Watching Ohio State’s uninspiring, referee-, injury-, statistical anomaly-enabled assumption of the Big Ten throne last Sunday put Hoopraker in a nostalgic frame of mind. It’s not that the Buckeyes haven’t earned their title, they have. They won more games than the field. And though they have a disappointing tendency to glide on talent, take thirty foot jumpshots in lieu of finding dunks for the most dominant college center in recent memory, and generally play with the kind of corporate dispassion of NBA journeymen, the Buckeyes may continue to win in March.
Perhaps the do or die trials of the postseason will bring out the best of Matta and his all-star team. Perhaps they will suddenly develop into a cohesive, intelligent, gutty team that captures hearts and minds en route to the title. They may need to do just that to avoid becoming an overhyped, underachieving, ephemeral blip in Big Ten history. To put it another way, they have a lot to prove in the next few weeks before they can be considered remotely worthy of Big Ten legend.
Consider that of the last twenty-three Big Ten regular season champions since 1990, only six have failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen or better. Furthermore, no conference champ has suffered a first round knockout in the same time period. And the seventeen champions who represented the conference with strong NCAA runs have produced 7 Sweet Sixteens, 4 Elite Eights, 3 Final Fours, 2 National Runner-Ups, and 1 National Championship. The Buckeyes have a heavy torch to carry.
And, in case you need a refresher course on exactly what constitutes Big Ten greatness, here’s Hoopraker’s ranking of the conference’s finest kings. Those with longer, more accurate memories are encouraged to provide additional backstory, anecdotes, memories, and/or disagreement.
Rank the kings!
King The First:Â 1975-76 Indiana
Coach Bob Knight
32-0 overall, 18-0 conference
NCAA Champions (beat Michigan 86-68)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Benson, MVP, 41 points, 18 rebounds
Abernethy, 25 points, 10 rebounds
May, 40 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists
Roster:
Tom Abernethy, senior, 6-7, F
Quinn Buckner, senior, 6-3, G
Jim Crews, senior, 6-5, G
Scott May, senior, 6-7, F
Bob Wilkerson, senior, 6-7, G
Kent Benson, junior, 6-11, C
Mark Haymore, sophomore, 6-8, F/C
Wayne Radford, sophomore, 6-3, G/F
Jim Wisman, sophomore, 6-2, G
Bob Bender, freshman, 6-3, G
Scott Eells, freshman, 6-9, F
Jim Roberson, freshman, 6-9, F/C
Rich Valavicius, freshman, 6-5, F
All apologies to John Wooden and his 1968 Bruins, this Hoosier squad is the best college basketball team to date. The Bruin team rode the epic coattails of Alcindor, but this Bob Knight coached destroyer was deeper, more versatile, and unlike the Bruins, never lost. Put them head-to-head in a single game situation, Bob Knight outcoaches Wooden, Alcindor finds himself hacking May, Benson, and Abernethy to an early sitdown, and Quinn Buckner quarterbacks the Hoosiers to the win.
King The Second: 1974-75 Indiana
Coach Bob Knight
31-1 overall, 18-0 conference
NCAA Regional Finalist (lost to Kentucky 92-90)
Same roster a year younger. The Hoosiers were undefeated, the unanimous number one team in the nation, and on a bullet train to the NCAA title when leading scorer Scott May broke his arm in a win over Purdue. May played that season’s NCAA tournament one-armed. If May has two arms in this tournament, Bob Knight is sitting in Lubbock with four rings.
King The Third: 1959-60 Ohio State
Coach Fred Taylor
25-3 overall, 13-1 Big Ten
NCAA Champions (beat California 75-55)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Jerry Lucas, MVP, 35 points, 23 rebounds
Mel Nowell, 21 points
Roster:
Dave Barker, senior, 6-2, G
John Cedargren, senior, 6-5, F/C
Dick Furry, senior, 6-7, F
Howard Nourse, senior, 6-7, C
Joe Roberts, senior, 6-6, F
James Allen, junior, 5-9, G
Richie Hoyt, junior, 6-4, G
Gary Milliken, junior, 5-11, G
Larry Siegfried, junior, 6-4, G
Gary Gearhart, sophomore, 6-2, G
John Havlicek, sophomore, 6-5, F
Bob Knight, sophomore, 6-4, F
J.T. Landes, sophomore, 5-11, G
Jerry Lucas, sophomore, 6-8, C
Nelson Miller, sophomore, 6-3, F
Mel Nowell, sophomore, 6-2, G
Jerry Lucas averaged 26 points, 16 rebounds, and shot 63 percent from the field this season. How’s that for a first year on varsity? The balance on this squad was silly, with Havlicek, Nowell, Roberts, and Siegfried all averaging 11 plus points per game. The youth of this team explains the two early season losses. By the end of the season, this squad had foes beat at the layup line. They ran roughshod over that year’s NCAA tournament, winning each game by no less than 15 points. Pete Newell’s California team starring 6′10″ senior Darrall Imhoff and junior guard Bill McClintock was outclassed in the final. Every starter on the team played at least two years of pro basketball.
John Havlicek: “We immediately developed almost total communication on the floor,” Havlicek said. “Our basketball intellects meshed perfectly. We never had to call a play.”
King The Fourth: 1979 Michigan State
Coach Judd Heathcote
26-6 overall
NCAA Champions (beat Indiana State 75-64)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Magic, MVP, 53 points, 17 rebounds, 15 assists
Kelser, 47 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 blocks
Roster:
Gregory Kelser, senior, 6-7, F
Ron Charles, junior, 6-7, F
Terry Donnelly, junior, 6-2, G
Greg Lloyd, junior, 6-1, G
Mike Longake, junior, 6-1, G
Mike Brkovich, sophomore, 6-4, F
Gerald Gilkie, sophomore, 6-5, F
Jaimie Huffman, sophomore, 6-3, G
Earvin Johnson, sophomore, 6-8, G
Rick Kaye, sophomore, 6-7, F
Jay Vincent, sophomore, 6-8, C
Don Brkovich, freshman, 6-6, F
Gerald Busby, freshman, 6-4, F
Rob Gonzalez, freshman, 6-7, F
It’s remarkable to think this team shared its Big Ten title with Iowa and Purdue. But once Heathcote got this machine oiled it crushed everything in its path. Their average margin of victory in the tournament was 18.8 points and included a 101-67 humbling of Penn in the semifinal. The final with Larry Bird’s Sycamores remains the highest rated game in televised basketball history. The Spartans held Bird to 7 of 21 shooting in the championship.
Magic and Kelser’s oncourt telekenesis and athleticism was the basketball equivalent of Aldous Huxley’s mescaline fueled Doors of Perception. Magic, in particular, blew open previous conceptions of how the game could be played. The role players of this team - Charles, Donnelly, Vincent, Brkovich - were beautiful compliments to the superstars’ aerial show.
King The Fifth: 1980-81 Indiana
Coach Bob Knight
26-9 overall, 14-4 conference
NCAA Champions (beat North Carolina 63-50)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Isiah Thomas, MVP, 37 points, 9 assists
Jim Thomas, 4 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists
Landon Turner, 32 points, 14 rebounds
Roster:
Phil Isenbarger, senior, 6-8, F
Glen Grunwald, senior, 6-9, F
Steve Risley, senior, 6-8, F
Ray Tolbert, senior, 6-9, C
Landon Turner, junior, 6-10, F
Steve Bouchie, sophomore, 6-8, F
Tony Brown, sophomore, 6-2, G
Chuck Franz, sophomore, 6-2, G
Ted Kitchel, sophomore, 6-8, F
Isiah Thomas, sophomore, 6-1, G
Jim Thomas, sophomore, 6-3, G/F
Randy Wittman, sophomore, 6-6, G
Craig Bardo, freshman, 6-5, F
Mike LaFave, freshman, 6-9, F
Average tournament margin of victory of 22.6 points. In the title game, they beat a formidable Carolina team that started James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Jimmy Black, Al Wood, and Mike Pepper with Matt Doherty as a sixth man. The win avenged a December loss to the Tar Heels. A team, typical of Knight’s, that got better with each week of the season. Also typical, it was a balanced team that did not cater to selfish superstardom. Isiah averaged 16 points, 5.8 assists for the season. The other four starters, Kitchel (9.2ppg), Turner (9.5ppg), Tolbert (12.2ppg), and Wittman (10.4ppg), all got to touch the ball and made this team nearly impossible to defend.
King The Sixth: 1986-87 Indiana
Coach Bob Knight
30-4 overall, 15-3 conference
NCAA Champions (beat Syracuse 74-73)
All-Tournament Team:
Keith Smart, MVP, 35 points
Steve Alford, 56 points
Steve Alford, senior, 6-2, G
Todd Meier, senior, 6-8, C
Daryl Thomas, senior, 6-7, F/C
Steve Eyl, junior, 6-6, F
Dean Garrett, junior, 6-9, C
Keith Smart, junior, 6-1, G
Ricky Calloway, sophomore, 6-6, F/G
Joe Hillman, sophomore, 6-2, G
Magnus Pelkowski, sophomore, 6-10, C
Brian Sloan, sophomore, 6-8, F/C
Kreigh Smith, sophomore, 6-7, G/F
Tony Freeman, freshman, 5-7, G
Dave Minor, freshman, 6-6, F
Jeff Oliphant, freshman, 6-5, G
Again, the Knight division of labor is uncanny. Daryl Thomas (15.7 ppg, 53.8 FG %), Ricky Calloway (12.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Garrett (11.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.7 bpg), Smart (11.2 ppg, 3.0 apg), and Alford (22.0 ppg, 3.6 apg, 53% 3pt) is a starting lineup that is hard to guard. Shared the Big Ten crown with a Purdue squad that featured Everette Stephens, Todd Mitchell, and Troy Lewis.
Navigated a tourny gauntlet of Duke (Ferry, Amaker), Dale Brown’s LSU, UNLV (Armon Gilliam, Freddie Banks), and Syracuse with Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, and Derek Coleman to win the title.
King The Seventh: 1999-2000 Michigan State
Coach Tom Izzo
32-7 overall, 13-3 conference
NCAA Champions (beat Florida 89-76)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Mateen Cleaves, MVP, 18 points, 4 assists
Morris Peterson, 21 points
A.J. Granger, 19 points, 9 rebounds
Charlie Bell, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
Roster:
Mateen Cleaves, senior, 6-2, G
A.J. Granger, senior, 6-9, F
Morris Peterson, senior, 6-6, F
Charlie Bell, junior, 6-3, G
Mike Chappel, junior, 6-9, F
Steve Cherry, junior, 6-6, F
Andre Hutson, junior, 6-8, F
Brandon Smith, junior, 5-10, G
David Thomas, junior, 6-7, G/F
Al Anagonye, freshman, 6-8, F
Adam Ballinger, freshman, 6-9, F
Mat Ishbia, freshman, 5-10, G
Jason Richardson, freshman, 6-6, G/F
Only four years after taking over for his mentor Heathcote, Izzo takes the Spartans back to the summit. And did so with a team that reflected his defense first, rebounding first, Upper Peninsula grit combined with just the right sprinkling of super athleticism in Morris Peterson, Bell, and freshman Jason Richardson. Cleaves was a consummate college point guard and Izzo tempered warrior, the kind of player that simply refused to let his team lose and never failed to leave everything on the floor. Hutson was a ferocious rebounder, Granger a player who did nearly everything well, including knocking down perimeter jumpers with consistency. Deep, fundamentally flawless team.
In the national semifinal, beat Dick Bennett’s Badgers 53-41 in a tribute to Big Ten, defensive minded basketball. Tournament opponents mustered only 56.3 points against the Spartan tourniquet.
King The Eighth: 1953 Indiana
Coach Branch McCracken
23-3 overall, 17-1 conference
NCAA Champions (beat Kansas 69-68)
Final Four All-Tournament:
Don Schlundt, 59 points
Bob Leonard, 34 points
Roster:
James Schooley, senior, 6-5, F/C
James DeaKyne, junior, 6-3, G
Dick Farley, junior, 6-3 F
Charley Kraak, junior, 6-5, F
Bob Leonard, junior, 6-3, G
Lou Scott, junior, 6-11, C
Ron Taylor, junior, 6-3, F
Jack Wright, junior, 5-10, F
Phil Byers, sophomore, 5-11, G
Goethe Chambers, sophomore, 6-2, F
Don Henry, sophomore, 6-2, F
Paul Poff, sophomore, 6-1, G
Don Schlundt, sophomore, 6-9, C
Burke Scott, sophomore, 6-1, G
Dick White, sophomore, 6-1, F
McCracken had a powerhouse triumvirate of South Bend’s Don “Ox” Schlundt, All-American Bob Leonard, and Dick Farley. This squad lost two of its first three games, but by early March had rounded into the number one ranked team in the country and entered NCAA play as such. The Hoosiers took out an LSU team with All-American center Bob Pettit. Schlundt matched Pettit with 29 points, but Leonard was the difference, netting 22 in an 80-67 semifinal win. The final against Phog Allen’s Kansas with tournament MVP B.H. Born was a nail biter.
King The Ninth: 1960-61 Ohio State
Coach Fred Taylor
27-1 overall, 14-0 conference
NCAA Runner-Up (lost to Cincy 70-65 OT)
Final Four All-Tournament: Lucas, Siegfried
Siegfried’s senior campaign, Lucas, Havlicek, Knight, and Nowell as juniors. More dominance. Beat Adolph Rupp’s Kentucky 87-74 and St. Joseph’s 95-69 to reach title game. Cincy featured senior Bob Wiesenhahn, junior pivot Paul Hogue, 6′2″ sophomore Tom Thacker, and senior guard Carl Boldin.
King The Tenth: 2004-05 Illinois
Coach Bruce Weber
37-2 overall, 15-1 conference
NCAA Runner-Up (lost to North Carolina 75-70)
Roster:
Luther Head, senior, 6-3, G
Jack Ingram, senior, 6-10, F/C
Fred Nkemdi, senior, 6-5, F
Nick Smith, senior, 7-0, C
Roger Powell, senior, 6-6, F
James Augustine, junior, 6-10, F
Dee Brown, junior, 6-0, G
Deron Williams, junior, 6-3, G
Rich McBride, sophomore, 6-3, G
Warren Carter, sophomore, 6-9, F
Shaun Pruitt, freshman, 6-8, F
Bruce Weber takes this team infinitely further than the man who recruited the roster could have. Like Izzo, Weber is a master teacher who gets teams to blend from disparate parts into a cooperative, many pronged nightmare for foes. Took solid, if not spectacular Self recruits and got them within 5 points and some competent officiating of an NCAA title. Regional final comeback against Arizona was as pure a demonstration of basketball heart and will to win as anything on record. This team executed Weber’s motion offense to perfection, played suffocating defense, and had a three man backcourt in Head, Williams, and Dee Brown that shot, distributed, and defended supremely. Augustine was the first in what now looks like a long line of frontcourters who Weber turned from good into great. Ingram was the kind of step-up role player who simply won games for the Illini. Nick Smith was a 7′0″ stiff who Weber developed into another potent backup.
King The Eleventh: 1961-62 Ohio State
Coach Fred Taylor
26-2 overall, 13-1 conference
NCAA Runner-Up (lost to Cincinnati 71-59)
Final Four All-Tournament: Havlicek, Lucas
Havlicek, Lucas, Knight, and Nowell as seniors. Gary Bradds and Don DeVoe as notable sophomores. Beat Western Kentucky 93-73, Kentucky 74-64, and Wake Forest 84-68 to reach final. Cincy becomes official nemesis, getting the best of the Buckeyes for the second straight year. Hogue and Thacker loom large with newcomers Ron Bonham, a 6′5″ sophomore forward, and 6′8″ sophomore George Wilson making immediate impacts for the Bearcats.
