Even though Kansas had plenty of opportunities Saturday to make it read otherwise, the fact remains that North Carolina must be ranked the No. 1 college team in the nation for 1956-57. The Tar Heels, mostly from the New York area, have never failed during this 32-0 year to respond best when it meant most, always hitting the key points when they had to be made. That is the real mark of a champion, and they show it proudly. N.C. is poised and powerful, possessed of all the ingredients it takes for a great team. The Tars are cocky - on and off the court. Considering how they cooly won their two biggest games, Michigan State and Kansas, in triple overtimes, perhaps they have a right to be.
Yet if N.C. is No. 1 in the nation, K.U. can't be far behind in No. 2. Possibly Saturday night's super-tight 54-53 game shows just about how the rankings really are. Maybe not, for Kansas was and is good enough to beat N.C., even though it didn't. So well matched are these clubs, however, that if they played 10 games, all of them might be just about this close, with each getting an equal share of wins.
What told the story Saturday were: N.C.'s domination of the backboards 42-48 over K.U., particularly on defense (too often K.U. got but one shot); the hot shooting by the Tars; the fact K.U. too often couldn't do enough with the ball once it got it; the way N.C. made Kansas play its type of game and wouldn't let the Jays gain control, as they like to do. N.C. had a fabulous 64.5 shot percentage (11 of 17) in the first half to K.U. paltry 27.3. For the game it was 46.7 to 31.9. K.U. was outrebounded only twice before this year, by only two bounces each time. This time the margin was 14.
But though Kansas was forced into playing N.C.'s control game, it did a valiant job after a poor start that had the Jays behind 13-7 once. K.U. had at least a dozen chances to sack it up and played a tremendous game. With just a break here and there, it would have turned out otherwise. It was a real championship match. Kansas gave all it had, and that's all anyone can ask. There is no room for remorse and recrimination. There should be only intense pride at a great effort by a fine Jayhawker club. Losing's no fun, ever, but when a team loses in that way to an obviously great opponent, the tears shouldn't last very long.
****
Officially, Kansas will be rated the nation's No. 2 team for the past season. But those closely associated with this fine group of young gentlemen will always remember them as the nation's best, because they're a lot more than just basketball players.
The heartbroken Jayhawks, who felt they were good enough to win, did a noble job of fighting back the tears after the game as they stood on the court and waited for the presentation of trophies and wrist watches. But it was a different story once they reached the welcome seclusion of their dressing cubicle. Several of the boys broke down and others silently dripped tears. No dressing room could have been sadder. Each boy was thinking of something he had done, or might have done, to reverse the score. Each personally blamed himself for the loss, and no amount of comforting helped.
Choked and red-eyed, coach Dick Harp, the fiercest competitor of them all, found words hard to come by. But he quickly tried to relieve the others by saying: "If anyone is at fault for losing, it is I, for I'm the one who told you what to do and when to do it. The plays were my choices. You did all anyone could do to carry out the assignments and I'm the proudest man in the world. You mustn't waste time blaming yourselves. I know all of you feel that you might have lost it. That's foolish. No single play won or lost this game. If you feel you made an error, think of the times you've done good things this year and tonight, things that got us this far and kept us in it right up to the finish. Each of the 16 boys on our squad has contributed greatly to our success this year. Losing is painful, but you did the best you could. You're the greatest kids I've ever known and No. 1 in the world to me!"
****
"I want to apologize for the ruckus I caused in the second overtime," Harp fought on. "There was that mixup and everyone ran onto the floor. I went out to try to help break it up and coach McGuire came over from the Carolina bench. I yelled at him that we should break this up and get the kids back. He must have thought I said something against him, for he got mad. It was my fault. I never should have gone out."
After Harp yelled at McGuire, he turned and went back to his bench, unaware that the irate McGuire was following him. McGuire was restrained as he went to the K.U. bench, but he shouted to Harp: "You phony, you. I'll punch you right in the nose." No blows came, however. Later Harp headed across to the N.C. bench and McGuire got up. Fireworks were suspected, but Harp struck out his hand, the two shook and that ended the trouble, although play on the court got steadily fiercer.
"We started out this year with two main goals," Harp told his kids. "We wanted to learn how to play basketball well and we wanted to learn how to be better people. You've done a wonderful job of both, regardless of tonight's outcome. Everyone in Kansas is proud of your behavior, and I'm the proudest of all. I think we've all learned what is right and wrong and that's more important than basketball. If you work hard, do your best and try to be gentlemen, you'll generally win and succeed. That didn't quite work out tonight, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep right on trying for those goals. Because it's been proved they're the best ones in the long run." Chancellor Franklin Murphy reiterated Harp's remarks and declared that "class like you boys have always tells in the final analysis."
****
The Kansas coach said, "I'll never get over losing tonight because of the senior boys. They wanted this so badly. The rest of us can try again next year, but for the seniors this was the last chance. My greatest regret is that this year is over and so has ended association with nine of the finest boys I'll ever know. You boys deserved to win tonight, because you worked hard all year. But you lost. Take comfort from the idea that you did your best, and that's all anyone can ask."
Soon newsmen hovered around Harp. The boys slowly filed out to go back to dress and the coach asked for a few minutes to himself before he faced the reporters. Head down but composed, he sat on a chair and answered the queries directly.
"I feel like I've gone through the NCAA championship game in three overtimes and lost," Dick told a reporter who asked how he felt. Asked if he'd do anything differently if K.U. played N.C. again, he said: "I'd just pray a little harder that one of our shots would drop in."
The K.U. coach immediately told the visitors that Carolina deserved to be No. 1 nationally and that too much couldn't be said for its ability to do the important thing in the clutch.
"They did it in real championship fashion. Coach McGuire has done a wonderful job, he has some great players and Rosenbluth is the finest player of his type I've seen all year - he's surely an All-American. They defended Wilt Chamberlain well, even though Wilt played a fine game. We have no excuses. We gave our best and it wasn't good enough. The big factor was the way they beat us on the boards. Nobody has done that before. Even shooting as poorly as we were and doing other things wrong, we could have won if we'd dominated the boards."
****
This was the third time Harp has been involved in the NCAA title game in Kansas City and lost. Each time he has been in a different capacity.
In 1940, Dick was a star guard for the Phog Allen-coached K.U. club that was whipped by Indiana, 60-42. Then in 1953, Harp was the assistant to Allen, whose Jayhawker battlers were nudged 69-68 by Indiana in exactly the same way Kansas lost Saturday. Harp was head coach this time.
Back in 1953, Indiana star Bob Leonard calmly dropped in two throws with only a few seconds left. Kansas was able to get off a shot, but it wasn't true. Saturday, N.C. center Joe Quigg popped in two charities to make it 54-53 with only six seconds left in the third overtime. K.U. called time with five seconds left. Then Ron Loneski tried to get the ball to Chamberlain at the pivot, the pass was lowa nd Quigg blocked it. Tar Heel Tommy Kearns grabbed the ball and sailed it ceilingward. Before it came down, the final horn sounded. Jayhawkers stood stunned and crushed while the Subway Southerners poured onto the floor to maul each other.
This was easily the most thrilling contest in NCAA history. Up to this year, the 1953 K.U. - Indiana game had carried that "most thrilling" label. Then Friday night's N.C. - M-State gam, 74-70 in triple overtime got it. But this one surpassed all those. N.C. led Kansas 29-22 at the half. That means the Tar Heels scored only 25 points in the final 35 minutes (20-minute half and three five-minute overtimes) while K.U. was getting 31. Who says defense and ball-control are dead in college basketball?
****
K.U. Co-Capt. John Parker thought Carolina was as good as any club K.U. has played this year but guard Maurice King felt Southern Methodist was better. It was obvious the Jayhawkers thought they should have won this one and could win in another meeting...After the game, King started to the N.C. bench to congratulate the winners and a spectator made a nasty racial remark. Reece went after him, but was restrained. The mucker dashed into the crowd...The Tar Heels were generally lavish in their praise of K.U. and called the local club easily the best they'd met all year. They also said Wilt was all they'd heard...The cocky 5-11 quarterback Kearns of the N.C. team said he figured N.C. would win it all along. "We've been in tight spots like this all year and pulled out, and I knew we would this time, even with Lennie fouled out. These guys are great and just don't clutch up. Neither does Kansas, though. It was just a case of who scored last, and we happened to be the lucky ones. If we're No. 1, then they're right up close. Pressure because of our winning string? Heck, no, we don't feel it. We forget the past games and concentrate on the one at hand. When you do that you don't worry about any strings."...Center Quigg said Wilt is "the greatest I've ever seen."..Chamberlain wasn't talking. He was disgusted with himself and felt his team would have won if somehow he'd been able to get just one more bucket...Loneski was headed for the dressing room and a little boy asked for an autograph. A friend tried to brush the kid off, but Ron was having none of it, saying, as he signed: "I can't act like a prima donna because we lost. I should be flattered the kid wants my autograph."
****
Carolina will be a prime choice for the No. 1 national spot again next year. It loses the great Rosenbluth and sub center Bob Young, but that's all. Coach McGuire showed fair bench strength at times and reportedly has a great freshman crop. All along he figured next year would be the big one for the Tar Heels, so watch out in 1957-58...San Francisco has all its starters back and coach Phil Woolpert is counting on several fine frosh..Michigan State, too, will be tough. It loses only three boys off the present team...K.U. will see seven boys depart from its NCAA squad but with Wilt, Loneski and Bob Billings as the nucleus and some good squadmen and frosh to back them up, prospects are good. Asked if he hopes to be back in the NCAA finals next year, Harp said: "We play our next game Dec. 1, will play them one at a time and if we do well enough we'll culminate our season in the finals. Playing them one at a time isn't so tough. It's the winning. If we don't win enough, we won't be back - it's that simple." Harp has Kansas speaking engagements today through Thursday.