History San Francisco Dons men's basketball

1 history

1.1 pete newell era
1.2 phil woolpert , russell era
1.3 1960s , 1970s dominance
1.4 ncaa violations , self imposed death penalty
1.5 reinstatement of dons basketball

history

basketball got start @ usf, known st. ignatius college, in 1910. original coach orno taylor, subsequent achievements lost history. scores had grown since 1895 writing florid ever. college annual reported entire team did nobly in season finished , student body unit them loyalty , devotion. results weren t bad either. st. ignatius team won 6 of 7 games, losing pacific (then located in san jose) mere 3 points. included in victories sweep of santa clara, still major rival, scores of 38–31 , 22–13.

pete newell era

after serving in united states navy 1942 1946, pete newell appointed head men s basketball coach @ university of san francisco in 1946. during four-year tenure @ usf, newell compiled 70–37 record , coached dons 1949 national invitation tournament (nit) championship, beating alma mater, loyola. (at time, nit prestigious ncaa tournament.) team of all-american don lofgran, joe mcnamee, captain john benington, ross giudice, frank kuzara , baby-faced guard named rene herrerias thought team s ball boy. new york s madison square garden crowds notoriously tough please. lofgran, herrerias , company had them cheering in aisles. in 1950, accepted appointment head coach @ michigan state university, stayed until 1954. later led university of california 1959 ncaa men s basketball championship, , year later coached gold medal-winning u.s. team @ 1960 summer olympics. after coaching career ended ran world-famous instructional basketball camp , served consultant , scout several national basketball association (nba) teams. considered 1 of influential figures in history of basketball.

phil woolpert , russell era

newell left michigan state in 1950, , usf hired phil woolpert successor. assumed both posts of men s basketball coach , athletic director.

during tenure @ usf, woolpert posted 153–78 record, including 60-game win streak @ time longest in college basketball (surpassed later john wooden s 88 straight wins @ ucla.). teams, anchored bill russell, k.c. jones, eugene brown , mike farmer, known defense , held opponents below 60 points on 47 different occasions. usf won national championship in 1955 , 1956, , finished third in 1957. @ time youngest college basketball coach win national championship, woolpert won coach of year honors in 1955 , 1956.

bill russell ignored major college scouts, largely because didn t start @ mcclymonds high school in oakland. did not receive single letter of interest until hal dejulio usf watched him in high school game. dejulio not impressed russell s meager scoring , atrocious fundamentals , sensed young center had extraordinary instinct game, in clutch situations. when dejulio offered russell scholarship, latter eagerly accepted. sports journalist john taylor described watershed in russell s life, because russell realized basketball 1 chance escape poverty , racism; consequence, russell swore make best of it.

the 1956 team won ncaa championship. bill russell (centre) holding ball.

at usf, russell became new starting center. woolpert emphasized defense , deliberate half-court play, concepts favored defensive standout russell. woolpert unaffected issues of skin color. in 1954, became first coach of major college basketball squad start 3 african american players: russell, k.c. jones , hal perry. in usf years, russell used relative lack of bulk develop unique style of defense: instead of purely guarding opposing center, used quickness , speed play defense against opposing forwards , aggressively challenge shots. combining stature , shot-blocking skills of center foot speed of guard, russell became centerpiece of usf team became force in college basketball. after usf kept holy cross star tom heinsohn scoreless in entire half, sports illustrated wrote, if [russell] ever learns hit basket, re going have rewrite rules.

however, games difficult usf squad. russell , african american teammates became targets of racist jeers, particularly on road. in 1 notable incident, hotels in oklahoma city refused admit russell , black teammates while in town 1954 all-college tournament. in protest, whole team decided camp out in closed college dorm, later called important bonding experience group. decades later, russell explained experiences hardened him against abuse of kinds. never permitted myself victim, said.

on hardwood, experiences far more pleasant. russell led usf ncaa championships in 1955 , 1956, including string of 55 consecutive victories. became known strong defense , shot-blocking skills, once denying 13 shots in game. ucla coach john wooden called russell greatest defensive man ve ever seen . during college career, russell averaged 20.7 points per game , 20.3 rebounds per game. besides basketball, russell represented usf in track , field events. competed in 440 yards (400 m) race, complete in 49.6 seconds. participated in high jump; track & field news ranked him seventh-best high jumper in world in 1956. year, russell won high jump titles @ central california aau meet, pacific aau meet, , west coast relays. 1 of highest jumps occurred @ west coast relays, achieved mark of 6 feet 9 ⁄4 inches (2.064 m).

after years @ usf, harlem globetrotters invited russell join exhibition basketball squad. russell, sensitive racial prejudice, enraged fact owner abe saperstein discuss matter woolpert. while saperstein spoke woolpert in meeting, globetrotters assistant coach harry hanna tried entertain russell jokes. usf center livid after snub , declined offer: reasoned if saperstein smart speak him, smart play saperstein. instead, russell made himself eligible 1956 nba draft.

woolpert stayed @ usf 9 years. during tenure, known building national powers exclusively on bay area talent; athletic department had virtually no recruiting budget , had little offer out-of-state players.

1960s , 1970s dominance

the dons remained powerhouse several years after 1950s run. team added 4 more elite 8 appearances resume: 1964, 1965, 1973, , 1974.

usf retained status basketball powerhouse 1970s , 1980s under bob gaillard , dan belluomini, holding distinction of being major program in mid-major conference (the wcc s stature declined in 1960s). although john wooden , ucla bruins had eclipsed san francisco premier west coast power, dons remained elite program 1980s. held number 1 spot in polls on numerous occasions , 6 consecutive conference titles 1977–82, , 2 wcc regular-season titles 1972 1982. in 1977, led all-american center bill cartwright, dons started season 26-0 , regarded #1 team in nation in both major polls. sports illustrated highlighted 1977 team cover story titled dandy dons.

ncaa violations , self imposed death penalty


—john lo schiavo

the dons remained elite program 1980s, perennially ranked in top 20, , had captured 6 consecutive conference titles 1977–82. however, san francisco s success on court came @ price. ncaa placed dons on probation 2 times in late 1970s booster/alumni interference program , recruiting improprieties coaches. each ncaa investigation led dismissal of san francisco head coach, leading san francisco chronicle sportswriter glenn dickey call program totally out of control. in light of these , other revelations, school president rev. john lo schiavo, lifelong basketball enthusiast , all-city power forward in youth, let known after second ncaa case resolved in 1980 shut down high-profile program if there further incident.

despite lo schiavo s warning, improprieties continued. exclusive invite-only booster organization called dons century club committed hundreds of thousands of dollars illegal recruitment of players, paying off family members, , covering travel expenses, while other alumni giving or lending players large sums of money, paying them no-show jobs, providing lavish gifts, picking pricy restaurant , entertainment tabs. basketball players continued receive special academic treatment; many marginal students @ best, , @ least 1 incident occurred in player threatened student, , incident swept under rug school officials. commonplace tutors take tests , write papers players. situation came head in december 1981, when all-american guard quintin dailey found guilty of assaulting female student. during subsequent investigation, dailey admitted taking no-show job $1,000 month @ business owned prominent usf booster, while booster had paid dailey $5,000 since 1980.

true word, on july 29, 1982, lo schiavo announced shutting down basketball program—the first time division university had voluntarily shut down major sport under such circumstances. lo schiavo said dons program once source of inspiration, respect , pride university , city. however, recent scandals had resulted in usf being perceived being hypocritical or naïve or inept or duplicitous, or perhaps combination of those. under circumstances, lo schiavo felt responsible course shutter program. in prepared statement, lo schiavo later said, hope 1 day may possible restore men s intercollegiate basketball team. possibility depend upon whether responsible university convinced factors destroyed program not going beset again.

his decision made international headlines, degree while visiting san francisco, queen elizabeth ii pulled lo schiavo aside ask when reinstate basketball program. drastic was, move applauded several members of coaching fraternity.

san francisco reinstated men s basketball in 1985, without overzealous booster club, dons century club. in place green , gold club, group of boosters under direct control of athletic department.

reinstatement of dons basketball

lo schiavo resurrected program in 1985 former star jim brovelli coach, returned program respectability. not able reach postseason play, however, , resigned in 1995. 3 years later usf went 1998 ncaa tournament under phil mathews , had 2005 nit berth under former coach jessie evans.

the program regressed next few years, , jessie evans granted request leave of absence on december 27, 2007. legendary basketball coach eddie sutton took on over interim basis, needing 2 wins personal milestone of 800 career coaching victories. @ time, bob knight other division men s coach have accomplished feat. after months of speculation, evans officially fired usf on march 20, 2008. national coaching search launched included four-man committee of chuck smith, vice chair of usf board of trustees , former president , ceo of at&t west, former player , coach jim brovelli; walt gmelch, dean of usf school of education, , mario prietto, rector of usf jesuit community , member of usf board of trustees.

on march 29, 2008, usf hired executive search consultant company, dhr international spearhead efforts in hiring next dons head coach. among possible candidates named, former ucla bruins head coach steve lavin, former usf all-american , current new jersey nets assistant coach bill cartwright, former nba player , current golden state warriors shooting coach sidney moncrief, cal bears assistant head coach louis reynaud, former golden state warriors , sacramento kings head coach eric musselman, , former kansas jayhawks all-american , fau head coach rex walters.

rex walters named dons head coach on april 14, 2008. in 2010, usf dons won on 20 games , went quarterfinals of postseason cit tournament. walters relieved of duties on march 9, 2016, , replaced kyle smith.

the dons have never approached prominence enjoyed 1940s 1980s, in part because lo schiavo increased admissions standards student-athletes. in 2011 interview, lo schiavo reiterated never questioned decision, noting 1 trustee voted in favor of shuttering program in 1985 because had make point mean , intended citizens.