1980-81

Ray Meyer took over the basketball program at DePaul in 1943 and for his first four years got to coach George Mikan.

With the 6-10 Mikan in the pivot, DePaul finished third in the 1943 NCAA tournament, second in the 1944 NIT and then won the NIT in 1945.

After Mikan graduated and went off to the pros, Meyer and DePaul avoided the glare of public attention until the late 1970s when the Blue Demons, ranked No.3 after the regular season in 1978, finished third in the NCAAs in 1979 and entered the postseason ranked No.1 in both 1980 and '81.

Both of those No.1 DePaul clubs were upset in the first round by unranked teams—in 1980 by UCLA (77–71) and in 1981 by St. Joseph's of Pa. (49–48). In fact, '81 was a big year for watching the mighty fall. No.2 Oregon State lost to Kansas State (50–48) while No.3 Arizona State was routed by Kansas (88–71).

With the tournament suddenly wide open, No.9 Indiana, led by sophomore guard Isiah Thomas, came out of the Mideast Regional to win the title. The Hoosiers defeated North Carolina by 13 in the final. Thomas, the tournament MVP, turned pro after the season and was first round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons.

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The year of the Upset was 1981 because third-ranked Arizona State, an 88-71 loser against Kansas in the Midwest Regional, joined DePaul and second-ranked Oregon State among the top three teams to drop their playoff openers.

Arizona State, ranked third by AP entering the playoffs with a 24-3 record, had the door open to a possible national title when No. 1 seeds DePaul and Oregon State lost their playoff openers at the buzzer.  But the Sun Devils, featuring four upperclassmen who combined for a total of more than 35 seasons in the NBA (guards Fat Lever and Byron Scott, center Alton Lister and forward Sam Williams), became one of the biggest busts in tourney history.

The door to the Final Four was also slammed shut on them in their opener by Kansas (88-71 in Midwest Regional) when they fell behind by 16 points at intermission.

Final AP Top 20

Writers' poll taken before tournament.

Note: Indiana won the NCAAs.

Consensus All-America

(In alphabetical order)

First Team

·         Mark Aguirre, DePaul

·         Danny Ainge, BYU

·         Steve Johnson, Oregon St.

·         Ralph Sampson, Virginia

·         Isiah Thomas, Indiana

Second Team

·         Sam Bowie, Kentucky

·         Jeff Lamp, Virginia

·         Durand Macklin, LSU

·         Kelly Tripucka, Notre Dame

·         Danny Vranes, Utah

AP POLL

1. DePaul
2. Oregon State
3. Virginia
4. LSU
5. Arizona State
6. North Carolina
7. Indiana
8. Kentucky
9. Indiana
10. UCLA

UPI COACHES POLL

1. DePaul
2. Oregon State
3. Virginia
4. LSU
5. Arizona State
6. North Carolina
7. Indiana
8. Kentucky
9. Notre Dame
10. Utah
19. Kansas

NCAA Results

First Round
#8 Lamar 71, #9 Missouri 67
#5 Arkansas 73, #12 Mercer 67
#6 Wichita State 95, #11 Southern (La.) 70
#7 Kansas 69, #10 Mississippi 66
#9 St. Joseph's 59, #8 Creighton 57
#5 Boston College 93, #12 Ball State 90
#6 Maryland 81, #11 Tennessee-Chattanooga 69
#7 UAB 93, #10 Western Kentucky 68
#8 Kansas State 64, #9 San Francisco 60
#5 Wyoming 78, #12 Howard University (D.C.) 43
#11 Northeastern 55, #6 Fresno State 53
#10 Pittsburgh 70, #7 Idaho 69 (ot)
#9 Villanova 90, #8 Houston 72
#5 Virginia Commonwealth 85, #12 Long Island 69
#6 Brigham Young 60, #11 Princeton 51
#10 James Madison 61, #7 Georgetown 55
Second Round
#1 Louisiana State 100, #8 Lamar 78
#5 Arkansas 74, #4 Louisville 73
#6 Wichita State 60, #3 Iowa 56
#7 Kansas 88, #2 Arizona State 71
#9 St. Joseph's 49, #1 DePaul 48
#5 Boston College 67, #4 Wake Forest 64
#3 Indiana 99, #6 Maryland 64
#7 UAB 69, #2 Kentucky 62
#8 Kansas State 50, #1 Oregon State 48
#4 Illinois 67, #5 Wyoming 65
#3 Utah 94, #11 Northeastern 69
#2 North Carolina 74, #10 Pittsburgh 57
#1 Virginia 54, #9 Villanova 50
#4 Tennessee 58, #5 Virginia Commonwealth 56 (OT)
#6 Brigham Young 78, #3 UCLA 55
#2 Notre Dame 54, #10 James Madison 45
Regional Semifinals
Louisiana State 72, Arkansas 56
Wichita State 66, Kansas 65
St. Joseph's 42, Boston College 41
Indiana 87, UAB 72
Kansas State 57, Illinois 52
North Carolina 61, Utah 56
Virginia 62, Tennessee 48
Brigham Young 51, Notre Dame 50
Regional Finals
East: Virginia 74, Brigham Young 60
Mideast: Indiana 78, St. Joseph's 46
Midwest: LSU 96, Wichita State 85
West: North Carolina 82, Kansas State 68
National Semifinals
Indiana 67, Louisiana State 49
North Carolina 78, Virginia 65
National Third Place
Virginia 78, Louisiana State 74
Championship Game
Indiana 63, North Carolina 50

Indiana leaders: Isiah Thomas, So., G; Ray Tolbert, Sr., F-C; Randy Wittman, Jr., G; Landon Turner, Jr., F-C; Ted Kitchel, Jr., F

All-NCAA Tournament Team

Top 10

All-America Team

Leaders
Team
Offense: Cal-Irvine, 86.4
Defense: Fresno State, 50.7

Individual Scoring

Rebounding

Notes

• Tulsa (26-7) defeated Syracuse (22-12) for the NIT title. The previous year, Tulsa finished 8-19.

• Oregon State’s Steve Johnson set an NCAA record for field goal accuracy (74.6 percent).

• Cal-Irvine’s Kevin Magee is the only player to finish among the top four nationally in scoring (27.5), rebounding (12.5), and field goal percentage (67.1 percent).

^{The top teams in 1981 were DePaul, led by All-American Mark Aguirre, Oregon State with All-American Steve Johnson, and Arizona State (which had four upperclassmen who later combined for 35 seasons in the NBA - Fat Lever, Byron Scott, Alton Lister and Sam Williams). Strangely, all three dropped their first games in the NCAA tourney (back then only 48 teams were invited, and the top 16 got byes in the first round). It was the second year in a row that DePaul was ranked No. 1 and lost their first game in the tournament. With tournament wide open, No. 9 Indiana, led by sophomore Isiah Thomas, came out of the Mideast Regional to win the title 63-50 over North Carolina. Virginia topped LSU for third place.}

^{Other great players in 1981 included BYU’s Danny Ainge, Ralph Sampson, a sophomore at Virginia, and Lewis “Black Magic” Lloyd of Drake.}

Source:  KJ’s BB Newsletter, March 24, 2001

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

1981
*Everett N. Case, Coach
*Alva O. Duer, Contributor
Clarence E. Gaines, Coach
Harold E. Greer, Player
Slater N. Martin, Player
Frank V. Ramsey, Jr., Player
Willis Reed, Jr., Player

Indiana's show goes on

The show almost didn't go on. And even after it did, there were those who thought it shouldn't have. Such was the state of the union on the evening of March 30, 1981.

 

Isiah Thomas

At the time Indiana and North Carolina were scheduled to meet in the national championship game at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the nation was experiencing a trauma.

President Ronald Reagan lay in a Washington, D.C., hospital with gunshot wounds suffered in an assassination attempt that afternoon. The President's press secretary, a Secret Service officer and a Washington policeman also had been struck down.

The NCAA Tournament committee was charged with deciding whether to proceed with the game. If the answer was yes, then NBC, which had covered the aftermath of the attempted assassination to the exclusion of other programming, had to decide whether to telecast it. In Los Angeles, the annual Academy Awards show already had been postponed for 24 hours.

Had the game been postponed, NBC might not have been in position to clear air time. The Philadelphia 76ers were scheduled to host a game at the Spectrum the following night. The committee authorized the start of the consolation game between Virginia and Louisiana State while awaiting word on the President's condition.

It wasn't until Dr. Dennis O'Leary, dean of clinical affairs at George Washington University Hospital, announced that surgery on the President had been successful and he was out of danger that the decision to proceed with the title game finally was rendered.

The coaches, Bob Knight of Indiana and Dean Smith of North Carolina, informed players, who had been awaiting word in their locker rooms. NBC News concluded its live reporting from the capital at 8:15 p.m. ET, and the network switched to basketball.

The announcers working the game had reservations about the decision and were permitted to express them on the air.

"I had hoped the game would be postponed 24 hours," play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg said.

Al McGuire, the colorful analyst and former Marquette coach whose team had won the championship game four years earlier, was subdued.

"I would have preferred not to go on," he said, "but this is my job."

A moment of silent prayer was inserted in the program, and the national anthem, ordinarily played before the telecast, this time was aired nationally.

Although North Carolina had defeated Indiana, 65-56, on its home court three months earlier and had a superior record, the Tar Heels were decided underdogs. They had finished three games behind Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference but had won the ACC Tournament and advanced through the West Regional to the Final Four.

Then in the national semifinals, the Tar Heels overcame 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson and the Cavaliers for the first time in three tries that season, 78-65, with the help of Al Wood's 39-point performance.

Still, North Carolina's accomplishments paled alongside those of Indiana. After a slow start, the Hoosiers rallied to win the Big Ten Conference title on the final day of the season, devastated Maryland by 35 points in a triumphant march through the Mideast Regional and then dismantled a 31-3 LSU team, 67-49, to reach the championship game.

The Hoosiers were tough and aggressive on defense, in the mold of the best Knight teams and of the coach himself. The day before the championship game, while Reagan still was safe in the White House and the mood of the tournament was upbeat, the Indiana coach had recounted the tale of meeting an abusive LSU fan in the team's hotel after Saturday's semifinal and depositing him in a nearby garbage can. He spread out the Sunday papers before him and read the story aloud, glowing with satisfaction.

The Hoosiers appeared to be outmanned up front, where North Carolina had three big men who could soar and score in forwards Wood and James Worthy and 6-9 freshman center Sam Perkins. But Indiana, which had won the only previous NCAA championship game played in Philadelphia, in the Bicentennial year of 1976, had Isiah Thomas at point guard, and his presence on the floor was something to behold.

Thomas was only a sophomore, and when he smiled, he appeared even younger than his 19 years. Looks, however, were deceptive in Thomas' case. After helping to lead a U.S. team coached by Knight to a gold medal in the 1979 Pan American Games -- when he had yet to set foot inside a college classroom -- he was acknowledged as something of a child prodigy, and the seniors at Indiana looked to him to make the big play.

His choice of Indiana surprised some because Knight was such a demanding coach and was perceived as someone who would limit Thomas' creativity. But Thomas wanted to improve, to invest his game with structure.

"If I wanted to be an individual," Thomas said, "I could have gone to the 'Y' and played by myself. I don't have to hide myself in the system."

Instead, the system was modified somewhat to accommodate the skills of the 6-1 youngster with the sweet face. It paid off with consecutive Big Ten titles and Indiana's first trip to the Final Four since 1976.

A sign in the Indiana student section said it succinctly: "A child shall lead them."

That wasn't necessarily clear at the start of the championship game. Carolina jumped to an 8-2 lead, and after Indiana tied the score at 8-8, the Tar Heels went on an 8-0 run. Less than five minutes into the game, starting forward Ted Kitchel was on the bench with three fouls and the Hoosiers were being repelled by Carolina's zone defense.

With Kitchel on the bench, the addition of reserve guard Jim Thomas to the lineup enabled Indiana to put a quicker defensive player on Wood. The Carolina star finished with a team-high 18 points, but that was less than half his output against Virginia.

Jim Thomas' presence also pushed Randy Wittman, the Hoosiers' 6-6 guard and best outside shooter, to the corner, where the zone was most vulnerable. Indiana was trailing, 20-14, when Wittman took his first shot from the baseline. Just like that, it was 20-16.

A minute later, he tied the score at 20-20 with a second corner jumper. Wittman scored again 35 seconds later to create a 22-22 tie.

Isiah Thomas knew exactly what he wanted to do as the half wound down with the Hoosiers trailing, 26-25. He passed the ball to Wittman, once again free in the corner, and the junior did not hesitate. He had been shooting that shot all half. In fact, he had been shooting that shot all the way back to grade school and always, in his mind, for the Hoosiers.

"I'm just one of those guys who loves to shoot," Wittman said. "I've always been that way. When I was little, we always had a basket in the back. I shot all my free time. I have no great quickness. I'm not a great ballhandler, like Isiah. But I can shoot."

And he did. His 18-footer from the right baseline dropped cleanly through the net with one second on the clock and Indiana had its first lead of the game, 27-26. The uphill struggle from the eight-point deficit was over.

"The most important shot of the whole game," Thomas said.

If it was, it was only because of Isiah's work in the second half. The consensus All-American started by stealing the ball after the Tar Heels controlled the opening tip and driving for a layup. Then he fed 6-10 Landon Turner for a layup. A second steal and layup preceded a 16-foot jump shot. Isiah followed with another layup and then a 14-foot jumper from the circle.

In less than seven minutes, the sophomore scored 10 points and helped to push the Indiana lead to 43-34.

"Isiah went to work on us," marveled Smith, a losing coach in an NCAA final for the third time. "He really broke it open."

Thomas scored 19 of his 23 points and accounted for four steals in the second half. Indiana won convincingly, 63-50. And the star of the show, not unexpectedly, turned out to be Thomas.

"Don't you all realize," said Ray Tolbert, Indiana's 6-9 forward/center who had a game-high 11 rebounds, "that Isiah already is a pro?"

In ability, certainly. In actuality, that transformation would take place the following season when Thomas left school after two years to run the Detroit Pistons' backcourt.

Meanwhile, the country had been treated to a stylish performance and an exciting show on a night of great anxiety. During the game, an announcement of the President's improved condition was made at the Spectrum. And late in the telecast, a news update provided a smile of relief for the NBC staff and those watching at home.

Reporting from Washington for NBC News, John Palmer quoted a message that the President had scribbled on a pad of paper in his hospital room shortly after awaking from surgery.

"All in all," Reagan had written, borrowing W.C. Fields' line, "I'd rather be in Philadelphia."