Top 5 College Opponents
JIM NELSON is the retired Emeritus Director of Athletics at Suffolk University in Boston Massachusetts. Nelson retired as Director of Athletics and former head men’s basketball coach in August 2013 after 47 years representing the University at the local Boston, regional New England and National Collegiate Athletic Association levels. As a faculty member he taught a course for 40 years on the History of Sport and the Olympic Games while traveling to Athens, Greece in 2004 and Beijing, China in 2008 for those historic Olympic Games. He has been elected to four Hall of Fames: the first in 1999 to his high school alma mater North Cambridge Catholic High School where he averaged as a senior 30.3 ppg and in 2005 he was also chosen Alumnus of the Year. Secondly the New England Basketball Hall of Fame has honored him on four separate occasions: as a (1) CONTRIBUTER; (2) as a PLAYER on the 1961 New England Prep School Class A Huntington Prep championship team where he scored 30 points in defeating the Dee Rowe coached defending champions Worcester Academy and receiving Most Valuable Player honors; (3) in 2013 an ICON; and (4) in 2019 as a LEGEND. In 2007 Suffolk University inducted him into their inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2015 the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) inducted him into their Hall of Fame. He was National Chairman for Division III NCAA Men’s Basketball in 1995 and 1996 and had attended 47 consecutive Division I Final Fours until the Covid-19 pandemic canceled the event in 2020. He remains active in the sport of basketball as a current member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III Congress and as a member of the Selection Committee for the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame.
The following is a list of my top five college opponents while playing basketball at Boston College between the years 1962 and 1965…three years when freshman where not eligible to play varsity basketball. Freshman in 1972 in basketball and football regained their edibility for the first time since the Korean War years 1951–1952. This listing is by play date and not by my selection of who was the best player.
(1) Rick Barry: Richard Francis Dennis Barry III: December 4, 1962, University of Miami 72 Boston College 69 played at Roberts Center on the campus of Boston College
(2) Keith Erickson: December 19, 1964, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) 115 Boston College 95 played at the 3rd annual Milwaukee Classic
(3) Gail Goodrich: Gail Charles Goodrich Jr. December 19, 1964, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) 115 Boston College 95 played at the 3rd annual Milwaukee Classic
(4) Wayne Estes: Wayne Vernon Estes December 30, 1964, Boston College 120 Utah State University 118 overtime played at the 1st Rainbow Classic Honolulu, Hawaii
(5) Jimmy Walker: James Walker January 6, 1965, Providence College 89 Boston College 79 played at Roberts Center Boston College
RICK BARRY: Born March 28, 1944, in Elizabeth New Jersey. Rick starred at Roselle Park High School in Roselle Park New Jersey as a two sport, basketball and baseball All State Player. By his own admission he chose the University of Miami to play his collegiate basketball because of the weather and the free style of play of its head coach, Bruce Hale who in his own right starred in professional basketball decades before. Coach Hale later became Barry’s father-in-law when Rick married his first wife Pamela. Rick chose #24 as his number in honor of baseball’s New York Giants Willie Mays whom Rick idolized while growing up in New Jersey.
The December 4, 1962, game at Boston College’s Roberts Center was Rick’s second varsity game after an opening season victory over the University of Florida 91–87. Just the up-tempo style he wanted coming out of high school. It was my first varsity contest. Although Rick was heralded as one of the country’s top sophomore players after averaging 28.8 points per game for the Miami freshman team the year before the player that stood out above all was 7-foot Mike McCoy the first seven-footer I and my teammates came across in college ball. Keep in mind that Wilt was coming to the Boston Garden to play the Celtics and had averaged 50 points a game for the Philadelphia Warriors the previous season with a 100 game against the Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 3, 1962. Although the 6'7" Barry went on to average 19.0 ppg that sophomore season he was held in check that night by the stellar play of BC’s 6'4" captain Gerry Ward who at the end of that season became the first-round draft choice of the St. Louis Hawks and number #5 overall. Gerry later in his professional career while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors with Wilt became close friends with Chamberlain who attended Gerry’s wedding. Gerry also played for the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
On that December trip for the University of Miami team they also were victorious in defeating two other New England teams: the University of Rhode Island 88–80 and Providence College 82–75. Providence with an overall record of 24–4 that 1962–1963 season went on to win the National Invitation Tournament capturing their second NIT championship in three years with a convincing win over Canisius College 81–66. Leading scorers for the Friars that season were 6'10" John Thompson with an 18.9 ppg average and Ray Flynn of South Boston also with an 18.9 average. Their playmaking wizard was 5'8" Vin Ernst who was NIT MVP two years earlier when Providence defeated St. Louis University in the final 62–49. Thompson went on to a Hall of Fame career as the head coach at Georgetown University winning an NCAA title in 1984. Ray Flynn, a lifelong friend and summer shooting partner, was elected mayor of the City of Boston and served as mayor from 1984 to 1994 and next was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the United States Ambassador to The Vatican. Providence and Ray Flynn that 1962–1963 season avenged their earlier regular season loss to Rick Barry by defeating the Hurricanes in the quarterfinal round of the NIT 106–96 with Ray going for 38 and being named tournament Most Valuable Player.
Rick’s three University of Miami teams had great records of 23–5, 20–7 and 22–4 with his scoring averages of sophomore 19.0, junior 32.2 and 37.4 his senior year to lead the nation in scoring. Rick is the only player to lead the NCAA, NBA and ABA in scoring. He was inducted into the University of Miami Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976.
Barry was the second player chosen in the 1965 draft behind Davidson’s Fred Hetzel. This was the last year of the NBA’s territorial draft that allowed teams to select a player from a college within 50 territorial miles of their location. Three players were chosen before the regular draft: Bill Buntin of the University of Michigan by the Detroit Pistons, Gail Goodrich of UCLA by the Los Angeles Lakers and Bill Bradley of Princeton University by the New York Knickerbockers (Bradley delayed his professional career by one year traveling to England as a Rhodes Scholar)
There were 9 NBA teams that year and 17 rounds of player selection in that draft. An interesting name selection in the 6th round by the St. Louis Hawks was a player named John Rambo from California State Long Beach. Not so certain if this is where Sylvester Stallone got this Hollywood legends movie name.
In 1966 Rick was the NBA Rookie of the year and the next year his second in the league he led the NBA in scoring with the San Francisco Warriors with a 35.6 points per game average ending a string of seven consecutive scoring championships by Wilt Chamberlain.
Rick played for seven different teams during his NBA and ABA professional career: the San Francisco Warriors, Oakland Oaks (when he became the first major NBA star to jump to the rival American Basketball Association), Washington Caps, Virginia Squires, New York Nets, Golden State Warriors and ended his career with the Houston Rockets.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1987 and named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1996 when the NBA celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Barry also stands out for not just that he is one of basketballs greatest free throw shooters with a career average of 89.3 but because of his free throw style…the underhanded shot. He recalls starting it in high school when he was just an average free throw shooter and achieving great future success with this now unorthodox technique. With that career free throw average of ,8931 Barry is seventh all time with current NBA star Stephen Curry at .9071 first and retired Steve Nash second at .9043. In Barry’s last season of professional play as a member of the Houston Rockets, he had a season high of .9470. The current NBA season high for free throw percentage occurred in the 2008–2009 season when Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors made 151 of 154 in 68 games for a .9805 average.
Rick has by some, and maybe undeserved, been referred to as aloof. Not unusual with the demands often placed on current and former greats in our sports universe. I played upon this notion a number of years ago as Chairman of NCAA Division III Basketball with the Finals being hosted in Salem, Virginia. It was my responsibility to introduce the guest speaker at the banquet for the four competing teams who happened to be Rick Barry. When it came time to introduce him, I stated “that for the second time in my life Rick Barry has refused to acknowledge my presence. The second being this evening when he pretty much ignored me earlier in the evening when we were introduced to each other. As he quizzically looked up at me, I continued stating and the first time when he dropped 30 points on me in his second collegiate game. Of course he did not as Gerry Ward, as previously mentioned, held him to single digits in that game. The good news he enjoyed the made-up compliment and went on to give a wonderful banquet speech to the audience.
GAIL GOODRICH: Gail Charles Goodrich Jr. Born: April 23, 1943. Gail attended John Francis Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. As a high school freshman Gail was 5'1" and weighed 99 lbs. By his junior year the left-handed playmaker had grown to 5'9'. John Wooden, the basketball coach at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scouted one of his games that year when Goodrich was now 5'9". Wooden was said to have stated to his assistant Jerry Norman also attending the game “I like the little left hander. He’s a smart player. If he grows, some day he might be able to help us”. Unknowingly Goodrich’s parents were sitting in the row in front and the mother turned and said, “do you mean that”. Coach Wooden said “yes’. Gail himself was really more interested in attending the University of Southern California where his father was the captain and star player for the 1939 Trojans, but USC showed only slight interest.
By his high school senior year Gail had grown to a height of 5'11" and his Polytechnic team won the Los Angeles high school championship with Gail scoring 29 points despite his chipping a bone in his ankle in the 3rd quarter. As a mid-year high school senior graduate, he was now on to UCLA in the Spring of 1961 where he played freshman baseball. As a sophomore he averaged 10.4 points per game in his first varsity season.
Gail as a junior at UCLA was now 6'1" in that 1963–1964 undefeated 30–0 season when the Bruins won the first of Coach Wooden’s 10 championships. They were led by Walt Hazzard (18.6), Jack Hirsh (14.0) Keith Erickson (10.7) and Goodrich (21.5) defeating the Duke Blue Devils 98–83 in Kansas City, Missouri for their first championship. Duke’s star player was Jeff Mullins who were coached by Vic Bubas. The closest game they had that year was an away 2-point victory 58–56 over the University of California whom they had defeated the day before by 20, 87–67 also on Cal’s home court.
The next season 1964–1965 with Goodrich and Erickson the only two returning starters they started the season with an away opening game loss at the University of Illinois 110–83.
Our Boston College vs. UCLA game was on December 19, 1964, at the 3rd annual Milwaukee Classic. The participating teams and coaches were: Boston College-Bob Cousy, UCLA- John Wooden, Marquette University-Al McGuire and the University of Wisconsin-John Erickson. On the opening night of the classic December 18, we defeated Wisconsin 86–85 and UCLA defeated Marquette 61–52 to set up the championship match.
UCLA had become noted for its style of play emphasizing quickness and a 2–2–1 full court press with 6'5" Keith Erickson (more on him later) as the last line of defense. During the first half a terrific scoring battle was underway between Boston College’s sensational sophomore John Austin and All-American Gail Goodrich. With 2:30 to go in that first half it was a 3-point UCLA lead. As the half ended, we were down 17 that’s how devastating that press could be on the way to a 115–95 UCLA victory.
UCLA went on to a 28–2 record (their only other defeat a home loss 87–82 to the University of Iowa) culminating with their second national championship in a victory over #1 ranked University of Michigan 91–80 at Memorial Coliseum in Portland Oregon (almost a home game for UCLA). Michigan was led by All Americans Cazzie Russell, Bill Buntin and Oliver Darden but Goodrich was sensational scoring 42 points shooting 12 for 22 from the field and 18 for 22 from the free throw line. At that time, it was the most points in a championship game later to be surpassed by Bill Walton’s 44 against Memphis State in the 87–66 1973 championship game victory at the St. Louis Arena.
A little more about that 1973 UCLA championship because it involved a school that was on my list to attend coming out of prep school, Providence College. In 1973 the four teams in the Final Four were UCLA, Indiana, Memphis State and Providence. Providence coached by 4th year head coach Dave Gavitt (the father of the Big East Conference) with local stars Ernie DiGregorio (future NBA Rookie of the Year) and Marvin Barnes went into the national semifinals with a record of 27–2. Their opponent Memphis State. Providence went off to a double-digit lead in the first 11 minutes of the game highlighted by a 3/4 court length behind the back pass from Ernie DiGregorio to a streaking Kevin Stacom for a successful layup (you can view it on You Tube) when disaster struck. Marvin went down with a knee injury after scoring 12 points in the first 11 minutes. For the season he was averaging 18.3 ppg and 19 rebounds a game. Although Ernie D had 32 points and 7 assists the absence of Barnes was too much to overcome with Memphis State taking the victory 97–85. Oh, what it would have been to have a healthy Marvin Barnes in a rematch against the Big Red Head Bill Walton in the final…UCLA had defeated Providence at Pauley Pavilion 101–77 back on January 20th.
UCLA defeated Indiana, coached by Bobby Knight, in his second season with the Hoosiers, in the other 1973 semifinal 70–59 to set up a UCLA/Memphis State final with Curt Gowdy to do the television commentary. This game was the first time the Final Four was contested on a Monday night. UCLA the defending national champion did not disappoint as they won their 75th consecutive game and seventh straight national championship, ninth in ten years with an 87–66 victory. Walton was dominant shooting 21 for 22 (his only miss he put back in on the rebound) to go along with 13 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. Walton as mentioned scored 44 points, still a finals record, but to be noted, he might well have had 52. In 1973 the dunk was still outlawed in collegiate basketball and during this game he had four made field goals nullified for offensive goaltending. The game was tied 39–39 at halftime with Walton having committed three fouls. In the second half with UCLA leading by only 61–55 Walton picked up his fourth foul but Wooden left him in the game. He continued his stellar play until he injured his leg with his team safely in the lead with only a few minutes to play. An appreciated but unfortunately much greatly missed today act of sportsmanship was captured in a photograph of Larry Finch, Memphis’s star player, helping Walton off of the court. Ironically the Memphis State head coach, Gene Bartow in the 1974–1975 season, succeeded John Wooden as UCLA head coach after Wooden wins his 10th national championship.
Now back to Goodrich: Supporting Goodrich (24.8) throughout the 64–65 year on this team were Erickson (12.9) Fred Goss (12.2) and Edgar Lacey (11.6). Goss and Lacey were High School All Americans.
Goodrich in the then four NCAA tournament games scored 40, 30, 28 and the 42 points in the final. He received first team All-America honors and the Helms Co-Player of The Year with Princeton University’s Bill Bradley. Bradley’s Princeton team was a part of that 1965 Final Four tournament losing to Michigan in the semifinals 93–76 but the next night defeating Wichita State 118–82 in the 3rd place game with Bradley scoring 58 points (22–29 FG and 14–15 FT) still an all-time Final Four record. Bradley was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. There is now no consolation game.
As mentioned in the Rick Barry narrative Gail was selected in the 1965 NBA draft as a territorial choice (the last year of territorial drafts) by the Los Angeles Lakers while Buntin went to the Detroit Pistons and Bradley to the New York Knickerbockers.
His rookie year with the Lakers as a backup guard in a lineup that featured perennial All Stars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West saw that Laker team fall once again to the Bill Russell led Boson Celtics in seven games.
In 1968 Goodrich went to the Phoenix Suns in the expansion draft. Now as a full-time starter he demonstrated what he knew all along that he was an all-star player averaging 23.8 points per game (sixth in the league) and seventh in assists and was named to his first All-NBA team.
Interestingly the Lakers wanted him back (why would they not) and the Suns traded him back to the Lakers with the Suns getting Mel Counts,
Mel Counts played at Oregon State University and helped lead The Beavers to the 1963 NCAA Final Four He won a gold medal at the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan and was drafted by the Boston Celtics and won NBA championships as a backup center to Bill Russell in 1965 and 1966. His Oregon State team gives us the trivia question who is the only Heisman Trophy winner to also play in the Division I Final Four? Answer Terry Baker who won the Heisman in the Fall of 1962 as the Oregon State quarterback and in the 1962–1963 basketball season averaged 13.4 points per game as Oregon State’s starting point guard. He was a three-year starter for the hoop team. Oregon State that year lost to the University of Cincinnati in the national semifinals 80–46 (ouch) but next the Bearcats went on to lose to Loyola University of Chicago 60–58 in overtime in the finals.
More on Goodrich: In the 1971–1972 season the Lakers won 33 games in a row. Still the longest in season winning streak in NBA history with the second most by the 2013 Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh Miami Heat with 27 straight wins. The Golden State Warriors as the defending 2014–2015 NBA champions opened up the 2015–2016 seasons with 24 consecutive victories the longest winning streak to begin an NBA season.
This 71–72 Laker team was headlined by Jerry West, Elgin Baylor (although he retired after 8 games with chronic knee injuries) and Wilt Chamberlain. The leading scorer? Gail Goodrich 25.9 followed by Jerry West 25.8, Jim McMillian 18.8 and The Big Dipper Wilt Chamberlain 14.8 with 19.2 rebounds per game. Keith Erickson, Goodrich’s UCLA teammate, was also a member of this team. It was coached by Bill Sharman former backcourt mate of Bob Cousy and tormentor of Boston Celtics championship victories over the Lakers and others. The Lakers regular season record that year 69–13.
In the Finals the Lakers defeated the New York Knickerbockers despite losing the first game then winning the next four to become NBA champions for the first time since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Prior to this first LA championship the Lakers had participated in 7 NBA finals in 10 years losing 6 times to the Boston Celtics and once to the now vanquished Knicks. Wilt Chamberlain was the Finals MVP.
Over the next three seasons 1972–1973, 1973–1974, 1974–1975 Goodrich continued to lead the Lakers in scoring. Who knew? Is the retired #25 the most underrated Laker of all time?
In 1976–1977 he signed with the Utah/New Orleans Jazz and became a teammate with Pistol Pete Maravich. Injuries slowed both of these All Stars and the magic that might have been from such a dynamic backcourt did not become a reality. Goodrich played one last season in 1978–1979.
The Lakers retired his #25 jersey in 1996 as did the UCLA Bruins in 2004…what took them so long!
KEITH ERICKSON: Keith Raymond Erickson Born April 19, 1944, in San Francisco, California. Attended El Segundo High School in El Segundo, California and then El Camino Junior College in Torrence, California Much of Erickson’s exploits at UCLA follow the successes in the above Gail Goodrich narrative…. but not all.
Although Goodrich and Erickson played against each other when Goodrich was on the UCLA freshman team and Erickson was playing his one year at El Camino Junior College Goodrich could not recall Erickson as he indicated that Erickson’s play must have been unremarkable. That was all about to change.
Erickson came to UCLA on a shared baseball/basketball scholarship. He and Goodrich were sophomore teammates on the 1962–1963 20–9 Bruins Conference championship team that lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the University of Arizona.
Such a remarkable athlete at 6'5" playing baseball, basketball and volleyball at UCLA and competing on the first United State Olympic Volleyball Team in Tokyo, Japan in 1964 when volleyball was first introduced as an Olympic sport. Coach John Wooden called him the finest athlete that he ever coached. Incredible high praise when one considers the athletes that Wooden coached at UCLA.
In our Boston College 115–95 loss to UCLA in the December 19, 1964, Milwaukee Classic final it was as much to do with the defensive play of Erickson as the back line defender in their vaunted 2–2–1 full court press as it was Goodrich’s offense production.
Erickson was named as a third team All American at the conclusion of UCLA’s second successive national championship in 1965 and selected in the third round of the NBA draft (number 18 overall) by the San Francisco Warriors.
Erickson had a 12-year NBA career playing his rookie year with San Francisco, two years with the Chicago Bulls, five years with the Lakers including the 1971–1972 championship year and four years with the Phoenix Suns. He was traded to the Suns for Connie Hawkins. For his NBA 12-year career he averaged 9.5 points per game.
While playing with the Lakers he introduced Wilt to the game of volleyball and Wilt upon his basketball retirement became an accomplished beach volleyball player. Erickson himself was inducted into the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame.
He also, most deservedly, was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1986.
After retiring from his playing days, he had a successful broadcasting and color commentary career for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
WAYNE ESTES: Wayne Vernon Estes, born May 13, 1943, Virginia City, Montana, died February 8, 1965, Logan Utah (age 21). Wayne attended Anaconda High School in Montana whereas a senior he was an All-State selection in football, basketball and track & field (state record holder in the discus and shotput). During his high school years his nickname was Crisco for his overall mammoth size more conducive to football than basketball. Those reading this with culinary expertise will recognize the name Crisco as a baking product as Wayne had a hearty appetite. His first year at Utah State he still had that same build and his new teammates in basketball called him “Baby Huey”.
Wayne was recruited to play at Utah State University by head basketball coach LaDell Anderson to be a member of the football and track & field teams, but Wayne insisted that his first love was basketball. Anderson although the men’s basketball head coach, when he was on the road recruiting, was required to recruit for all Utah State programs. Wayne’s insistence on basketball did not disappoint! When he became a sophomore in the 1962–1963 season the basketball team went 20–7 that year with Estes scoring 20.0 ppg and an equally impressive 9.5 rebounds per game. In his junior year 1963–1964 he raised those numbers to 28.2 ppg and 13.0 rebounds per game taking his Aggies team to the NCAA tournament in which they eventually lost in the Regionals to the University of San Francisco 64–58.
His 1964–1965 senior season was when our Boston College Eagles team played his Utah State team the day after Christmas December 26, 1964, in the inaugural Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Rainbow Classic was the brainchild of second year University of Hawaii Rainbows head coach Red Rocha. Rocha who was born in Hawaii, had played at Hilo High School in Honolulu and attended and played basketball at the University of Hawaii before transferring and playing three years at Oregon State University. He went on to a successful NBA career with the Baltimore Bullets where he played in the first NBA All Star game in 1951, the St. Louis Hawks and the Syracuse Nationals where he won an NBA championship in 1955.
This first Rainbow Classic was on a tight budget and inviting Boston College was a promotional gambit to capitalize on the name of Coach Bob Cousy and his All-Star career for the Boston Celtics. The original concept was to name the tournament the Pineapple Classic but when the pineapple companies balked the committee decided on the name Rainbow Classic…in my mind a much more appealing name although our tournament gift was a carved out wooden pineapple that I still have somewhere in the house.
Five teams were invited from the mainland: Boston College, University of Wisconsin, California State at Los Angeles, Arizona State University and Utah State University. The host school the University of Hawaii along with two military teams, the Hawaii Marines and Navy Submarine Forces Pacific rounded out the field.
Housing accommodations were Spartan to say the least. Our team was housed along with three other teams, Utah State being one of them, in the United States Naval barracks on the base at Pearl Harbor. Beds were the stereotypical bunk bed style and as this was long before the Walkman radios and now earbuds many players had their own boombox radio and as teams were coming and going depending on their game schedule nighttime and even day of the game rest was only a dream. We still consider being housed on this historic location with a personal guided team tour, by the base commander, of the USS Arizona Memorial a forever highlight of our college careers and beyond.
Our opening night game was once again against the University of Wisconsin whom we had defeated in the opening round of the Milwaukee Classic by one point 86–85. As we awaited taking the floor at the Honolulu International Center, we watched the conclusion of the Hawaii Marines vs Utah State game. As this game came down to the final seconds in regulation with Utah State ahead by two points their point guard came down with a rebound and was immediately “assaulted” by three Marines and he came out of the fray with a bloody mouth. Instead of going to the free throw line the official called him for traveling and of course the Marines scored to send the game in to overtime and not unexpectedly as so often happens under those circumstances the Marines came out victorious 94–91…don’t the Marines always come out as victors. My older brother Ed is a proud retired 30-year career Marine as I also am proud of him.
This was not the end of it. LaDell Anderson, the highly respected coach of Utah State, went on the floor after the game to “question” the Hawaii native official (all officials were from Hawaii to save travel costs). As this began to escalate, out of the stands came the Commissioner of Officiating, Jimmy Iona, a rather huge native Hawaiian, who also happened to be the father-in-law of the beleaguered official. Instead of mediating the situation or at the very least escorting his son-in-law back to the official’s room Commissioner Iona landed a haymaker on Coach Anderson. With Coach Anderson down for the count chaos ensued with pushing, shoving and general mayhem. How to restore order? The band in attendance played our National Anthem. The Marines came to military attention and the others followed suit in some form of decorum.
Time for our game against the Wisconsin Badgers. What I remember about that first game against Wisconsin in the Milwaukee Classic was an introduction to Big 10 style basketball. On the first play of that game when their initial offensive shot went up, I set up what I thought was a textbook block out only to discover that their style and Big 10 officiating allowed for much more contact than our Eastern/New England officiating would allow and discovered myself moved far under the basket with no call made. Where was Charlie Diehl our favorite official back home in Boston!?
The game, similar to the first 12 days earlier went back and forth and much to our disappointment resulted in a one point 70–69 Wisconsin victory relegating us to the Consolation Bracket…teams were guaranteed three games.
Our next opponent was Utah State and Wayne Estes. This game was to be played at Bloch Arena….not so much an arena…but an airplane hangar on the base at Pearl Harbor. The reason was also a cost saving measure to minimize the rental fees of the Honolulu International Center.
Similar to many consolation games it was a wild shoot out with our Eagle team pulling out a 120–118 overtime win over Utah State with my college roommate George Human scoring the winning basket. Their second overtime loss in two days for the Aggies. The 6'6" Estes was unstoppable scoring 52 points still an all-time record for a single game performance by a Utah State player. His game had some of the similarities of then Boston Celtic Tom Heinsohn, relentless off of the offensive backboard and an unstoppable hook shot complemented by a mid-range jump shot. Estes 122 points in three games earned him Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament even though their team was 1 and 2 while in Hawaii.
We played our third game on December 30 against the other military team SUBPAC also at the Bloch Arena. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed to me that the hoops in that facility were a little larger than normal. Whether they were or not I went for 25 in this game and as this was the only box score of our three games in Hawaii that appeared in the Boston media when we returned to Boston after New Year my friends all thought that I should have been named tournament MVP…nice to have friends like that. But not for that one-point loss to Wisconsin just maybe Boston College would have the distinction of being the first Rainbow Classic champions. As it turned out it was the Hawaii Marines.
As mentioned, Wayne Estes scored 52 points against us in that tournament. Who holds the Rainbow Classic tournament record for most points in a single game? Answer Pete Maravich. The Pistol scored 53 (40 in the second half) in an 80–70 victory over Lou Carnesecca’s St. John’s Redmen in the 1970 semifinal. But the next night his Louisiana State team lost in the final to Yale University 97–94 when Yale’s 5'10" junior guard Jim Morgan outscored Maravich 35 to 34. The Joe VanCisin coached Bulldogs pretournament were not well respected by a Hawaii sportswriter. Prior to the tournament the sportswriter wrote that the local Hilo High School could defeat the Yale 5. In their first game Yale defeated the hosts, University of Hawaii 88–77, next the University of San Francisco 75–67 and in the championship the LSU Tigers 97–94….bring on Hilo High School! Coach VanCisin upon his retirement from Yale became the Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
Back to Estes. On February 8, 1965, Wayne scored 48 points in a home game victory against the University of Denver 91–62 at the George Nelson (no relation) Arena. Those 48 are still a single home game record for Utah State and gave him 2001 points for his career. Those would be the last points that he would ever score. After the game Wayne and his teammate and college roommate Del Lyons, who ironically both shared the same exact birthdate May 13, 1943, went back to their apartment to telephone to Wayne’s parents Joe and Helen about the game with Del changing into a pair of Converse sneakers because of the wet weather. They next went for pizza with two other students. While driving they twice went by an auto accident that had damaged an electric power pole. On the way back, after finishing their pizza they decided to stop and investigate the automobile accident. The car had hit the electric power pole knocking the live wire off of the pole now hanging 6 feet off of the ground. Estes and his roommate in the darkness did not originally see the hanging power line in the darkness and at 6'6" Wayne walked into the wire and reflexively reached up and grabbed it sending 2,300 volts through his body and killing him at 10:55 p.m. Del had reached out to Estes and was thrown across the street. His wearing of the Converse rubber sneakers most likely saved his life.
4,000 people with a 15-mile funeral procession attended two services for him in his hometown of Anaconda, Montana and in Logan Utah.
Estes is the only individual chosen posthumously 1st team All American. There is a biography on Wayne by Elanor Olson entitled A Hero’s Legacy for an interesting read.
I was reminded by Ed Cronin, one of my former players at Suffolk University, when I was telling him about Estes and the first team posthumous honor and he said, “What about Hank Gathers”? The 6'7" Gathers was a great player at Loyola Marymount in California from 1987–1990 who attended the University of Southern California his freshman year but then transferred to Loyola to play for Paul Westhead and his high paced offense. Gathers was the second player in Division I to lead the nation in both scoring 32.7 and rebounding 13.7 doing this in his junior season 1988–1989 and named 2nd team All American. In his senior year Gathers was having another outstanding season along with his teammate Bo Kimble who also had transferred with Gathers from USC after their freshman year. Early in that senior year of 1989–1990 Gathers was diagnosed with an abnormal heart condition and placed on medication. Over the season the medication was gradually reduced and tragically in the semifinals of the 1990 WWU post season tournament he collapsed and died on March 4, 1990. He was again named 2nd team All American. Gathers was 2nd team All American and Estes was 1st team All American…both passing on tragically with unfulfilled promise.
I mentioned that Gathers was the second Division I player to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same year. Thanks to a conversation with my former team manager at Suffolk University, Mike Procopio, who has had a number of positions in the NBA, most recently as the Player Development Director for the Dallas Mavericks where he was associated with Jose Calderon (the NBA single season free throw percentage champion) and my indicating that Gathers was the second player to accomplish this achievement he immediately said Xavier McDaniel. The 6'7" McDaniel known as X Man in his 1984–1985 senior year at Wichita State led the nation that year in scoring with a 27.2 points per game average and 14.8 rebounds per game to be the first Division I player to lead the nation in both categories in the same year.
JIMMY WALKER: Born Amherst Virginia April 8, 1944: died Kansas City Missouri July 2, 2007, age 63 of lung cancer. Jimmy Walker grew up in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts not knowing his father. His mother worked in a laundry to support the family. He attended Boston Trade High School but soon caught the eye of Sam Jones the starring backcourt player of the Boston Celtics who guided Walker to Jones’s high school Laurinberg Institute in Laurinberg, North Carolina. Walker throughout his high school, college and professional career wore #24 similar to Sam Jones retired number hanging in the rafters at the Boston Garden.
Although little is written about Walker’s years at Laurinberg Institute legend has it that when then Providence College head coach Joe Mullaney was welcoming top recruit Bill Blair of Boston to the college’s campus Blair’s mother said words to the effect that Mullaney should recruit Blair’s cousin Jimmy Walker because he was really good. Mullaney was unfamiliar with Walker, as obviously were many others, so he sent his then assistant Dave Gavitt to scout Walker and Gavitt returned effusive in his praise and assessment. Walker’s first year at Providence 1963–1964, with freshman still not eligible for varsity play, Gavitt coached the PC freshman to an undefeated season with Walker leading the way.
Walker’s sophomore year and first varsity season 1964–1965 was not very different as the Friars went 24–2 ranked as high as #3 nationally and went to the NCAA tournament. This was my senior year at Boston College and our Eagle’s 5 would host Providence and Jimmy Walker on our home court at Roberts Center. Providence came into the game touting an undefeated record at 7–0 on January 6, 1965. This was our first game back after the three-week trip to Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Classic, California for two games and Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic. Our record was 7–3 with losses to the University of Connecticut by 4 who featured high scoring Wes Bialosuknia and rebounding demon Toby Kimball, who both were drafted in the NBA, Kimball in the 3rd round that year by the Boston Celtics and Bialosuknia in 1967 in the 4th round by the St. Louis Hawks. Our other two losses were to the defending national champion UCLA Bruins and the one-point loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the opening game of the Rainbow Classic.
The pre-game scouting report was to give Walker the outside shot. Evidently the unnamed individual who had scouted Providence and Walker in a previous game was inaccurate as Walker hit his first four outside shots with Coach Bob Cousy then calling a timeout and indicating that we were going to abandon that strategy. Regardless of the defender he was sensational, and Providence went on to an 89–79 victory.
This was just the beginning of his All-America career at Providence College. Superlatives abound for this 6'3" 195 lbs. phenom known as the first to dribble the ball between his legs so effectively used to change pace and direction. Bill Reynolds who played against Walker when Reynolds was at Brown University and then became a successful author and sportswriter for the Providence Journal wrote “that between the leg dribble was the metaphor for Walker’s Providence College playing career”. How right he was! Not only did Walker dribble between his legs he also had a wonderful spin move that allowed for him to elude defenders in either direction. In addition to those moves I was impressed by how erect Walker was in his attack with the incredible hard dribble he utilized to control the ball…a virtual yoyo. This straight up stance allowed Walker to see the court and find his open teammate for spectacular assists making him a complete player and much beloved teammate.
Providence’s 24–2 record his sophomore season, the best ever by a Friar’s team, witnessed but one regular season defeat a road loss to Villanova 71–57. Their second defeat was a season ending humbling loss in the NCAA Regionals to the Bill Bradley led Princeton Tigers 109–69. Walker led the team in scoring that sophomore season with a 20 ppg average and 5.2 assists per game. He was selected third team All American that sophomore season.
His junior season when he averaged 23 points a game witnessed one of the great single game performances in college basketball when at the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, he orchestrated a 50-point game vs Boston College on December 30, 1965, in a Providence victory 91–86. Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, who attended the game, to this day claims it to be one of the greatest single game performances by a college player…and this coming from a Boston College alum. Walker was twice the Most Valuable Player at the Holiday Festival.
In his senior year 1966–1967 Walker led the nation in scoring with a 30.4 points per game average, despite box and one and other gimmick defenses to slow him down, beating out UCLA’s Lew Alcinder at 29.0 for the national scoring title. Walker was selected first team All American and became the #1 NBA first overall selection by the Detroit Pistons. The only New England college team player ever selected number one overall. He was also the first player selected by the rival American Basketball Association by the Indiana Pacers. His overall three-year career numbers at Providence were 25.2 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game. But those are only numbers. To watch his game, on court demeanor, presence and control of play was memorable and exhilarating, but only if you did not have to guard him.
The Detroit Pistons won a coin toss over the Baltimore Bullets to win the NBA draft number one selection. Who did the Bullets take at #2? Earl “The Pearl” Monroe from Winston Salem College in Winston Salem North Carolina coached by legendary Clarence “Big House” Gaines. Monroe of his own equally famous spin move went on to become the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and a perennial all-star with the Bullets and the New York Knicks.
Walker’s 9-year NBA career with three different teams, the Pistons for five, two with the Houston Rockets and two with the Kansas City/Omaha Kings saw two All Star selections in 1970 and 1972. The top basketball award at Providence College is named the Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award.
There you have my Top Five College Opponents. The Men’s Basketball All America Team for 1964–1965 as selected by the Associated Press included first team members Rick Barry, Wayne Estes and Gail Goodrich. On the third team were Keith Erickson and Jimmy Walker. Walker went on to be second team All American his junior year and first team All American his senior season. Who am I to argue!
