1970-71
OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL CONFERENCE PLACE CONF. TOURNEY POST-SEASON
 27-3 14-0 8-1 5-2 14-0 1st   2-2 NCAA FINAL FOUR

ROSTER:

NO. POS. NAME CLASS HGT. WGT. Hometown (Previous School)
    RETURNEES:        
55 C Roger Brown** Sr. 6'10 225 Chicago, IL (Englewood HS)
20 F Greg Douglas* Sr. 6'8 220 Keokuk, IA (Keokuk HS)
33 F Mark Mathews* Jr. 6'2 175 Shawnee-Mission, KS  (North HS)
40 F Dave Robisch** Sr. 6'10 235 Springfield, IL
44 F Pierre Russell **Cpt. Sr. 6'4 200 Kansas City, KS  (Wyandotte HS)
15 F Bud Stallworth * Jr. 6'6 190 Hartselle, AL (Morgan Co. HS)
45 G Bob Kivisto * Jr. 6'1 180 Aurora, IL  (East HS)
32 F Neal Mask * Jr. 6'7 200 Tulsa, OK  (Nathan Hale HS)
25 G Aubrey Nash * Jr. 6'1 195 Hyattsville, MD  (DeMatha HS)
    NEW FACES:        
24 C Randy Canfield So. 6'9 235 Wichita, KS (Southeast HS)
22 F Jerry House So. 6'6 175 Fayetteville, AR
42 G Mark Williams % So. 5'11 165 Denver, CO  (South HS)

          * Varsity letter     Cpt. = Captain    # = Walk-on     % = Nonletterman

COACHES:

Ted Owens, Head Coach

 

LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR (' stats):

PLAYER LOSSES Class Hgt. POS. G/GS PTS PPG RBS RPG PPts STATUS
Fred Bosilevac, Jr.                    
Chet Lawrence                    
Tim Natsues                    
TOTAL                    

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:
 

 

 

 

 

SEASON SUMMARY:

KU had the best frontline in the country in 1971, and remain as KU’s all-time best rebounding team with 51.4 caroms per game.  All-American center Dave Robisch,  Bud Stallworth, Roger Brown and Pierre Russell contributed an average of 57 points and 30 rebounds per game.  Starting guards were Bob Kivisto and Aubrey Nash.  The Jayhawkers stormed through the Big Eight with a perfect 14-0 record and finished the regular season 25-1, the best in school history.  Their lone loss was a heartbreaker at Louisville.  However, they were playing their third game in four nights and just weren’t up to par that night.

In NCAA regional play in Wichita, KU squeaked by Houston 78-77 behind Robisch’s 29 points and Stallworth’s 25.  KU then beat Drake 73-71 in the regional final, as Robisch scored 27 points.  No one expected Drake to be in the regional final, as they first had to play No. 12 Notre Dame, led by All-American Austin Carr.  But Bulldog guard Bobby Jones threw a blanket over Carr, as Drake upset the Irish 79-72 in OT. 

In the final, few gave Drake a chance against the vaunted Jayhawks.  Nonetheless, Drake led the Jayhawks by 9 at the half and KU’s Stallworth and Russell fouled out early in a very physical game. KU finally caught up and won the game on a couple of free throws at the end.  The victory sent KU to the Astrodome for a matchup with five-time NCAA champion UCLA, ranked No. 1 in the nation at that time.  Although KU and UCLA had the same 27-1 records heading into the game, KU had struggled, winning its last six games by a total of only 13 points, two of them in overtime.  Kansas never recovered from a seven-point halftime deficit and lost 68-60.  Robisch scored 17 points and Stallworth and Pierre Russell added 12 each as KU’s 21-game winning streak came to an end.  Incidentally, that game was Denny Crum’s last as John Wooden’s assistant, before taking the Louisville job.

In the other NCAA semi-final, Villanova topped Western Kentucky in two overtimes.  Western Kentucky, regarded for years as Kentucky’s poor country cousins, was in the Final Four after thrashing Kentucky 107-83.  Villanova was led by Howard Porter.  The NBA and fledgling ABA were in a bidding war for players, and both Porter and Western KY’s Jim McDaniel had signed ABA contracts before the tournament.  Once those facts were confirmed, the records of Villanova and Western Kentucky were erased from the record book. 

In the final, UCLA whipped Nova 68-62.  It was noteworthy in that Wooden had his team stalling much of the game.  Aside from the game strategy, he later said he was trying to make a case for the 35-second shot clock, which incidentally was approved by the NCAA the next year.

Dave Robisch finished his career as KU’s second all-time scorer, and now holds 6th place with 1,754 points.  He also is 6th on KU’s all-time rebounding list.  He was a great pitcher for KU’s baseball team and was drafted by the major leagues, but he chose basketball and went on to play 13 seasons in the ABA and NBA.  As a side note for Iowan’s, Keokuk’s Greg Douglas was a senior on this team.  He came to KU with great promise and had a stellar sophomore year. But drugs and mental illness eventually diminished his capacity to play, limiting him to only 19 games his senior year, and he only scored an average of 2.7 per game.  Sadly, he returned to Keokuk and for many years has been in a mental institution there.

KJ 3/19/01

LIKE '71 - KU SPORTS ARTICLE

1971- CRIMSON & BLUE HANDBOOK ARTICLE  

FINAL FOUR PRECEDE, by Bob Hentzen

FINAL FOUR GAME STORY, by Bob Hartzell

CONSOLATION GAME STORY, by Bob Hartzell

1971 RECAP, Topeka Capitol-Journal

Victory makes memories sweeter, 3/25/2002

1971 You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNB3kaYZJV0&feature=related

http://www.vtap.com/video/1971+Kansas+Jayhawks+%2528reached+Final+Four%2529/CL0163686781_798981d0c_c3c6ZGF2ZS5yb2Jpc2NofmluOjF-cTpzZX5tdzpEYXZlIFJvYmlzY2g

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNB3kaYZJV0

 

1970-71  FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team highs in bold):

CATEGORY

KU

OPP

DIFF

Robisch, Dave Stallworth, Bud Brown, Roger Russell, Pierre Nash, Aubrey Williams, Mark

Games Played/Started

30 30   30/ 30/ 29/ 30/ 29/ 26/

Points

2328  1939   576 507 326 309 192 135

    Per Game

77.6 64.6   19.2 16.9 11.2 10.3 6.6 5.2

Rebounds

1543 1298   302 198 322 234 79 24

    Per Game

51.4 43.3   10.1 6.6 11.1 7.8 2.7 0.9

FG -Attempts

2122 1767   511 470 278 301 203 120

       Made

910 687   215 215 131 119 80 49

       Percent

42.9 38.9   42.1 45.7 47.1 39.5 39.4 40.8

FT-Attempts

824  798   233 119 114 98 73 45

     Made

508 565   146 77 64 71 32 37

     Percent

61.7 70.8   62.7 64.7 56.1 72.4 43.8 82.2

Production Points/Game

                 
Production Points/Minute                  

Statistics, Cont'd

CATEGORY Kivisto,
Bob
Canfield, Randy Douglas, Greg Mathews, Mark House, Jerry Mask,
Neal
Team
Games Played/ Started 30/ 16/ 19/ 21/ 15/ 15/  
Points 113 73 52 20 14 11  
   Per Game 3.8 4.6 2.7 1.0 0.9 0.7  
Rebounds 47 56 45 13 9 11 203
   Per Game 1.6 3.5 2.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 6.8
FG - Attempts 80 57 62 13 12 15  
         Made 32 29 21 7 7 5  
         Percent 40.0 50.9 33.9 53.8 58.3 33.3  
FT - Attempts 91 25 13 8 1 4  
        Made 49 15 10 6 0 1  
        Percent 53.8 60.0 76.9 75.0 0.0 25.0  
Production Points/Game              
Production Points/Minute              

Source:   KU Basketball Media Guide

GAME-BY-GAME

Long Beach State W 69-52   Dec. 1 at Lawrence
Eastern Kentucky W 79-65   Dec. 5 at Lawrence
South Dakota State W 95-59   Dec. 7 at Lawrence
Loyola (Ill.) W 94-62   Dec. 12 at Lawrence
St. Joseph's W 80-65   Dec. 18 at Lawrence
Houston W 89-73   Dec. 19 at Lawrence
Louisville L 75-87   Dec. 21 at Louisville, Ky.
Missouri W 96-63   Dec. 26 at Kansas City, Mo.
Iowa State W 59-56 * Dec. 29 at Kansas City, Mo.
Nebraska W 72-52   Dec. 30 at Kansas City, Mo.
Georgia Tech W 84-71   Jan. 12 at Atlanta, Ga.
Oklahoma City W 101-77   Jan. 16 at Lawrence
Iowa State W 83-57   Jan. 18 at Lawrence
Oklahoma State W 90-55   Jan. 23 at Lawrence
Iowa State W 95-72   Jan. 30 at Ames, Iowa
Kansas State W 79-74   Feb. 1 at Lawrence
Nebraska W 81-67   Feb. 6 at Lincoln, Neb.
Colorado W 91-67   Feb. 8 at Lawrence
Oklahoma State W 63-50   Feb. 13 at Stillwater, Okla.
Oklahoma W 71-68   Feb. 15 at Norman, Okla.
Missouri W 85-66   Feb. 20 at Lawrence
Kansas State W 61-48   Feb. 23 at Manhattan, Kan.
Colorado W 66-65   Feb. 27 at Boulder, Colo.
Oklahoma W 54-52 * Mar. 6 at Lawrence
Missouri W 71-69 * Mar. 8 at Columbia, Mo.
Nebraska W 59-54   Mar. 13 at Lawrence
NCAA Tournament

 

Houston W 78-77   Mar. 18 at Wichita, Kan.
(NCAA Regional)
Drake W 73-71   Mar. 20 at Wichita, Kan.
(NCAA Regional Finals)
UCLA L 60-68   Mar. 25 at Houston, Texas
(NCAA Semifinals)
Western Kentucky L 75-77   Mar. 27 at Houston, Texas
(NCAA Third-Place)
 

LINK TO 1971 NATIONAL STATISTICS

 

Link to Big  Conference for

The 1971 UCLA Bruins, which featured Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Steve Patterson and Henry Bibby, were not the powerhouse of years past, but they were a bunch of scrappers who went 29-1, though eight of their victories were by 5 points or less.  Their sole loss was to Notre Dame in South Bend, a game in which All-American Austin Carr scored 48 points to lead the Irish.  Other great players that year included Artis Gilmore of Jacksonville, who led the country in rebounding with 23.2 rpg, Jim McDaniel of Western Kentucky, and Dean “The Dream” Meminger of Marquette. Julius Erving of Massachusetts was emerging as a force.

Drake had a great year under Maury John, finishing in a 9-5 tie for the Missouri Valley crown and ranked 19th  in the final regular season poll.  Forward Jeff Halliburton (one of the best one-on-one players I ever saw) was their star along with Al Sakys and Bobby Jones.

Coach Dick Schultz’s Hawkeyes had a down year in 1971 after losing four senior starters from the great 1970 team which tore up the Big Ten 14-0.  The only holdover for 1971 was “Downtown” Freddie Brown, who almost single-handedly led the Hawks with 27.6 ppg.  The only other starter in double digits was soph center Kevin Kunnert with 10.0.  The forwards were Sam Williams and Ken Grabinski and the point guard was Gary Lusk.  Overall, the Hawkeyes had a 9-15 record and they finished in a tie for seventh in the conference with a 4-10 record. 

Led by coach Glen Anderson, Iowa State had a terrible year, finishing 5-21 overall and tied for last in the Big Eight with a 2-12 record.  Gene Mack starred for the Clones, averaged 19.8 ppg and was named to the conference second team.  Other starters included Jack DeVilder, Rick Engel, Bob Moser and Larry Gibson.  Anderson was fired at the end of the year and the Clones attracted Maury John away from Drake.

KU had the best frontline in the country in 1971, and remain as KU’s all-time best rebounding team with 51.4 caroms per game.  All-American center Dave Robisch,  Bud Stallworth, Roger Brown and Pierre Russell contributed an average of 57 points and 30 rebounds per game.  Starting guards were Bob Kivisto and Aubrey Nash.  The Jayhawkers stormed through the Big Eight with a perfect 14-0 record and finished the regular season 25-1, the best in school history.  Their lone loss was a heartbreaker at Louisville.  However, they were playing their third game in four nights and just weren’t up to par that night.

In NCAA regional play in Wichita, KU squeaked by Houston 78-77 behind Robisch’s 29 points and Stallworth’s 25.  KU then beat Drake 73-71 in the regional final, as Robisch scored 27 points.  No one expected Drake to be in the regional final, as they first had to play No. 12 Notre Dame, led by All-American Austin Carr.  But Bulldog guard Bobby Jones threw a blanket over Carr, and Drake upset the Irish 79-72 in OT. 

In the final, few gave Drake a chance against the vaunted Jayhawks.  Nonetheless, Drake led the Jayhawks by 9 at the half and KU’s Stallworth and Russell fouled out early in a very physical game. KU finally caught up and won the game on a couple of free throws at the end.  The victory sent KU to the Astrodome for a matchup with five-time NCAA champion UCLA, ranked No. 1 in the nation at that time.  Although KU and UCLA had the same 27-1 records heading into the game, KU had struggled, winning its last six games by a total of only 13 points, two of them in overtime.  Kansas never recovered from a seven-point halftime deficit and lost 68-60.  Robisch scored 17 points and Stallworth and Pierre Russell added 12 each as KU’s 21-game winning streak came to an end.  Incidentally, that game was Denny Crum’s last as John Wooden’s assistant, before taking the Louisville job.

In the other NCAA semi-final, Villanova topped Western Kentucky in two overtimes.  Western Kentucky, regarded for years as Kentucky’s poor country cousins, was in the Final Four after thrashing Kentucky 107-83.  Villanova was led by Howard Porter, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tourney.  The NBA and fledgling ABA were in a bidding war for players, and both Porter and Western KY’s Jim McDaniel had signed ABA contracts before the tournament.  Both signed affidavits that they had not inked pro contracts.  Thus, once those facts were confirmed, the records of Villanova and Western Kentucky were erased from the record book, as was Porter’s award.

In the final, UCLA whipped Nova 68-62.  It was noteworthy in that Wooden had his team stalling much of the game.  Aside from the game strategy, he later said he was trying to make a case for the 35-second shot clock, which incidentally was approved by the NCAA the next year.

Dave Robisch finished his career as KU’s second all-time scorer, and now holds 6th place with 1,754 points.  He also is 6th on KU’s all-time rebounding list.  He was a great pitcher for KU’s baseball team and was drafted by the major leagues, but he chose basketball and went on to play 13 seasons in the ABA and NBA.  As a side note for Iowan’s, Keokuk’s Greg Douglas was a senior on this team.  He came to KU with great promise and had a stellar sophomore year. But drugs and mental illness eventually diminished his capacity to play, limiting him to only 19 games his senior year, and he only scored an average of 2.7 per game.  Sadly, he returned to Keokuk and for many years has been in a mental institution there.

As an interesting sidebar to March Madness that year, Joe Frazier won a unanimous decision over Muhammad Ali in ‘the fight of the century’.

KJ’s BB Newsletter                March 17, 2001