Feb. 1, 2005
The University of Notre Dame official athletics site, www.und.com, continues its tribute today to the school’s celebration of 100 Season of Basketball. Spanning the entirety of the college basketball season, www.und.com, will update this section of the site every weekday 100 times in an effort to highlight Notre Dame’s 100th Basketball Season in 2004-05.
The updates will change between trivia questions, quick bios from Notre Dame’s all-century team, various “On this date in Notre Dame Basketball” elements and more.
Also available this season is the book 100 Seasons of Basketball, produced by the University of Notre Dame Sports Information Office and Notre Dame Sports Properties. The book is available exclusively through the Notre Dame Bookstore (call 800-647-4641 or to go www.ndcatalog.com).
#64 (Feb. 4, 2005)
Notre Dame Basketball Trivia
Which of these four players IS NOT in the top four all-time in career personal fouls committed at Notre Dame?
A. Tim Kempton
B. Bruce Flowers
C. Harold Swanagan
D. Ken Barlow
The answer is A. Tim Kempton, who committed 281 personal fouls from 1982-86, he ranks 12th on the all-time fouls list. Bruce Flowers (1975-79) is first on the list with 378, Ken Barlow (1982-86) is second with 331, Harold Swanagan (1998-02) is third with 325 and LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) is fourth with 317.
The single season leader in fouls committed is Keith Tower. In 1991-92, Tower was whistled 118 times in 33 games, an average of 3.58 fouls per contest.
Also – on this date in Notre Dame Basketball history –
Feb. 4, 1970 – A 135-88 drubbing of St. Peter’s sets a school record for most points scored in a game, one that remains. Austin Carr not only tallied 44 points, he also grabs a career-high 16 rebounds.
NEXT UPDATE:
#65 (Feb. 7, 2005)
Legend of the Hardwood – Paul Nowak
#63 (Feb. 3, 2005)
All-American Legacy
Notre Dame is second among all schools in the number of consensus All-America picks it has produced since the NCAA began making those selections in 1929. Kentucky leads with 20 picks, followed by the Irish with 19.
Notre Dame’s first consensus pick was Moose Krause in 1932 while the most recent have included Adrian Dantley in 1976 and Troy Murphy in 2000 and 2001.
The top 10 listing by school of consensus All-Americans:
School No. PlayersKentucky 20 15Notre Dame 19 10UCLA 18 12North Carolina 17 13Purdue 16 10Duke 15 12Indiana 14 11Kansas 14 10Ohio State 10 7Oklahoma 9 6Cincinnati 8 6LSU 8 4
#62 (Feb. 2, 2005)
Instant Classic: `Cats Tamed
On this date in 1948, #1 Kentucky visited Notre Dame’s venerable Fieldhouse, nicknamed “The Snake Pit” by opposing coaches.
Rupp’s 1948 team were basketball’s “Dream Team” because the NCAA Champion in that era was also the U.S.A.’s representative in the Olympics. Other than winning the eight-team NCAA Tournament that March, Kentucky won all eight contests at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. The victories were by an average of 33.5 points – which included a 65-21 rout of France in the gold medal game.
Just one year earlier, Rupp’s 1947 team handed Irish head coach Moose Krause his greatest defeat, 60-30, in Louisville. But Krause had a plan for the 1948 engagement.
Krause devised a high-post set in 1948 that Kentucky had not previously seen. Irish big men Leo Barnhorst and John Foley were aligned at the foul line to lure Wildcat stars Ralph Beard and Alex Groza away from the basket. This gave Notre Dame All-American Kevin O’Shea free room on the baseline and he finished with 25 points while fouling out two Wildcat players.
“Rupp said there was no way you can win at Notre Dame,” Krause said.
“He said the band was right behind him and he couldn’t hear the whistle blow and he couldn’t even talk to his players.”
Notre Dame defeated Rupp’s team 64-55 that day and the Fieldhouse truly became Rupp’s `House of Horrors.’ The legendary coach, who lost in the building in 1950, ended up 0-6 against the Irish in the Fieldhouse.
As a side note, NYU took over the #1 spot after the Irish upset Kentucky. Notre Dame visited Madison Square Garden on March 1 and took out its second #1 team in 28 days – defeating NYU 64-59. The Irish eventually finished the season 17-7, with five losses coming by four points or less. The University ban on postseason play in football and basketball kept the Irish from competing for the NCAA Championship that season.
#61 (Feb. 1, 2005)
Pipeline to the Pros – Part V
Notre Dame has sent a vast number of players into the ABA, BAA, NBL and NBA over the years. Here is a look at some of the Irish players that have appeared for professional teams (alphabetical by last name, S-Z).
John Shumate
Five NBA Seasons
Phoenix Suns (1975-76), Buffalo Braves (1976-77), Detroit Pistons (1977-78), Houston Rockets (1979-80), San Antonio Spurs (1979-80, 1980-81), Seattle Supersonics (1980-81)
Career Averages: 12.3 ppgs, 7.5 rpg
Tom Sluby
One NBA Season
Dallas Mavericks (1984-85)
George Sobek
Four NBL Seasons
Indianapolis Kautskys (1945-56), Toledo Jeeps (1946-47, 1947-48), Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948-49)
One NBA Season
Sheboygan Red Skins (1949-50)
Jack Stephens
One NBA Season
St. Louis Hawks (1955-56)
Marko Todorovich
Two NBL Seasons
Sheyboygan Red Skins (1947-48, 1948-49)
Two NBA Seasons
St. Louis Bombers, Tri-City Blackhawks (1949-50, 1950-51)
Keith Tower
Four NBA Seasons
Orlando Magic (1993-94, 1994-95), Los Angeles Clippers (1994-95, 1995-96), Milwaukee Bucks (1996-97)
Kelly Tripuka
10 NBA Seasons
Detroit Pistons (1981-82 through 1985-86), Utah Jazz (1986-87, 1987-88), Charlotte Hornets (1988-89, 1990-91)
Career Averages: 17.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 apg
Gary Voce
One NBA Season
Cleveland Cavaliers (1989-90)
Don Williams
One NBA Season
Utah Jazz (1979-80)
Monty Williams
Nine NBA Seasons
New York Knicks (1994-95, 1995-96), San Antonio Spurs (1995-96 through 1997-98), Denver Nuggets (1998-99), Orlando Magic (1999-2002), Philadelphia 76ers (2002)
Career Averages: 6.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Tom Wukovits
One NBL Season
Akron Firestones (1938-39)
Orlando Woolridge
13 NBA Seasons
Chicago Bulls (1981-82 through 1985-86), New Jersey Nets (1986-87, 1987-88), Los Angeles Lakers (1988-89, 1989-90), Denver Nuggets (1990-91), Detroit Pistons (1991-92), Milwaukee Bucks (1992-93), Philadelphia 76ers (1993-94)
Career Averages: 16.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Also – on this date in Notre Dame Basketball history:
Feb. 1, 1987 – Digger Phelps adds to his NCAA record of most victories against a #1 team (seven) with a 60-58 upset of North Carolina and Dean Smith, who is number two in conquests of #1 (five). Junior Gary Voce and David Rivers propel the comeback from a 17-point deficit.
#60 (Monday, Jan. 31, 2005)
Legend of the Hardwood – Troy Murphy
Perhaps no player has played a bigger part in Notre Dame Basketball’s resurgence on the national scene over the last eight years than Troy Murphy. He was a point of stability when the program was in transition – playing for three different coaches during his three seasons at Notre Dame.
With those three coaches, Murphy earned memorable honors each season. In 1998-99, he earned the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year award with John MacLeod. In 1999-2000, Matt Doherty helped Murphy followed up the rookie award with a Player of the Year trophy (the first BIG EAST player to accomplish the rookie – player award double dip in consecutive seasons) and become Notre Dame’s first consensus All-American in 25 years.
The NBA came calling after his great sophomore season, but Murphy was determined to take his team to the NCAA Tournament. He followed through with another great year in 2000-01, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament (ending an 11-year drought) and repeating his BIG EAST Player of the Year and All-America honors.
Able to score inside and outside, Murphy scored over 2,000 points and grabbed 900 rebounds with the Irish. He is the fifth-highest scorer and sixth-best rebounder in school history and ended with a 21.4 scoring average and 9.8 rebounding average. He was the 14th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2001 NBA draft and recently signed a lucrative extension with the team.
Also – Did you know?
Notre Dame’s victories over two ranked Connecticut teams yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 30) marked the first time the Irish men and women beat two ranked teams on the same day since Feb. 19, 2000. On that date, Matt Doherty’s Irish team beat #23/25 Seton Hall 76-74 in East Rutherford, N.J., and the fifth-ranked women’s team defeated #8/11 Rutgers 78-74 in overtime in New Jersey as well.
Previous 100 Years in 100 Days updates:
Week Eight (#50-#54) ND – UCLA ’74