A Look Back at Davidson's First Elite Eight Appearance 50 Years Ago
3/19/2018 1:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Davidson's 1967-68 Wildcats were an exciting blend of youth and experience, a combination so lethal that it had coach Lefty Driesell and the team's fans thinking of a trip to the NCAA Final Four.
Rodney Knowles, 6-9, was a senior frontcourt player, who averaged 18.4 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, a season in which the rebuilding Wildcats won 15 games and lost 12. Key returning players from the 1966-67 team also included starting point guard Dave Moser, sharp-shooting wing Mike O'Neill, the swashbuckling Wayne Huckel, 6-3, who averaged 16.8 points as a junior and was so tough that he wore baseball sliding pads to help survive the skid marks he received from diving on the floor. Tom Youngdale, and Mike Spann also returned, among others.
Joining those talented players were sophomores Doug Cook, Mike Maloy and Jerry Kroll (freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball in this era).
As usual, the 'Cats under Driesell didn't dodge a fight. They played the likes of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Memphis State, St. Joe's, St. John's, Temple, Wake Forest and Duke. It was a splendid team, defensively tough and one of relentless rebounders. Davidson, led by Maloy's 11.7 rebounds a game, out-rebounded opponents on a average of nine a game, and the stifling man-to-man defense that Driesell drilled into his players each afternoon resulted in opponents shooting only 39.8 percent for the season, as opposed to Davidson's 49.4 percent.
Stopping the 'Cats on offense was a complicated equation. Five players scored in double figures, led by Maloy's 15.6 points. Driesell was a firm believer in attacking inside with high-percentage shots, which resulted in Davidson taking 134 more foul shots than its opponents.
Davidson went through the Southern Conference regular season with a record of 9-1 and then won the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 'Cats beat St. John's in the NCAA opener, 79-70. It was off to Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh for the East Regionals, where Davidson was to meet Columbia of the Ivy League and North Carolina was to play unbeaten and third-ranked St. Bonaventure. North Carolina had a surprisingly easy time with Bob Lanier and St. Bonaventure (91-72) while Davidson eked out a 61-59 overtime win over Columbia.
It set up a showdown between UNC and Davidson, a game Driesell had been clamoring for publicly. North Carolina coach Dean Smith had a policy that he would not play in-state schools during the regular season other than the ones in the ACC, and it galled Driesell, who accused Smith of ducking him.
Reynolds Coliseum was filled to capacity (12,600) on Saturday night, March 16, 1968. A heavyweight battle was expected by fans and the media, and one resulted. Smith's philosophy was to play his bench and keep fresh players in the game. Tired players could remove themselves from the game and put themselves back in when they were rested. Driesell, on the other hand, believed in playing his five starters and maybe one or two reserves. In this game, UNC played eight players and Davidson six. Davidson's starters of Moser, Huckel, Maloy, Kroll and Knowles were relieved by O'Neill, who scored seven points and pulled down five boards in a superb performance.
It was scintillating game from the outset. With the crowd roaring and often standing, Davidson took the early lead behind its defense and led at halftime, 34-28. UNC shot 39.4 percent in the first half to Davidson's 41.9 percent. However, North Carolina also prided itself on its defense, and while Driesell preferred straight man-to-man, with no switching, North Carolina went with a defensive smorgasbord of man-to-man, half-court traps and a point zone. UNC turned the tables in the second half, holding Davidson to 29.4 percent shooting from the field while the Tar Heels connected on 48.3 percent of its second-half shots.
North Carolina won the game, 70-66, for the right to advance to the NCAA Final Four. But it was a sensational battle, one so good that an encore was needed. Moser and Maloy played all 40 minutes in the game for Davidson, with Knowles going 39 minutes. Four Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Maloy's 18 points and 13 rebounds. Knowles cashed in 12 rebounds as Davidson dominated the backboards, 47-37.
Ironically, North Carolina's two leading scorers in the game, Rusty Clark (22 pts, 17 rebs) and Charlie Scott (18 pts, six rebs), were recruited extensively by Driesell.
"People need to remember that the NCAA didn't seed teams in those days," Driesell said. "They kept you in your own section of the country. There were very few good teams in the West then and a bunch of good ones in the East. If the system had been in place then that's in use now, Davidson and North Carolina both would have been No. 1 seeds. We wouldn't have met before the Final Four. It's a shame that we did, because both of us had great teams, in 1968 and 1969."
Davidson ended its season with a record of 24 wins, five losses. With so many talented players returning, the best was ahead, another great season that would result in yet another classic battle with the team from Chapel Hill.
Davidson's 1967-68 Wildcats were an exciting blend of youth and experience, a combination so lethal that it had coach Lefty Driesell and the team's fans thinking of a trip to the NCAA Final Four.
Rodney Knowles, 6-9, was a senior frontcourt player, who averaged 18.4 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, a season in which the rebuilding Wildcats won 15 games and lost 12. Key returning players from the 1966-67 team also included starting point guard Dave Moser, sharp-shooting wing Mike O'Neill, the swashbuckling Wayne Huckel, 6-3, who averaged 16.8 points as a junior and was so tough that he wore baseball sliding pads to help survive the skid marks he received from diving on the floor. Tom Youngdale, and Mike Spann also returned, among others.
Joining those talented players were sophomores Doug Cook, Mike Maloy and Jerry Kroll (freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball in this era).
As usual, the 'Cats under Driesell didn't dodge a fight. They played the likes of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Memphis State, St. Joe's, St. John's, Temple, Wake Forest and Duke. It was a splendid team, defensively tough and one of relentless rebounders. Davidson, led by Maloy's 11.7 rebounds a game, out-rebounded opponents on a average of nine a game, and the stifling man-to-man defense that Driesell drilled into his players each afternoon resulted in opponents shooting only 39.8 percent for the season, as opposed to Davidson's 49.4 percent.
Stopping the 'Cats on offense was a complicated equation. Five players scored in double figures, led by Maloy's 15.6 points. Driesell was a firm believer in attacking inside with high-percentage shots, which resulted in Davidson taking 134 more foul shots than its opponents.
Davidson went through the Southern Conference regular season with a record of 9-1 and then won the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 'Cats beat St. John's in the NCAA opener, 79-70. It was off to Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh for the East Regionals, where Davidson was to meet Columbia of the Ivy League and North Carolina was to play unbeaten and third-ranked St. Bonaventure. North Carolina had a surprisingly easy time with Bob Lanier and St. Bonaventure (91-72) while Davidson eked out a 61-59 overtime win over Columbia.
It set up a showdown between UNC and Davidson, a game Driesell had been clamoring for publicly. North Carolina coach Dean Smith had a policy that he would not play in-state schools during the regular season other than the ones in the ACC, and it galled Driesell, who accused Smith of ducking him.
Reynolds Coliseum was filled to capacity (12,600) on Saturday night, March 16, 1968. A heavyweight battle was expected by fans and the media, and one resulted. Smith's philosophy was to play his bench and keep fresh players in the game. Tired players could remove themselves from the game and put themselves back in when they were rested. Driesell, on the other hand, believed in playing his five starters and maybe one or two reserves. In this game, UNC played eight players and Davidson six. Davidson's starters of Moser, Huckel, Maloy, Kroll and Knowles were relieved by O'Neill, who scored seven points and pulled down five boards in a superb performance.
It was scintillating game from the outset. With the crowd roaring and often standing, Davidson took the early lead behind its defense and led at halftime, 34-28. UNC shot 39.4 percent in the first half to Davidson's 41.9 percent. However, North Carolina also prided itself on its defense, and while Driesell preferred straight man-to-man, with no switching, North Carolina went with a defensive smorgasbord of man-to-man, half-court traps and a point zone. UNC turned the tables in the second half, holding Davidson to 29.4 percent shooting from the field while the Tar Heels connected on 48.3 percent of its second-half shots.
North Carolina won the game, 70-66, for the right to advance to the NCAA Final Four. But it was a sensational battle, one so good that an encore was needed. Moser and Maloy played all 40 minutes in the game for Davidson, with Knowles going 39 minutes. Four Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Maloy's 18 points and 13 rebounds. Knowles cashed in 12 rebounds as Davidson dominated the backboards, 47-37.
Ironically, North Carolina's two leading scorers in the game, Rusty Clark (22 pts, 17 rebs) and Charlie Scott (18 pts, six rebs), were recruited extensively by Driesell.
"People need to remember that the NCAA didn't seed teams in those days," Driesell said. "They kept you in your own section of the country. There were very few good teams in the West then and a bunch of good ones in the East. If the system had been in place then that's in use now, Davidson and North Carolina both would have been No. 1 seeds. We wouldn't have met before the Final Four. It's a shame that we did, because both of us had great teams, in 1968 and 1969."
Davidson ended its season with a record of 24 wins, five losses. With so many talented players returning, the best was ahead, another great season that would result in yet another classic battle with the team from Chapel Hill.
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