From WWII to the NCAAs: "Tex" Kauferhalter's Defensive Rise

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
2/1     #18    @ Penn State              W 87-79         17-5 (8-3)      N. Arline (26 pts 6 reb 2 ast 2 stl 2 blk) L. Harley (18 pts 6 ast)
2/3     #18    @ #14 Indiana             W 80-70         18-5 (9-3)      N. Arline (25 pts 14 reb 1 ast 1 stl) M. Reese (20 pts 4 ast 3 stl 2 blk)
2/8     #13    #14 Illinois              W 67-52         19-5 (10-3)     N. Arline (19 pts 18 reb 3 ast 4 stl 2 blk) L. Harley (16 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
2/13    #11    @ #23 Ohio State          W 81-68         20-5 (11-3)     N. Arline (27 pts 12 reb 1 ast 2 blk) M. Reese (17 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
2/15    #11    #Minnesota                W 82-57         21-5 (12-3)     N. Arline (27 pts 7 reb 1 blk) M. Reese (11 pts 2 reb 5 ast 4 stl 1 blk)
2/17    #11    Nebraska                  W 80-52         22-5 (13-3)     N. Arline (17 pts 6 reb 1 ast) M. Reese (14 pts 2 reb 4 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
2/24    #10    @ Purdue                  L 96-97         22-6 (13-4)     N. Arline (31 pts 7 reb 4 ast 4 stl) M. Reese (22 pts 3 reb 5 ast 2 stl)
2/27    #10    Penn State                W 73-59         23-6 (14-4)     N. Arline (35 pts 13 reb 2 ast 1 stl) R. Demory (12 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 stl 2 blk)
3/1     #10    @ #3 Michigan State       L 82-84         23-7 (14-5)     N. Arline (24 pts 8 reb) R. Demory (11 pts 5 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
3/3     #10    Iowa                      W 68-61         24-7 (15-5)     N. Arline (25 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl) L. Harley (12 pts 1 reb 5 ast 1 stl)

MARCH 5, 1957 . . . Losing to Purdue and Michigan State on the road, even though by a combined margin of only three points, cost us our shot at the Big Ten Title. In fact, those losses allowed Wisconsin to leap-frog us for the #2 spot, leaving us to finish third. Here are the final conference standings and tournament predictions:

01. #3 Michigan State (18-2, 29-2, #2 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
02. #5 Wisconsin (16-4, 26-5, #6 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
03. #10 Northwestern (15-5, 16-2, #5 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
04. Purdue (12-8, 20-10, #16 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
05. #23 Indiana (12-8, 20-9, #22 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
06. #20 Illinois (12-8, 20-11, #25 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
07. Minnesota (11-9, 19-12, #41 NET) -- NCAA Tourney, Likely In
08. Ohio State (9-11, 20-11, #27 NET) -- NCAA Tourney, On The Bubble
09. Michigan (8-12, 15-14, #78 NET) -- Off the Bubble, Likely NIT Bound
10. Rutgers (7-13, 15-15, #75 NET) -- Off the Bubble, Likely NIT Bound if Eligible
11. Nebraska (7-13, 14-15, #93 NET -- Off the Bubble, Might Make CBI or CIT if Eligible
12. Maryland (6-14, 14-16, #106 NET) -- Off the Bubble, Might Make CBI or CIT if they make Big Ten Title Game
13. Iowa (4-16, 11-19, #198 NET)
14. Penn State (3-17, 9-20, #188 NET)

Noel Arline did indeed decide to declare for the NBA Draft, so now it’s time to focus and see how far he can help us go in the tournament this year while we still have him on the roster. I was really hoping he’d come back as a grad student next year and get his shot at winning the Norton Award, but I can’t blame him for taking the job security and pay that the NBA will allow him. At least he’ll have his degree in case his pro career does not pan out. Meanwhile we’re re-opening recruiting to see if we can find a fifth scholarship player now that his is open for next year. We head into the Big Ten Tournament with the 17th best offense in the country (76.5 PPG) and with a top ten mark in assists (19.9 APG). Our overall NET Efficiency Rating is 12.0 (21st) but beyond that we’ve been fighting above our weight all year. Can the Noel Arline show get us deep into the tournament this year? I’d say we have as good a shot as anyone, though Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Wisconsin will be the odds-on favorites to make championship runs.

[jksander]

Big Ten Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/9     #10    (6) Illinois              W 72-61         25-7            N. Arline (21 pts 12 reb 1 blk) M. Reese (19 pts 1 reb 2 ast 4 stl 2 blk)
3/10    #10    (2) Wisconsin             W 85-78         26-7            N. Arline (26 pts 7 reb 2 stl 1 blk) M. Reese (17 pts 2 reb 8 ast 3 stl 2 blk)
3/11    #10    (1) Michigan State        L 60-71         26-8            M. Reese (16 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl) N. Arline (12 pts 14 reb)

MARCH 13, 1957 . . . We didn’t exactly take an easy route to the Big Ten Tourney Championsip Game, but we got there, beating Ilinois and Wisconsin in games that were each close down to the end. But against Michigan State we again came up short, losing by nine in a game that was competitive down to the final five minutes before the Spartans pulled away. It doesn’t hurt our prospects, however ... we should still have a top four seeding in the NCAA tournament, and we’ve beaten enough tough teams all year to where we fully believe this can be our year to push toward the Final Four.

Big Ten Teams in the NCAA Tournament:

12-Seed Dayton Play-In: Ohio State - Plays into the Nashville regional
2nd Seed, Charlotte: Wisconsin
6th Seed, Cleveland: Illinois
5th Seed, Nashville: Indiana
8th Seed, Nashville: Minnesota
1st Seed, Phoenix: Michigan State
2nd Seed, Phoenix: Northwestern
7th Seed, Phoenix: Purdue

Big Ten Teams in the Collegiate Insider Tournament:

5th Seed, West Region: Michigan

Michigan got into the CIT with a 15-15 record. Every other eligible team wound up in the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska finished below .500 and therefore were not postseason eligible. We drew a spot in the Phoenix regional as the #2 seed ... if the tournament plays out according to seedings we’ll have to get past Purdue to get to the Sweet Sixteen, and past Michigan State if we want a spot in the Final Four. We finished the final AP Poll ranked 10th in the nation, five spots higher than last year, in only our second season finishing ranked inside the top 25.

NCAA Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/17    (15) Cornell              W 79-54         27-8            N. Arline (20 pts 13 reb 3 ast 3 stl) L. Harley (18 pts 4 reb 5 ast 3 stl)
3/19    (7) Purdue                W 74-59         28-8            N. Arline (22 pts 5 reb 4 ast 1 blk) M. Reese (15 pts 2 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
3/24    (6) Brigham Young         W 73-70         29-8            M. Reese (27 pts 1 reb 2 ast 5 stl) N. Arline (19 pts 8 reb 1 blk)
3/25    (4) West Virginia         L 70-82         29-9            N. Arline (17 pts 7 reb 1 stl) M. Reese (16 pts 3 reb 2 ast 3 stl 1 blk)

MARCH 14, 1957 . . . Ohio State blew out Miami (OH) in the play-in round by a 66-45 margin, earning their spot in the Nashville regional’s 12th seed against 5th-seeded Indiana on Thursday. Michigan also won their introductory CIT game, beating Louisiana Monroe easily enough 70-57. The Wolverines haven’t made the NCAA Tournament yet, and they’ve only had one season where they made the NIT, so today’s win at least sets them on a positive track. Ohio State, meanwhile, makes its fifth NCAA Tournament, and they’re hoping to make it back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1954, but they’ll have to get past Indiana, which made its first Sweet Sixteen appearance just last year.

MARCH 16, 1957 . . . Michigan lost their CIT game this afternoon against Quinnipiac by a disappointing 75-88 margin, but both Big Ten teams did well today in NCAA Tournament action; Wisconsin punished (15) Southern Methodist 77-56, while Illinois handled (11) Oklahoma State nicely as well, winning 71-50.

MARCH 17, 1957 . . . We won our opening game against 15th-seeded Cornell by 25 points, blasting them 79-54 behind a solid 20 point 13 rebound night by Arline to go with an excellent defensive night for Lewis Harley, who had four rebounds five assists and three steals to go with 18 points, which tied his season high. Indiana put Ohio State away quietly 75-67, while Minnesota got past (9) Florida 73-65. Michigan State blew out (16) Holy Cross as expected, winning 86-56, while Purdue earned their spot against us with an 83-57 butchering of the 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks, giving us a chance to avenge our late-February 96-97 loss.

MARCH 18, 1957 . . . Wisconsin made it back to the Sweet Sixteen this year after their disappointing loss last season, beating (10) Tulsa 69-58, while Illinois upended (3) Xavier 76-60, making it to their third consecutive Sweet Sixteen. The Illini won their way to three consecutive Final Fours (1947, 1948 and 1949) and two Elite Eights (1951 and 1952) but have never made it to the championship game. Xavier, meanwhile, is one of the highest prestige programs to never get past the Sweet Sixteen ... unlike the last four years in a row, they won’t be back this time.

MARCH 19, 1957 . . . We’re heading to our third Sweet Sixteen in a row after coming from behind at the half to demolish Purdue 74-59! Tennessee crushed (9) Minnesota 48-77, but Indiana outlived (13) Saint Peters 79-69, while Michigan State dug themselves out of a 28-42 halftime hole to beat (8) Marquette 78-73.

MARCH 23, 1957 . . . Illinois broke through by blasting (2) Florida State in a 75-55 blowout win to advance to the Elite Eight, while Wisconsin also won in a 20-point blowout, but against (11) Mississippi, winning 80-60.

MARCH 24, 1957 . . . Freshman guard Mike Reese had a breakout game tonight, putting up 27 points to go with five steals as we held off Brigham Young in a game that was nailbitingly close the entire way. We won 73-70, advancing to our first Elite Eight as a team and my first as a coach! Unfortunately our other conference fellows could not survive today’s games -- Michigan State fell in a close one against (4) West Virginia, losing 78-83, while (1) Tennessee held Indiana at bay in another tight battle, beating them 58-66.

MARCH 25, 1957 . . . Illinois was completely blown away by the Kansas Jayhawks, falling hard 64-82, as was Wisconsin against Kentucky -- the Badgers were dominated from the jump by the Wildcats, losing 71-84 as Kentucky becomes the outright favorite to win a repeat title in a little over a week.

MARCH 26, 1957 . . . West Virginia has been to three of these Elite Eights (1946, 1947 and 1956) but have never made it to the Final Four. So we knew we were going to get a fight out of them tonight. We didn’t expect them to blast us 26-49 in the first half, but we fought back valliantly, and though the hole wound up being too deep, we didn’t quit. The Mountaineers did outlast us in the end by twelver, ending our run and earning them their first Final Four trip in school history. Arline had a solid night with 17 points seven rebounds and a steal, but to beat West Virginia we were going to need a heroic night form him that just wasn’t to be.

APRIL 1, 1957 . . . West Virginia lost to (3) Louisville in the National Semifinals, though it was a close loss 74-77. (1) Kentucky meanwhile fell behind 39-48 against (1) Kansas but then steamrolled the Jayhawks in the second half, dominating their way to an 85-78 victory and a shot at the repeat against Louisville, in a carbon copy of last year’s championship matchup. Here’s hoping Louisville can do better than they did last year when they lost 82-100.

APRIL 3, 1957 . . . Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they were outmatched just as badly this year as they were last year. The Wildcats of Kentucky built a 25-20 halftime lead and then obliterated Louisville in the second half, winning with ease 77-58. Kentucky finished with a 40-1 record while Louisville fell to 29-10. This was Kentucky’s second title in a row and their third overall for Jeremy Curry, who is now 393-65 in his career, by far the best record among current coaches. He will have a chance to pass retired coach Marcus Page, who won four titles at Wisconsin -- at just 48 years old, I suspect he’ll have Kentucky as a dominant force for years to come.
 
Team Leaders
Scoring: Noel Arline (22.5 ppg) Mike Reese (13.5 ppg) Ricardo Demory (8.1 ppg) Lewis Harley (7.8 ppg)
Rebounds: Noel Arline (10.6 rpg) Wayne Steele (5.5 rpg) Ricardo Demory (4.0 rpg) Greg Johnson (3.6 rpg)
Assists: Lewis Harley (5.9 apg) Mike Reese (3.5 apg) Ricardo Demory (1.9 apg) Wayne Steele (1.6 apg
Steals: Mike Reese (2.1 spg) Lewis Harley (1.3 spg) Noel Arline (1.0 spg)
Blocks: Wayne Steele (1.4 bpg) Ricardo Demory (1.0 bpg) Noel Arline (0.9 bpg)

Graduating
Ricardo Demory (3.7 GPA) 7.5 ppg 3.3 rpg 1.5 apg 0.7 spg 0.8 apg (114 games, 73 starts)
Camah Dudley (3.0 GPA) 1.5 ppg 0.7 rpg 0.3 apg 0.1 spg (48 games, 3 starts)
Clinton Thorne (3.6 GPA) 4.4 ppg 1.1 rpg 1.7 apg 0.7 spg 0.3 bpg (107 games, 28 starts)
Ralph Windlan (4.0 GPA) 4.7 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.6 apg 0.8 spg 0.4 bpg (124 games, 27 starts)
Pete Abrams (3.9 GPA) 0.7 ppg 0.1 rpg 0.3 apg 0.2 spg (21 games)*
__________________
* 4-Year Walk-on

Leaving Early
Noel Arline (4.0 GPA) 14.3 ppg 7.2 rpg 0.9 apg 0.7 spg 0.6 bpg (94 games, 56 starts)

Arline finishes with 1,348 career points and 674 career rebounds, breaking the school scoring record by 28 points over Adam Watkins and the school rebounding record by 51 rebounds over Dominick McDermott. His 60 career blocks is ranked 13th in team history, his 69 career steals are ranked 18th, and his 28 double doubles are ranked 2nd behind only McDermott.

Awards
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Tex Kauferhalter
1st Team All Big Ten: Noel Arline

At this rate they’ll have to name the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award for me! Winning it for the third year in a row and for the fourth time since I took the Northwestern job just six seasons ago, it remains an honor though I personally voted for Purdue’s Brendan Bland, who got the Boilermakers to their first NCAA Tournament since 1951, as well as to only their third 20-win season.

APRIL 9, 1957 . . . I only have two years left on my contract with Northwestern, and a number of teams were interested in having me take over their rebuilding programs (the most interesting of them all being Clemson, the one program which would not have been a total rebuild). But I think I have Northwetern rightly on the rise, we have a solid young core of players and the right mix of veterans, and I think we have potentially the top recruiting class in the Big Ten. So I plan to stick around Evanston at least long enough to see what kind of an extension they offer me next spring.

Speaking of recruits, we signed our fifth and final one today! With Noel Arline’s scholarship available, I made an offer to Jon Skiffer, a 6’7” forward from Augusta, Georgia, who comes in with a 4.0 GPA and a 1510 on his SATs. Academics were his top priority, and he’ll fit in perfectly in that regard. But he’s also a top-tier defender with excellent overall potential and the ability to find his shot whether inside or out. He averaged 15.6 points 5.5 rebounds 2.6 assists 1.7 steals and 1.9 blocks per game in high school and I think he’ll fit in well off our bench as a freshman, if he doesn’t wind up as a redshirt. A three-star overall prospect, he comes in ranked inside the top 300 nationally and is one of the top 20 small forwards in the class.

APRIL 30, 1957 . . . The Board authorized an increase to our budget! We’ll get a 9.5-percent increase to $235,383 for the upcoming season, which will help us in recruiting this year as well as in finding potential coaching replacements next spring.

[jksander]

SEASON THIRTEEN
1957-58

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 35 (288-126, .696)
Contract: $219,000 / 2 Years
NCAA Elite Eights: 1 (1957)
NCAA Sweet Sixteens: 4 (1950, 1955-1957)
NCAA Appearances: 8 (1946-1947, 1949-1951, 1955-1957)
NCAA Tourney Record: 11-8 (.578)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
CBI Tourney Appearances: 1 (1952)
CBI Tourney Record: 0-1 (.000)
CIT Championships: 1 (1953)
CIT Appearances: 2 (1953-1954)
CIT Record: 5-1 (.833)
Big Ten Tourney Titles: 1 (1956)
Big Ten Coach of the Year: 4 (1953, 1955-1957)
Patriot League Titles: 5 (1946-1947, 1949-1951)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 4 (1947-1948, 1950-1951)
Reputation: 51% (+6)
Offense: 45% (+3)
Defense: 100%
Recruiting: 60% (+1)
Scouting: 63% (+7)
Development: 45%

School Information
School: Northwestern Wildcats
Location: Evanston IL
Conference: Big Ten
Arena: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Cap: 8,117)
Budget: $235,383 ($124,750 Assistants / $110,633 Recruiting)
Facilities: C+
Academics: A+ (SAT Min: 1100)
School Prestige: 55% (+4)
Conf. Prestige: 88% (+2)

Job Goals
1. Qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
2. Finish in the Top Half of the Big Ten.
3. Win 20 Games or More.
4. No Academic Ineligibility.
5. Improve the School’s Prestige.

Recruit Class Ranking: 16th
Big Ten Rank: 4th

Assistants
AHC: Michael Frazier (64, $63,000 / 3 years, Rep: 24%, +3) - Recruiting (33%, +3)
2nd: Clarence Bailey (39, $37,000 / 1 years, Rep: 13%, +2) - Development (31%, +2)
3rd: Rashard Adkins (48, $24,750 / 3 years, Rep: 11%, +1) - Scouting: 23%
 
MAY 29, 1957 . . . Eric Everhart and Kyle Love are transfering out due to unappiness with my coaching methods -- i.e. they weren’t getting enough playing time, or in the case of Love, did not like the fact that I discipline players who act out inappropriately. Neither will be particularly missed. I will take a dip into the transfer portal to see who I might find who would be interested in helping push us to become an even better team. If there are none, we’ll have two additional scholarships for the recruiting period.

JUNE 5, 1957 . . . The one transfer we really wanted, Scott Garris, last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year from Wisconsin, who wound up choosing to switch to Michigan State where he’ll be one more blue chip player link in their overall armor. I’ve decided that none of the other transfers in the window were going to help us take a step forward, so we’ll have two additional walk-ons this year while we work to fill scholarship spots in the regular recruiting window.

JUNE 26, 1957 . . . In the NBA Draft, Noel Arline was the last player picked in the second round, going 60th overall. It’s a good thing he has his degree, because he’s going to have a long road ahead of him if he thinks he’ll make it rich in the professional leagues. Still, at least he got his foot in the door. Recruiting begins today, and we’ll have $53,533 with which to fill six scholarships. If we want to build on the class we brought in this spring, we’re going to need to do well this summer, as these two classes will say a lot about what our potential is in the coming seasons. We’re starting with a list of 35 high school players and two Junior College players who meet the requirements our progam has for academic performance, all within the top 400 overall for athletic performance. The next three months will determine whether two Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight are enough to boost Northwestern in the eyes of top national recruits.

AUGUST 28, 1957 . . . This won’t be our first year with a blue-chip recruit, as the best player who was interested had a GPA lower than 3.3, which makes him too much of an academic risk to meet our SAT requirements. But we have a lot of interest from solid four star recruits around the country, so I’m confident in our ability to bring in a top-notch recruiting class with players who fit the Northwestern mold.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1957 . . . Right out of the gate we have two commitments for the upcoming season!

- Jeremy Marshall, a 6’0” point guard from White River Junction, Vermont, is a four star prospect ranked 46th in the country! He has excellent overall potential but is already an excellent prospect as a passer, rebounder and scorer overall for his height. He’s also a top defender, so even though his handling and stealing skills are not in the upper echelons, I think he’s a high quality addition to what we’ve been building here in Evanston. He also has a 3.4 GPA, so he’ll fit in nicely from an academic standpoint.

- Samaki Dobbins, a 6’7” forward from Goffstown, New Hampshire, has a 3.8 GPA and was looking for a program where he could earn a top degree while also playing for a coach known for consistent discipline. Ranked 73rd nationally, he’s another four star player with amazing upside, and while he’s a good defender, he’s already an elite scorer in the making, with A+ ability shooting and scoring inside. He’s not in a rush for playing time immediately, so he may make a good redshirt option.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1957 . . . Two more players have committed to join our team next season:

- Chris Newton, a 6’0” shooting guard from Millport, Alabama, comes in ranked 68th nationally and is a solid four star passer and scorer with above average overall potential. He’ll either be a candidate to come off the bench for solid minutes or we’ll consider him for a redshirt next season, but our options are wide open. He comes in with a 3.5 GPA.

- James Nelson, a 6’9” power forward from Greenville, South Carolina, has the potential to give us good minutes as a forward or a center, with his ability to score from anywhere on the court while also defending and rebounding well. A four star prospect ranked 70th nationally, he’s got excellent potential and a 3.4 GPA, and he’s more interested in academics, discipline and the chance to play in the Big Ten than he is in doing so right away for huge minutes. He’ll take the opportunities to develop.

We also have our schedule for the upcoming season, and finally our AD has listened to me when it comes to building solid strength-of-schedule in the pre-Big Ten season. We’ll be traveling to play #7 Florida State (Nov. 19) and #16 Xavier (Nov. 23), and we’re hosting #13 Oregon (Nov. 30), Brigham Young (Dec. 7) and Notre Dame (Dec. 21) while also playing in the Sunshine Shootout in early December. This schedule gives us a really good shot to make an early statement -- though we’re unranked in the preseason, I think we have a legitimate shot to rise quickly into the top ten. Five teams in the Big Ten were preseason ranked: #3 Michigan State, #4 Wisconsin, #12 Indiana, #14 Minnesota and #17 Ohio State.

OCTOBER 9, 1957 . . . We’ve added our fifth four star player to next year’s class! Donald Millard, a 6’7” center with excellent rebounding skill for his height and above average inside shooting skills, has a great deal of potential and should fit in very well with the players we’re bringing in. Hailing from Florence, South Carolina, he’s averaged 17.9 points 9.4 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game while playing in high school. He also has a 3.3 GPA and really wanted a shot at playing in the Big Ten.

Roster
PG - Lewis Harley (6’0” 185 lbs Sr) Mendon MI (Mendon HS) 3.9 GPA (4.5/5.0) 7.8 ppg 3.0 rpg 5.9 apg 1.3 spg 0.3 bpg
SG - Mike Reese (6’2” 191 lbs So) Keyport NJ (Keyport HS) 4.0 GPA (4.0/5.0) 13.5 ppg 2.4 rpg 3.5 apg 2.1 spg 0.6 bpg
SF - Jay Adams (6’4” 220 lbs Jr) Somersworth NH (Somersworth HS) 2.6 GPA (4.0/5.0)
PF -Wayne Steele (6’7” 199 lbs Sr) Fisherville VA (Wilson Memorial HS) 4.0 GPA (4.0/4.0) 7.5 ppg 5.5 rpg 1.6 apg 0.8 spg 1.4 bpg
C - Curtis Ridnour (6’10” 241 lbs Fr) West Lafayette IN (West Lafayette HS) 3.8 GPA (4.0/5.0)

6 - Darius Smith (6’0” 178 lbs Fr) Virginia Beach VA (Salem HS) 3.9 GPA (2.0/4.5)
7 - Stromile White (6’3” 216 lbs Sr) Rock Island IL (Alleman HS) 3.8 GPA (3.5/3.5) 1.5 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.1 apg
8 - Michael Wilcox (6’6” 206 lbs Fr RS) Newport KY (Newport HS) 4.0 GPA (2.5/4.5)
9 - Greg Johnson (6’7” 242 lbs Sr) Ottawa OH (Ottawa-Glandorf HS) 3.2 GPA (3.0/4.0) 4.3 ppg 3.6 rpg 1.0 apg 0.7 spg 0.4 bpg
10 - Barry Wilson (5’9” 171 lbs Sr) Hoffman Estates IL (Hoffman Estates HS) 3.9 GPA (1.5/1.5)*
11 - Andrea Riley (6’6” 230 lbs Fr) Highland Park IL (Highland Park HS) 3.7 GPA (1.0/1.0)*
12 - GeJuan Gardiner (6’9” 262 lbs Jr) Champaign IL (Centennial HS) 4.0 GPA (1.0/1.0)*

RS - Jon Skiffer (6’7” 212 lbs Fr) Augusta GA (Westside HS) 4.0 GPA (1.0/3.5)
RS - Noel Jenkins (6’9” 230 lbs Fr) Charlestown IN (Charlestown HS) 3.5 GPA (1.0/3.5)
___________
* Walk-On

NOVEMBER 13, 1957 . . . Skiffer and Jenkins both wanted to play this year, but they’re just not ready so I have to risk redshirting them and hope that they’ll develop enough to play next year, or that they fit in well enough with the team to stick around regardless of playing time next year. Only three of our four walk-ons actually made it all the way through October practices, so of our 12-man roster only nine expect playing time, and all nine should get at least 6-10 minutes. I expect Darius Smith to start out playing about 16 minutes per game covering the guard positions, while Stromile White will get at least 12-14 minues per game covering small forward and power forward. Smith says he wanted to have starters’ minutes, but he’ll have to prove himself coming off the bench as our sixth man, because there’s no way I’m not starting Harley and Reese at the guard spots. I think we have a team that can grind it out and create wins, with an experienced core giving our youth their solid influence. Ridnour will obviously start as a freshman, and Adams comes in with two years of JuCo experience under his belt, so I’m very confident in our starting five. But it’s a tough schedule I’ve built us for the year, so we’re going to have to earn it.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/16          Clemson                   W 51-48         1-0             M. Reese (14 pts 1 reb 1 stl) D. Smith (7 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
11/19          @ #7 Florida State        L 80-88         1-1             M. Reese (21 pts 1 reb 2 ast) L. Harley (13 pts 5 reb 3 ast)
11/23          @ Xavier                  W 72-57         2-1             L. Harley (17 pts 4 reb 5 ast 1 stl) D. Smith (13 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
11/26          Army                      L 63-68         2-2             M. Reese (19 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk) C. Ridnour (9 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

NOVEMBER 27, 1957 . . . Our season prospects just took a HUGE hit. We were knotted 38-38 at the half against Army, and in the opening seconds of the second half, Curtis Ridnour came down wrong on his right leg and tore his MCL. His season is over after just four games. And Stromile White went down late in the game with a bruised calf, and looks to miss at least three weeks. So just like that we’re down to seven scholarship starters and a trio of redshirts. We’re going to have to scramble to find a game plan for this kind of situation so the season doesn’t completely crumble.

Greg Johnson, our 6’7” senior forward, will come in to play center because of his bulk, giving him the chance to start for the first time in his career after 17 games with Minnesota and 70 for us here at Northwestern, putting a lot of pressure on the three star player. Smith will continue to get his 18-20 minutes as our sixth man, while Michael Wilcox will have to step up to cover power forward and center backup minutes. He’s averaged 8.8 minutes per game so far but is likely to be more than doubling that in upcoming games. Senior walk-on Barry Wilson will get upgraded minutes as well, expecting 12-14 per game at shooting guard and small forward. So far in two appearances he’s averaged a couple minutes per game and the only stat he’s had on the score sheet was a turnover. But somebody’s got to step up, and we just don’t have the bodies. If only the NCAA would let us burn Jon Skiffer’s redshirt and transfer it to Ridnour as a medical redshirt, but that’s not going to happen.

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/30          Oregon                    W 78-55         3-2             L. Harley (22 pts 5 reb 3 ast 1 stl) M. Wilcox (8 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 stl)
12/7           Brigham Young             L 70-71         3-3             W. Steele (22 pts 14 reb 2 ast) M. Reese (14 pts 3 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
12/9           (n) Buffalo               W 63-62         4-3             M. Reese (24 pts 5 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 blk) L. Harley (10 pts 1 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
12/10          (n) #12 Virginia          W 73-66         5-3             M. Reese (29 pts 5 ast 2 stl 1 blk) G. Johnson (10 pts 6 reb 2 ast 3 stl 1 blk)
12/11          (n) Connecticut           W 64-49         6-3             L. Harley (16 pts 4 reb 4 ast 1 stl) M. Reese (15 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
12/14          San Diego State           W 67-59         7-3             M. Reese (20 pts 2 reb 4 ast 2 stl 2 blk) L. Harley (18 pts 6 reb 4 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
12/21          Notre Dame                W 57-49         8-3             J. Adams (13 pts 2 reb 3 ast 4 stl 2 blk) S. White (11 pts 1 ast 2 stl)
12/26          Michigan                  W 59-52         9-3 (1-0)       M. Reese (18 pts 4 reb 3 ast 4 stl) J. Adams (13 pts 3 reb 4 ast 3 stl)
12/30          Rutgers                   W 70-47         10-3 (2-0)      M. Reese (22 pts 8 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk) W. Steele (6 pts 12 reb 2 ast)

DECEMBER 31, 1957 . . . The one point loss to Brigham Young and the one poitn win against Buffalo turned the team’s momentum around, because at that point the starters all came together and vowed to put in the work to put this team on their shoulders, so there wouldn’t be so much pressure on our weakened bench. We went on to win the Sunshine Shootout, beating a ranked Virginia squad and one that should have been ranked from Connecticut, and then defensively stomped Notre Dame to head into the conference season with our win streak intact. We’ve looked good in our first two conference games, but the schedule gets a lot tougher from here. At least now, however, we’re in a position to do something with what could have been a wrecked season. I credit these veteran leaders with helping spread positivity amongst our young players so that didn’t happen.

This year has been a complete flip of last year. Our scoring is at times almost nonexistant (66.7 PPG, 229th) but we’re holding teams to 59.3 points per game, good for 14th in the nation! Our defensive efficiency rating is ranked 16th, which has our overall NET efficiency just inside the top 50. We’re also forcing a lot of turnovers thanks to 6.2 blocks (27th) and 9.6 steals (34th) per game. And though we’re not ranked, we’re ranked 24th in the NET thanks to our strong overall strength of schedule. I think the Big Ten is up for grabs this year, and we’re going to fight for every win we can.

Not counting Ridnour we have ten players averaging 10 minutes per game or more, but no one is averaging 30+, so minutes are getting spread around. Before his injury Ridnour was averaging 8.3 points 5.0 rebounds 2.0 assists 1.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, so it’s hard to take this loss any harder than he is. Reese and Harley are leading the team at this point with combined totals of 28.7 points 7.4 rebounds 5.7 assists 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game between them. Darius Smith isn’t ready to be a starter, but he has averaged 17 minutes per game while putting up 4.0 points 1.4 rebounds 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He may not be happy yet with that, and that’s good ... he’ll keep fighting to improve. Greg Johnson has stepped into his starting role and is now averaging 22.1 minutes per game while contributing 5.3 points 4.6 rebounds 1.9 assists 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. And though he hasn’t been flashy, Wayne Steele has played 26.1 minutes per game while averaging 8.1 points 7.2 rebounds 1.5 assists 0.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, a solid improvement overall in his senior season. If he can keep up that scoring output he’ll join the 1,000 career points club before he graduates.

We also signed our final recruit of the season: Booker White, a 6’6” power forward from Rocky Gap, Virginia, has spent two years playing JuCo ball and, with his 2.5 GPA, I think he’s fully capable of transitioning to Northwestern and excelling academically with the right resources. A four star prospect ranked 120th nationally, White is a solid defender and an excellent overall athlete, with excellent potential and a willingness to fight his way inside and score with impugnity. With his addition to our recruiting class we now have six four star players incoming, and it’s quite possible we’ll have the second-best recruiting class in the Big Ten come spring.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
1/2            #12 Indiana               W 84-53         11-3 (3-0)      M. Reese (22 pts 4 reb 4 ast 2 stl 1 blk) S. White (22 pts 5 reb 1 ast)
1/6            @ Nebraska                L 56-67         11-4 (3-1)      M. Reese (21 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl) G. Johnson (12 pts 8 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
1/11           @ Purdue                  L 82-91 (OT)    11-5 (3-2)      M. Reese (17 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl) S. White (11 pts 6 reb 1 ast 3 stl)
1/13           #6 Minnesota              L 67-75         11-6 (3-3)      L. Harley (17 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl) W. Steele (11 pts 5 reb 3 ast 3 stl)
1/16           @ Illinois                W 68-65         12-6 (4-3)      L. Harley (16 pts 5 reb 2 ast) W. Steele (9 pts 9 reb 2 ast)
1/20           @ Rutgers                 W 78-70         13-6 (5-3)      L. Harley (15 pts 1 reb 6 ast 2 blk) D. Smith (14 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
1/25           #11 Ohio State            L 52-67         13-7 (5-4)      L. Harley (13 pts 3 reb 4 ast 2 blk) J. Adams (11 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
1/27           Iowa                      W 59-45         14-7 (6-4)      M. Reese (19 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk) D. Smith (11 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
1/30           @ #5 Minnesota            L 53-62         14-8 (6-5)      M. Reese (24 pts 3 reb 3 ast 5 stl) W. Steele (6 pts 9 reb 1 stl)
2/3            @ #19 Indiana             L 57-71         14-9 (6-6)      M. Reese (14 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 blk) S. White (13 pts 5 reb 3 ast 2 stl)

JANUARY 16, 1958 . . . Getting my 300th career win on the road against Illinois was pretty wild, but it was even more insane realizing this was my 150th win with Northwestern! We’re struggling to find our identity, but I love how hard this team works regardless of each game’s outcome. This may not be the greatest team I’ve coached, but they work the hardest to overcome steep obstacles.

FEBRUARY 5, 1958 . . . With just eight games left in the regular season we’re tied for eighth place in the Big Ten with Indiana, but we’re #25 in the NET, so our strength of schedule is still keeping us afloat. However, we have three of our next eight games against teams ranked in the top ten, and two of those (Michigan State and Ohio State) will be on the road. So our prospects of finishing in the top half of the Big Ten or finishing with a winning Big Ten record are very slim. Still, at least for the moment, we’re still considered a team worthy of an NCAA tourney bid, and not just an “on the bubble” consideration. So at least there’s that. If we can beat Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska at home and Penn State on the road to close the season, we should at least have a shot heading into the Big Ten Tournament. I think the home game against Wisconsin is going to be the pivotal one -- steal that one from the Badgers and our NCAA bid should at least be more secure.

Mike Reese leads the team with 16.8 points 3.1 rebounds 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 28 minutes per night. Wayne Steele (7.9 PPG 7.0 RPG 1.4 APG) and Lewis Harley (10.9 PPG 4.2 RPG 4.1 APG 1.2 SPG) have been solid contributors as well. Steele leads the team in rebounds, and for the first time in years we’ve really been struggling off the glass. Darius Smith has done well with his 17 minutes per game as a freshman, putting up 5.1 points 1.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, and Stromile White has as well, adding 6.3 points 3.6 rebounds 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game while playing 16 minutes per game himself.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
2/6            @ Maryland                W 72-66         15-9 (7-6)      L. Harley (20 pts 6 reb 5 ast 2 stl) M. Reese (13 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
2/8            Illinois                  W 68-59         16-9 (8-6)      M. Reese (26 pts 4 reb 1 stl) L. Harley (8 pts 6 reb 12 ast 2 stl)
2/15           #7 Wisconsin              L 60-89         16-10 (8-7)     L. Harley (19 pts 7 reb 6 ast) D. Smith (14 pts 1 reb 1 ast 2 blk)
2/20           @ #2 Michigan State       L 37-77         16-11 (8-8)     W. Steele (9 pts 14 reb 1 ast) G. Johnson (6 pts 4 reb 3 blk)
2/24           Purdue                    W 75-63         17-11 (9-8)     M. Reese (25 pts 2 reb 3 stl 1 blk) J. Adams (14 pts 2 reb 4 ast 3 stl 3 blk)
2/27           Nebraska                  W 95-89 (2OT)   18-11 (10-8)    M. Reese (11 pts 10 ast 7 stl) S. White (17 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
3/1            @ #9 Ohio State           W 60-59         19-11 (11-8)    J. Adams (20 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl) M. Reese (13 pts 1 reb 1 ast 3 stl 1 blk)
3/3            @ Penn State              L 42-51         19-12 (11-9)    M. Reese (11 pts 3 ast 2 stl) S. White (5 pts 11 reb 5 ast 4 stl)

MARCH 5, 1958 . . . After our double overtime win over Nebraska at home and our stunning 60-59 win over #9 Ohio State on the road by a single point at the buzzer, it’s easy to see how Penn State became a trap game. But oh what a trap game ... we handed them only their second win of the YEAR, their only win in the Big Ten. But we should be safely off the bubble having finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with Nebraska and Indiana, and due to a series of tiebreakers we earned the 6th seed for the Big Ten Tournament, with Nebraska getting the 5th seed and Indiana settling for 7th. Here’s the breakdown of the final Big Ten standings:

01. #2 Michigan State (18-2, 29-2, #1 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
02. #4 Minnesota (17-3, 28-4, #5 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
03. #7 Wisconsin (16-4, 24-8, #7 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
04. #9 Ohio State (15-5, 25-6, #17 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
05. Nebraska (11-9, 17-12, #62 NET) -- On The Bubble, Need a Win to Avoid NIT.
06. Northwestern (11-9, 19-12, #30 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
07. #15 Indiana (11-9, 22-9, #29 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
08. Iowa (9-11, 14-15, #149 NET) -- Off The Bubble, Need Two Wins To Be Postseson Eligible
09. Purdue (9-11, 15-15, #76 NET) -- Off The Bubble, Barely Postseason Eligible
10. Illinois (8-12, 13-17, #95 NET)
11. Rutgers (5-15, 12-19, #205 NET)
12. Michigan (5-15, 9-21, #217 NET)
13. Maryland (4-16, 10-20, #228 NET)
14. Penn State (1-19, 2-27, #336 NET)

Big Ten Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/8            (11) Rutgers              W 84-69         20-12           L. Harley (15 pts 2 reb 3 ast 2 stl) M. Reese (11 pts 5 reb 7 ast 3 stl)
3/9            (3) Wisconsin             L 55-66         20-13           L. Harley (14 pts 4 reb 3 ast 5 stl 1 blk) M. Reese (12 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl)

MARCH 13, 1958 . . . Nebraska managed to beat Maryland 55-53, but lost in the Quarterfinals against Ohio State 58-74, so they’re still on the bubble. Our Quarterfinal loss doesn’t help us from a seeding perspective but we should still be safely in. Iowa upended Purdue 78-72 but then lost in the Quarterfinals to Michigan State ... a win would have kept them postseason eligible, but now they know their season is done. It’s a shame, they haven’t had a postseason bid since 1950 and that was five head coaches ago. The only team with more coaching turnover in the Big Ten is Penn State -- they are on their eighth coach in thirteen years and have never made the postseason or even finished with a winning record. In fact they only had double digit wins once, in 1947 when they finished 15-16. But 2-27 is definitely rock bottom for the program. It’s a real shame, because my wife Andrea, who I met while I was coaching at Army, grew up in Doylestown in Bucks County and earned her teaching degree at Penn State. She has told me on numerous occasions she wishes someone would really put some work in to try rebuilding their program.

It’s certainly given me food for thought -- I’ve built two programs successfully and I’m only 35, but would that be career suicide to try rebuilding a third, a team that has fallen to the lowest levels while playing in the most brutal conference in the country? Or would it be a chance to prove that my system can work anywhere?

The semifinal matchups were pure chalk. But while Michigan State dominated Ohio State 95-62, Wisconsin won an upset victory over Minnesota, beating them handily 94-75. In the championship game, Michigan State won a tight battle, beating the Badgers 65-60 and securing their #1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Teams in the NCAA Tournament:

#1 Seed, Philadelphia: Michigan State
#1 Seed, Lexington: Minnesota
#4 Seed, New Orleans: Ohio State
#6 Seed, New Orleans: Indiana
#2 Seed, Spokane: Wisconsin
#8 Seed, Spokane: Northwestern

Big Ten Teams in the NIT:

#2 Seed, West: Nebraska

NCAA Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/17    (9) Georgetown            L 53-58         20-14           J. Adams (10 pts 3 reb 1 stl 1 blk) D. Smith (11 pts 1 reb 2 ast 1 stl)

MARCH 14, 1958 . . . Nebraska came out strong in their NIT debut, beating UC San Diego 65-57 to advance to the next round.

MARCH 16, 1958 . . . Nebraska fell in the second round of the NIT, losing 67-80 against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. In the NCAA Tournament’s opening round, Michigan State easily handled (16) Delaware State 90-71, but (1) Minnesota was absolutely gutted by (16) Southern, as the Jaguars pulled out a stunning 71-79 upset over the team which finished #4 in the final AP Poll of the year. Absolutely BRUTAL.

MARCH 17, 1958 . . . We’ve gotten farther this year than we had any right to expect, and in our opening round game against Georgetown we hit a wall. We fought them hard in the second half but lost a tough defensive game 53-58. Smith and Adams had great nights, and Reese and Harley kept us in the game with strong defensive performances, but we just didn’t have the offensive strenght to eat up the first half deficit. The fact that we made it this far while playing most of the season with seven active players proves how hard this team works. Elsewhere in Big Ten action, Ohio State lost a tough one against (13) Sacramento State 67-76, while Indiana handled the (11) Oregon Ducks smartly 86-75 and Wisconsin held (15) Towson off with relative ease 71-58.

MARCH 18, 1958 . . . Michigan State dominated Louisville 91-60, ensuring the eighth-seeded Cardinals would not make the championship game for a third year in a row.

MARCH 19, 1958 . . . Indiana took on (3) Oklahoma for a shot at the Sweet Sixteen and won with a solid 73-58 defensive performance, while Wisconsin dominated (7) Auburn in their matchup 93-67. The Hoosiers are playing in their third Sweet Sixteen in a row, but have never made it past that point, though 47-year old coach Derek Howell, who has won more than 250 games coaching the Hoosiers for the last 12 years, hopes this year will be the one.

MARCH 23, 1958 . . . Michigan State beat (5) West Virginia 83-60 to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since Zendon Howe took them to the Final Four in 1952. Howe led the Spartans to their second National Title the year prior, and to the Championship Game in 1949. Robert Summerall, who took over the program in 1954 after coming out of retirement, coached his way to the Elite Eight last in 1947, when he coached the North Carolina Tarheels to that level. He has never coached in the Final Four despite winning 241 games so far in nine seasons as a head coach. At 63, he’s got this Michigan State program right where he wants it to be.

MARCH 24, 1958 . . . Indiana earned its trip to the Elite Eight with a hard-fought 83-70 win over (7) Virginia Tech, while Wisconsin earned a matchup with (1) Kentucky by beating (3) North Carolina in their matchup 67-63.

MARCH 25, 1958 . . . Michigan State hit a brick wall against (2) Kansas, as they fell mightily 51-71, missing out on their chance to continue fighting for a third National Championship.

MARCH 26, 1958 . . . Indiana advanced to the school’s first ever Final Four thanks to a 69-62 win over (5) North Carolina State. They’ll be the last Big Ten team standing, as Wisconsin was felled by (1) Kentucky in an 85-93 shootout.

APRIL 1, 1958 . . . (6) Indiana took on (1) Kentucky in only the second matchup between the rival state teams, and it did not go well for the Hoosiers, who have never beaten the Wildcats. UK dominated this game, winning 81-50 and keeping the Wildcats’ hopes of a first-ever championship three-peat alive. Meanwhile, (2) Kansas equally dominated (4) Arkansas in their semifinal matchup, winning 81-59. But the 36-4 Wildcats will be heavily favored in the championship game against the 32-7 Jayhawks, who are playing in their second championship game (their first, in 1952, resulted in a National Title). Kentucky, meanwhile, has played in the last four championship games, and seven of the last 13.

APRIL 3, 1958 . . . Kentucky beat the Kansas Jayhawks 82-70 in the championship game, making them the first team in NCAA history to win three titles in a row. In seven appearances in the title game the Wildcats have now won four of them, tying them with Wisconsin for the most titles by a single school. The Badgers have played in six championship games, winning four. And in the last 13 seasons, the last ELEVEN seasons have featured either a Kentucky team, a Wisconsin team or both. The last year without one of those teams in the title game was 1947, when Arizona beat Minnesota 86-48 for the title. That is an insane level of dominance for both programs over an extended period.

Team Leaders
Points: Mike Reese (15.7 ppg) Lewis Harley (10.7 ppg) Curtis Ridnour (8.3 ppg)* Jay Adams (7.9 ppg)
Rebounds: Wayne Steele (6.7 rpg) Greg Johnson (5.2 rpg) Curtis Ridnour (5.0 rpg)* Lewis Harley (4.1 rpg)
Assists: Lewis Harley (4.4 apg) Mike Reese (2.4 apg) Curtis Ridnour (2.0 apg)* Jay Adams (1.8 apg)
Steals: Mike Reese (2.0 spg) Lewis Harley (1.6 spg) Jay Adams (1.3 spg) Stromile White (1.1 spg) Greg Johnson (1.1 spg)
Blocks: Curtis Ridnour (1.8 bpg)* Jay Adams (1.4 bpg) Greg Johnson (0.9 bpg)
_________________________________________
* played only four games due to injury.

Graduating
Lewis Harley (3.9 GPA) 8.4 ppg 3.0 rpg 4.3 apg 1.4 spg 0.5 bpg (131 starts)
Stromile White (3.8 GPA) 4.5 ppg 2.4 rpg 1.0 apg 0.6 spg (88 games, 4 starts)
Greg Johnson (3.2 GPA) 4.1 ppg 3.1 rpg 0.9 apg 0.6 spg 0.4 bpg (116 games, 29 starts)
Wayne Steele (4.0 GPA) 7.9 ppg 5.8 rpg 1.3 apg 0.8 spg 1.0 bpg (129 games, 100 starts)
Barry Wilson (3.9 GPA) 0.5 ppg 0.2 rpg 0.4 apg 0.1 spg (30 games)*
________________
* 1-Year Walk-On

Awards
None.

APRIL 9, 1958 . . . The season, though disappointing for the loss of Ridnour all year, still met all of my goals with the administration, except for a slight loss of prestige nationally with our one-and-done performance in the NCAA Tournament. The school offered me a five year extension and a $10,000 per year raise if I was willing to stick around Evanston for the long term, but as I turn 36 I’m feeling a sense of wanderlust again, and I’ve spent the last few weeks discussing our options with Andrea, who I know has been itching to move back east. We got married during my last season at Army, and she’s stuck by me all these years so even if it may wind up being career suicide, I feel I have to take the opportunity to keep her happy. She wants to raise a family closer to HER family, and I can understand that. So I’ve spoken with the Athletic Director at Penn State and accepted their offer -- four years at $261,000 per year, a significant raise that comes with significant risk. Andrea has accepted a job teaching history at Bald Eagle Area Junior High School in Wingate, Pennsylvania, just outside State College.

Heading into this job it’s hard to overstate the difficulty involved in turning the program around. The Nittany Lions, by hiring me, are now changing head coaches for the fifth year in a row, and I’m their ninth head coach hire in a decade and a half. The team has lost 20+ games per year in 12 of the last 13 seasons, and they have NEVER posted a winning record. They’ve only had three 1,000 point scorers in school history, and none since 1950 when Troy Jones graduated with 1,583 career points. Their records against Big Ten teams are even more sobering:

0-23 against Wisconsin
0-21 against Minnesota
1-20 against Michigan State
1-19 against Illinois
2-22 against Nebraska
2-18 against Maryland
2-17 against Northwestern
3-17 against Ohio State
3-16 against Michigan
4-13 against Indiana
6-20 against Iowa
7-18 against Purdue
8-14 against Rutgers

So this HAS TO BE rock bottom for the program. We have a team that will be heavy on Junior leadership and a lot of youth with tons of potential and little experience to show for it. I’m confident I can bring in classes with the players I need to develop my system here in State College, but creating an atmosphere of positivity will be a challenge, especially when we enter the Big Ten meat-grinder next winter. But I’ve won 308 games in the last 13 seasons and built that winning tradition for both Army and Northwestern, and if I can do it here in State College, I think this could be the job I really hang my hat on.

[jksander]

SEASON FOURTEEN
1958-59

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 36 (308-140, .688)
Contract: $261,000 / 4 Years
NCAA Elite Eights: 1 (1957)
NCAA Sweet Sixteens: 4 (1950, 1955-1957)
NCAA Appearances: 9 (1946-1947, 1949-1951, 1955-1958)
NCAA Tourney Record: 11-9 (.550)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
CBI Tourney Appearances: 1 (1952)
CBI Tourney Record: 0-1 (.000)
CIT Championships: 1 (1953)
CIT Appearances: 2 (1953-1954)
CIT Record: 5-1 (.833)
Big Ten Tourney Titles: 1 (1956)
Big Ten Coach of the Year: 4 (1953, 1955-1957)
Patriot League Titles: 5 (1946-1947, 1949-1951)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 4 (1947-1948, 1950-1951)
Reputation: 54% (+3)
Offense: 47% (+2)
Defense: 100%
Recruiting: 64% (+4)
Scouting: 65% (+2)
Development: 45%

School Information
School: Penn State Nittany Lions
Location: State College PA
Conference: Big Ten
Arena: Bryce Jordan Center (Cap: 15,261)
Budget: $209,000 ($138,000 Assistants / $71,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C-
Academics: B (SAT Min: 940)
School Prestige: 37% (-1)
Conf. Prestige: 86% (-2)

Job Goals
1. Qualify for the NIT Tournament.
2. Don’t Finish Last in the Big Ten.
3. Give Us A Winning Season, Coach!
4. Improve Our School Prestige.

Recruit Class Ranking: 95th
Big Ten Rank: 8th

Assistants
AHC: Etan Flanigan (55, $63,000 / 1 years, Rep: 10%) - Recruiting (33%) -- fourth year in the job
2nd: Clarence Bailey (40, $47,500 / 5 years, Rep: 14% +1) - Development (31%) -- hired from Northwestern
3rd: Lorenzo McRae (44, $27,500 / 6 years, Rep: 10%) - Scouting (47%) -- hired from Air Force

MAY 29, 1958 . . . Flanigan gives me a bridge to these players I inherit on the current roster as well as a recruiting edge here in Pennsylvania, one of the states I have never had a recruit from. Meanwhile I am bringing in my own coaching protégé from Northwestern, who will be fully capable of stepping into the Associate Head Coach job when Flanigan’s contract is up after this season. I also really like Lorenzo McRae as our third assistant -- one of the best up-and-coming scouts in the country, I offered him a $15,000 per year raise to come in as our scouting coach long term, and he’ll almost certainly get promoted to 2nd Assistant next year, which gives him room to advance and prove his skill.

Two players from last year’s team chose to transfer out. Both had three years of eligibility left and were among our better young players, though neither had played much. I had hoped they’d perhaps been under-utilized and would have had opportunties to play bigger roles for me. But their exit leaves me two additional spots on my roster, and I can either fill three scholarship spots in regular recruiting, or I can look for a prospect or two in the transfer window. Either way we’re going to have plenty of walk-ons this year.

JUNE 5, 1958 . . . In a huge transfer recruiting coup, I’ve managed to convince Curtis Ridnour to follow me from Northwestern to Penn State! He was ranked just outside the top 50 when I recruited him to play at Northwestern, and he has recovered well from his MCL tear, and the extra year sitting out will give him time to build up his body to handle being our starting Center starting in my second year here. We also nailed another solid four star transfer, nabbing Geoff Smith, a 6’0” point guard from Georgetown, who was ranked #36 in the same class as Ridnour -- he played in all 31 of Georgetown’s games last year and in both of their NCAA Tournament games, but he only averaged about four minutes per game, putting up 1.5 points 0.7 rebounds and 0.4 steals per game. Both of them will be key starters in my second year, and if I can bring in a decent player in this year’s recruiting class to play with them, we’ll definitely get a boost as we head into 1960.

JUNE 26, 1958 . . . With one scholarship open, I’ll be looking to find a solid power forward or a swing player who can handle playing shooting guard or small forward. We have $31,000 to spend on recruiting activities, and we’ve purchased the Gold scouting reports for the Atlantic East region. I also intend to travel to the East Coast Jam in New Jersey as well as the Big Apple Showcase. Being that I won’t have the same academic restrictions as at Northwester, I’m more free to recruit talented players who are willing to put in the work in the classroom despite perhaps not having all the advantages of being able to ace the SATs. I am casting a wide net, with 47 players on my initial radar, and I’m aiming high. If we can draw in a top prospect there’s no reason not to at least try ... we can always dip lower into the pool as the recruiting year progresses.

OCTOBER 3, 1958 . . . We’ve successfully signed our one scholarship player for the season! Steven Reed, a 6’10” power forward from Pittsburgh, is ranked 56th nationally and 11th in the Atlantic East region, making him a solid four star recruit. He’s an A+ rebounder and inside shooter with B+ overall potential, though his rawness elsewhere is a reason some of his higher-ranked schools didn’t offer early enough, including Syracuse, Maryland and Wisconsin. We’re not going to make a huge showing in the overall recruiting rankings this year, but pairing him up with our two incoming transfers, we should have a very young but talented core next season. And they’ll all get to play.

We’ve got our schedule for the upcoming season, and aside from a trip in November to play in the Tip-Off In Paradise tournament, we’ll be playing a home-heavy schedule which should give us a chance to at least pick up some wins prior to hitting the Big Ten buzzsaw. We’ll be hosting Army in the home opener, and we play Valparaiso on the road in November. But I have to teach these players how to win games when they’re counted out, and quite frankly, any game we play is going to be a tough one. There’s no need to overload this team early -- our strength of schedule will be tough enough with 20 Big Ten games.
 
Team Roster
PG - Seppo Pykkonen (6’0” 189 lbs Fr) Finland (International HS) 2.1 GPA (2.0/3.5)
SG - Alan Chambers (6’0” 206 lbs Sr RS) Drexel Hill PA (Upper Darby HS) 3.6 GPA (2.0/3.5) 9.1 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.7 apg 0.4 spg 0.1 bpg
SF - Krunoslav Grbasic (6’8” 208 lbs Fr) Croatia (International HS) 2.5 GPA (2.5/4.0)
PF - Johnny Rivera (6’8” 230 lbs Jr) Hermine PA (Yough HS) 4.0 GPA (3.0/3.5) 7.8 ppg 5.2 rpg 1.9 apg 1.1 spg 1.5 bpg
C - Maurice Williams (6’11” 258 lbs Jr) Mifflintown PA (Juniata HS) 4.0 GPA (2.5/3.5) 7.0 ppg 4.5 rpg 1.7 apg 0.3 spg 0.4 bpg

6 - Dontay Richardson (6’0” 174 lbs Jr) Bowie MD (Bowie HS) 3.2 GPA (1.5/3.5) insignificant minutes
7 - Mike Mann (6’5” 174 lbs Fr) Walled Lake MI (Walled Lake Central HS) 3.1 GPA (1.0/4.0)
8 - Jabari Richardson (6’6” 223 lbs Fr) Fresh Meadows NY (St. Francis Prep HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/3.5)
9 - Terrance Scott (6’9” 252 lbs So) Marion Center PA (Marion Center Area HS) 3.3 GPA (1.0/3.5) 1.4 ppg 0.5 rpg 0.3 apg 0.2 spg 0.1 bpg
10 - Brian Respert (6’0” 195 lbs Sr) Franklin PA (Franklin HS) 3.0 GPA (0.5/0.5)*
11 - Quincy Slaughter (6’6” 196 lbs Jr) Kane PA (Kane Area HS) 3.3 GPA (0.5/0.5)*

RS - Andrew Bellamy (6’8” 207 lbs So) Rochester NH (Spaulding HS) 3.7 GPA (1.5/4.0) transferred from Towson last season
RS - Craig Miller (6’8” 270 lbs So) Jacksonville FL (Bolles HS) 2.9 GPA (1.5/4.0) transferred from Murray State last season

TR - Geoff Smith (6’0” 177 lbs So) Greer SC (Blue Ridge HS) 3.4 GPA (4.0/5.0)
TR - Curtis Ridnour (6’10” 241 lbs So) West Lafayette IN (West Lafayette HS) 3.9 GPA (4.0/4.5)
___________
* Walk-on

NOVEMBER 13, 1958 . . . All our active scholarship players will get playing time this year, and I expect we’ll have at least eight guys initially playing double-digit minutes on average. Bellamy and Miller, the two transfer players from last year, have a lot of potential to improve under my coaching, but they’re not ready to get minutes this year so I’m taking the risk of redshirting them both, meaning they’ll have both have sat out two seasons before they get to play. But both are happy with the program, and they’ve already transferred so they don’t have any other option unless they choose to not play college basketball. The previous coach did a good job in recruiting last year, and we’ll be starting two international recruits as freshmen alongside two juniors and a senior. Our two other freshmen, Mike Mann and Jabari Richardson, should each get 12-14 minutes off the bench, so we’ll get to see what they’re made of quickly.

We haven’t finished outside of last place in the Big Ten since 1953 when we finished 13th out of 14 with a 5-15 record. Our best finish in total wins was in 1947 when we were 6-14, with a 15-16 overall record. That year we also finished 13th out of 14. We have never finished higher than 13th in the standings.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
11/15          Army                      W 73-60         1-0             A. Chambers (14 pts 5 reb 3 ast) M. Williams (12 pts 5 reb 1 ast 3 stl 2 blk)
11/18          (n) Alabama Birmingham    L 52-78         1-1             A. Chambers (12 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk) S. Pykkonen (11 pts 3 reb)
11/22          @ Valparaiso              L 63-82         1-2             M. Williams (15 pts 9 reb 3 ast 1 stl) A. Chambers (19 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
11/25          South Dakota              W 82-71         2-2             M. Williams (17 pts 7 reb 4 ast 5 stl) J. Rivera (16 pts 6 reb 1 ast 2 blk)
11/29          Bellarmine                W 66-52         3-2             M. Williams (17 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl) J. Rivera (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast 3 blk)
12/2           Abilene Christian         W 73-51         4-2             D. Richardson (16 pts 3 reb 4 ast) S. Pykkonen (15 pts 2 reb 3 ast)
12/6           Long Island               W 60-52         5-2             A. Chambers (22 pts 4 reb 2 ast 2 stl) K. Grbasic (11 pts 4 reb 1 stl 2 blk)
12/13          Norfolk State             L 41-55         5-3             A. Chambers (10 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 stl) D. Richardson (10 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
12/20          Incarnate Word            L 68-86         5-4             M. Williams (13 pts 8 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk) D. Richardson (10 pts 1 reb 2 ast 2 stl)

DECEMBER 26, 1958 . . . We opened the season with a 5-4 record, an improvement over last year but against competition about 1/100th as tough as the teams we’ll face in the Big Ten. Considering we’ve never won more than six conference games in a season, just managing to post a double-digit wins record would be a huge plus for this program. But I’m hopeful we can catch a lot of teams sleeping, assuming we’re the Penn State team we’ve been for over a decade and not the Penn State team I plan to build over the next one. Our RPI is a miserable #318, so our strength of schedule’s going to have done us no favors. But neither would playing the best teams all through December and coming into the Big Ten without any wins.

We have nine players averaging at least 14 minutes per game, and even our two redshirts have picked up garbage time minutes in multiple games. Alex Chambers leads the team with 12.9 points 3.8 rebounds 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game, while Dontay Richardson has managed to contribute 10.8 points 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while playing 16 minutes per game off the bench. Maurice Williams has also done nicely all year, putting together 10.3 points 6.3 rebounds 1.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Freshman guard Krunoslav Grbasic has 7.6 points 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in about 27 minutes of action per game, while fellow Freshman Seppo Pykkonen has averaged 5.4 points 3.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists to go with almost a steal per game, while bringing his GPA up to 2.5! At the start of the season I was worried he’d spend most of the year on academic probation, wondering how he got past the school’s SAT requirements, but he’s proved to be an incredibly hard worker.

[jksander]

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
12/30          #3 Michigan State         L 58-80         5-5 (0-1)       M. Williams (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 blk) J. Richardson (12 pts 1 reb 1 blk)
1/2            @ Maryland                L 52-84         5-6 (0-2)       A. Chambers (15 pts 2 reb 2 ast) S. Pykkonen (9 pts 5 reb 4 ast)
1/6            Nebraska                  W 56-54         6-6 (1-2)       A. Chambers (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast 1 stl) K. Grbasic (8 pts 8 reb 2 ast 2 stl 2 blk)
1/11           @ Rutgers                 L 56-87         6-7 (1-3)       S. Pykkonen (8 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl 1 blk) K. Grbasic (4 pts 7 reb 4 ast)
1/16           @ Iowa                    L 51-72         6-8 (1-4)       M. Williams (21 pts 6 reb 2 blk) D. Richardson (12 pts 3 ast)
1/18           Minnesota                 L 56-68         6-9 (1-5)       J. Rivera (11 pts 8 reb 1 stl 1 blk) A. Chambers (16 pts 2 ast 1 blk)
1/20           @ #1 Michigan State       L 37-74         6-10 (1-6)      M. Williams (11 pts 2 reb 1 ast 1 blk) K. Grbasic (7 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
1/25           @ #18 Wisconsin           L 40-71         6-11 (1-7)      M. Williams (14 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl 3 blk) J. Rivera (2 pts 10 reb 2 ast 5 blk)
1/27           Indiana                   W 56-50         7-11 (2-7)      A. Chambers (14 pts 5 reb 4 ast 2 stl) M. Williams (10 pts 8 reb 1 ast 4 blk)
1/30           @ Purdue                  L 49-63         7-12 (2-8)      M. Williams (19 pts 5 reb 1 stl 2 blk) K. Grbasic (8 pts 6 reb 2 stl)
2/1            Michigan                  L 51-65         7-13 (2-9)      M. Williams (21 pts 7 reb 1 ast 4 stl 1 blk) K. Grbasic (7 pts 2 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
2/6            @ #18 Ohio State          L 42-71         7-14 (2-10)     M. Williams (9 pts 8 reb 3 blk) D. Richardson (7 pts 2 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
2/8            Northwestern              W 66-50         8-14 (3-10)     J. Rivera (12 pts 8 reb 1 blk) S. Pykkonen (13 pts 2 reb 5 ast 1 blk)
2/10           @ Nebraska                L 59-73         8-15 (3-11)     M. Williams (14 pts 5 reb 2 blk) S. Pykkonen (10 pts 3 reb 3 ast)
2/15           @ Indiana                 L 51-57         8-16 (3-12)     A. Chambers (13 pts 1 blk) J. Rivera (8 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
2/17           Illinois                  L 55-62         8-17 (3-13)     A. Chambers (15 pts 5 reb 1 blk) M. Williams (6 pts 10 reb)
2/20           Purdue                    L 66-75         8-18 (3-14)     M. Williams (14 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 stl 2 blk) A. Chambers (13 pts 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
2/22           Maryland                  W 64-53         9-18 (4-14)     A. Chambers (18 pts 5 reb 1 stl) K. Grbasic (14 pts 7 reb 5 ast)
3/1            @ Michigan                L 48-60         9-19 (4-15)     A. Chambers (11 pts 1 ast 1 stl) T. Scott (12 pts 5 reb)
3/3            #22 Wisconsin             L 61-74         9-20 (4-16)     A. Chambers (27 pts 4 reb) M. Williams (15 pts 11 reb 1 stl 1 blk)

MARCH 5, 1959 . . . We worked hard as a team all year but were simply outmatched for most of the season. We managed to win nine regular season games and four conference games but still finished dead last in the conference. Here are the complete standings:

01. #1 Michigan State (18-2, 29-3, #3 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
02. Michigan (14-6, 20-9, #15 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
03. Purdue (14-6, 22-7, #22 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
04. #22 Wisconsin (14-6, 20-9, #17 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
05. #20 Ohio State (13-7, 21-10, #35 NET) -- NCAA Tourney Lock
06. Iowa (9-11, 16-14, #73 NET) -- Off The Bubble
07. Northwestern (9-11, 16-15, #72 NET) -- Off The Bubble
08. Illinois (9-11, 15-14, #79 NET) -- Off The Bubble
09. Maryland (9-11, 14-15, #132 NET)
10. Nebraska (8-12, 18-13, #143 NET)
11. Indiana (8-12, 18-13, #67 NET) -- Off The Bubble
12. Minnesota (6-14, 12-19, #89 NET)
13. Rutgers (5-15, 9-20, #252 NET)
14. Penn State (4-16, 9-20, #290 NET)

All the teams marked “off the bubble” still have at least a shot at a postseason tournament, though I don’t think any of them look NIT likely (though Iowa and Indiana stand the best chances, starting with the Hoosiers, if we can do some damage in the Big Ten Tournament.

Big Ten Tournament

Code: Select all

Date    Rank   Team                      Score           W/L Record      Key Players
3/7            (11) Indiana              W 68-63         10-20           M. Williams (14 pts 5 reb 1 ast 2 stl 2 blk) A. Chambers (14 pts 3 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
3/8            (6) Iowa                  L 74-79         10-21           A. Chambers (17 pts 7 reb 3 ast) M. Williams (16 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

MARCH 13, 1959 . . . Iowa went all the way to the Big Ten Championship Game against (4) Wisconsin, and though they lost 74-91 to the Badgers, they beat Purdue and Michigan to get there, so most people in the league felt they successfully played their way back onto the bubble, or at least into an NIT bid.

Big Ten Teams in the NCAA Tournament:

#6 Seed, Greensboro: Ohio State
#4 Seed, Milwaukee: Wisconsin
#7 Seed, Nashville: Purdue
#1 Seed, Salt Lake City: Michigan State
#8 Seed, Salt Lake City: Michigan

Big Ten Teams in the NIT:

#4 Seed, South: Iowa

Big Ten Teams in the College Basketball Invitational:

#4 Seed, East: Northwestern
#2 Seed, West: Illinois

Big Ten Teams in the Collegiate Insider Tournament:

#5 Seed, Midwest: Indiana

MARCH 22, 1959 . . . (4) Wisconsin was the only Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. Tonight they got into a shootout with (8) New Mexico, trailing by four at the half before outscoring the Lobos 48-38 in the second half to win 90-84 in regulation, advancing to the Elite Eight.

MARCH 24, 1959 . . . In the Elite Eight Wisconsin got into another shootout against (3) Florida State, and this time they were no match. Down 38-45 at the half they only made up a couple points in the second half as the game wrapped up in a frenzied finish and the Seminoles won out 90-95, advancing to their first Final Four since 1947.

MARCH 27, 1959 . . . Northwestern and Illinois both fought their way to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational, where they faced off in opposite brackets. Northwestern won a fast-based battle with New Orleans, beating them 88-83, while Illinois cleanly beat down the Boston University Terriers 82-66 to force an all Big Ten showdown for the championship.

MARCH 28, 1959 . . . Indiana took on UC Riverside in the Collegiate Insider Tournament Semifinals, and they were on the receiving end of a 49-70 shellacking. Better luck next year, Hoosiers.

MARCH 29, 1959 . . . In the College Basketball Invitational Championship, Illinois won out in a tight defensive battle, beating the Wildcats 70-62.

APRIL 1, 1959 . . . In the Final Four, (2) Arkansas manhandled (3) Florida State 75-50 to make it to the Championship Game for the first time, while (1) Kentucky roasted the (5) South Carolina Gamecocks 95-75, making it to the finals for the fifth year in a row.

APRIL 3, 1959 . . . It seems inevitable on a yearly basis, but (1) Kentucky did indeed pound on (2) Arkansas in the Championship Game, winning 76-58 and securing their record-breaking fourth consecutive National Title and fifth overall. Jeremy Curry, soon to turn 51, has won 464 games against 73 losses with 10 SEC Titles to go with his five rings, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Reload and repeat, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat.

Team Leaders
Points: Alan Chambers (11.4 ppg) Maurice Williams (10.7 ppg) Dontay Richardson (7.3 ppg) Krunoslav Grbasic (6.6 ppg)
Rebounds: Maurice Williams (6.1 rpg) Johnny Rivera (5.8 rpg) Krunoslav Grbasic (4.8 rpg) Alan Chambers (3.5 rpg)
Assists: Seppo Pykkonen (4.7 apg) Dontay Richardson (1.7 apg) Alan Chambers (1.6 apg) Johnny Rivera (1.4 apg) Krunoslav Grbasic (1.4 apg)
Steals: Maurice Williams (1.1 spg) Krunoslav Grbasic (0.8 spg)
Blocks: Johnny Rivera (1.9 bpg) Maurice Williams (1.2 bpg)

Graduating
Alan Chambers (3.6 GPA) 6.9 ppg 1.8 rpg 1.1 apg 0.4 spg 0.2 bpg (119 games, 52 starts)
Brian Respert (3.1 GPA) 0.6 ppg 0.2 rpg 0.2 apg (19 games)*
__________________
* 1 Year Walk-on

Chambers will finish his career with 817 career points (7th) 127 career assists (20th), 220 career rebounds (18th) and 19 blocks (25th) during his five seasons as a Nittany Lion.

Awards
None.

APRIL 9, 1959 . . . During my review with the Board I learned that, though we did not meet any of our major goals, our prestige IS going up a single point, so there’s something to look at positively. That, and we won 10 games, which is the second-best win total in the school’s history. My job security level dropped to about 80%, and now with our solid recruit plus our transfer success, expectations are for us to finish in the top half of the conference standings, in addition to the postseason goals and the hope for a winning record. So I’m going to really need to bring it if I don’t want to find myself on the hot seat after just a couple seasons. Still, call me a gambler at heart -- we just bought a house, so we’re playing the long game. Bring on the new season!

APRIL 16, 1959 . . . My coaching protégé, Clarence Bailey, was offered the head coaching job at MD-Baltimore County. I’m really excited for him, he’s a coach on the rise for sure. But that leaves us with two coach openings I’ll have to fill. I promoted Lorenzo McRae to second assistant, giving him a raise to $43,000 per year for the remaining five years on his contract, and will scour the coaching ranks from there to complete a coaching staff I hope will stay together in the coming years. I told the board I wasn’t going to ask for anything this year -- I need to prove myself before I can expect them to make any further investments.

[jksander]

SEASON FIFTEEN
1959-60

Coach Information
Name: Rolf “Tex” Kauferhalter
Age / Record: 37 (318-161, .664)
Contract: $261,000 / 3 Years
NCAA Elite Eights: 1 (1957)
NCAA Sweet Sixteens: 4 (1950, 1955-1957)
NCAA Appearances: 9 (1946-1947, 1949-1951, 1955-1958)
NCAA Tourney Record: 11-9 (.550)
NIT Championships: 1 (1948)
NIT Appearances: 1 (1948)
NIT Record: 5-0 (1.000)
CBI Tourney Appearances: 1 (1952)
CBI Tourney Record: 0-1 (.000)
CIT Championships: 1 (1953)
CIT Appearances: 2 (1953-1954)
CIT Record: 5-1 (.833)
Big Ten Tourney Titles: 1 (1956)
Big Ten Coach of the Year: 4 (1953, 1955-1957)
Patriot League Titles: 5 (1946-1947, 1949-1951)
Patriot League Tourney Titles: 3 (1946-1947, 1949)
Patriot League Coach of the Year: 4 (1947-1948, 1950-1951)
Reputation: 53% (-1)
Offense: 48% (+1)
Defense: 100%
Recruiting: 64%
Scouting: 65%
Development: 45%

School Information
School: Penn State Nittany Lions
Location: State College PA
Conference: Big Ten
Arena: Bryce Jordan Center (Cap: 15,261)
Budget: $209,000 ($129,000 Assistants / $80,000 Recruiting)
Facilities: C-
Academics: B (SAT Min: 940)
School Prestige: 38% (+1)
Conf. Prestige: 88% (+2)

Job Goals
1. Qualify for the NIT Tournament.
2. Finish in the Top Half of the Big Ten Standings.
3. Give Us A Winning Season, Coach!
4. Continue to Improve Our School Prestige.

Recruit Class Ranking: 150th
Big Ten Rank: 9th

Assistants
AHC: Scott Singletary (57, $63,500 / 5 years, Rep: 24%) - Recruiting (77%) -- Formerly AHC at Fresno State for 10 seasons
2nd: Lorenzo McRae (45, $43,000 / 5 years, Rep: 11% +1) - Scouting (47%)
3rd: Corsley Thornton (52, $22,500 / 6 years, Rep: 10%) - Development (60%) -- Formerly AHC at Texas Christian for 3 seasons

MAY 29, 1959 . . . Jabari Richardson has transferred out due to unhappiness with his playing time and knowing that it was unlikely to improve as our team develops. I totally understand and wish him the best of luck with his remaining three years of eligility. I gave him 16 minutes a game this year and he did well with that time, putting up 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, but it was never going to be enough for him to start.

JUNE 9, 1959 . . . We’ve recruited a transfer forward to play for us next year at the small forward position. Josh Jackson, a 6’7” forward, is transfering in from Valparaiso whee he played one year and averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game over the course of 31 appearances and two starts. He’ll be a good bench performer for us, and his 2.9 GPA will fit in nicely with the rest of our academic-minded players. He wants to get minutes, but he’s also betting on our team making serious improvements so we’ll soon be playing regularly in the postseason -- I think he just really wants to be part of that. He has four star potential but right now looks to be a two to three star player at the moment. But he’s athletic as hell, he shoots and rebounds well, and his personality looks to be a potentially solid fit. So I’m excited to see what he can do.

JUNE 26, 1959 . . . This year we have three open scholarships, and we have to replace the leadership of Dontay Richardson at guard, Johnny Rivera at power forward and Maurice Williams at center. Ridnour will be starting as a sophomore at center, and we have good young shooting guards so right now the biggest hole in our future rotation will be at both forward positions and at point guard where we’re heavily dependent on Seppo Pykkonen. So those will be our primary areas of focus. This year we’ll be starting with approximately 30 players in the America East region and will winnow things down from there. With $40,000 to work with we should have plenty of money to find the best available players without running out of travel money at a critical moment.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1959 . . . We’ve signed our first two of three recruits for the upcoming season:

- Antonio Hope, a 6’5” guard / forward from Narrows, Virginia, is a four star recruit ranked 63rd in the nation! A great defender with excellent scoring ability and sky high potential, Hope has a 2.9 GPA and was more interested in conference prestige and finding a place relatively close to home rather than necessarily how many minutes he’ll play right out of the gate. Still, I expect he’ll be good enough to earn playing time for us fairly quickly.

- Blake Miles, a 6’7” forward from Glen Burnie, Maryland, comes in as a three star prospect ranked 266th nationally. He’s a high level athlete from a conditioning standpoint, and he’s adept as a passer and shot blocker with an uncanny eye for a three-point shot. With above average potential and a willingness to hunt for his shot, I think he’ll fit in well here. He also has a 3.7 GPA and while he’ll expect to play decent minutes he chose us over Maryland and Wake Forest due to our academic programs.

We have our schedule for the upcoming season, and we’ll have three key road games that should be challenging -- our road opener against Syracuse on November 16th, a trip to play Pittsburgh on the 26th of November, and then a game at Temple on December 7th. We’ll be hosting Army again on November 19th as well, and they had a surprise top 40 recruiting class this year, so I’m certainly not taking them lightly. We will then finish the pre-Big Ten season with a trip to playin the JAG Holiday Invitational, where we’ll be playing Mississippi in the first round.
 
Team Roster
PG - Seppo Pykkonen (6’0” 189 lbs So) Finland (International HS) 2.5 GPA (3.0/4.0) 5.4 ppg 3.1 rpg 4.7 apg 0.7 spg 0.2 bpg
SG - Geoff Smith (6’0” 177 lbs So) Greer SC (Blue Ridge HS) 3.8 GPA (4.0/5.0) transfer from Georgetown
SF - Krunoslav Grbasic (6’8” 208 lbs So) Croatia (International HS) 3.2 GPA (3.0/3.5) 6.6 ppg 4.8 rpg 1.4 apg 0.8 spg 0.5 bpg
PF - Maurice Williams (6’11” 258 lbs Sr) Mifflintown PA (Juniata HS) 4.0 GPA (3.0/3.5) 10.7 ppg 6.1 rpg 1.0 apg 1.1 spg 1.2 bpg
C - Curtis Ridnour (6’10” 241 lbs So) West Lafayette IN (West Lafayette HS) 4.0 GPA (4.0/4.5) transfer from Northwestern

6 - Dontay Richardson (6’0” 174 lbs Sr) Bowie MD (Bowie HS) 3.6 GPA (2.0/4.0) 7.3 ppg 1.6 rpg 1.7 apg 0.3 spg 0.1 bpg
7 - Mike Mann (6’5” 174 lbs So) Walled Lake MI (Walled Lake Central HS) 2.7 ppg 1.1 rpg 0.7 apg 0.2 spg 0.1 bpg
8 - Johnny Rivera (6’8” 230 lbs Sr) Hermine PA (Yough HS) 4.0 GPA (3.0/3.5) 5.0 ppg 5.8 rpg 1.4 apg 0.5 spg 1.9 bpg
9 - Steven Reed (6’10” 265 lbs Fr) Pittsburgh PA (Penn Hills HS) 3.2 GPA (1.0/4.0)
10 - Terrance Scott (6’9” 252 lbs Jr) Marion Center PA (Marion Center Area HS) 3.8 GPA (2.0/3.5) 3.2 ppg 3.4 rpg 0.9 apg 0.7 spg 0.3 bpg
11 - Craig Miller (6’8” 270 lbs So RS) Jacksonville FL (Bolles HS) 4.0 GPA (1.5/4.0)
12 - Andrew Bellamy (6’8” 207 lbs So RS) Rochester NH (Spaulding HS) 3.8 GPA (1.0/2.0)
13 - Eddie Jackson (6’1” 173 lbs So) Lehighton PA (Lehighton Area HS) 3.2 GPA (0.5/0.5)*
14 - Quincy Slaughter (6’6” 196 lbs Sr) Kane PA (Kane Area HS) 3.5 GPA (0.5/0.5) insignificant minutes*

TR - Josh Jackson (6’7” 230 lbs So) Sunbury OH (Big Walnut HS) 2.9 GPA (2.0/3.5)
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* Walk-on

NOVEMBER 13, 1959 . . . Expectations are high heading into this season for many reasons, but we need to temper them somewhat due to the fact that our starting five is four sophomores and a senior, and two of our top bench players (Mann and Reed) are a sophomore and a freshman respectively. So we are a VERY young and inexperienced team and we’ll need to make room for experimentation to find the right lineups and rotations. Still, I think we should be a team fully capable of meeting all our goals this year, which would include having a winning season for the first time in school history and then making our first-ever postseason appearance. If these kids put in the work, they’ll reap the rewards come March.