dancing four times, they've only gone once since 1954, a 1958 first round exit. Just two head coaches changing schools that season. It was a year which saw a lot of assistants getting hired, including Kevin Steverson, Taylor's top assistant at Duquesne, earning the top job with the Dukes. A lot of one-time head coaches also got first position jobs again after toiling in the assistant ranks, including 47 year old Clay Mariano, who went 89-124 at Western Michigan from 1948-1954, but did have a 1951 NCAA appearance to his credit. He was hired from Nevada and considered an excellent hire for the first year program. On the other end of the spectrum was Wyoming's inexplicable hiring of Loyola-Illinois assistant Milton Blakeslee. The 60 year old was not only 27-63 in three seasons at Nebraska, from 1952-1954, but his teams played worse each season, going from 13 wins in 1952 to 4 in 1954. The news sparked outrage and fury in Laramie and throughout the Wyoming, for the Cowboys were one of the few things unifying the state's natural regionalism. The only good thing about the hiring was Blakeslee's age, which meant he was a probable one or two year stopgap until the administration could find someone better suited to the job.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 11-27-2011 at 11:14 PM. |
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11-27-2011, 11:16 PM
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#43 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'm a bit torn on whether to continue this as is, or shift to focusing on one conference, using DarkCloud's and muns's Being the AD rules.
On the one hand I think it might be interesting to shift; on the other hand, I feel like the tone of the historical chronicle would be ruined by the change. So what I might do is start a new Zeroed Out dynasty with the same 1948 setup and pick a conference to focus on from there. I'll post a poll in the Dynasty Polls forum
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 11-27-2011 at 11:19 PM. |
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