THE CLEO HILL STORY: HE WAS MICHAEL JORDAN BEFORE THERE WAS MICHAEL JORDAN

Before there was MJ, there was Cleo Hill. Many consider him one of the all-time greats whose misfortune was to be black and born 20 years too soon. He played college basketball at Winston-Salem Teachers College from 1957-1961 for legendary coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines before ACC schools like North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest began recruiting black players. Playing at the predominantly girls school, the 6 foot 1 inch Hill averaged 27 points per game as a senior. Savvy basketball scouts considered Hill the best player in the country when he graduated from college. The St. Louis Hawks of the NBA drafted Hill with the 8th pick in the first round--the first African-American from a Historically Black College to be drafted in the first round.

At Winston-Salem, his impact was such that he was recently voted the best player in school history, even ahead of Hall of Famer Earl "the Pearl" Monroe who followed him in the late sixties and went on to star for the New York Knicks.

A little background here: Long time sports commentator Billy Packer, who played guard for nearby Wake Forest became friends with Hill in 1961. The naive Packer, a Pennsylvania native, decided one evening to cross the tracks to the poor side of town to watch a game between Winston-Salem and Tennessee State. He soon found he was the only white guy in the packed gym. Coach Gaines recognized him from a newspaper article and invited him to sit with him on the bench. It didn't take long for Packer to realize that the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) schools played better quality basketball (more speed and athleticism) than the so-called big time schools of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Packer was later quoted as saying, "Cleo Hill was better than anybody in the ACC. There was nobody close to him. As a matter of fact, of the guys I've seen in this state, Cleo Hill was the forerunner of David Thompson and Michael Jordan. The whole league had guys like that. Out of that Cleo and I became buddies and we used to scrimmage against them." This came from a man who played on two consecutive ACC champions in 1961 and 1962. Packer organized numerous informal scrimmages between Wake Forest and Winston-Salem on Sunday mornings which were probably against the law at that time in the Jim Crow South. No coaches or referees were present at the unsupervised scrimmages, but they played top quality basketball and had fun doing so. The scrimmages were played at the Winston-Salem gym. At Wake, they would have caused an incident. For example, John McClendon, the Hall of Fame coach from nearby North Carolina Central sought to attend a game at Duke but was told he couldn't come into the arena unless he was dressed as a waiter!

Cleo Hill had all the shots--hook shots with either hand, a sweet jump shot, a two handed set shot, and spectacular athletic ability. His old playground buddy from Newark, NJ, Al Attles described Hill as the greatest high school player he had ever seen. Attles played college ball at North Carolina Central, another CIAA school and became a defensive star for the Philadelphia and Golden State Warriors. He later coached the Warriors to an NBA championship. Interestingly, the offensive high point in Attles' playing career came in a 1962 Warriors' 169-143 victory over the Knicks in which he sank 8 of 8 shots from the field and scored 19 points. Almost nothing was mentioned of Attles' performance in the next morning's news because he was overshadowed by teammate Wilt Chamberlain who scored 100 points in the same game.

In his first NBA game, Hill scored 26 points. But the NBA wasn't ready for a high-flying athlete like Hill with a 44 inch vertical leap, who could dunk from the free throw lane. His teammates on the Hawks, Bob Pettit, Clyde Lovelette and Cliff Hagan, Hall of Famers all, complained to the coach that Hill was shooting too much and wasn't passing the ball enough to them. They quickly caught on that if Hill scored a lot of points, they wouldn't score as many, and it would cost them money at contract time.

Coach Paul Seymour's mission was to win basketball games, and he wanted his best players on the floor. The previous season, the Hawks had made it to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Boston Celtics led by black superstar Bill Russell. If they were ever going to beat the Celtics, they needed more firepower.

There was more to it than that. The Hawks were scheduled to play an exhibition game against the Celtics in Lexington, Kentucky, and Russell was refused service in the hotel restaurant. He approached Hill and the other black players about boycotting the game. They did so. The Boston players were publicly supported by team owner, Walter Brown and had no problem with their fans. In St. Louis, a Southern city, it was a different story. the local press skewered Hill and the other two black players, Woody Sauldsberry and Si Green, demanding fines and suspensions. Hawks owner Ben Kerner said nothing, and shortly thereafter traded Sauldsberry and Green. He ordered Coach Seymour to bench Hill and instruct him to pass the ball more.

After Hill's first NBA game, the team's veteran stars essentially froze Hill out, refusing to pass him the ball and refusing to rebound his shots. They felt that the rookie, Hill, should have to work his way into the starting lineup. Coach Seymour called a team meeting and threatened to fine them. Kerner had a revolt on his hands, and it was easier to fire the coach than his star players.

The color blind Coach Seymour insisted on playing the rookie, Hill, who he felt was his best player. For foolishly trying to win rather than promote racial harmony, the coach got himself fired. The new coach, Harry Gallatin drastically reduced Hill's playing time and his scoring average dropped from double figures to 5 points per game as he spent more and more time on the pines.

The following season, 1962, Hill wasn't the same player. His intensity was gone, and the Hawks released him in the pre-season. In those days, players didn't have agents who could call upon the other teams seeking a place for their client. Although it was never proven, it appeared that the word was out that Hill was a trouble maker. Hill's former coach Seymour actually did contact several teams on Hill's behalf, but no team wanted him. "White-balled" was the word they used, according to Seymour.

Fortunately for Hill, he had earned a teaching degree and became a substitute teacher and went into coaching. He played in the Eastern League on weekends and made more money than he had as an NBA rookie. He became a successful basketball coach at Essex County College in Newark, NJ, winning 489 games in his 24 year career. He insists that he's no longer bitter about the St. Louis incident. "It wasn't racial, it was points," he said. He went on to say, "the one consolation I have is knowing that if I was merely mediocre, I would have been left alone. So I guess I must have been pretty good."

Cleo Hill is now 71 years old, living comfortably in New Jersey with his wife of 48 years and a house full of trophies and plaques commemorating his life in basketball. He has 2 grown children and 5 grandchildren. I'd like to say he has no regrets about what might have been. When one avenue in life is blocked off, you take a different route. Cleo Hill was successful in the game that really counts, the game of life.

KENNETH SUSKIN

HIGH OCTANE--HIGH SCORING BASKETBALL GAMES

In the early days, basketball as invented by Dr. Naismith was not envisioned as a high scoring sport. After a player would make a basket, the referee had to fish the ball out of the peach basket and bring the ball back to center court for a jump ball. At the time, basketball appeared to have much in common with hockey or soccer. Every basket made was an event. As the game evolved, the rules were changed to liven up the game.

But as late as 1950, before the introduction of the shot clock, the NBA saw a 19-18 game in which the Fort Wayne Pistons edged the Minneapolis Lakers. The fans were snoozing in the stands, wondering why they actually paid admission to watch. And if they hadn't brought in the 24 second shot clock to juice up the game, (not to mention replacing a bunch of stationary white guys), the NBA would still be poking around in backwater cities like Fort Wayne, Rochester, and Syracuse rather than Chicago and Los Angeles. Of course, L.A. doesn't have an NFL team, but don't get me started on that.

After the 1954 introduction of the shot clock in the NBA, scoring, as well as attendance went up astronomically. Fans clamored to see athletic (read: Black) players like Russell, Wilt, Oscar and Elgin Baylor who could run the floor and dunk the basketball. They transformed the game into what it is today.

In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain set several records that will probably not be broken. He scored 100 points in one game against the New York Knicks. The game was played in Hershey, PA. At that time, the NBA teams often barnstormed to ignite fan interest in the hinterlands. The final score of that game was 169-147, the Philadelphia Warriors on top. Many of Wilt's baskets would not be allowed today because of offensive goal tending--he often got his hand on teammates' shots above the basket and dunked them. In that game he made 36 baskets out of 63 attempts, and hit 28 of 32 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed 25 rebounds. His point guard, Guy Rodgers racked up 20 assists. The way Wilt was going Mr. Rogers probably could have gotten those 20 assists.

By the fourth quarter, the game turned into a circus after the unfortunate Darrall Imhoff, Willie Naulls and Dave Budd fouled out attempting to guard him. The Knicks started quintuple teaming Chamberlain, thus giving his teammates open shots which they were declining. The Knicks even resorted to intentionally fouling Wilt's teammates in an effort to deny him the ball. Wilt's Warriors responded by fouling Knicks players to stop the clock and get the ball back to feed it to Wilt.

For the season, Chamberlain averaged over 50 points per game and over 25 rebounds. For the record, he played almost every minute of every game, logging over 4000 minutes in the 82 game season.

Among Wilt's other accomplishments was that he never fouled out of a game at any level--high school, college or pros. Actually, according to Bill Simmons in The Book of Basketball, Chamberlain was obsessed with his stats, often to the detriment of his team. When Chamberlain got in foul trouble, he basically stopped playing defense.

Personally, I think his most remarkable record was the 20,000 women he claimed to have shagged (in his biography). Since he was a stat guy, he may have hired someone to keep score. Chamberlain was a lifelong bachelor--some have suggested that he may have been gay and the 20,000 girl story was his cover. True or not, if you work the numbers, and I'm not a math whiz, he would have bagged 400 girls (one-night stands) per year for a period of 50 years--Chamberlain died in 1999 at age 63. We haven't considered the fact that he may have liked some of those girls and saw them on several occasions. As you can see, he was a busy guy off the court as well. Tiger Woods has a long way to go to break that record.

HIGHEST SCORING NBA GAME

The Denver Nuggets squared off against the Detroit Pistons in Denver on December 13, 1983. We know that in Denver, the Mile High City, baseballs seem to fly farther, but I don't know how that would affect basketball. Nevertheless, the teams combined for 370 total points in a triple-overtime thriller. Detroit won 186-184. They combined to shoot 57% from the field. The Box Score is as follows:

DETROIT FG FT PF PTS DENVER FG FT PF PTS
Tripucka 14 7-9 5 35 English 18 11-13 4 47
Levingston 1 0-0 6 2 Vanderweghe 21 9-11 3 51
Laimbeer 6 5-9 4 17 Issel 11 6-8 3 28
Thomas 18 10-19 5 47 Williams 3 3-4 6 9
Long 18 5-6 4 41 Dunn 3 1-2 6 7
Johnson 4 4-5 4 12 Evans 7 2-2 6 16
Tyler 8 2-3 3 18 Hancock 0 2-2 6 2
Benson 0 0-0 3 0 Schayes 0 11-12 4 11
Tolbert 1 1-4 4 3 Carter 0 0-0 0 0
Cureton 3 3-5 5 9 Anderson 5 2-3 4 13
Russell 1 0-0 1 2 Dennard 0 0-0 1 0
Thirdkill 0 0-0 1 0
TOTAL 74 37-60 44 186 TOTAL 68 48-57 43 184

DETROIT 38 36 34 37 14 12 15--186
DENVER 34 40 39 32 14 12 13--184

Each team had 1 three-point field goal.

As you can see, it was a pretty exciting game. The Nuggets, under Coach Doug Moe, were known for pushing the ball up the court. They averaged over 123 points per game and scored more than 140 points in many games. The Pistons were no slouches themselves. Although in the late 1980's they won two championships as a relatively low scoring defensive force under Coach Chuck Daly, the 1983-84 version rang up 117 points per game.

The lead in the game swung back and forth, and with seconds remaining, and the Pistons trailing 145-142, Bill Laimbeer was fouled and went to the line for 2 free throws. He sank the first and intentionally missed the second. Isiah Thomas stormed up the lane to tip in the missed free throw to send the game into overtime. In the first OT, Denver took a 5 point lead, but Detroit came roaring back as Isiah hit his team's only 3-pointer to tie the game.

In the second OT, Kelly Tripucka scored all 12 points for the Pistons. Interviewed after the game, he admitted that he was motivated to get out of there because he was afraid all the restaurants would be closed because the game went on so long. But the Nuggets weren't going down so easily. Finally, in the third OT, Detroit was finally able to grab the lead. Denver closed to the final score with their only trey of the game, by Richard Anderson. It was the only game in NBA history in which 4 players scored more than 40 points each.

The high scorer in the game was Kiki Vanderweghe, whose claim to fame was genetic--his father, Ernie had starred in the NBA, and his mother, Colleen was Miss America in 1952. Alex English scored 47. Although the Nuggets stars were prolific scorers, they were considered defensive liabilities. According to the aforementioned Bill Simmons, "The Basketball Guy", Larry Bird used to destroy those guys, along with the Pistons' Kelly Tripucka (whose father was an NFL quarterback). Simmons said that if Bird had played in their division of the NBA, he would have added 3 points per game to his average.

HIGHEST SCORING COLLEGE GAME

This one boggles the mind, but Troy State (Alabama), in probably the consummate example of poor sportsmanship, blew out DeVry Institute of Atlanta, GA, an NAIA Division II school, by a score of 258-141 on January 13, 1992. I have searched in vain for the box score. DeVry, a for-profit school specializing in computer training, discovered that computer games don't translate well onto the hardwood. Students go there to learn computers, not defense. You can view excerpts of the game on YouTube, as I did. (http://www/youtube.com/watch?v=P617g8CUelc). I hope I got that right!

What was remarkable was the lack of defense (huh?) Most of the Troy State baskets I saw were uncontested shots after turnovers. They were passing up easy layups to shoot treys--and making them. Although most DeVry players were short computer geeks, they DID score 141 points. Essentially, Troy State's five was on one side of the court while DeVry's was still on the other side, chasing them. A week earlier, on January 4th, they had lost to University of North Alabama 127-57. A year earlier, the same teams met, with Troy State winning 187-117, scoring a then record 103 points in the second half.

In a mismatch like this one, it is considered in poor taste to be shooting uncontested 3's from the top of the key with an 80 point lead. Incredibly, the Trojans launched 109 three-point shots, making 51. One player, Brian Simpson, played only 15 minutes, but managed to fire up 26 treys and score 37 points. The top scorer for the Trojans was forward Terry McCord with 41 points. By halftime, Troy already had scored 123. Early in the second half, they led 137-58. With 10:24 to go, they had run it up to 189-95. So even more remarkable, the computer geeks at DeVry scored 46 points in the last 10 1/2 minutes. Neither team did it at the free throw line. In the whole game, only 1 foul was called against Troy State and 6 against DeVry.

The run and shoot offense of Coach Don Maestri and Assistant David Felix was patterned after that of Coach Paul Westhead who, among other things made a name for himself in college at Loyola Marymount. (See KENSUSKINREPORT, Jan. 13, 2009) Westhead had coached the LA Lakers to the NBA championship with Magic and Kareem but was allegedly fired because he couldn't get along with Magic. The highest score Westhead could do at LMU was to beat U.S. International 186-140 on January 5, 1991 and 181-150 on January 31, 1989. While most coaches want their teams to move the ball around to set up a good shot, to Maestri, there's no such thing as a bad shot. Coach Westhead was kind enough to send films of LMU's high octane offensive schemes to the Troy State staff who studied them diligently and used them with devastating impact.

The bottom line was that run-and-shoot proved to be a successful formula for the Trojans who won 27 games in 1992, averaging 121 points per game, and moved up to Division 1A the following season.

While this assault on the record books sounds exciting, it's really no fun watching the neighborhood bully beating up on the little guy. The fans prefer real competition. Perhaps DeVry should play the infamous Washington Generals who haven't won a game since 1971. (see KENSUSKINREPORT March 31, 2008)

DeVry FG FGA FT FTA Reb PF A ST Points
Young 3-9 0-0 2 0 1 0 6
Heilig 13-24 0-0 8 1 3 1 27
Daniel 20-30 0-0 11 1 3 0 42
Jones 7-16 0-0 8 2 6 2 16
Kylers 14-22 0-0 7 1 7 1 28
Ramsey 7-10 0-0 2 0 1 2 14
Quarles 3-10 0-0 5 1 7 1 8
TOTAL 67-121 0-0 46 6 28 7 141

3-point FG Heilig 1-3, Daniel 2-4, Jones 2-6, Quarles 2-7
FG% 55.4% 3-point FG% 35.0 Turnovers 44 (Jones 19, Daniel 7, Kylers 7)

Troy St. FG FGA FT FTA Reb PF A ST Points

Evans 12-20 0-0 4 0 2 2 29
Smith 12-24 0-0 13 0 11 3 29
A. Davis 1-1 0-0 12 0 8 6 2
T. Davis 9-22 0-0 8 0 8 1 24
McCord 16-26 0-0 6 0 6 6 41
Hunt 5-9 0-0 4 0 4 2 15
Fayson 3-10 3-3 3 0 5 3 12
Gresham 8-19 0-0 15 0 5 4 29
Bryant 9-14 0-0 6 0 9 0 20
Bryan 14-16 0-0 13 0 2 0 29
Simpson 13-29 0-0 7 1 5 1 37
TOTAL 102-190 3-3 94 1 65 28 258

3-point FG: Evans 5-10, Smith 5-11, T. Davis 6-16, McCord 9-14, Hunt 5-7, Fayson 3-8Gresham 4-11, Bryant 2-3, Bryan 1-3, Simpson 11-26
FG %54.7 3-point FG % 46.8 Turnovers 11 (Bryan 3, Simpson 3)

KENNETH SUSKIN

FREE THROWS ARE NOT FREE

The NCAA college basketball playoffs are upon us again, with office pools around the country gearing up for one of the biggest gambling events of the year. Despite the obvious great shooting and ball handling talents of the athletes, many crucial games will hinge upon the ability of teams to sink their free throws late in the game. Many a tournament has been lost by the inability of a player to hit a crucial free throw. When a team takes a small lead late in a game, the opposing team will often foul the weakest free throw shooters in an effort to get the ball back. Thus, coaches will often remove a poor free throw shooter late in the game, although he may be otherwise the best player on the team.

Sometimes that will backfire on the coach. For example, in the 1975 Louisville- UCLA semifinal game, Louisville took a 74-73 lead in the final minute of overtime and had possession of the ball. Their coach, Denny Crum brought his best free throw shooter into the game, senior guard Terry Howard, who had been a starter the previous two seasons. Howard had not missed a free throw the entire season, making 28 for 28. He held the school record for free throw percentage. When he entered the game, UCLA coach Johnny Wooden screamed to his players, "Don't foul him!" Well, with 20 seconds to go, they fouled him, and he strode confidently to the free throw line to shoot the one-and-bonus. If he makes the first one, he shoots the bonus. If he makes them both, Louisville wins the game and maybe the national championship.

You can guess the result. Howard missed the front end of the one-and-one, UCLA got the rebound and scored a basket to win by a point, and they eventually won the NCAA championship.

Howard, now a successsful Louisville businessman said recently that sympathetic fans sometimes send him get-well cards and gift money. Angry fans still send hate mail. Howard said "You'd think, after a while, people would just forget about a missed free throw, but really and seriously, it still comes up in my life every single day." In his online bio for his company, it says that he was the Number 1 free throw shooter in a season--96.5%. At least he didn't dwell on his one missed free throw that season. After all, 28 out of 29 ain't bad.

In another example, in 1981, Chicago's DePaul University, coached by Ray Meyer, was the Number 1 college basketball team going into the NCAA tournament with stars like Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings. In the opening round, they faced St. Joseph's, a team with zero chance to win, or so the experts said. Coming down to the closing seconds, the game was surprisingly close, with DePaul holding a slim one-point lead. Standing at the free throw line for a one-and-bonus was Skip Dillard, their best free throw shooter, nicknamed "Money". He held the school record with 45 free throws in a row. Not this time. Dillard threw up a brick, St. Joseph's got the rebound and drove the length of the court to score, on an unguarded layup by someone named John Smith with 3 seconds left, winning 49-48 in a major upset.

Several years later, Dillard's life went downhill, and he was sent to prison for armed robbery. Interviewed there, he said that the missed free throw had turned his life into a living hell.

On the positive side, the Michigan Wolverines recall fondly the performance by point guard Rumeal Robinson in the 1989 championship game against Seton Hall. With 3 seconds left in overtime and Michigan trailing 79-78, Robinson, the weakest free throw shooter on the team at around 60% was fouled attempting a shot. He went to the line for 2 free throws. Michigan fans groaned, but Robinson, a gamer, who was homeless at age 12, said "no problem." He drilled them both, giving Michigan a one point win and the national championship.

According to a study by the Coaches' Association, free throws account for 25% of the points scored in Division I men's basketball games. Also, winning teams score on average 67% of their points in the final minute at the free throw line. In recent years, Division I players free throw percentages have actually gotten worse. Professional players have problems also. Coaches and consultants have torn their hair out trying to teach NBA star Shaquille O'Neal to make his free throws. The great Wilt Chamberlain was an awful free throw shooter, although lightning struck once--he made 28 of 32 FT's in the 1962 game in Hershey, PA. when he scored 100 points.

Octogenarian free throw shooting consultant Tom Amberry says in disgust at today's players, "Nobody listens, because nobody is interested in free throw shooting. Players like dunks and three-point shots, and they just don't get it. Free throws might be boring, but they're the most important shots you'll ever take."

Amberry, a retired surgeon, decided to prove in his old age that anybody could become a great free throw shooter. He went to the gym every day and shot free throws for hours. In 1993, he earned mention in the Guinness Book of World Records, by making 2,750 consecutive shots in one day. He was 71 and suffering from shingles at the time, Of course, his body was bruised all over from the fouls he took that day.

The bottom line here is that when it's crunch time, and the player is in the spotlight, he'd better make those 15 foot shots when nobody is guarding him. There is nowhere to hide. If he doesn't it's a long time until next season.

KENNETH SUSKIN

RUNNING UP THE SCORE--THE RISE AND FALL OF LOYOLA MARYMOUNT BASKETBALL

For those of you who cheer on Goliath as he's piling on little David, or perhaps the lions attacking the Christians, consider the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) men's basketball team, the Lions, in the 1989-90 season. The Jesuit school was the product of a 1973 merger between the all male Loyola University of Los Angeles and the all-female Marymount College. The school has a beautiful campus on the Palos Verdes Peninsula near L.A.

The men's basketball team in the 1989-90 season averaged a record 122.4 points per game, running up the score against teams like U.S. International (152-137); Nevada-Reno (145-102); Gonzaga (144-109) and San Francisco (157-115). Dr. Naismith would have never recognized this game, and the ascetic St. Ignatius Loyola would have been shocked at the fun they were having. The LMU Five rolled through their schedule like Attila the Hun, reached the Elite 8 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament and finished the season with a record of 26-6. Unfortunately, it was a season marked by tragedy when a star player died suddenly, and I'll explain later.

LMU was coached by Paul Westhead, a veteran former NBA coach who employed an unorthodox run-and-gun style. Back in 1963, the other Loyola (Chicago) employed a similar style of play under Coach John Ireland which resulted in a national championship. It was popularly called "firewagon" basketball. Essentially the team usually put up a shot within 10 seconds after gaining possession, often from 3-point range.

Using well conditioned players who could run up and down the court for 40 minutes, the Lions could go into a game and tell the opponent, "I don't know if we're going to win tonight, but you're going to be tired." Westhead developed his coaching philosophy while coaching in Puerto Rico in the 1970's. He told the interviewer, "I would pick up a team and I observed that they were going up and down the court and making on the fly 22 foot jump shots. I said to myself that it takes my guys six passes and five good screens to shoot that open 22 foot shot--and then my guys miss. These guys are running down the court, catching the ball and shooting an open 22 foot shot without any problem." "That said to me that if they can play fast and score, why do we have to do all this hard work on offensive schemes?" It sounded crazy, but Westhead was willing to try it when he arrived at LMU.

Westhead had previously coached the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA championship in 1980 with superstars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the rookie Magic Johnson leading the way. Fans and management have short memories, and after losing in the playoffs the next year, Westhead was fired, ostensibly because he couldn't get along with Magic. It's easier to fire the coach than to fire the players. In any event, Westhead moved on to coach the Chicago Bulls (pre-Michael Jordan) for one losing season and he was gone.

He returned to college ball at LMU in 1985 and employed the non-stop fast break combined with a pressing defense. He turned an obscure team into a contender with records of 27-3, 20-10 and 23-5, earning NCAA tournament berths each season.

The key to any system, of course, is finding the right players to carry it out. He recruited former high school All-Americans Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, both of who had transferred from the University of Southern California (USC) after their freshman year when USC coach Stan Morrison was fired. The two stars were playground buddies from the streets of Philadelphia where they learned to run and gun on outdoor courts year around. In their first year at LMU, the 1989-89 season, Gathers led the NCAA in scoring and rebounding.

In their magical 1989-90 season, the team had 3 players among the top scorers in the NCAA. Bo Kimble led the nation in scoring with 35.3 points per game. Hank Gathers averaged 29.0 points per game, and shooting guard Jeff Fryer averaged 22.7, while making 121 3-point field goals. The team as a whole shot over 40% from beyond the 3-point line. Another remarkable statistic is that the team with its constant full court pressure defense averaged over 14 steals per game. On the other hand, with all that running, they turned the ball over more than 18 times per game.

Though Loyola Marymount was not a traditional basketball power like, say, UCLA, they scheduled games against against tough non-conference foes on the road. In a 117-113 win over Oregon State, Kimble scored 53 points. The OSU star, Gary Payton scored only 48. In an overtime loss at Louisiana State, Gathers scored 48 points and Kimble scored 32. the final score was 148-141. LSU star Shaquille O'Neal scored a triple double, and their guard, Chris Jackson scored 34. LMU also lost at home to Billy Tubbs' run and gun Oklahoma Sooners squad 136-121.

Tragedy struck on March 4, 1990 in the first half of a conference playoff game against Portland. Gathers had just slam dunked a basket on an alley-oop pass when he passed out on the court with heart failure. Rushed to the hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival. The game was suspended and the conference tournament was cancelled.

In an earlier game on December 9, 1989, Gathers had collapsed at the free throw line in a home game against U.C. Santa Barbara. He was found to have an abnormal heartbeat and missed several games. The school doctors gave him beta blockers, but cut down on his dosage when the medication adversely affected his play. After his death, Gathers' family sued the school and settled for an undisclosed amount.

After Gathers' death, the team rallied around his buddy Bo Kimble in the NCAA Tournament. Kimble, to honor his friend, shot the first free throw of each game left handed. (He made them all.) In the opening round, the short-handed, 11th seeded Lions blew out New Mexico State 111-92, as Kimble scored 45 points. The second game was against defending national champion Michigan, and the Lions were unimpressed. The Wolverines never knew what hit them. LMU came out running and shooting 3's and blew out Michigan 149-115. The team sank 21 3-point baskets, led by Jeff Fryer who hit 11 on his way to a season's best 41 point performance.

In the Sweet 16 game against Alabama, the Crimson Tide slowed down the tempo, but LMU prevailed 62-60 in by far their lowest scoring game of the season. Kimble led the Lions with 19 points, but attempted no free throws. The party ended on March
25, 1990 the same way the season began, with a loss to eventual national champion Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) 131-101, despite Kimble's 42 points.

The season ended, Kimble graduated, and Coach Westhead moved on to coach the NBA Denver Nuggets. The run and gun style didn't work with that crew. Although they scored almost 120 points per game, they allowed the opponents to score 130 points per game. Without Coach Westhead, the LMU team drifted gack into obscurity, in the shadow of the major LA schools UCLA and USC.

KENNETH SUSKIN

HEY, THEY NAMED THE COLLEGE AFTER ME; OR, IF GOD CAN'T MAKE THE LAYUP, WHO CAN?

What a country! Here in America, you can name your kid anything you want. You can't do that in Europe. The athlete with the all time greatest name in sports is the young man with the presumptious name God Shammgod. Actually, he is God Shammgod Jr.--his father somehow managed to navigate through life with the same name. This young man, teased about his name, usually silenced his critics on the basketball court. Mr. Shammgod's mother, observing that he was mercilessly teased about his name as a child, enrolled him in kindergarten with her surname, and he was called Shammgod Wells through high school.

When he arrived in college, he was told he had to use his real name or legally change it, which would cost $600.00. He didn't have the $600.00, so Shammgod Wells became God Shammgod again. I'm sure baseballer Jesus Alou would understand.

An extremely quick point guard, Mr. Shammgod starred in high school basketball at LaSalle Academy in New York City where his teammate was future NBA star Ron Artest. In the NBA, Artest was called the Chairman because he was suspended for throwing a chair at a fan, but that's a subject for another day. In his senior year, Shammgod was selected to the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team where he played for the East team in the annual all-star game and scored 9 points.

With a name like God, the logical college to attend was Providence College in Rhode Island. It was a school God would go to if He could afford it. Well, in this case he got a scholarship, and he starred there on the basketball court for 2 seasons. In his first season, he set the Big East Conference freshman assist record. In his Sophomore season, he teamed up with current NBA player Austin Croshere, leading the Friars to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship Tournament where they lost to eventual champion Arizona in overtime. In that game Shammgod, matched up against current NBA player Mike Bibby, scored 23 points. In one memorable moment, Shammgod faked Bibby out of his shorts on a crossover dribble and drove to the basket (where he missed the layup).

And that was the knock against Shammgod--he was a great ball handler, but even Divine Providence couldn't improve his shooting ability. He left school early to chase the big bucks in the NBA, but he was chosen in the draft by the Washington Wizards as the 17th player in the second round. He played for the minimum NBA salary (how can anyone live on only $250,000 per year?), and played in only 20 games, averaging 3.1 points per game. The Wizards couldn't win with God or without him.

He was waived by the Wizards and began an international odyssey playing professionally in Poland, Saudi Arabia and several teams in the Chinese Basketball Association including Zhejian Cyclones and Shanxi Yujun. See if your Mapquest can locate those places. Of course, in those countries, they don't speak English, so they assume his name is a normal American name. Currently, he plays for the Portland Chinooks of the International Basketball League, and at age 32, his hopes of returning to the NBA are not good.

But at least, if he doesn't like his name, he can now afford to change it.

KENNETH SUSKIN

YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A CHAMINADE: COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S BIGGEST UPSET

Sports fans always applaud upsets, and there have been many in history, starting when David defeated Goliath. God sometimes performs miracles: The hapless NY Mets winning the 1969 World Series. The NY Jets led by Joe Namath winning the Super Bowl. Appalachian State defeating Michigan last year in football. Mike Tyson being knocked out by Buster Douglas (Buster Douglas!). Even Triple Crown hopeful Smarty Jones losing to the longshot Birdstone in the Belmont.

Incidentally, the term "Upset" was derived from the name of a horse. In 1919, the great racehorse Man O' War went undefeated through its entire racing career except for one race in which it ran second to a horse called Upset. The name of that horse entered our vocabulary to define an improbable winner against great odds.

The greatest upset in college basketball history occurred on Dec. 23, 1982, before a crowd of 3,500, when the unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Virginia Cavaliers traveled to Honolulu to face the obscure Chaminade University, a tiny school of 800 students that shared its campus with a high school. Their team nickname was the Silverswords, named after a Hawaiian flowering plant. The school was named after Father William Joseph Chaminade, a French priest who ministered to the people during the worst days of the French Revolution at great risk to himself. The school had planned to change its name to Honolulu University, but shelved that plan after the Virginia game.

Virginia was led by star player Ralph Sampson, a 3 time College Player of the Year. He was 7'4" tall, very quick and agile and a good shooter. They also had 2 other players who went on to play in the NBA. They had been to the Final Four in 1981.

Earlier in the season, they had already beaten two Top 5 teams, plus they beat Duke by 13 points at Duke. They defeated perennial basketball power Georgetown, who had lost to North Carolina and Michael Jordan in the previous year's championship game. Georgetown featured All American Patrick Ewing, who is now in the Basketball Hall of Fame. In another game against Houston, which Sampson missed because of illness, the Cavaliers easily won anyway. Houston went to the NCAA Championship game later that season, losing at the final buzzer to North Carolina State. Houston featured All Americans Akeem Olujawon and Clyde Drexler, both now in the Hall of Fame. Olujawon was the first player drafted in the 1984 NBA draft, ahead of the Chicago Bulls's 3rd pick, a player named Michael Jordan.

To say that Virginia was an imposing team was an understatement. And Chaminade, an NAIA school and little known to basketball fans had gone 28-3 the previous season and ranked No. 4 among small colleges. One of their losses that year was to Virginia, 75-59. Leading up to this Virginia game, Chaminade was coming off a 64-61 loss to Wayland Baptist, two nights earlier. Wayland Baptist, out of Amarillo, Texas, also beat the No. 2 ranked small college team, Oklahoma Christian that season but finished with a losing record, 13-20. Certainly, Wayland Baptist couldn't be considered in the same league with Georgetown, Houston or Duke when it came to basketball.

Beating the likes of Hawaii-Hilo and Pacific Lutheran is not like playing in the big leagues or major college ball. College teams just don't beat the NY Yankees. To paraphrase the late sportswriter Damon Runyon, "The race doesn't always go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet."

On paper, Chaminade had nobody who could match up against Sampson. Their center was Tony Randolph, who at 6'7", was 9 inches shorter than Sampson. But ironically, Randolph grew up in Virginia where he had played high school ball and pick-up games against Sampson on several occasions. Randolph had even dated Sampson's sister. He was a tough kid whose parents died when he was young, who played at Panhandle State in Oklahoma after high school, but transferred to Chaminade to be near his brother who lived in Hawaii. After the game, he was given the nickname "Miracle Man."

Randolph knew Sampson's moves, and in the game was all over him like a cheap suit. When Chaminade had the ball, Randolph attempted to draw Sampson outside to guard against his long range jump shots. Randolph, mostly unguarded outside, his 9 of 12 from the field that night and scored 19 points. When Virginia had the ball, the fearless Randolph leaned on Sampson to keep him out of dunking range. Every time the Cavalier star touched the ball, he attracted more traffic than the freeway in rush hour. He dutifully passed the ball off, but the Virginia guards kept missing their outside shots.

Chaminade Coach Merv Lopes's coaching salary was $2,000 that season as a part time coach with a $24 recruiting budget (for postage?). He emphasized team play, with his players helping out each other on defense, moving the ball around and running set plays. In the first half, the Chaminade players quickly got over their stage fright and played even with the much larger Virginia Cavaliers. At half-time, the score was tied at 43. In the second half, the lead see-sawed, and neither team could get ahead by more than 7 points. Chaminade stayed close and took a 64-62 lead on an alley-oop pass from reserve Mark Rodriguez to the 5'10" Tim Dunham with Sampson in the vicinity. The teams traded baskets, and with 90 seconds to go, the Silverswords took a 70-68 lead on a basket by Randolph. Then they went into a stall to run out the clock, and the Cavaliers were forced to foul the smaller Chaminade players. Fortunately for the Silverswords, they were able to knock down their free throws to clinch a 77-72 victory. They were out-rebounded by Virginia 55-31, but only the final score counts.

To quote Chaminade player Richard Haenisch, "In the second half the crowd sounded like 35,000. You could hear them saying, 'Oh my God, they can beat these guys.' They rushed on the court and I sat on the rims. It was a great feeling."

The news of the upset hit the Associated Press wires about 2 A.M. on the East Coast, and the sportcasters on duty at that time were incredulous. The late Tom Mees, at the end of his shift on ESPN's SportsCenter, at first refused to read the news story, thinking it was a hoax. He had never heard of Chaminade, and he called Honolulu to check out the story. Several newspapers called in to ask which Virginia had lost, thinking it was Virginia Tech or Virginia Union. Others asked if Ralph Sampson had played in the game. (He did, scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.)

From time to time, Sampson, who now works with youngsters in Atlanta, gets asked about the game. He is understandably reluctant to talk about it. Essentially, he says that the Virginia players played their hearts out in Japan several days before and that when they arrived in Honolulu, they were thinking about relaxing on the beach rather than getting ready for a game.

Neither team won a championship that year. Virginia reached the Elite Eight, and lost to the eventual upset champion North Carolina State. Chaminade was eliminated by South Carolina-Spartanburg in the NAIA tournament and finished the season with a fine 33-5 record. The following season, the Silverswords still had some magic left--they defeated major college power Louisville. But the laws of probability soon caught up with the team and they haven't beaten any major teams in recent years.

KENNETH SUSKIN
5/20/08

THE WASHINGTON GENERALS AND THE LONGEST LOSING STREAK IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL

The dubious distinction of the longest losing streak in basketball history goes to the infamous Washington Generals, who, after 2499 consecutive defeats finally beat the Harlem Globetrotters on January 5, 1971 in a game at Martin, Tennessee. Children in the crowd cried after the Globetrotters' loss--it was like killing Santa Claus. The final score was 100-99 on a shot by 50 year old point guard Red Klotz with 3 seconds left. The timekeeper tried to stop or slow down the clock to allow Meadowlark Lemon to make the final shot but he missed the shot. The victorious Generals celebrated the win by dousing themselves with orange soda instead of champagne (alcohol was not allowed in the venue). The Generals have not won since that brief taste of victory, losing over 10,000 games in a row. In fact, in their entire history, going back to 1953, they won only 6 games, while losing over 13,000.

They have lost games in front of presidents, kings, queens, popes, dictators, Russian premier Khrushchev, Chinese premier Deng Hsiao Ping, and assorted other bigwigs. They've lost in over 100 countries on every continent and thousands of cities across North America. They've even lost on aircraft carriers.

The Washington Generals have become a household name, synonymous with losing. The media often compares them to other notable losers ranging from the Chicago Cubs to perennial presidential candidate Harold Stassen, to the French Army. Think about Charlie Brown attempting to kick the football while Lucy pulls the ball away for the ten thousandth time. In a Simpsons episode, Krusty the Clown bet $5,000 against the Globetrotters, telling his advisors, "I thought the Generals were due!"

I'm hesitant to describe them as the worst team in history because the players have to have talent to be competitive and do what they do. The team recruits decent players from Division II and Division III colleges, mostly Caucasian but some Black players also, who are willing to make good money to be straight men to the clowning antics of the Harlem Globetrotters. The players are generally not good enough to play serious professional basketball, but they can play for many years in show business. Current coach Reggie Harrison hasn't won a game in his career, but doesn't worry about irate fans or sportswriters trying to get him fired. In his pregame peptalk, Harrison says, "This is the night the coyote is going to catch the roadrunner."

In every game, the teams play normal, serious basketball for the first half and the Globetrotters do their stunts in the second half. In most games, the score is kept fairly close--most games are decided by 10 points or less.

The team is the alter ego of Louis "Red" Klotz, born in 1921, and now about 87 years old, and needless to say, retired as an active player and coach. Klotz was an outstanding player in Philadelphia, leading his high school team to city championships in 1939 and 1940, and earning Philadelphia Player of the Year honors both seasons. He was only 5'7", but then height was not a major factor in basketball at that time. He played at Villanova University and served in World War II. After the War, he played one season for the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA.

He also played for the Philadelphia Sphas of the American Basketball League (ABL). The mostly Jewish team got its name from the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association which supplied the uniforms. The Sphas, an elite team during the first half of the
20th Century, defeated the Harlem Globetrotters in Klotz's first game against them. In the 1930's and 1940's, professional basketball was dominated by short Jewish guys named Red--Red Klotz, Red Holzman, Red Auerbach--who could shoot the two handed set shot. It's not known whether football legend Red Grange was Jewish.

Klotz later bought the team and changed the name to the Washington Generals. In 1953Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters was seeking a team to barnstorm with, and invited Klotz to have his team play them on a regular basis.

Over the years, the Generals changed their name from time to time to give the appearance of more teams. Other names associated with the team were the Boston Shamrocks, Atlantic City Seagulls, Baltimore Rockets and New Jersey Reds, and most recently, the New York Nationals. The uniforms were different but the players were the same. The team remains a separate organization from the Harlem Globetrotters.

Klotz claims the games are "real" and "competitive" contests and his team tries to win every game. To quote Klotz, "like Fred Astaire had Ginger Rogers, the Harlem Globetrotters have always had a dance partner, but I've always been dancing backwards."

The Generals' players have to maintain a certain skill level to make the exhibitions work. They must work with perfect timing during the Globetrotters signature moves to ensure the gags are executed properly. By the time the player has had his shorts pulled down, or the ball bounced through his legs or off his head for the 10,000th time, he obviously has the timing down perfectly. Every game the Generals flail away attempting to get the ball as the Globetrotters play keep away to the tune of Sweet Georgia Brown. They have to be just good enough to make the games look competitive or they'll lost the audience.

Until Congress investigates whether the games are fixed, you probably won't lose money if you bet against the Washington Generals.

KENNETH SUSKIN

UNUSUAL SPORTS LEGENDS--BEVO FRANCIS

One of the greatest sports legends of the 1950's was a tall (6'9"), gangly basketball player named Bevo Francis who dazzled the sports world by scoring 116 points in one game, while playing for tiny Rio (pronounced RYE-o) Grande College in Wellesville, Ohio, in the foothills of the Appalachians. Towering above most of the players of that era, Francis could shoot the ball from inside or outside from what is now considered 3-point range. For the 1952-53 season, he averaged over 50 points per game, although the NAIA didn't recognize some of the games as "official" because they were played against junior colleges, military bases and bible seminaries. So, according to the NAIA, his official scoring average was only 48.3 points per game, which is still the record.

From today's perspective, one rarely sees one-man teams anymore, and certainly not winning teams, although this year's Cleveland Cavaliers, starring LeBron James, may be a limited exception.

One could rightfully wonder how Mr. Francis ended up at a college like Rio Grande which had just 94 students, of which 56 were girls. The season before Mr. Francis arrived on campus, the team won 4 and lost 19. Mr. Francis was recruited by major colleges, but stood by his small town high school coach who took the job at Rio Grande.

The college gym had no showers (the players ran across to the dorm), a leaky roof and a tile floor, and it seated less than 200 on folding chairs. Bevo wasn't there for the social life; he got married during his sophomore year in high school, and his oldest child, Frank, was born the following year.

Bevo's real name was Clarence, but his father was called Bevo, named after a popular beer of which he was fond. Clarence was called Little Bevo, until he outgrew his father. He missed two school years because of anemia, but he was tall for his age, and he practiced incessantly on the local ball courts, developing an outstanding jump shot. He earned a reputation as a playground legend, and when he entered Wellesville High School, it was rumored that his parents were given a house to induce Bevo to enroll there. The superintendent believed that where there's smoke, there's fire, and ruled him ineligible for his freshman and sophomore years in high school. His coach, Newt Oliver, kept the faith, and finally got Bevo for his junior year, and he didn't disappoint. He averaged over 30 points per game and made the Ohio All-State team. He was ineligible his senior year because he turned age 20.

At that point, Coach Oliver moved on to coach the Rio Grande Redmen and brought his star player, Francis, who hadn't graduated from high school, with him. No problem. The coach enrolled him at the local high school to complete his missing credits. "Don't worry about passing English, you can speak English."

This scenario sounds like a bad Gabe Kaplan movie (see Fast Break, 1979) , but Coach Oliver was a promoter in the tradition of P.T. Barnum. He knew he had a prize in Bevo Francis, and assembled a weak schedule designed to showcase Francis' offensive talents. He raided the Athletic Dept. treasury for $25.00 to ensure that the NCAA would include Francis' scoring figures in the national weekly statistics.

Oliver was quoted as saying, "I knew that people wouldn't pay to see five players score 15 points each; I knew they would flock in to see one player score 50."

And that they did. On January 19, 1953, Francis scored 116 points against Ashland (KY) Junior College, which the NCAA didn't recognize because Ashland was not a four year college. The score of the game was 150-85. On January 24th, he scored 68 points against Mountain State Junior College in a 133-82 victory. That season, he also scored 76 against Lees College and 72 against California State, as the Redmen won all 39 games, blowing out cupcake opponents by big scores. The public loved it, and as the season wore on, reporters were swarming all over the campus. Francis scored 1954 points that season, and broke almost every offensive record in the book.

The following season, Coach Oliver got down to business scheduling bigger name opponents, all on the road, because big time basketball powers would never travel to such a podunk campus. He tried unsuccessfully to schedule Ohio State, and he still maintains that the Buckeyes were afraid to play them. He scheduled games against basketball powers such as Creighton (win), North Carolina State (loss), Providence (win), Villanova (loss), Wake Forest (win) and Arizona State (win) .

The Redmen got their big break in New York's Madison Square Garden against Adelphi before a crowd of 13,000, as Francis scored 28 points in the first half, but only 4 in the second half in a losing effort. Stage fright. The next night, Rio Grande dropped an overtime thriller to Villanova in Philadelphia 93-92, as Francis scored 39 points. But the Redman rebounded and beat Providence in the Boston Garden, as Francis lit up the Friars for 41 points. Then they beat Miami in Florida 98-88, as Francis scored 48. At the Christmas tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, they lost to NC State by 15, as Francis scored 34, but beat Wake Forest on a last second jump shot by you know who.

On February 2, 1954, in a 134-91 win over Hillsdale (MI) College, he hit the jackpot, scoring 113 points, despite being guarded by 2 or 3 players at a time. Not known for his passing ability, or finding the open man, Francis took 70 shots, making 38, along with 37 of 45 free throws. If they had the 3-point shot in those days, he might have scored 135.

Shortly after his sophomore season in which Rio Grande won 21 and lost 7, and Francis was voted to the All American Second Team, he was suspended from school for missing classes and midterm exams (they do that?). He signed a professional contract with the Harlem Globetrotters to play for the Boston Whirlwinds, the all-White patsy team that barnstormed with the Globetrotters, and lost every game because that was in the script. "We'd play two quarters and then be the clowns," Francis said, "It was a dog's life." But he made $12,000 per year which was a lot of money in those days.

He never played in the NBA, although drafted by Philadelphia. He found that he could make more money barnstorming, but eventually he gained weight, lost his shooting touch and competitiveness, and went to work in the steel mills, loading trucks for almost 20 years until the plant closed in 1982. Now retired, and 74 years old, he lives quietly with his wife, Jean, in Highlandtown, in Eastern Ohio, in the house they bought in 1954. He spends much time outdoors, hunting and camping.

People still remember Bevo Francis. NBA scouts described him as one of the greatest shooters of all time, from either inside or jump shooting from 20 feet. Many coaches and writers of the day were quoted as describing Francis as the greatest basketball player in history (pre-Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, etc.)--in a class with then superstar George Mikan of the Lakers. But he burned out as quickly as a shooting star. He is still remembered at Rio Grande University, which now has 2200 students. The university hosts a basketball tournament each year in honor of Bevo Francis and Coach Oliver.

KENNETH SUSKIN