1966-67

Enter Lew Alcindor.

In 1966, UCLA was the defending NCAA champion but while the Bruins may have been No.1 in the country, they were No.2 on campus. The freshman team was better and beat the varsity 75–60 to prove it. A year later, those frosh were sophomores and they beat everyone in sight. Thirty and oh. At the NCAA tourney in Louisville, they won by margins of 49, 16, 15 and 15—the last against Dayton in the title game.

Alcindor, the 7-foot New Yorker who would later become one of the greatest pro basketball players ever as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, dominated the college game as his future pro colleagues Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had done. He was easily the best player of the year and the tournament.

Back in New York, the NIT said goodbye to the only home it had ever known—the old Madison Square Garden on 50th Street. Future N.Y. Knick guard Walt Frazier and Southern Illinois won the finale, beating ex-Knick Al McGuire and his Marquette five, 71–56. The NIT would open shop at the new Garden on 33rd Street in 1968.

Final AP Top 10 (Writers' poll taken before major tournaments. From 1962–63 through 1967–68, AP ranked only 10 teams).

Note: UCLA won the NCAAs.

Second 10 (Taken from final UPI coaches' poll).

Note: Unranked Southern Illinois (20–2, Jack Hartman, 24–2) won the NIT.

Consensus All-America (By position, in alphabetical order)

  First Team

·         Lew Alcindor, UCLA

·         Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky

·         Elvin Hayes, Houston

·         Bob Lloyd, Rutgers

·         Wes Unseld, Louisville

·         Bob Verga, Duke

·         Jimmy Walker, Providence

  Second Team

·         Lou Dampier, Kentucky

·         Mel Daniels, New Mexico

·         Sonny Dove, St. John's

·         Don May, Dayton

·         Larry Miller, North Carolina

AP POLL

1. UCLA
2. Louisville
3. Kansas
4. North Carolina
5. Princeton
6. W. Kentucky
7. Houston
8. Tennessee
9. Boston College
10. Texas-El Paso

UPI COACHES POLL

1. UCLA
2. Louisville
3. Kansas
4. North Carolina
5. Princeton
6. Houston
7. W. Kentucky
8. Texas-El Paso
9. Tennessee
10. Boston College

NCAA Results

First Round
Princeton 68, West Virginia 57
St. John's 57, Temple 53
Boston College 48, Connecticut 42
Dayton 69, Western Kentucky 67 (OT)
Virginia Tech 82, Toledo 76
Houston 59, New Mexico State 58
Texas Western 62, Seattle 54
Regional Semifinals
North Carolina 78, Princeton 70 (OT)
Boston College 63, St. John's 62
Dayton 53, Tennessee 52
Virginia Tech 79, Indiana 70
Houston 66, Kansas 53
Southern Methodist 83, Louisville 81
Pacific 72, Texas Western 63
UCLA 109, Wyoming 60
Regional Third Place
East: Princeton 78, St. John's 58
Mideast: Indiana 51, Tennessee 44
Midwest: Kansas 70, Louisville 68
West: Texas Western 69, Wyoming 67
Regional Finals
East: North Carolina 96, Boston College 80
Mideast: Dayton 71, Virginia Tech 66 (OT)
Midwest: Houston 83, SMU 75
West: UCLA 80, Pacific 64
National Semifinals
Dayton 76, North Carolina 62
UCLA 73, Houston 58
National Third Place
Houston 84, North Carolina 62
Championship Game
UCLA 79, Dayton 64

UCLA leaders: F Lynn Shackelford, So.; F-G Ken Heitz, So.; C Lew Alcindor, So.; G Lucius Allen, So.; G Mike Warren, Jr.

All-NCAA Tournament Team

Top 10

All-America Team

Leaders
Team
Offense: Oklahoma City, 96.0
Defense: Tennessee, 54.0

Individual Scoring

Rebounding

Notes

• Southern Illinois, led by Walt Frazier, defeated Marquette 71-56 to win the NIT.

• Lew Alcindor scored 56 points in his UCLA varsity debut.  

Feb 28 Wilt Chamberlain makes NBA history when he scores his 35th consecutive field goal.

1967
*Clair F. Bee, Contributor
*Howard G. Cann, Coach
*Amory T. Gill, Coach
*Alvin F. Julian, Coach

Beginning of a legend

On May 4, 1965, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. stood in a high school gymnasium in New York and announced at an unprecedented news conference that he had decided to attend college on the West Coast. As of that moment -- 12:33 p.m., to be exact -- basketball fans conceded three national championships to the UCLA Bruins.

 

Lew Alcindor

No previous player, not even Wilt Chamberlain or Oscar Robertson, had attracted as much attention while in high school as Lew Alcindor. The graduate of Power Memorial Academy was not only a full inch taller than 7-foot, but also quick, lithe, graceful and polished.

Alcindor was a skilled passer and rebounder as well as an excellent shooter. His potential and UCLA's ambition both seemed limitless.

If anyone still needed convincing, Alcindor gave a startling demonstration in his first game in Westwood. Playing for the freshman against the varsity, which included several veterans of the two previous NCAA championship teams, Alcindor scored 31 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 75-60 victory. That performance only whetted appetites when the varsity struggled through an 18-8 season while the freshman team went undefeated.

Finally, on December 3, 1966, it was time to unveil the big man. In his first varsity game, Alcindor scored a school-record 56 points in a devastating victory over rival Southern Cal. A few weeks later, USC coach Bob Boyd ordered a stall and the Trojans managed to frustrate the Bruins long enough to force an overtime before bowing, 40-35.

A stall was the only hope many teams had of beating the Bruins. Run with UCLA and risk being embarrassed; hold the ball and make a travesty of the game. Most opponents attempted to keep up with the Bruins' pace, but none succeeded. And those who tried to control the tempo merely prompted UCLA coach John Wooden to pronounce himself in favor of a shot clock similar to that employed by the pros.

By no means was Alcindor the Bruins' only weapon. Wooden was blessed with a superb backcourt consisting of swift Mike Warren and dynamic Lucius Allen, a spectacular corner shooter in Lynn Shackelford and a hard-working defender in Ken Heitz.

What concerned coaches around the country most was that five of UCLA's first six players were sophomores. The 1967 Bruins had nary a senior, but Warren, a junior who directed the offense, offered all the experienced leadership UCLA needed.

Other than the game against Southern Cal and slowdown game at Oregon, the Bruins romped through the regular season, winning all 26 games. Then they demolished Wyoming and Pacific in the West Regional and arrived at the Final Four as the overwhelming favorite. They were matched against Houston in one semifinal, and North Carolina played upstart Dayton in the other.

For UCLA and Houston, it would be the first of three games in two years, a mini-rivalry that would catapult college basketball into an era of tremendous growth. The Cougars, making their first appearance in a Final Four, were led by 6-8 consensus All-America forward Elvin Hayes. He was accompanied on the front line by 6-8 Don Kruse and 6-7 Melvin Bell. The guard who ran the offense, Don Chaney, was a sturdy 6-5.

No team in the nation could match Houston's physical strength.

For that reason and a history of weak outside shooting, coach Guy Lewis decided to take the basketball directly at Alcindor. Maybe the Cougars could muscle him. Perhaps they could force him into foul trouble. As it developed, they were able to do neither.

Alcindor wasn't charged with his first foul until the 33rd minute. Houston got no easy follow-up baskets. Still, the Cougars made a game of it for about eight minutes. They passed over the UCLA press, played intelligently and limited Alcindor to one basket in taking a 19-18 lead.

At that point, Shackelford buried a jump shot, the Bruins' press forced a steal and Alcindor scored on a dunk (a shot that would be outlawed the next season, presumably to give Big Lew's opponents a chance against him).

Before Houston could react, UCLA had jumped ahead, 28-19. It was never close thereafter. The Bruins won, 73-58.

Publicly, Hayes was critical of the young center.

"He's not aggressive enough on the boards, particularly on offense," the Houston star said. "Defensively, he just stands around. He's not at all, you know, all they really put him up to be."

If Hayes' comments disturbed Alcindor, he didn't let it affect their relationship. They visited the next afternoon, discussing music and basketball. Hayes would be playing that night in the consolation game against North Carolina. Alcindor would be back in the spotlight, playing for the national championship against Dayton.

The Flyers had surprised even themselves in qualifying for the final. Unranked all season, they had followed upsets in the Mideast Regional by stunning North Carolina, 76-62, behind forward Don May's 34 points and 17 rebounds. But Dayton was a small team and had little hope of matching up against Alcindor.

Don Donoher, the young Dayton coach, concocted a defense in which 6-6 sophomore Dan Sadlier was given primary responsibility for the UCLA center, with considerable help provided by his teammates. In crowding the middle, however, the other Flyers left gaps that were fully exploited by the Bruins. Alcindor had been taught to hit the open man and had outstanding court vision.

Rather than challenge the rigged defense, Alcindor passed off, allowing Allen, Warren and Shackelford all to score in double figures while he tallied 20 points, nine below his season average.

"We play team," he said. "You don't play one man. You lose playing one man."

Nevertheless, Alcindor's mere presence was pivotal. Some writers even went so far as to refer to the Bruins as "LewCLA" and to dateline their Final Four stories "LEW-isville" rather than Louisville, Ky.

Indeed, Alcindor was the focal point of the Bruins' defense, which was primarily responsible for their third national title in four years. Dayton went more than five minutes before scoring and fell behind early, 20-4.

May, whose offense had carried Flyers throughout the NCAA Tournament, was hounded into distraction by Heitz, a skinny honors student who played with glasses. May made only 3-of-12 field-goal attempts in the first half, when the outcome was determined.

"May is just a terrific player," Heitz said. "He's so strong and he knows how to use his strength. I knew that he was trying to get inside on me, but I could tell all along that he wouldn't take me in as far as he would normally like to because Lew would be there."

Alcindor was credited with four blocked shots, all in the first half. They made a lasting impression on the Flyers, who subsequently altered enough attempts to ruin their shooting percentage and any chance they had against UCLA. The final score of was a gesture of mercy on Wooden's part.

The Bruins led, 70-46, when the coach removed Alcindor and Warren with 5:17 remaining. The gap was 74-47 when Allen, the last starter in the lineup, went to the bench.

This was an entirely new situation for Wooden and UCLA. Yes, they had won two previous national titles, but with little teams that were praised for playing clever and exciting basketball.

Suddenly, the Bruins were big, bad bullies.

The player who felt the wrath of the crowd of 18,892 most was Heitz, the most unlikely looking enforcer imaginable. May, who finished with a game-high 21 points, had fallen to the floor hard early in the game from an accidental blow and Heitz became the target of everyone in Freedom Hall who wanted to see a close game, which was everyone who did not attend or was not employed by UCLA.

"We're not very popular, are we?" Heitz decided.

The Bruins were not. They made it look so easy.

"You know," Heitz said, "we're even starting to feel hurt. We are not a bully team at all. You practically have to smash Lew in the mouth before he gets tough.

"Oh, well, I'm learning to understand these things. I used to root for all the underdogs myself. Now I'm a big fan of Green Bay and Muhammad Ali. I guess we all have to stick together."

As far as the nation was concerned, this was the beginning of a dynasty. Only a sophomore, Alcindor already was further advanced than any big man in the history of college basketball. The thought of what he might do in his next two seasons boggled the mind.

Even his coach, conservative by nature, called his prodigy awesome.

"At times," Wooden conceded, "he frightens me."