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Name That Team | March 22, 2010
By Paul Gotham
****All right gang, let’s see who can do this WITHOUT research. Let these numbers sink in for a bit. Take the time to show us your thought process as we try to figure out this one.
This team will make its 16th Sweet Sixteen appearance later this week. In the last 20 years though, this team has only won one game in The Dance. This school has three Final Four appearances in its history – all occurring before 1960. In the 70s, this school made three Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 appearances. The 09-10 version of this team knows a thing or two about charity. They have made 1,055 trips to the free throw line. Their opponent in the Regional semis has taken just 821 free throws. Getting to the line requires taking the ball to the basket. This team is also not bashful from behind the three-point arc. They have taken 669 three-balls this year. Their opponents have shot 572. Over the weekend, this team hit 18 of 45 from behind the arc. For the year, they have hit just under 36 percent from long range. They also have a rebound margin of +5.2.
Name that team.
10 Responses to “Name That Team | March 22, 2010”
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As I look down the list, there are several possibilities, but I am opting for W Va. Back in the 50s Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley made them regulars in the Final Four. BTW, Jerry West is the player profile that graces the NBA logo, and if you ever saw him play you realize that even with the fact that it is merely a silhouette.
Good job, Pete … WVU is a solid pick. Of all the other teams, I think maybe only Kansas State has this type of solid winning tradition and history “back in the day”. Plus they haven’t really done much in the past 20-30 years … except for the MItch Richmond team. I was also thinking maybe Purdue, but they’ve had more recent success with Big Dog, etc. So if it’s not WVU, I’m going with K-State.
Interesting side note if it is W Va. Their coach was until recently the coach of the team that provided W Va some of its best competition. Cincinnati of the late 50s was led by The Big O and was one of W Va’s toughest opponents when they matched up. W Va and West also had good competition from Seattle (believe it or not) with Elgin Baylor. Hundley’s competition in the mid 50s came from Bradley and LaSalle (Tom Gola). It was amazing that Cincy did not win it’s national titles until AFTER Robertson left, especially when you consider that the Big O AVERAGED a triple double in either his first or second year of pro ball. You know, that was (in my mind) the Golden Age of college basketball. In the early 60s Jerry Harkness led Loyola of Chicago to the national title over Cincy. Then Cincy won 2 years consecutively over Ohio St with Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek and a reserve named Bob Knight. Cincy won with Ron Bonham and Paul Hogue. Who ever heard of them again? Back then the MVC was one of the premier conferences in the NCAA, not a surprise/upset entry in the Sweet Sixteen a la N Iowa. Teams like Wichita St, Bradley and Drake were among the elite in the country. Oh well, no living in the past, is there.
BTW, please feel free to correct any faults in my memory, for the above entry is strictly from my mind, no research involved. It’s funny how time alters memory.
Wally, one reason I rule out Purdue is that they were part of the Final Four in the 70s or 80s that had 3 Big 10 teams in it. They had some great teams with Rick Mount in the 60s-70s, and as you noted with Big Dog. K-State always surprises me when I learn about their long and successful athletic tradition. I tend to overlook them when I shouldn’t. Still, all in all, I feel good about the W Va pick.
Purdue didn’t make the Final Four with Robinson. Grant Hill made Alpo out of the Big Dog.
Some of those great Purdue teams in the 70′s included Joe Barry Carroll … an unstoppable 7 footer in the middle. (I remember watching them on the Farm Bureau Network). Gene Keady, their long-time legendary coach, was a obviously a role model to today’s Frank Martin (K-state). Both of them are in the “Great Scowls Hall of Fame” ! Of course, Keady is also an original inductee, along with Lou Henson (Illinois), in the “Bad Comb-Over Hall of Fame”. Hah! Gotta love the “Lou Do”!
I still think it might be K-State … so without research, I’ll go into Jame Joyce mode: With Clemente and Pullem, two GREAT quick guards who can both penetrate and shoot it from far, they’ve made a lot of 3′s and free throws in this tournament. They are tough-minded like their coach and pretty resilient in the paint, so a pretty good rebound margin. Before Mitch Richmond, they had a slick swingman named Rolando Blackman who had a pretty good NBA career. He was on some of those really good 70′s teams coached by KSU legend Jack Hartman. I never woulda noticed these KSU teams as a ute unless they were a) good and b) in Sports Illustrated. So I’m gonna stick with K-State as the mystery team. I don’t remember WVU doing that well in the NCAA tournament in the ’70′s which was well after Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley. It’s not Purdue … they made the F4 with Joe Barry Carroll. K-State it is!!
Wally!!!!!!
I want you to go to wordpress.com, enter your username and password. Go into your account to the profile and change your gravatar to a picture of James Joyce. The one with the fedora would work well.
You da man!
Yes, it was K State. Jack Hartman led K State to seven tournament appearances – an Elite Eight appearance in 72 (lost to Louisville), 73 (lost to Memphis), and 75 (lost to Syracuse). K State went to the Sweet 16 in 77 and 82 under Hartman. They also reached the Elite 8 in 81 (lost to Carolina).
Tex Winter guided Kansas State to six tournament appearances between 56-68.
This year’s version gets to the line. 1,055 trips to the free throw line is “unofficially” the most in the country. I can’t find a place that ranks the number of trips to the line. I heard it mentioned twice this weekend that they lead the country. I can’t find another team with more. Add to that Pullen hitting long range bombs and Xavier will have their hands full Thursday.
It’s strange what you remember as a kid. I read every issue of SI from cover to cover over 5-6 years. I thought Rolando Blackman was “cool”, along with those purple KSU uni’s.
Clemente and Pullen are too quick to guard, so everyone’s fouling them. Speed kills!
I give you permission to switch me over to JJ on the gravatar. Every time I’ve tried that in the past, I’ve screwed it up. I just tried it, and it’s not working for me. Go ahead.